Music video - lecture 1

MUSIC VIDEO
C R I T I C A L A N D C O N T E X T U A L P E R S P E C T I V E S
J A C K H U R S T

WE ARE
INTERESTED IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF
MEANING
A N D S U B S E Q U E N T LY H O W Y O U C A N U S E
T H E T E C H N I Q U E S F O R Y O U R S E LV E S !

KID ROCK ‘AMERICAN BADASS’
• Watch the video linked here and make notes on the following:
– Who do you think Kid Rock is targeting with his music videos?
– Teenagers and adults, rock lovers.
– You can see the broader purpose at work through the way he presents himself –
what is his brand?
– Kid Rock wear the typical biker’s outfit and lots of black. He also likes to wear fur
coats and leopard print. In his music video he likes to film mainly outside as he
can have more performers at once. What he wears fits perfectly with music, he
has done this to build up an image of himself to attract people who have the
same clothing and music style. Kid Rock has made his music to be what his
passion is about and not to just make money.
– This is not by accident – this is tightly planned to appeal to an audience that will
engage and buy his music.
– Think about the visual/technical codes employed – types of shot, movement,
costume, performers, etc.
– Next slide
– Remember, it’s all deliberate!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt84J7U75e0

Visual codes
Visual codes can help define genre through the use of different camera shots, angles, movement and other
visual elements.
Camera shots – at the beginning the camera is stationary with the TV scene but then fades into moving camera shots
as the music becomes louder. Throughout the whole video, the camera shots change quickly to emphasises the
speed and busyness of the song.
Angles – the angle of the camera change from low, head height and higher shots. The main angle is from a higher
angle to show the whole scene as lots happens at once but they use lower angles in the hay scenes to show that the
singer is in power.
Movement – In the whole video there is lots of movement to compliment the music and lyrics which are at a rapid
pace. The movement has also been used to highlight the build ups to the next part of the song.
Colour –the colours are quite dull and toned down to have your attention on the performers or costumes and not the
backgrounds.
Costume – the costumes are mainly black but the main performers are wearing different colours in certain scenes to
make them stand out more.
Performers – there are a range of performers starting with kids then moving to a large group of adults in the night.
This shows that Kid Rock wants his audience to be teenagers and not just adults. He has made the scenes with the
ladies in to appeal more to his older audience.
Technical codes
Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text.
Editing – The editing has used all the camera angles and shots to fit on the beats of the music and to fit the correct
scene to the correct section of the song. Using lots of shots in short section helps to emphasises busyness of the
song.
Audio – With the audio, you can hear every instruments and small sound but they have removed some sounds which
would ruin the music, smashing the bottle and the bike’s engines.
Lighting – The lighting is mainly natural lighting but they have used other lighting to make a clear image for close up
shots and night-time shots. There has also been lots of lighting in the stage scene for when he is performing.
VISUAL AND TECHNICAL CODES

PURPOSES OF MUSIC
VIDEOS
• There are 3 core purposes to music videos…
• What are they?
• Promote and showcase the artist/their song.
• To increase the audience range of that artist.
• To show the artist’s style and genre more clearly.
• Is the core aim for any act/label is to extend their audience?
• Yes, the act/label will want to have a wider audience but still maintain the audience they
already have.
• How do labels and artists fulfill these purposes?
• The artist will be able to input their ideas to the music video to make it their work which will
show more people what the artist is like. This could widen the audience for the label/artist
meaning they can spend more money on their next music videos to attract more people.

CORE MOTIVATIONS…
Broadly put…
• Entertainment
• Artist will want to entertain their audience and show their face with the song
instead of it being just their voice. This helps to have a more recognizable image
when in the public’s view or on social media. Also using more social media
platforms will mean more people will know you and people can choose which
platform to be active on to see the artist. Music videos can be used to help tell
the story or meaning of the song, which could make the viewers want to re-play
the video.
• Branding/Identity
• Using a music video to go with a song will help the artist show their identity
through movement and lyrics. Also having a music video will mean they can get
brand deals to appear in the backgrounds of the videos, promoting a brand they
believe in. Some artist will use their brand deals to their advantage as they can
show off their identity easier through which brands they promote. Promoting a
brand that their audience will like, helps them even more as that brand will
benefit off the artist more and more every time they sponsor them.
• Sales
• The other great thing about music videos is that the sales of the
song/album/artist will increase as the audience will increase overtime making
the artist better known worldwide. This will also help with getting better brand
deals as more companies will be interested in them.

