MV case study updated

1. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
CASE STUDY
K I ERA N J O H NS O N

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. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short
explanation for each:
• Entertainment – To offer the audience an amusing video,
possibly even attract new members to the audience as well.
• Identity/Branding – Artists try to represent themselves in a
certain way and these representations often stretch out into
their music videos.
• Sales – Music videos are often released to promote a particular
song and an upcoming album, and so they may spark pre-
order/release date sales of the artist’s album.

6. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q2 – What are some of the broader purposes of music videos? Try and
outline a minimum of 3.
• Having a music video of a song may allow the artist to not be forced to play
the song live – their audience now have a visual interpretation of the song
being played through the music video. An example of this is US rock band
Alter Bridge releasing a music video of their song ‘Cradle To The Grave’ in
2017 despite having never played the song live in concert before or since.
• Artists may have music videos produced contained featuring artists tied to
a particular song or other artists from the same label to boost their own
popularity whilst also maintaining the featured artist’s relevancy and
popularity, or vice versa depending on. The X-Ecutioners released a music
video in 2002 for ‘It’s Goin’ Down’ which featured Linkin Park members
Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn, Rob Bourdon and Dave Farrell, as well as Static-X
guitarist Wayne Static.
• Sometimes music videos are produced to help push a group’s political
agenda, pushing their message explicit imagery related to politics, as seen
in Alter Bridge’s video for ‘Show Me A Leader’ where assumed political
leaders wearing suits are depicted with megaphones attached to their
bodies – which was released in the just ahead of the 2016 US Election as
well as following the UK Brexit Referendum.

7. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q3 – 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.
• Metallica – an important thing to note about Metallica is that they originally had a
policy of not having videos produced for their songs until 1989, where ‘One’ was the
first Metallica song to have it’s own music video. The video features them playing the
song in a warehouse whilst clips from the 1971 war film ‘Johnny Got His Gun’ played
during the instrumental sections. It is clear from here that the group emphasized
themselves towards storytelling and anchoring the lyrics of their songs towards the
themes and acting of their videos.
• This would also be the case for their 1991 videos of ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘The
Unforgiven’. The first of which shows a child going through nightmares in their sleep
including running from a truck, falling off of a large building and numerous close-up
shots of the ‘Sandman’ the song constantly refers to. The latter involves a young man
making their living their life in a stone room alone, trying to carve out a window. The
man grows older as the video progresses, but he finally manages to create a window
to deposit his sole possession – a locket – before laying down to die. There also exists
a 12-minute theatrical cut of this video which doesn’t feature any cuts of the band
playing the song.

8. TASK 1 – PURPOSES
• Q3 cont.
• The following songs from their eponymous 1991 album; ‘Nothing Else Matters’,
‘Wherever I May Roam’ and ‘Sad But True’ all have videos based on the band
performing the song itself as opposed to telling a story within the video –
though the first two may have loose connections to the themes of the lyrics of
brotherhood within the band and the constant touring they went through
around this time.
• Their 2003 single and titular album song ‘St. Anger’ had a video where the band
were performing the song live to an audience of prisoners inside of an actual
prison – which would be nominated for that year’s Best Rock Video at the MTV
Video Music Awards. This represents their brand seemingly being a source of
comfort towards a universal audience rather than just their original niche of
thrash metal fans.
• In more modern times Metallica have since touched back into their original
brand regarding narratively-based music videos, which is clearly seen in their
videos for ‘The Day That Never Comes’, which features post 9/11 concepts and
themes of US warfare in the Middle East, and ‘Halo On Fire’, which depicts a
young woman making her living in a fight club – both feature intertwined clips
of the band playing each song.

9. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q4 – 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’s music videos try to provoke a mainstream audience, which
can be noted by their videos having easy-to-follow narratives so their large
audience would be able to understand and can simply watch without
needing to engage with it for any hidden meanings. The main aim for their
music videos is to promote their singles and albums by gaining as many
views and as much money as possible through their music videos.
• Animal Collective by comparison is dedicated towards a more niche
audience. We can see that their videos are much more complex and may
offer their audience a different interpretation or reading regarding how
each member may see the video from their own perspective. For passive
members they may struggle to interpret and understand any meaning for
their videos. Instead of getting as many views as possible, they aim to keep
their more loyal fans interested with their unique artistic and creative
direction.

