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.
5. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short
explanation for each:
• Entertainment - The music video needs to be entertaining so that the viewer is
engaged and so that the view can gain enjoyment off of the music so that the
artist can can get more attraction thus increasing audiences.
• Branding Identity – Branding identity is another purpose of a music video
because it makes the brand more known and popular which, in effect, will make
the brand more money.
• Sales – In this day of age music videos are almost essential for getting more
streams and sales for the song because music videos that are uploaded to
streaming service YouTube are blowing up songs because of the amount of
people on the service which makes the songs and the artists more attraction and
sales of their songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkMQNRYlVAQ
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?
• Product Placement: Artists and production companies regularly use product
placement in their videos so that they will get passive income from the
consistent views coming onto the video on YouTube. For example, in the music
video Dave – Stratham, the artist in the video is wearing his own brand of
clothing, “psycho” of the album he made to promote the merchandise in the
music video so that the clothing gets more attraction, thus more investment of
the clothing being bought. In unsigned labels you can basically do whatever you
want whereas if your in a label then you can sometimes be limited
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 when adverts are featured alongside other
products like in the music video Anaconda by Nicki
Minaj when they feature beats by Dre along side it and in
the sexy and I know it music video where they also
featured beats by Dre. Also in the Gucci Gang music
video they featured Lamborghini and Gucci in the video
for long durations within the video.
Gucci Gang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LfJnj66HVQ
Sexy and I Know
It:
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=w
yx6JDQCslE
Anaconda:
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs
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.
• A$AP ROCKY is an artist that often comes across as braggadocious
and stylist within his music videos which is appealing to people
because some people are attracted to that type of persona because
some people can relate to it and/or just like listening to the nature
of what he is saying because it is interesting and goes well with the
production of his music.
• Asap also helped make a homeless man famous a homeless man by
putting him on his album “At.Long.Last.A$AP” 5 times which gave
him a more promising future which is another reason why people
find asap appealing because they see him as a genuine, respectable
artist.
Article homeless man:
https://www.elitedaily.com/music/joe-
fox-homeless-musician-asap-
ASAP ROCK MUSIC VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbj2Zss-5GY
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 appeals to younger audience which is evident within the imagery within
their music videos because they use simplistic and repeated formulas throughout
most of their videos so that the younger audiences can understand what is going on
in them. Other information about one direction is that they had a high budget
because they know that they will get their money back because they have main
stream audiences.
• Animal Collective are not main stream and they are working with a lower budget then
One Direction because they know that they wont get there moneys worth if they put
in a lot of money into the music video, thus they decided to create a digital music
video because it wouldn’t be costly and also because they knew that they could
digitally, artistically enhance the psychedelic nature of their music via the visual
representation of their song along side it.
Animal
collective:
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=c
uoIvNFUY7I
One Direction:
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=QJO3ROT-
A4E
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
• In the music video by Tame Impala, Feels Like We Only Go
Backwards, the digitally formulated video uses a variety of
different angels, like the continuous zoom shot where the
camera centrally, continuously zooms through corridors and
enters through opening doors which feels somewhat tripping
and confusing hence its surrealistic presence and the shot
where the frame follows a man running up stairs, which makes
the viewer feel like their following someone somewhere,
especially since the figure in the frame is running quite abruptly.Tame Impala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wycjnCCgUes
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
• Within Chief Keef music video for Love Sosa, the editing throughout has fast
cuts between each clips to amplify the style and the speed of the song. Also,
Chief Keef uses low-angled shots to enhance the actual size of his structure to
make him look larger in stature so he appears more dominant, which is
important within the genres of drill and hip-hop. To the same effect, Chief Keef
uses close-up shots to intensify emotion along with the song.
• The colouring on the music video has low amount of light and the saturation of
the videos is slightly dull to set the tone of the genre (drill) of the song. However
they do use blurred colourful transitions every so often so that the visuals aren’t
soaked in dullness. Chief Keef:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyHZNBz6
FE
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.
• Through the decades, technology has vastly improved,
which has had a major impact on the way music videos are
made and the potential of technological creativity that it
have upon the music video.
• A good example of how far technology has developed is the
queen music video from the 70s which had very little effects
and was at low quality. In contrast, the Asap Rocky music
video which was filled with effects and colorful transitions
and it is at high quality because the quality of videos have
improved over the decades because video recording devices
have improved as well as video editing software's and their
tools on them.
