The document provides guidance for completing a case study assignment on music video production. It outlines 3 tasks to complete: 1) the purposes of music videos and strategies used; 2) styles, techniques and conventions of music video production; and 3) a case study analyzing at least 3 music videos. The case study should discuss the videos' styles, techniques, intertextuality, camerawork/editing, genre conventions, and apply critical approaches. The document provides examples of questions to answer for each task and notes on how to illustrate points and structure the case study response.

1. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
CASE STUDY
YOU R N A ME H ER E

2. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
• We will look at Music Videos from a number of perspectives, this
template is for you to write up your notes and to complete your
case study.
• The document is split into 3 different tasks, each with separate
questions to answer.
• Task 1 is concerned with the purposes of music videos and the
strategies employed by labels and artists
• Task 2 is concerned with the styles, techniques and conventions of
music video production
• Task 3 is your own case study into a minimum of three music
videos where you can unpack and discuss the videos considering
everything you have looked at in Task 1 and 2

3. NOTES ON COMPLETING THE
CASE STUDY
• It is often easier to show something you are discussing than to
take time describing it. With this in mind, feel free to add lots of
illustrative images from your chosen video examples. Links to
YouTube/Vevo/etc are also encouraged.
• Remember, when you make a point or define something, you
should follow this with an example, an explanation of this and
then link to further texts/videos where possible.
• If you don’t think there is enough room to add your full response
to a question, don’t just reset the font size to really small, add an
extra slide wherever necessary.

4. TASK 1 -
PURPOSES

5. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short
explanation for each:
• A core purpose for a music video is Entertainment, the artists make
the music video to give more creativity and so the song can come
across as more enjoyable when listening, if the music video attracts
the viewer it can make them want to listen to the song again.
• Another core purpose for a music video is branding and
recognition, a music video would introduce new listeners to the
artist by them clicking and watching the video.
• The final core purpose for making a music video is Sales, if the
viewings on the music video does well it will attract more buyers to
the artists songs, a music video is a smart way to bring in new
audience members.

6. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q2 – What are some of the broader purposes of music videos? Think
about some of the strategies employed by artists in their videos and
how they represent themselves, you could consider where the artist
is on a major label, independent label of unsigned, is there a
difference between them?
• One of the more broader purposes of music videos is that it allows the
band/artist the chance to not always perform live. The production and
creativity that would be put into the music video could be even more
entertaining than watching them perform live.
• Another broader purpose to a music video is to endorse their songs and
other products to increase their popularity and to increase their sales. The
artist may include advertised products hidden in the music video and it will
attract their viewers eyes and make them want to purchase them.

7. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q3 – Describe what is ‘synergy’ is and how it has been used in
music videos [min. 3 examples of synergy and convergence]
• Synergy is the benefit that is used in music videos to show that
the music video goes well with the song, an example of synergy
is putting certain things in the video that matches the mood of
the song.
• Convergence in media is to do with two or more products
coming together to create content with the intent of becoming
one product. This means the music video will fit the song
perfectly.

8. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q4 – Branding; select an artist you like and look at how they
present themselves in their music videos. Explain what their
‘brand’ is, who is appeals to and why they might have done this.
• Aitch presents himself as an artist where he wants to prove
people wrong, in numerous songs from him he states that when
people tell him he cant do this or he cant do that he proves them
wrong by doing what they say he cant. He also presents himself
as a relatable teenager and raps about what it is like to grow up
in a poor part of Manchester. His brand comes across as him
doing what he wants to do and that other people should to, he
comes across that way in his music videos.

9. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q5 – Compare One Direction and Animal Collective music
videos [find them on YouTube!], what can you discern about
each act from their videos? What is the main aim? Explain why.
• one direction and animal collective are both very different
bands, one direction is more mainstream and promote their
music videos to create large sales whereas animal collective do
it for their fans and to be creative with their work. Animal
collective have a much more smaller audience than one
direction so they know they wont hit big sales, one direction
come across as a band that is focused on relationships and
animal collective has a more creative way with their lyrics.

10. TASK 2 – STYLES,
TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS

11. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q1 – Describe and explain the use of camerawork in music
videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this
• The camera work in music videos are really unique, the most
common shots used in videos is a close up shot on the artist,
they use this shot for most videos to draw attention to the main
artist because they are essentially the ones putting the song
and music video into one element.
• Another shot commonly used in music videos is the landscape
shot, they do this so they can create some scenery to the music
video and give the viewers some thing nice and enjoyable to
look at.

12. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing in music videos,
i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this
• The uses of editing in music videos can be very different in each
video, it depends on the genre, if the song is a standard UK
grime beat there will be a lot of flashing and quick jump cuts
throughout the video, this gives the song more intensity and
flashing images and work perfectly with bass drops. If the song
is a more mainstream pop beat there is usually a lot more
simplicity put into it, there wont be any flashing intense jump
cuts however there could be a lot more effort put into the color
grading, lens flares and visual effects such as animations.

13. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q3 - Describe and explain some of the technical developments in
music videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate
this
• One technical development in creating a music video is the use of
high resolution camera quality, the quality of the video will attract
more viewers.
• Another technical development in creating a music video is the
platform that the video is published on, most music videos
nowadays are published onto YouTube since YouTube is the
platform that is the most used social media video publishing
website. If the music videos get uploaded onto here then you will
be guaranteed to get more views and sales for the song.

14. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q4 – Genre conventions; often music videos adhere to genre
conventions within their visual style and production techniques.
• The conventions in these music videos are all similar, they all grime
genre related and have lot in common, one of the main
conventions in all of these videos is that the artist always has an
entourage, they all also share similar camera shots, they used
close up shots to focus on the artists faces to draw the viewers
attention. These videos are filmed at night with dim lighting, grime
artists choose to film at night because it makes them look
rebellious.

15. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q5 - John Stuart’s description of the music video “incorporating,
raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the essence of
intertextuality [something asserted by Andrew Goodwin]. Can you
explain what intertexuality is and find some examples of it in music
videos?
• The visual references in my selected music videos all have similar
fashion sense, most of the artists are seen wearing trendy clothing.
They also have similar filming locations, most of these being in a
abandoned building or in a petrol statin car park. Another
noticeable visual reference is that the artists always have a vehicle
In the background of the shot, this for the artist to show the
audience that he makes money as that is something commonly
rapped about in their songs.

16. TASK 3 – CASE
STUDY

17. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• For your individual case study you must study an artist or genre
of music, focusing on a minimum of 3 videos [ideally 5+ videos]
• This should provide discussion on the usage of the following:
– Style[s] & Techniques employed
– Intertextuality
– Camerawork/editing
– Genre conventions
– Critical approaches [you should be applying some of the critical
approaches from your lessons and some of your own, to your
selected videos]

18. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• You should include a video link for the video
• You can include as many illustrative stills as you like
• Be creative in your approach, it is suggested you use the
heading on the previous slide a guide on how to structure your
response to get you started
• Remember, make a point, use a specific part of the chosen
video as an example, explain yourself and then link to another
video where possible
• Compare and contrast your artist/genre to other artists/genres
• Remember to consider differing contexts

19. AITCH
• Aitch is a rapper from Manchester, the styles he uses in his videos are all very similar, he uses his
entourage in the backdrop in every video he puts out, a technique that aitch uses is including bright flashing
images in his videos to create a sense of intensity, he puts in these images when the bass drops. He also
uses quick jump cuts in the editing of his videos, this hypes up the video because it makes the viewers
realize that it is a quick track with a lot of power put into it. Another editing technique that he uses in is
videos are the visual effects that are presented, mostly with (MISS ME WITH IT & STRAIGHT RHYMES),
when a verse finishes on the song he turns the video distorted for a few split seconds.
• The camera work on Aitch”s videos are really unique, on one video (TASTE) he decided to expand his
creativity on how he wanted the camera shots to look. He does close up shots to his face and then wen it
goes back to editing he key frames the shot so that his face is always in the center of the screen, this
technique makes it easier to see his face but with the natural shaky effect of the camera it makes the
background have a distorted look to it.
• The visual references that are presented in Aitch”s videos are the clothing he wears, he dresses like a
normal teenager from England, mostly in tracksuits and sports jackets. Another visual reference in Aitch”s
videos are the filming locations, they all seem to look like they are filmed In the same town, car parks,
estates & town roads. The genre conventions that Aitch uses in all 3 of these videos are very similar to
other artists, Aitch has clearly studied other artists styles, he has shots that are filmed during the night,
other artists of the same genre follow these camera shots the same way. For example Aitch also uses
expensive cars in his videos to back up the words said in his song and again other artists do the same
thing.
• The things I don’t like about how the editing is done is the fact his producers could have spent a little while
longer on perfecting the effects, I don’t think that the visual effects are at the point of high level editing, they
could have spent a while longer on these effects such as the ones in (MISS ME WITH IT & STRAIGHT
RHYMES)
Straight Rhymes. Taste (Make It Shake). Miss Me
With It.

20. AITCH
• I would say Aitch is quite different to most grime artists, in his videos, he doesn’t rap about
the usual things most grime artist rap about, for example, “C1” raps about carrying knives
and getting in trouble with the police, his music videos have a twisted dark mood about
them whereas Aitch who raps about his friends and his hometown always looks like he is
having a good time.
• C1 has an attitude of someone who portrays to be someone they are not, he tries to make it
look like he is someone to be afraid of by rapping about all of these negative things such as
stabbing people, fighting the police and destroying properties. Aitch has an attitude of
someone who is trying to inspire young people to do what they want to be successful and
refrains talking about things C1 would talk about such as gang culture, his lyrics focus on
him telling the listeners that he has made it to the point where he is today because he is
doing what he wants to do. Aitch is a more respectful artist than C1 because he shows no
disrespect to people, he has no threats & no problems with the authorities. The way the two
artist film and edit their videos are similar in someway but that’s because it’s the style of the
grime genre. The visual techniques are the same because they both use camera shots that
focus on the artist with their huge entourage behind them hyping them up. Aitch’s videos are
more upbeat and colourful and C1’s videos are more thrilling and dark.
Straight Rhymes. Taste (Make It Shake). Miss Me
With It.
C1 – Hide n’ Seek
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=nDuVsE6yGdA
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=gB7SvMdxVm
U
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=0yrGrh-j73s
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=wECZVI_jiq4