This document provides guidance for completing a case study assignment on music video production. It is split into three tasks. Task 1 addresses the purposes of music videos and strategies used by labels and artists. Task 2 covers styles, techniques and conventions of music video production. Task 3 involves analyzing a minimum of three music videos by an artist of the student's choice, considering elements from Tasks 1 and 2 such as video style, intertextuality, camerawork, editing, and genre conventions. The document encourages using illustrative images and links from video examples to support points.

1. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
CASE STUDY
V ICKY PATCHET T

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
• You are expected to submit each section on a weekly basis during your remote
learning weeks.
• If you get stuck, talk to/email your tutor for guidance.

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
Y O U S H O U L D O P E N T H E M U S I C L E C T U R E
P O W E R P O I N T A N D L O O K AT S E C T I O N 1
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S TA S K

5. LECTURE NOTES

6. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Entertainment: Providing the audience with amusement and
enjoyment through visual codes that fits with the song.
• Branding: Promoting a particular product, in this case a music
video, through advertisement and distinctive design elements .
• Sales: The income of a music video which is usually determined
by the success of its marketing.

7. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Entertain the audience with a visual image, whilst conveying a meaning and story behind the
song. This is usually achieved through visual codes such as setting and character action, major
labels usually have simple actions as they are aimed at a mainstream audience, whereas an
independent label would usually have a more complex narrative, as its audience would be most
likely to understand the concept due to the niche audience being a loyal group of fans.
• To leave the audience with a political or social message. This is often done by projecting to the
audience through linking the lyrics to images in the video, which tells the audience clearly how
the artist wants the audience to view their social/political views, e.g. American flag being shown
in a positive light through the lyrics and images/props used in the video. However this may not
be the case in an independent, niche video as the artist may expect its audience to take hints
from less obvious features in the video, as its audience are usually a loyal group and are able to
understand the unique features that may be put in the video.
• To promote sales of its potential album and the artists’ previous work to increase the income.
This is usually achieved through the marketing, before and after the music video is released, e.g.
advertisements encouraging people to be notified when the video is released so they will watch
it, views increase the income brought to the band, and will usually encourage new viewers to
explore the bands wider range of music and merchandise. Advertising for independent labels
may benefit them greatly as this may expand its audience and income as more people may
show an interest in the artist, if they find the new music video intriguing. For a major label this
may not have as much of a huge effect, as the artist is most likely to be known to owners,
meaning they may already have known of the band and its features already.

8. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• AC/DC: present themselves as typical rockstars, through
clothing and the use of typical rock band equipment- emphasis
on the use electric guitars and drums. The music reflects on the
actions of the band, high beat and high energy. Videos are
typically like watching a live performance, as if they have been
filmed while the band have been performing to an audience,
making the video easy to follow as fans of the band will most
likely have been to a concert of theirs before, they may be able
to reminisce memories from watching the videos, this also may
encourage the audience to want to go and see another concert,
increasing the bands’ income.

9. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• One direction: Mainstream audience- can be seen through its simple narrative which is easy to
follow and has a clear story of the group having fun together, which a big audience would be able
to understand what is happening throughout the song and video. The video is most likely a high
budget, as it has a mainstream audience, meaning that it doesn’t not have to rely on a small group
of fans brining in its income, as the band is popular worldwide, and therefore most likely to be
watched by more people who are not forced to be huge fans of the band. The main aim of the
videos are to increase the popularity of the single, and encourage people to want to buy, share and
enjoy what they have produced, being a mainstream audience people are more likely to be aware
of the band and its new single, so they may not need to rely on this so much as a small artist may
need to.
• Animal Collective: Niche audience: distinctive through its complex narrative which is hard to follow
and doesn’t have an obvious story to it, this is clear of a niche audience as its small loyal group of
fans would be able to understand what was happening throughout the song and video. The video
is most likely to be low budget, as the band is small and may not make a huge amount of money
from its views and advertisement, mostly because the audience is typically a lot smaller than a
mainstream audience, and relies on its fans’ loyalty to earn money from it. The main aim of their
videos are to keep their loyal fans interested in the band, hoping that they will still buy and share
their new and exiting music, it is also to encourage new fans to do the same, whilst giving them an
insight to what their band is like, in the hope that they would want to join the group of loyal fans,
which may increase the bands’ income.

10. TASK 2 – STYLES,
TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS
Y O U S H O U L D O P E N T H E M U S I C L E C T U R E
P O W E R P O I N T A N D L O O K AT S E C T I O N 2
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S TA S K

11. LECTURE NOTES

12. LECTURE NOTES

13. LECTURE NOTES

14. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS- CAMERAWORK
• Camerawork is basically how the camera is used and how images are
sequenced on the screen. This will have a significant impact upon the
meaning of the footage.
• Camera movement may accompany movement of of performers but it
is often used to create a more dynamic atmosphere for the audience
An example of this is circling a band constantly while they preform, to
make the audience feel they are there watching them play live.
• Close-up shots usually predominate in video, partially because of the
size of the screen and the way this type of shot creates a sense of
intimacy for the audience, it also emphasises the commodity on sale.
An example of this is in narrative based music videos, where the
audience is allowed to see the emotions of the band member or actor,
and how this contributes to the music video.

15. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS- EDITING
• The most common form of editing associated with music promo
is fast cut montage- rendering many images impossible to
grasp on first viewing ensures multiply viewing. Some videos
also use slow pace and gentler transitions to establish a certain
mood.
• This is particularly apparent for the work of female solo artists
with a broad audience appeal such as Dido.
• Often enhancing the editing are digital effects which play with
the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the
audience. This might take the main form of split screens,
colourisation and blockbuster film style CGI.

16. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS- GENRE CONVENTIONS
- HIP HOP GENRE

17. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS- INTERTEXTUALITY
• Intertextuality is a visual reference in a text coming from a range
of sources. Essentially it’s where a product is influenced in its
style, look etc. by another product which could be a film, tv
show, arts etc.
Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes
(1953) Madonna
Material Girl
(1985)

18. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS- INTERTEXTUALITY
Robert Palmer
Addicted To
Love (1986)
Shania Twain
Man I Feel Like
A Woman (
1999)

19. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS- INTERTEXTUALITY
Robbie Williams
Let Love Be
Your Energy (
2001)
Red Hot Chili
Peppers
Californication
1999

20. TASK 3 – CASE
STUDY
Y O U S H O U L D O P E N T H E M U S I C L E C T U R E
P O W E R P O I N T A N D L O O K AT S E C T I O N 3
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S TA S K

21. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• For your individual case study you must study an artist of
choice, 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]

22. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• You should include a video link for the videos used
• You should include illustrative stills from the videos chosen
• 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

23. ONE DIRECTION- ONE THING

24. ONE DIRECTION- ONE THING
• The narrative of this video is pretty basic, portraying each band
member as carefree and wanting to have fun everyday. This can
be seen particularly at the beginning of the video, where it
switches between scenes of the band messing around
portraying child like behaviour and them all stood smartly
singing in front of a London bus.
• The video uses a range of shots, which include the band
members together in long shots and on their own in mid shots
and closeups. As the video progresses they move into the city of
London where they mix with fans and tour London on red
busses. The shots used are particularly long shots and mid shots
which portray their actions effectively to the audience.
• Like their previous videos, the overall message portrayed to the
audience is that the band members are carefree, young, good
looking men who want to have fun and bring fun into the
audiences’ lives through their personality and style.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xs_xPb46M

25. ONE DIRECTION- LITTLE THINGS

26. ONE DIRECTION- LITTLE THINGS
• The video is set in a recording studio, where the band members
are mainly sat around playing guitars and singing the song
together. The entire video is in black and white, which is
symbolic of the simplistic nature of the song and narrative of
which it holds. It is all filmed in what looks to be the same
building which makes the video basic and more focused on the
song, which is slow and appealing to its audience as its message
is a love related fairytale.
• The band members are portrayed as ‘boyfriend’ stereotypes to
its audience, as its audience are likely to be young females who
are obsessed with the looks and love put across to them
through the way the band members behave and are made to
look through camera angling and facial expressions.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGPeNN9S0Fg

27. ONE DIRECTION- STORY OF MY LIFE

28. ONE DIRECTION- STORY OF MY LIFE
• The narrative of this video fits with the song as it allows the band to
look back on their past and how they have changed since
childhood. They print images and place them all over the building.
And sing around them.
• The lighting in the video is quite dark but brighter when they place
themselves into the photos and re create the same moment as
adults to portray the different times and how they have changed to
their audience.
• The message of the song itself portrays to the audience that the
past will never change but the future is an open book and should
be looked at openly- this can be seen through the imagery of
going through the past of the band, and allowing the audience to
relate to their personal family memories.
• The band only come together in small sections of the video, which
portrays the significance of each member and their past, rather
than the band on a whole, which suggests the director has
purposely wanted the audience to see the personal history and
bond with each band member personally.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-TE_Ys4iwM

29. ONE DIRECTION- DRAG ME DOWN

30. ONE DIRECTION- DRAG ME DOWN
• This video shows off the adventure of the band, as they teamed up
with NASA to create a rocket lift off setting, and them exploring the
technology of NASA- The use of intertexuality here helps NASA get
more recognition through their broad audience, as it allows the
band to become more popular, and NASA at the same time.
• The use of various settings in the video implicates that there is
more adventure going on in this video compared to most previous
videos. It shows the bands’ growth over the years and how they
have changed and grown together.
• Their clothing style has significantly changed in this video which
signifies the change in music style too, as the band have gown
together with each other and fans.
• Like in other videos, the band are not always together in the shots
and are often separate from each other, signifying their individual
characters as well as how they are together, which is appealing to
the audience as they will somewhat show an interest in their
personal portrayal in the music video.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwgf3wmiA04

31. ONE DIRECTION- HISTORY

32. ONE DIRECTION- HISTORY
• Considering this is the last music video made, the video portrays the full
growth of the band, from the first to the most recent moment, before their
hiatus. This allows the fans to connect with the band on a personal level as
they feel part of the journey that that have been through as a band with the
fans closely attached to them.
• The way they mixed up the colour scheme of black and white for the past
and the colour for the present is interesting as it shows the journey they
have been on and how they turned out in the end.
• They are all dressed in casual, smart clothing, which implicates that they are
still the same carefree young men that they were when the band was first
created, showing the audience that they past has made them int who they
are today but they have maintained the same personal image that they had
in the very beginning.
• They use many shots of fans from past concerts that had taken place, which
is a reminder to the audience that without those supporting them since day
one, they would not be where they were when the video was created.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjmp8CoZBIo