• Also types of shots used within music videos have drastically
improved because of the switch from helicopters to drones,
which have made high/birds-eyes view shots
a lot more straightforward and efficient when panning. Not
to mention the upgrade in panning equipment
for smoother, longer lasting panning of a video.
Asap Rocky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEG2VTHS9yg
Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ
14. TASK 2 – STYLES,
TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS
• Q4 – Genre conventions; often music videos adhere to
genre conventions within their visual style and production
techniques. Select a recognizable genre and use
illustrations to explain what their genre conventions are…
• The genre Pop has a variety of genre conventions within
the music videos like high saturation of colors, repeated
visual formulas, themes of love & relationships, high
budget production, visual editing alterations and close
ups of the artist and actors faces and long shots of a
group of people, which are persistently depicted within
the popular dance/tropical house music video via Jonas
Blue because the producers and directors of the music
video know their target audiences, demographics and
what pop fans and what the general populus will find
complimetary & admirable with the visuals alongside the
song within the tropical themed music video.
Jonas
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?
• One example of intertextuality within music videos is parody, which
can be found within loney island music videos like in the song jack
sparrow, which parodies the film pirates of the caribbean and towards
the end it also extends the parody from pirates of the caribbean to
other films alwell, like forrest gump and scarface which added to the
humor of the of the parody within the music video because the main
parody of the music video went off the rails a bit.
• Another example of intertextuality within music videos is pastiche,
which is when an artist imitates someone elses art from another artist
into their own, which is different from plagiarism because it isn't just
directly copying art, it is just imitating it. A great example of pastiche
within music videos is in the music video Burn the Witch by radiohead,
where they creativly use the 1960s Trumptonshire for their music video via
stopmotion anmimation so that they could use the props to make a frame
by frame animated video out of them so that they could link the video up to
the song, intertextually thus creating a nostalgic and aethetically pleasing
and alluring music video.
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. EMINEM
• Eminem also raps in the perspective of himself (Marshall) on songs like mockingbird and rap god where he raps
about more raw and emotional topics like addiction, relationships he has with his family and other rappers in the
genre and many other messages that are deeply stranded within his lyrics like in mocking bird when he disuses
troubles within his family and how Kim (Marshall’s partner) has been in and out of jail after house arrest and is on
the run from the police. Eminem also talks in the song about how “Momma's always on the news”, which is
pronounced in the song as noose, which could refer to Kim's suicide attempts, “Two little beautiful girls Lookin'
puzzled, in a daze I know it's confusing you daddy's always on the move, mama's always on the news I try to keep
you sheltered from it but somehow it seems the harder that I try to do that, the more it backfires on me.” The
mocking bird music video visually complementary to what is going on in the lyrics as it depicts Kim on the news in
a mug shot as Eminem is rapping about her on the news and straight after cuts to a low to high pan close up of
Haley (marshals daughter) and Marshall with a satisfactory state of expression on a couch sat with her.
• The song rap god is very robotic and electronic which is clear from the lyrics in the opening first verse, “But for me
to rap like a computer it must be in my genes” which has a double meaning because genes is pronounce in the
song as jeans which makes the lyric have double meaning because it give the lyric both a pseudo-biologically
robotic meaning and literalistic meaning, which goes hand in hand with the music video because the video shows
Eminem sitting on a futurist technological chair which solidifies what Eminem is saying within the song and also
makes the music video aesthetically pleasing because of its futuristic and interesting presents of visuals. Another
great example of why Eminem's music video for rap god is so good is because of the buildup to the main fast
rapping part of the song within the video because before it gets to fast rapping part of the video, the chorus
comes in and the video switches from futurist to modern with a group of people jumping and dancing around
which adds to the hype of the song because it increases the tension for the buildup for the main part of the rap,
which is one the of the main things that make the rap god music video so good because the producers and the
directors of the video know how to construct a video to will go well with a video to the point of the video being
enhanced so that the song sounds and fells more enjoyable.
Mocking Bird:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9bCLPwzSC0
20. • Eminem has a variety of different styles like when he puts on his alter-ego slim shady so that he can rap
about more things from the perspective of a different persona other than just his own which opens up
the creativity barriers for him because he knows he can broaden his artist potential by rapping about the
humorous, perverted and crazy side of Marshall (Eminem), which is evident in the my name is video
where Slim shady is in a mental asylum strapped up on a chair and is wriggling around and in the song
real slim shady where he is depicted to be chasing men in a perverted like manner to make the songs
more edgy, interesting and enjoyable, which is why Eminem has such a large teenage audience. Songs
with the alter-ego include “My Name is” and The Real Slim Shady”. When Eminem is pursuing his slim
shady persona on his music videos, he often carries his sporadic style from his lyrics and flow from the
song onto the music video visually via his unique vocalism and body language, which greatly enhances
the theme and/or mood of the song. In effect, this gives the viewer of the music video a greater
understanding of what slim shady is about and the same applies when Eminem doesn't’t put on his slim
shady performance within his music videos.