PURPOSES OF MUSIC
VIDEOS• allow the band the availability of not having to play live
• allow the audience the advantage of interpreting the song through the use
of the video playing in the background
• To endorse products to make them more popular and to increase sales
• reinforce a political view or social message
• feature other artists from there label as a means of promotion
• Are there any more….?
• To enable the artist to show their passion through the media and to have a
visual project to compliment their song lyrics.
• Increase the audience or the target market for that artist.
• To entrain the audience and encourage them to re-play the video.
• To help tell a story and the meaning of the song.

PURPOSES –
MAINSTREAM/NICHE
• The next two bands provide a contrast in styles, musical genre,
approach and representation
• Make notes during each video and discuss in about how each
artist is represented and what this indicates about how they use
music videos
• What is production quality of the video? What techniques do
they use? Think about what you can see and what this might
mean
• The discussions should highlight the contrasts in strategy and
audience for each of these groups
• Then compare your findings for each group
[the answers are on a later slide! Don’t peek!]

1 DIRECTION
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_v9MY_FMcw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syFZfO_wfMQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kqQDCxRCzM

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztvr09J7KK4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxhaRgJUMl8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zol2MJf6XNE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7O0rBGSqjI

1 direction Animal Collective
How each band is represented?
1D is represented as a friendly band that has a large
following of mainly teenage girls who became famous from
the X Factor.
The band is hidden as their videos aren’t of them and have
animation or dark pictures. This shows they want a more
private life.
What this indicates about the music videos?
They have made expensive and busy videos, which are also
simple at the same time. Every video is a high quality
product.
They don’t really want to have a big scene set up, they want
to have a cheaper production cost as they are a less known
band.
What is the production quality of the music video?
From the first video, which was low production as it was
at one location, however it is the most viewed of the 4
showing the simpler ideas are the best for their audience.
They have kept the simpler theme for their ideas as they
seem to be more effect for their audience.
The first video has had more money spent on fireworks than
the actual production as the video is very dark and not
happening. They have the same theme across all the videos
but they don’t have a high production quality in my opinion,
just lots of editing.
What techniques are used?
They have used different camera angles and shots but not
many performers to distract from their band. When editing
they haven’t had quick changes of shot, which slow down
pace of the video. They have used a 1st person perspective
and they have also used editing to merge from one
to the other without changing shot or the place on screen.
The main part of these videos are the editing of them. Lots
time would have been spent editing them as they have lots
of cuts to different angles or scenes. Animal Collective have
used a range of costumes in Summertime Clothes and lots
different lighting in all of their videos as they like the darker
scenes but have used coloured lighting for a contrast.
What you can see and what does that mean?
You can see their different identities in one video where
take a ‘girl’ on individual dates. You can also see them
enjoying being round each other and having fun when
making the videos which shows they are a close band and
want to show their identities.
You can’t see the bands faces or bodies as the videos are
dark. This could show that the band want more of a hidden
identity rather than a public identity. They have also used
animation, lighting and backgrounds to change the scenes
and to compliment their songs.
Compare
1D want more of a public identity whereas AC want to be more private. 1D spend more money on their videos whereas AC
have a lower budget. 1D want to expand their audience whereas AC want to make the videos to be creative. 1D are more
watchable as their videos have more to look at whereas AC’s are confusing for people who aren’t fans. 1D have a wider
audience range as more people will be interested whereas AC have a limited audience.