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. 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 and how this creates
meaning
• Music videos generally use mid-shots and close-ups in order to place
emphasis towards the artist’s playing the song – as well as any other actions
going on in the video if there is any detailed acting and any narrative taking
place – and the vocalist singing the song – also to detail personal emotions
and facial expressions in regards to any acting and narrative.
• A notable example of this is Metallica’s ‘Halo On Fire’ video, which depicts a
young woman making her way to a fight club. The first time the camera
reveals her in a panning upwards close-up of her waking up, we can see her
marks across her body and face, giving us a false narrative of abuse and
violence within her home. Later on the video has a lot of POV shots, from
the same woman’s perspective, looking at people she goes passed on a bus
she had just boarded on, and even later POV shot of her view as she gets
hit in the face during her first fight at the club. Lots of the fight club scenes
contain mid-shots to detail the fighting that is taking place.

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 and
what the effect of this is/meanings that are created/etc
• The type of editing used in music videos often depends on the
mood of the song. Softer sounding songs generally tend to
have slower pacing and transitions between cuts, possibly even
using more fading transitions into the following cut.
• By contrast, songs with a quicker pace tend to apply quicker
pacing and transitions between cuts and often use straight cuts
more predominantly than anything else.
• Some digital effects may be used to entertain the audience,
which could come in the form split screens, CGI, or
colourisation.

13. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q3 – Genre conventions; often music videos adhere to genre
conventions within their visual style and production techniques.
Select a recognisable genre and use illustrations to explain what
their genre conventions are…
• Hip-hop/Rap
– Tend to include themes that represent/stereotype social minorities
as those with issues against law enforcement, shown in large
groups/gangs, sporting clothes and male dominated.
– Camera – Plenty of close-ups, and low-angled shots of the artist
and their groups.

14. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q4 - 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 a minimum
of 3 examples of it in music videos?
• Intertextuality – Where a product (in this case music videos) takes inspiration
from other products to influence its own [music video] – usually as an homage.
• The video of the Red Hot Chili Peppers song ‘Californication’ (1999) takes
inspiration from the video game culture that was gaining a mass following from
the younger generation at the time of its release.
• Madonna’s video of ‘Material Girl’ (1985) is heavily referential to a section in the
Marylin Monroe film ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’, in regards to its look, fashion
and choreography.
• Metallica’s ‘Until It Sleeps’ video (1996) took inspiration from a variety of
painting’s by Hieronymus Bosch and several pieces of religious imagery.
Prominent figures of which include the Human-Eating Monster, Adam & Eve and
Jesus Christ depicted on a cross.

15. 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 A T S E C T I O N 3
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S T A S K

16. 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]

17. 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

18. METALLICA - ONE
• Narrative – Fairly simplistic, but very symbolic to the lyrics. It features
scenes from 1970s war film ‘Johnny Got His Gun’, as the band play the song
in a warehouse. The lyrics anchor to the synopsis of the film, particularly
when the song reaches the “darkness, imprisoning me, all that I see,
absolute horror”, as the titular character in the film is laid alone in a hospital
suffering from war injuries and trapped in his own thoughts, unable to
speak.
• Colour scheme/lighting – The video is almost entirely in black and white,
with only a few scenes from the film featuring any colour at all.
• Camerawork – The only original camera work comes in the form of the
shots where the band are playing the song in the warehouse, including
multiple close-up shots of the members faces (most prominently when
James Hetfield and Jason Newsted are singing) and their instruments (Kirk
Hammett’s guitar during all the solos). Additionally there are numerous
bird’s eye view/overhead shots of Lars Ulrich playing the drums throughout
the song.
• Critical approach – For Metallica’s first video, this is particularly striking as
most of the footage comes from an already existing film. On top of that, the
stylistic approach makes this unique compared to other music videos of
thrash metal and other metal subgenres of the time – bands like Iron
Maiden and Megadeth would also have videos of the band playing the
song, but would generally rely less on any acting performances or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw

19. Second shot of the video,
close-up of Hetfield’s body with
his guitar, immediate notice on
the black and white colour.
Switch of focus to the shots of
the film, colour change, young
boy asking his dad what
democracy is, tie in to the
lyrical context.
View of the overhead camera
shot of Ulrich playing the
drums.
Long shot of the basement in
which the band are playing the
song in.
Back to the film, another scene
filled with natural colour.
Mid-shot of Hammett playing
the fast guitar solo nearly 6
minutes into the song,
spotlight is on him throughout
it, as well as his other solos in
the song.

