The document outlines a case study assignment on music video production. It is divided into 3 tasks: 1) the purposes of music videos, 2) styles, techniques and conventions, and 3) a case study analyzing at least 3 music videos. For the case study, students must discuss the videos' styles, techniques, intertextuality, camerawork, editing, and genres used, applying critical approaches. The document provides guidelines for completing the case study, such as including illustrative images and comparing/contrasting artists/genres.

1. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
CASE STUDY
H A R RY T. D OC W R A

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

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

4. TASK 1 -
PURPOSES

5. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Entertainment-to entertain viewers with visuals otherwise fans
would lose interest
• Branding-Personal Branding of the artist
• Sales-to market the artists products

6. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• It is to allow the bands to perform their song without having to
perform it live, give the audience the ability to interpret the song
through playing the video in the background promote products
to increase their own sales or send an important political
message.

7. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Synergy is when there are similar messages across
different products. One artist has similar themes
(Messages, styles, genre)in their videos to another
artist in their music/music video.

8. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Ed Sheeran represents himself in music by talking about
memories and personal experiences and feelings. His music
has been on the rise even more popular over the 2010s. The
theme in his music is originality, he doesn’t use any effects in
his songs, it almost always entirely acoustic guitar, which is
what comes to mind when you think of his. His target audience
is teenagers but the audience he has is mainly middle-aged
men and women.

9. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• One Directions videos are usually aimed at teenage girls for a
target audience. Their videos are representational, possibly
promoting a product of their own. Sometimes the formula is
repeated. For example; some are likely to be set at a beach.
The aim of the video is usually to entertain.
• Animal Collective’s music videos are usually filled with a mixture
bright of colours, do not represent anything and are very low to
no budget, niche and have very artistic intentions.

10. TASK 2 – STYLES,
TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS

11. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• The type of camera work in a music video really depends on the
type of song it is. E.g. If the song is fast, loud and upbeat (like
rap)the camera work would probably be very fast and move
back to forward and low angle shots. Or if the song is slow,
acoustic and emotional there would be a lot of wide angle shots
and the camera would moving very slowly. There would be
close ups of the instruments being played, and possibly even a
filter over the filter.
If someone made them the other way round it wouldn’t look
right.

12. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Editing in music videos also depends on the type of song it is. If
the song is fast the editing will have lots of quick cuts of different
angles to match the pacing of the music. If the song is slow and
emotional the editing will also be very slow(or just average
paced) to match the tone and speed of the song.
Like I said before, if it was done the other way around it wouldn’t
match or work well.

13. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• One of the main technical developments in music videos
nowadays is drone shots. They are used to show us the
location, the artist(s) surroundings or how the artist looks
performing their song in that area.
This drone shot is showing the location This shot is showing the artists
surroundings

14. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Country music videos use lots of close ups of guitars, landscape
shots of people wearing old fashioned clothes country
clothes(possibly set in an old fashioned era), sometimes include
shots of farmers working in fields. Tractors might be used as
well, you can show them plowing in fields to help establish that
it is a country song and set in the country. The video could begin
with a sunset and/or some birds flying across the sky.

15. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Intertextuality is when a product borrows or features something
from another product. In this shot from Capital Cities ‘Safe and
Sound’ music video a famous shot from an old movie is played.
But this isn’t random, the entire video is set in a cinema ad
includes all types of movie images.

16. TASK 3 – CASE
STUDY

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

18. I LIVED-ONEREPUBLIC
• Genre-Indie folk
• The music video starts off by introducing us to Bryan through the
silhouette of his body in his bedroom, he explains to us that he has
Cystic Fibrosis giving the video a narrative perspective.
• The video consists of multiple shots of Bryans younger life,
reconstructed footage of certain parts of his current life(playing hockey
and cycling) and close up shots of the band performing the song. All of
this really gives the video an emotional vibe and makes you feel sad
and sorry for Bryan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0rxydSolwU

19. GUIDING LIGHT-MUMFORD
AND SONS
• Genre-Indie folk
• The music video starts off with some drone shots of the ocean and a flock
of seagulls, it then cuts to a birds eye view of someone in a canoe as the
lyrics appear on screen and we start to see the water reach the shore. As
we build towards the main chorus we see the band performing at a concert
at night. The images really fit with the overall tone of the music, they send
off a sort of adventurous vibe with the landscape shots of the ocean.
• The video constantly switches between these two places, and at one point
the band meet up with a group of people on the beach. Certainly like the
look of this video, particularly the look of the waves and the clouds in the
beach shots and how beautiful the lights look at the concert at night.

20. GONE, GONE, GONE-PHILLIP
PHILLIPS
• Genre-Indie folk
• The video starts of with footage from a really old camera of a couple with a
baby. The song starts and the video constantly cuts back and forth from old
home video footage of families and children to the artist singing against a sunset
next to a lake and to a woman smiling at the camera.
• This makes the video feel very emotional as well as very heart warming. And
the clips do tend to match with the song lyrics. The video is well edited and
might be my favourite video on this list. It has a satisfying feel of nostalgia to it
that makes you feel emotional when you listen to the lyrics.

21. 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