ONE
DIRECTION
• Representational
• Predominant CU shots
• Repeated formula
• Clearly understandable
characteristics
• Mainstream
• Easy to follow – audience can be
more passive
• High budgets
• Closed meaning [unless you
have an oppositional viewpoint]
• Larger audience
• Built to make money
• Non-representational
• No CU of artists
• Obscure/artistic intentions
• Niche
• Not easy to follow – audience
needs to be more active in
engaging with it
• Low budget
• Open meaning
• Smaller audience
• Artistically derived
• More challenging to watch
• Built to be creative
ANIMAL
COLLECTIVE

BRANDING
• Bands create a brand or style that is easily recognizable to their fans or
potential purchasers of their music
• Their videos are an extension of this, reflecting a combination of their style,
ideas, etc
• This will, intentionally or not, hopefully create a brand [not always
completely unique] that is visually distinctive
• This often falls within the conventions of a genre, to enable consumers to
easily identify which artists and groups they identify with and/or prefer
• Broadly put, the ‘brand’ of an artist or group is what you use to define
them. What do they stand for? How do they look? What styles and
techniques does their work employ? Is this consistent across their output or
does it change? Has the artist changed over time? Why might this be?

ONE DIRECTIONWhat do you think they stand for?
I think they show that a group of teenagers who have been put together in a group can be successful even if it isn’t
how they expected it. After they split they have shown that they are all capable of making a solo career, however
they have had a massive fan base that will still listen to them.
How do they look?
When the band was first created, they all looked really young but now after 10 years they look over 10 years older.
They use to wear casual clothing to special events, but as they have grown up they have changed their style to for
them better and to create a more professional brand and image of themselves. Harry Styles is well known for his
bold fashion choices as he goes against what society thinks men should be wearing.
What styles and techniques does their work employ?
They need a large number of employees for the music, tour and videos which are all on a high budget. Most of their
videos are in the same style but with a different idea being used. They use all of the visual and technical codes to
produce high quality products.
Is this consistent across their output or does it change?
Their work has got better as their band got bigger. They have kept the same thoughts in mind for trying to keep the
same audience but gain more interest for the band. After the band split, they could show their individual styles
easier as they made all the choices without the other’s input.
How has the band changed over time?
The band split up in August 2015 after Zayn Malik went to pursue his own career. Each member has been successful
in their own ways but Harry Styles is the most known out of all of them. There is talk that the 4 of them will be
coming back together as it was their 10 year anniversary this year.
Why might this be?
They might not have been able to do what they wanted because they were in a band so they left to follow their own
passion. This could benefit them in the long-term because if they come back together they could have a wider
audience which they grew individually when apart.

MUSIC VIDEOS
KEY STUDY POINTS
Key background information:
• Camerawork
• Editing
• Academic reading: Andrew Goodwin
• Genre Characteristics
• Intertextuality

MISE-EN-SCENE
• The more you study moving image texts, you will come across the
phrase ‘mise-en-scene’
• Mise en scène – literally “placing on stage” in French – is a common
term in film analysis and criticism circles.
• To explain it simply, mise en scène refers to what we see
onscreen in a film [or in this case a music video]. It’s the film’s
visuals; meaning, all of the elements that appear on camera
their arrangement.
• Therefore everything that the director and artist has chosen to
include in a video we can assume is deliberate therefore we can
discuss the meaning of this relating to the artist
“Everything in the frame can carry meaning.”
https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/mise-en-scene-in-film-afk

CAMERAWORK
• As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and
how images are sequenced will have a significant impact upon
meaning.
• Camera movement may accompany movement of performers
(walking, dancing, etc) but it may also be used to create a more
dynamic feel to stage performance, by for instance constantly
circling the band as they perform on stage.
• The close up does predominate, as in most TV, partly because of
the size of the screen and partly because of the desire to create
a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises half of the
commodity on sale (not just the song, but the artist, and
particularly the voice)

EDITING
• Though the most common form of editing associated with the
music promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images
impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple
viewing, there are videos which use slow pace and gentler
transitions to establish mood.
• This is particularly apparent for the work of many 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 form of split screens, colourisation
and of course blockbuster film style CGI.

ANDREW GOODWIN
• Andrew Goodwin writing in ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (Routledge 1992)
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
e.g. stage performance in rock video, dance routine.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist
and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes,
etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos, artists
etc).