20. METALLICA – THE UNFORGIVEN
(THEATRICAL RELEASE)
• Synopsis – This video is essentially a short film, telling the story of a young
boy who ends up in a small cave and tries to carve a window to get to the
other side of it. As the video progresses, he grows old and by the time he
finally manages to carve the window he dies falling to the ground with a
locket and a key in his hands. Although the 6-minute cut of this video
features the band playing in a shadowed background, the theatrical release
has no sight of them.
• Camerawork – There very rarely seems to be many close-ups of the main
character’s face in the film, seemingly being hidden by the shadows that
surround the setting. Instead there are plenty of bird’s eye view shots and
mid shots to show the character’s age progression and actions.
• Colour/lighting – Similarly to ‘One’ both versions of ‘The Unforgiven’ music
videos contain drained out colour, leaning towards a more sepia style than
black and white.
• Critical approach – Theatrical music films were rare around 1991, and what
is particularly rarer is that the band are not seen playing the song during
the music video. The storytelling element follows on a style that Metallica
had incorporated previously from ‘One’ and ‘Enter Sandman’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwEsPizQVNc

21. The opening shot – a long,
bird’s eye view shot of a child
playing alone in what looks a
barren place.
Another bird’s eye view shot,
this time of the same child
inside the cave where he is
trying to carve open a window.
A close-up of a pocket watch,
not only significant of how
long it takes the child to carve
the window, but as time passes
grains of sand falls on top of
the watch.
A mid-shot of the man, now
grown up and in terrible body
shape over the years.
Another close-up of the
pocket watch, now covered by
the sand that had fallen as the
window carving had
progressed.
A silhouetted close-up of the
same man, now old and on the
verge of dying.

22. METALLICA – THE MEMORY
REMAINS
• Synopsis – The band are playing the song on a platform that is rotating on a
pole around a room in a gothic house, like it is a swing. As the video progresses,
English singer and actress Marianne Faithfull appears singing her vocals (the
“naa, na na naa…” sections) and turns a handle on a box which is implied to be
connected in some way to the platform the band is playing on. Behind the
scenes, the platform was actually still and the room was instead rotating, with
the camera attached to it to create the illusion that the platform was what was
actually rotating instead.
• Camerawork – The video mostly consists of mid shots and long shots of the
band playing on the platform as it swings around the room, with the majority of
the close-ups being of James Hetfield’s face as he sings, though the rest of the
band are also shown close-up. Marianne Faithfull’s parts also range between mid
shots and long shots, one notable part includes when she turns away from the
camera towards the large door behind her, only to later return when her second
vocal section begins.
• Editing – There are instances where the platform goes over the camera as a
means to transition to another cut, and there is also a film real effect after the
third chorus. The colour and lighting is actually in full colour.
• Critical approach – The mid 90s featured some of the more creative Metallica
music videos as far as camerawork and stylistic approach is concerned, with this
being no exception considering the effort made on the camerawork and editing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDN4awrpP
QQ

23. Establishing shot of the
setting, gets the audience
used to the concept of
the swinging platform
and the gothic housing.
The video features a
number of warped-like
close-ups of Hetfield as
he sings, pushing his face
further into the camera.
Long shot of the swinging
platform, often these shots
transition into the next with
the platform swinging into
the camera and cutting to
black.
Another long shot, this time
of Marianne Faithfull singing
her vocals whilst turning the
handle of her box, possibly
indicating some connection
between the handle and the
swing.
Just after the end of the
4th chorus, there is a film
reel-like sequence of
Hetfield singing the
following “Ash to ash,
dust to dust, fade to
black”
A long shot of Faithfull
during her last vocal
section at the end of the
song, now she is on the
platform with lots of
money falling around her.

