This document discusses key aspects of music videos including thought beats, narrative and performance, the star image, narrative types, and technical aspects. It provides examples of different narrative types in specific music videos. Illustration videos directly relate the images to the song lyrics, amplification adds new meaning while still connecting to the song, and disjuncture contradicts the lyrics and creates an unrelated new narrative. Technical aspects like editing, effects, lighting, and mise-en-scene are discussed in relation to emphasizing parts of the song. Conventions like following the song structure and the role of the artist as performer/narrator are also covered.

1. ANDREW GOODWIN

2. 5 KEY ASPECTS OF MUSIC
VIDEOS:
1. ‘Thoughts Beats’ – seeing the sound in your head
2. Narrative and performance
3. The star image
4. Technical aspects
5. Narrative types

3. ‘THOUGHT BEATS’
The basis for visualising images comes from a psychological process called synaesthesia, where you
picture sounds in your mind. This idea is absolutely central to understanding music video as they build
on the soundtrack’s visual associations in order to connect with the audience and provide that
additional pleasure.
To begin, lyrics don’t need to be analysed word for word like a poem but rather considered for the way
they introduce a general feeling or mood. Very rarely do song lyrics have a coherent meaning that can
be simply read off; but they are important in at least creating a sense of subject matter. So key
phrases or lines (and especially those repeated in the chorus) will have a part to play in the kind of
associated visuals with the song.
Roland Barthes’ theory of the ‘grain of voice’ is relevant – this sees the singing voice more as an
expressive instrument, personal, even unique and therefore able to create associations in itself. The
voice of a song may even possess trademarks that work hand-in-hand with the star image.
Finally, if songs are stories, then the singer is the storyteller and this obviously makes music videos
stand out on TV, as they feature a first person mode of address rather than the invisible ‘forth wall’ of
television narration. The music – or arrangement of the song, including instrumentation, the mix and
effects work well with the lyrics and grain of voice. Generally we can look at key sounds, like the
tempo and structure of the song in terms of verse and chorus. We all share a memory bank of popular
culture imagery (intertextuality), a sense of shared cultural history without which these references
would make no sense. Places, people, feelings, situations leading to mini-narratives – all these can be
summoned from the sounds of popular music.

4. NARRATIVE & PERFORMANCE
Songs rarely tell the complete narrative. The narrative in songs affect the way stories
are used in music video representations of a song’s meaning. The role of advertising
is an important reason as to why music videos should avoid a classic realistic
narrative. Music videos need to have a repeatability where the audience can watch
the video repeatedly in a casual way. Often music videos cut between narrative and a
performance of the song by the band
Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artists performance
or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’
factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be part of the story, acting as
narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-sync close-up and the
mimed playing of instruments that remains at the heart of music videos.

5. THE STAR IMAGE
The music business relies on the relatively few big name stars to
fund its activities as only about one in ten acts put out by the
industry actually makes any money. Therefore, the meta-narrative
of the star image will have an important part to play in the music
video production process. Meta-narrative is a term that describes
the development of the star image over time, the stories that
surround a particular artist, for example Michael Jackson.

6. NARRATIVE TYPES
1. Illustration: Music videos can illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre, providing a
sometimes over literal set of images. Here, then, is the most straight forward technique and the
classic example of visualisation, with everything in the music video based in the source of the
piece of music.
2. Amplification: news layers of meaning added to the song - what separates it from disjuncture,
is the fact that amplification music videos retain a link with the song and work to enhance or
develop ideas, rather than fundamentally changing them.
3. Disjuncture: contradiction between lyrics and image - seem to work by ignoring the original
song and creating a whole new set of meanings. This is quite a radical technique and used
often by bands/artists who want to assert their difference and originality. Usually, disjuncture
videos of this type don’t make a lot of sense and may be based on abstract imagery.

7. TECHNICAL ASPECTS
1. Speed - visualised by camera movement, fast editing (montage) and digital effects.
• Camera movement is often motivated by running, dancing and walking performers.
• Fast-cutting and montage editing creates a visually decentred experience necessary for music video consumption, with the
images occasionally moving so fast that they are impossible to understand on first viewing and thus need to be viewed several
times.
• Post-production digital effects – a staple of music video where images can be colorized, multiple split screens appear, and so on,
all to complicate and intrigue, providing pleasure again and again.
• Some use of slow pace through dissolves or static shots.
2. Meat - the meat of most music videos is the cut to the close-up of the singer’s face. This is because the voice is seen as the
most important part of pop music.
3. Beats - the video will try and represent the music through the use of the cut to go with the beat or key rhythm.
4. Lighting and colour may also be used to emphasise key moments in the song, using methods from lighting live performances
for dramatic effect. Colour may be used to show a development in the song, going from colour to black and white or vice-versa
when then chorus comes in. Equally, any change in the mise-en-scene or camerawork can signal the same type of thing.
5. Mise-en-scene – the setting for music videos is important, often to guarantee the authenticity of the clip rather than anything
else. So mise-en-scene for many videos is the concert hall or rehearsal room to emphasise the realness of the performance or the
grit and practice that goes into attaining star quality.

8. CONVENTIONS
Structure:
They follow the verse/chorus structure of songs, there is lots of repetition of the same
images or shots, they provide a visual link for the sound, the beat and lyric and they
often have a 'closure' at the end by the tempo building to a climax and then fading
away.
Role of the artist:
The singer can be the performer, narrator and character of the music video and the
singer will look directly at the camera - addressing the audience and breaking the 4th
wall.

10. THE STREETS – FIT BUT YOU
KNOW IT
In this video the artist breaks the 4th wall by participating
and narrating the song to the audience. There was also a
clear distinction between the verse and the chorus as the
verses were shots of him walking down the street and the
chorus were shots of the person singing the chorus on the
beach. This video is an example of the key narrative
illustration as the video relates to the lyrics as he artist is
singing to the girl that is in the video.

11. AMY WINEHOUSE – BACK TO
BLACK
In this video the artist rarely breaks the 4th wall
suggesting to the audience she feels alone. The artist
again was the participant and narrator and there was a
clear distinction between verse and chorus as the
chorus had an increased tempo and repeated the title
of the song. This video is an example of the key
narrative amplification as the artist is singing about
heartbreak but the video is of the artist going a funeral,
therefore suggesting something deeper.

12. BAT FOR LASHES – “WHAT’S A GIRL TO DO?”
In this video the artist breaks the 4th wall throughout the
whole video which gives the audience a sense of
connection with her. The artist participates however the
key narrative shown here is disjuncture therefore the video
does not relate to the lyrics as she is singing about being
in love but the video is fixated on the artist riding a bike.
There is a distinction between chorus and verse because
when the chorus is being sung other people with animal
masks come out from behind the artist on bikes and start
riding beside her.