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
• Definition:
Being a feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing;
distinctive

GENRE CHARACTERSTICS
• Musically each genre is definable by their sound, structures and
techniques
• Music videos follow this, generally, and reinforce the brand values
of the artists and to place them within their genre
• When you look at something from a genre, you should be able to
quickly tell if it’s typical of that genre
• By matching a definable genre this helps artists reach the right
audience [or if they are vague, to explore different aspects of a
genre]
• If we can assume that the aim of an artists, at any level mainstream
to niche, is to reach an audience and sell records/etc then being
identifiable and fitting into a genre is important

SEMANTIC AND SYNTACTIC
• According to Rick Altman in his book ‘Film/Genre’ you can look at
the features of a genre as follows:
• Semantic – the signs or conventions; the building blocks –
iconography, setting, costumes, etc
• Syntactic – the arrangement/relationships between the blocks
and/or the structural and deeper meanings
• Broadly from the breakdown of what you see and then how you
link them together and infer meaning you can develop a wider
description of the genre
• As a starting point you can list the semantic points quickly and then
build up the meanings of these later/over repeated viewings/across
a number of examples

GENRE: HIP HOP CHARACTERISTICS
• Watch the following hip hop mash up of the history of the genre’s most
iconic videos and make notes on what you can see [how the camera is
used, what the performers dress like, use of colour, editing, etc]
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AJm9XhidiM
• Answers to some of this on the next slide, DO NOT PEEK!
• Low camera angle
• Camera is not in focus in some shots
• They wear expensive baggy clothes
• The colours are quite dull in the video
• Each scene has different colours, some are in black and white.
• There are lots of performers in each scene to make it look like a party.
• They have used lots of cuts in the editing
• Lots of bright light used
• Men dominated the videos

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
HIP HOP EXAMPLE
How many did you get? Be honest!
• Low angled camera shots
• Crowd/group shots – men often part of a group
• Sports clothing/depictions of physical prowess
• Mise-en-scene signifies status – expensive clothes/items/etc
• Partying/hedonistic/extravagant behaviour dominates
• Close ups of artists – often gesturing/gesticulating
• Voyeurist depiction of women – both in male and female led tracks
• ‘Adult’ themes or behaviour – ‘issues’ with law enforcement agencies
• Objectification of women – men in power often, women interchangeable/faceless –
misogyny
• Did you spot more? What are they…

INTERTEXTUALITY
• Visual reference in music video coming from a range of sources,
though the three most frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion
and art photography.
• Essentially, it’s where a product [in this case a music video] is
influenced in it’s style, look, etc by another product, which could
be a film, tv show, arts, etc
• In the early days of MTV fashion references was prevalent. This
sometimes takes the form of specific catwalk references and
sometimes even the use of supermodels, as by George Michael
in both ‘Father Figure’(Morahan/Michael 1988) and ‘Freedom’
(Fincher 1990).

INTERTEXTUALITY - CINEMA
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) Madonna Material Girl (1985)
Madonna’s Material Girl is heavily referential to the Marylin Munroe film
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in it’s look and choreography
Doing this takes not only the look of the original text, it also takes people
associations for this and combines it with other reference to create a new

INTERTEXTUALITY –
FASHION & PHOTOGRAPHY
Robert Palmer Addicted To Love
(1986)
Shania Twain Man I Feel Like A
Woman ( 1999)
Robert Palmer’s video from the 80s was highly referential of fashion [and 80s
attitudes], Shania Twain subverts this and creates new meaning and
something more relevant to the 90s.

INTERTEXTUALITY –
VIDEO GAMES
• The influence of video games will predominate for the younger
audience with the more plasticised look of characters emerging
– (as seen for example in Robbie Williams’ ‘Let Love be your Energy’
dir. Olly Reed 2001 and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers ‘Californication’
dir.Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris 2000)
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Californication 1999
Robbie Williams Let Love
Be Your Energy ( 2001)
These videos look
pretty awful by
modern
standards, can
you think of
better ones?

INTERTEXTUALITY -
SUMMARY
• John Stuart’s description of the music video “incorporating,
raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the essence of
intertextuality.
• Using something with which the audience may be familiar to
generate both potentially nostalgic associations and new
meanings. It is perhaps more explicitly evident in the music
video than in any other media form, with the possible exception
of advertising.

STYLES AND TECHNIQUES
• In the following section you will see examples of the different
styles prevalent in music video production
• Your task is to list each style in your notes with the example
given and a brief description for each – you will need this later
to help you when you construct your case study!