• The editing for the music videos the real slim shady and my name is, have a lot of fast cuts, various
different camera angles which include, birds eye view shots like in the my name is music videos where
Slim shady is chasing a teacher round a desk to give a clear view of what is going on in the scene, high
angled shots in the my name is video when Dr. Dre is looking down at Slim in a mental asylum and at
the end of the real slim shady music video where it displays Slim getting his medicine at a hospital and
that majority of angels in these music videos are low angled shots to make Slim Shady appear larger,
thus more dominant in the frame to bolster what he is saying in the song to make it make his lyrics
alongside the videos feel more superior and more profound. Also the saturation and lighting of the
video often switches between high and low depending on the tone that is trying to be created with the
music video.
EMINEM
My Name is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNPnbI1arSE
The Real Silm Shady: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJO5HU_7_1w
21. SIMILARITIES AND
DIFFERENCES CASE STUDYThe main similarities of Eminem’s music videos are the speed of the editing because all
the cuts between each clip are fast in each of the music videos apart from the
acceptation of the mocking bird and a few other music videos because although
Eminem is rapping fast on the beat, the subject matter within the lyrics in the song are
quite heart felt so the producers and directors of the music video decided to slow the
visuals down in contrast to Eminem's other music videos to go with the tone of the
song.
Two big differences between Eminem's old music and newer music is that Eminem's old
music videos had low quality and is usually includes high to mid-levels of saturation
because Eminem's earlier music videos were produced in the early 2000s so they
couldn’t get high quality music videos, especially if they were running at a low
budget. Also back in the early 2000s they didn't rely on video editing software's all that
much to make music videos, the tended to rely on the footage they got from the video
recording and the syncing of the transitions to the beat so that it went well in time with
the song. Eminem's new music videos have less brightness and less saturation probably
because his music has matured from the early days of slim shady, and are overall much
more digitally created with CGI and visual effects that are created with video editing
software's. Eminem’s new music also has higher quality because in the modern-day, we
have access to better and higher quality images then we used to because the cameras
and other recording apparatus have improved massively since the early 2000s and late
90s.
22. COMPARING ARTISTS
Gorillaz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UclCCFNG9q4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyHNuVaZJ-k
Eminem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5-yKhDd64s
Within Emineme's music videos, especiallly the more modern videos, they are at a
very high budget and use a veriety of different camera shots within them like the
long shot and close-up shot to create impressions within the music videos in
certain situations when the video comes to a primary and/or emotional part of
the song within it, so that the music video like in the, "Im not afraid" video where
eminem emotionionally starts rapping and the frame cuts to a close-up shot of
him apping in the music video, which is one of the main charatoristics that
enriched the music video because it gave it a more atmospheric feel to it. Also
within Eminem's music video, there isn't much saturation and colours, visually
because the creators of the video wanted to create a music video that matched
the tone of the song that went along with it so that when people watch the music
video they could relate both audiably and visually to the overall theme of what is
going on within the music video opposed to if the video was filled with saturation
because that might make the tone of the music video off-putting because the
mood that is trying to be inflicted with the song and video might be lost because
it might not aethetically fit the overally feel of the music video. Eminem's music
videos also include fast clip durations to emphasise the intensity of the song and
to transition on the fast-paced beat within the song.
In contrast, the Gorillaz' music videos are much more relaxed and not as fast
when changing between clips because also there is some rapping within Gollilaz,
there alternative style is more chilled, which is why it appeals to people, because
it has an egdiness factor about it, especially since the Gorillaz mostly
use cartoons within their videos which just bolsters their image and their
popularity because of the sheer uniquness of the video production of the time of
its release.
The main, obvious differnce between each artists music video is that Gorillaz'
music videos are visually reliant on technology to produce the cartoon style
however Eminem doesn't frequently use cartoon in his music videos and tends to
just stick with using real footage but that’s not to say that Eminem doesn’t use
CGI or digitaly formulated effects because in the music video for, "I'm Not Afraid"
Eminem uses visual effects in the music video to make it look like eminem is
flying after falling off of a cliff to add meaning to the message of what is going
on within his music video.