24. METALLICA - FRANTIC
• Synopsis – The video begins with a man crashing his truck at a junction. As the video
progresses the video explores the activities the man had been through over the
previous days, including drinking, promiscuity and smoking, all of which anchors to
the lyrics. As this happens, the band play the song separate from one another, but all
at least in some form of agricultural area before their background turns white. The
video ends with another car running into the window of the truck, now tipped upside
down with the man laughing inside.
• Editing – The video is paced convenient to the context of the song. The song begins
with a quick pace, and so the video appears quick, almost as if it is on a time-lapse at
certain points, including the scenes when the character is in a bar drinking very
heavily being very fast to suit the narrative. There are also fast cuts for when the band
are playing, switching from one another extremely quickly, in addition to a slow
motion for when the truck crashes into the RV at the junction, which is used multiple
times.
• Camerawork – Almost all the shots featuring the band are close-ups of either their
faces of their instruments with a few mid shots thrown in (though there seems to be
much less of the new bass player Robert Trujillo compared to the others for… some
reason). There are mid shots of the character to explore his actions and long shots for
the crash.
• Critical approach – The video for the song definitely seems to fit right with the
2003/04 period of the music industry. Not only by the context that the song and
video brings up itself, but the song itself is also shortened by about a minute to suit
as a radio/single version of the song. It also lacks a solo of sorts from Kirk Hammett,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq3eLdixvCc

25. The video has a thematic
element of clocks, linking to the
idea of “Could have my wasted
days back”.
Three elements that constitute the
character has wasted his life in the
video: drinking, smoking and
promiscuity.
Notice how James’s
expressions and the
background gets more intense
as the song progresses.

26. METALLICA – HALO ON FIRE
• Synopsis – A woman is depicted to be getting ready for her day despite being
bruised. She is making her way to a fighting club surrounded by a circle of
onlookers in what appears to be a local city hall, explaining the bruises from the
beginning, and once she is dragged out she goes back the next day. As the
video progresses, the band are playing the song in the same hall with the same
crowd surrounding them.
• Editing – The colour and lighting returns to a semi-sepia, mostly black and white
effect seen similarly in ‘The Unforgiven’, with most natural colour drained out. In
regards to pacing, the song and video start off slow and fitting to the beat,
gradually picking up speed towards the end of the song. What’s also interesting
to notice is the cuts not only impact with the beat, but also with the blows the
woman takes when fighting, displaying the close parallel of the people watching
the fighting and the people watching Metallica. One funny Easter Egg to note is
that multiple times James Hetfield (the singer and rhythm guitarist) appears in
the crowd multiple times acting as a fan, as well as playing the song with his
bandmates.
• Camerawork – Regarding the band playing, there is a focus on mid shots and
close-ups (the latter particularly for Hetfield singing). For the character’s
narrative there is a mixture of POV shots as she is walking by people in public as
well as when she’s fighting the other people in the hall, as well as mid shots for
her progression through the day.
• Critical approach – The narrative and stylistic approach is very similar to the old
Metallica style that was presented in ‘One’ and ‘The Unforgiven’. Given modern
perceptions, the intro to the video could well mistake first time viewers into
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbxH5S9_A3M

27. To the right are numerous POV shots we see during the music
video, mostly from the perspective of the leading female
character from the beginning of the video, as she makes her
way through her day, from when she leaves her house to
when she’s at the fight club.
We see the shots of when the
band play in front of the
circular crowd include a
variation of bird’s eye view
shots, long shots and close-
ups of the band playing with
their instruments and their
faces.
The Easter Egg of James
Hetfield appearing with the
crowd towards the end of the
song, around 7:30 in the
There is a brief attempt at a
cyclical narrative, the video
begins with the character in
bed and bruised, the rest of the
video focuses on explaining
why that is the case, ending
with the character waking up
the next day.
A close-up of Hammett’s
guitar, which eventually pans
over to Hetfield’s guitar and
Ulrich playing the drums.