Style of music
video
Meaning
In-concert The director puts the music video using live footage from one or more shows.
Sometimes the sound is from that clip but sometimes it is recorded in the studio.
‘as live’ footage The performance is staged as the director has made the scenes look like they are at a
live show. As live footage and in concert footage can help to show the emotion and
moods of the shows.
Animation Animation can be used to achieve scenes that aren’t realistic in real life or the would
take too much time/money. It also means that the artist doesn’t have to pay for the
performers.
Interpretative The lyrics are directly reflect what is going on in the music video. Some genres that
use this are: rap, comedy and some pop videos.
Narrative The music video has been created like a short film instead of a music video. Some
narrative music videos don’t lip sync but it will link to the lyrics in some way.
Impressionist A music video that focuses on the atmosphere and conveying the moods and
emotions aroused by the subject instead of focusing on the small details in every shot.
Pastiche It imitates a piece of work – film, TV, literature. It is similar to parody and referencing
but it mixes them both together. This style could be used to recreate a music video
but reference it to a piece of work.
Parody Involves changing or copying an existing music idea (usually well known). It is also
used to recreate music videos with an element of humour/fun being poked at the
original artist.
Referencing The video refers to a different piece of work in a different type of media e.g. a film or
TV show that the audience will get, making it more personal to them.
Homage The idea pays a tribute to a particular time or event. It’s a way for the artist to show
their respect to others.
Influenced by
commercials
This is an advert that can be classed as a music video itself.

INTERPRETATION
• Literal and non-literal interpretation of the meaning of the song
• This could be from the lyrical content or from the musical theme
or tone
• A relationship between some aspect of the track and visuals
needs to exist – this is often easiest by making more obvious
interpretations
• Goodwin breaks down the relationship between the song and
video as follows:
– Illustration – the video has a more literal relationship with the song,
it illustrates what is being sung about
– Amplification – the video builds on the themes of the song and
moves from merely illustrating it – it develops the themes and
reinforces the message [if there is one]
– Disjuncture – the video appears to operate at odds with the song
and creates new meanings by doing this – commonly this happens
more with more niches acts of artists with no saleable ‘face’ like
dance acts, etc

STYLE, CONVENTIONS AND
TECHNIQUES
• Styles: popular music genres; in-concert and ‘as live’ footage;
animation (stop motion, digital); interpretative; narrative;
impressionist; surrealist; pastiche; parody; referencing; homage;
influence of commercials
• Representative v Non-representative videos and how they relate
to genre is worth considering when looking at styles of
music/video

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129kuDCQtHs
• Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34u_3Z9_LUw
• Ben Folds – Rockin the Suburbs
IN-CONCERT/’AS LIVE’
FOOTAGE/SIMULATED
PERFORMANCE

PARODY
• Video work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or
a work for comic effect or ridicule
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE
• Beastie Boys – Sabotage
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaSdC0QOUM
• The Lonely Island – On a Boat

REFERENCING/HOMAGE
• Videos that have a reference to another artist or song or
product
• Again, overlaps with parody and pastiche
• Homage is close to referencing and pastiche, but constructed in
a more reverential way

HOMAGE –SMASHING PUMPKINS ‘TONIGHT TONIGHT’ =
VOYAGE DANS LE LUNE – GEORGES MELIES

EXTENDING/CONSOLIDATING
SONG’S MEANING
• To extend or consolidate the meaning of a song or text is to
build on the information within the song [either musically or
lyrically] and provide a visual aspect to reinforce the artists
intended meaning
• This is also what Andrew Goodwin would explain as
‘amplification’
• This is where a video may not literally link to a video’s lyrics, but
use imagery and techniques to extend or further explain the
content of the video

TERMINOLOGY &
TECHNIQUES
Terms and explanations, you can use in your case study:
• Cutting to beat – whereby the video is edited using the beat of the music – commonly
each beat indicates the cutting from one shot to another.
• Using the pace of the track to guide camera movement and choreography [or action and
dancing] is also prevalent
• Effects – special effects, CGI, etc – used to created sequences not possible in the real world
• Miming and lip sync/playback and lip sync – method to achieve convincing ‘as live’ and
simulated performance of singing [whether by the artist or other performers]
• Multi-mage – use of multi-images on the same screen
• Camera movements; camera angles – similar in convention to films/TV, the use of camera
conveys/implies different meanings and is often syncopated with the track
• Chroma key – use of green or blue screen technology to be able to composite
background/foreground around performers

EXTENDED VIEWING TASK
• During the following videos, note the name of the artist/track and write
down anything you notice in the video that links to what we have already
looked at today, think about:
– Styles
– Techniques
– Purposes
– Intertextuality
– Camerawork/editing
– Genre Conventions/Characteristics
• The intention here is to expose you to some videos you may not have seen,
or that are outside your own genres of choice. They are visually interesting,
sometimes challenging but all ideal for analysis.
• By watching them and having a think about what you can see and how they
relate to the music and what meanings are created for you, it will allow you
to extend your critical skills and begin to prepare for the Task 3 Case Study

VAMPIRE WEEKEND – A-PUNK
• It is a simple video in an impressionist style as it doesn’t have any camera movement.
• There is no camera movement and no camera cuts in the whole video. The video was filmed to a slowed down
version of the sound track and was sped up in editing to make them look like toys.
• In the first scene the lighting is bright and the scenes change by adding props and changing the lighting to dark as it
is a snowy light. In the last scene the lighting changes to blue to look like the sea as they have gloves with paper fish
on the ends of their fingers.
• The props are added and taken away from the camera shot so the video can be done in one shot which also means
they don’t have to pay for large sets for different scenes. Overall this creates a lower production cost.
• They don’t have any big costume changes, they just add a few items in the snow scene then take of a layer for the
scene after that so they can stay in shot and don’t have to cut the cameras. The costumes are all solid colours to
keep the theme of the video simple but effective.
• Due to the video being sped up, I think that the performers look like mechanical toys as they repeat the same action
as if they can only do that movement.
• The video being sped up compliments the tempo of the song as it is fast and upbeat so needs quicker movement in
the video.
• Overall I think Vampire Weekend have produced the video as a piece of creativity as the production wouldn’t be very
high due to only 1 location being used with small props, cheap costumes and no camera movement.

DANNY BROWN –GROWN UP
• This video is trying to get a message about growing up to teenagers as kids are to young for Danny Brown’s
audience.
• The camera starts with a close up of the bike and then has wider shots of the child lip syncing in all he different
scenes. The camera shots are used to show the bike accident by close up shots as the accident is happening. All the
shots are smooth and clean which could juxtapose how growing up is as it isn’t a smooth journey like the camera
shows.
• The camera shots are cut when editing to switch between different scenes and at the end is used to switch from the
kid to the adult as the song ends.
• When filming the video, they have used natural lighting when outside and white ceiling lights for the shots inside to
make the scenes as natural as possible. Brown has used different locations such as the park, school, shop, toilets and
the streets to show that the kid doesn’t care where he is, he will still cause trouble. Brown has also used street wear
to compliment the rough areas the kid is in. The kid wears a range of outfits for different scenes but all look
fashionable which most contrast to the scenes behind him.
• The 2 performers used in this video are a child and an adult to show growing up. The child causes damage and
juxtaposes the lyrics and actions of the song where as the adult looks like he should be doing the actions for the
song.
• The song is a rap/pop song but the video has a retro theme to it.
• Overall, Brown has made this video to tell a message about growing up and how your decisions now will effect your
future in everyway possible.

HOT CHIP – I FEEL BETTER DIR. PETER SERAFINOWICZ
• This video is in a ‘as live’ footage style as they have set up their own audience.
• The camera shots switch between close ups of individual performers in the band or in the crowd and wider shots of
the whole stage to create the live show feel.
• When editing, the shots switch between close ups and wider shots to contrast from each other as a lot is happening
all at once. They have also added lots of special effects such as the floating head, the laser shooting out of a mouth,
lasers shooting out of eyes, fire and the x-ray effect on he performers when they have been hit with the lasers. This
has been done to add a fictional side to the video making it more unique and intriguing.
• The costumes start of dark with the 4 band member but when they all appear back on stage they are all in white
which could mean they are in heaven as white is associated with angles. The crowd are all in casual wear as they
think this performance is going to be a normal performance without distractions.
• The lighting is bright in certain spots to create an atmosphere more like a live act. The scene also has a blue tint to
create a safer atmosphere compared to a warmer colour. When the scene changes to the all white scene, the lighting
still has a blue tint to infer that nothing else isn’t going to happen. When the floating head appears the light around
it is blue which contrasts to the red lasers that he fires out of his eyes causing danger to everyone around.
• I had noticed that in the first scene the audience are only girls but when the band appears back on the stage, there
are a group of boys in the audience which could imply that the band of 4 is your typical boy band that expect their
audience to only be boys but once the 5th member joined, the band became different so their audience widen to
male and female.
• The weirdness of the video makes people want to re-watch it as so much happens all at once. This helps the band
become better know worldwide and to increase their audience.
• Overall, I think they have made this video as they had a unique idea which could be made a viral video meaning they
will have a larger audience in the future. However, I don’t think this video is for everyone so they might not get as
many new fans as they though they would.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – OH BABY
• The style of this video is a narrative video as the video is more of a short film than a typical music video. This has
been done to as the beginning of the song has a minute introduction so they have lots of time to set the story.
James Murphy of the band said that the video was so good that it didn’t become something that supported the
song, the song became something that supported the short film. This shows that the band have spent a lot of time
and detail to create this video and are very proud of what they have done.
• The camera shots are close ups of their work and their faces to show more emotion in the story. They have used
wider shots to show the bigger details/ideas in the video such as their houses and their work garage. The last shot is
a still shot which is one of the few still shots in the video which could convey that their lives are always busy and they
are always making progress until the last scene where there is no movement as they walk into the contraption they
made. This has be done to change the mood of the video very quickly without any major acting or scene changes.
• The lighting has been made to look natural as the sun shines through windows and doors to reflect that they don’t
need much in life to be happy, they just need the natural things. They have also used casual costumes to show that
they are normal people who don’t need to show off to anyone.
• The locations of the video are in 2 different houses, the first house is very cluttered to reflect their minds when trying
to figure out this problem. The 2nd house is tidy with less items to reflect their emptier minds now they don’t have to
figure out the solution. Also, the work garage is very empty which could infer that they aren’t thinking about
anything else as this is their dream.
• I think the props are quite significant in this video as they have ‘here’ and ‘there’ on the wooden frames. ‘here’ has a
location as you can tell others where ‘here’ is however ‘there’ is unknown and undiscovered so you can’t describe
where ‘there’ is. They use a rubber ball to try out the contraption for the first time which shows that the ball is
insignificant as they don’t mind loosing it where at the end of the video, the husband takes them both in with a piece
of string being used to pull the plug out when they enter to turn it off. This could imply that the man couldn't live
without his wife so he doesn’t mind if something bad happens as she is already dying.
• Overall, they have made this video with lots of time spent to focus on every detail as it is more like a short movie
rather than a music video. This has also meant that everyone can interpret the details in their own way to make up
the story.

‘THE GREEKS’ - IS TROPICAL 2011
• This video is an action video with use of animation for the graphic stuff as the kids only have toy guns and their
imagination.
• There is lots of movement with the camera to reflect the action that is happening in the battle. There is a variety of close
up shots and wider shots throughout the video as some scenes have certain details that want to be highlighted whereas
some scenes have a lot going on so a wider shot is better. The camera shots of the guns and blood contrast to the short
clips of flowers and ‘girl’ toys that appear a couple of times to show that there is peace around them.
• Animation has been added to most of the shots when editing the video. They have added, bullet explosions, blood, fire,
bomb explosions and electrocutions. They have edited this video to have lots of cuts in to emphasise the amount that is
happening as there are lots of kids fighting at once. In the middle of the video there is a quiet scene when they have lunch
which makes the day more realistic as they have to have a break to eat and to not fight in that break but they are fighting
straight after lunch.
• Tropicals have used natural lighting, natural costumes and natural locations to make the video more realistic. The video is
based on a group of boys in the middle of the day in casual clothing pretend to fight in a battle at someone’s house and
down their street. This has been used to make the video more appealing for the younger audience as the animations are
too graphic.
• I think this video is putting out a message about fighting which will negatively effect boys after watching this as they may
become violent towards other when playing without know when to stop. This video is a juxtapsion of children fighting
each other.
• Intertextuality – I think this video could refer to certain war games that are out in 2011 as they are becoming a bigger deal
as technology grows and more people can afford games console.
• Overall, this video was made to go viral and to widen their audience as their idea was very different to what was being
made at that time. This video has gone viral which has mean that this band has had an increase in profile and publicity
which has led to them winning a UK Music Video award, D&D Yellow Pencil award, etc.

BONOBO - KERALA
• The video is also ‘non-representational’ which is where the artist is not present in the video a common convention in
more dance orientated videos.
• I think the style of this video is a narrative video as it tells a story about her confusion and that she doesn’t want help.
• The camera shots are close ups and wider shots of her as she runs around lost and confused. The camera movement
is smooth which contrasts to her emotions which could reflect what she is normally like when she isn’t like this.
• In this video, the editing has been the most important aspect as the shot keeps lagging back to the last shot but
starts just before the old shot did so the story can still be told. The repetition of the shots emphasise the pain,
confusion and loneliness that the lady is feeling. I also spotted that a car changed colour when she is running away
to the tall building. The car changes from blue to purple to red and back to blue. This could suggest that she has had
a change in emotions from sad to angry but she needs to get back to being happy.
• Bonobo has used natural lighting, natural costumes and natural locations to make the viewer feel more sympathy
towards her as this is happen to a normal person on a normal day in a normal situation. This has lead to the
audience being able to think about what happens to her next and why these things have been happening to her.
• What I understood from this video is that the lady doesn’t like noise so when she covers her ears she calms down a
bit which is when the video stops lagging. The lady doesn’t want any help from anyone as she is too confused and
too scared to trust anyone. At the end of the video the viewer is left on the scene where the lady looks over the edge
of a building but finds it too much so she wouldn’t jump over. You can tell that the lady is struggling because when
she looks over the edge of the building she doesn’t want to jump but she thinks about it so the confusion will stop.
• Overall, I think this video could be a message about mental health as she is struggling with her thoughts. This could
bring awareness about checking if people are really okay.

IDLES – MERCEDES MARXIST
• The mise-en-scene in this video means that there are many ways to interpretate the video as everything has a meaning to
the story.
• There are no quick camera movements which infers that the repetitiveness goes on forever as he bangs his head on every
beat. The camera shots are a variety of shots such as close ups and long shots which all show how broken this man is.
• There isn’t much editing because having to many cuts would show that there is lots happening where actually, there is not
much happening so the lack of cuts emphasises that. When editing they have used the same shot to show that his routine
is repetitive like his actions are which could be the main cause of his problem.
• In one scene the lighting is switching on and off very quickly which could infer that he is trying to fight the enemy in his
head as he wants to change. However this is stopped when he is woken up by a stranger which is the first person to
actually help him but it didn’t work, it made it worse.
• The locations used in this video have been used to highlight his repetitive life – the office, the shop, the car, his house and
the pub. These are all regular/daily locations for him to be at but he isn’t happiest there. These repetitive locations are
complimented by the repetitive/normal costumes that everyone wears everyday in each location.
• IDLES has used a main performer who bangs his head on a surface on most of the beats in the song. Hey have used office
workers, a shop lady and his gf to show that no one cares about him to help him until 2 men at the pub try to help him but
it doesn’t help as he was trying to fight the enemy in his head.
• They have also used colour to show emotions for different people:
blue – blue is used to show colder emotions such as sadness and loneliness. Blue has been used lots in this video,
in the office everything is blue, in his house where he is standing the lighting is blue and in the pub the seating is blue where
he is sat.
red – red is used to show warmer emotions such as comfort and happiness. Red has been used to contrast the
main character in the video. The room where his girlfriend is in at their house is a warmer colour which contrast the room he is
in,. In the pub there is more colour and light near the bar which contrast to the corner he is in.
• Overall, I think this video is portraying a message about doing what you love in life as you will be at your happiest unlike
him.

SUMMARY
• Context is important when analysing media products
• Compare and contrast artists within and outside a genre –
highlighting in characteristics
• Consider where an artist is in terms of their profile, are they
mainstream or niche, etc.
• Use the Goodwin material as a framework if you’re stuck.
• Remember, semantic and syntactic

Music video - lecture 1

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