Mv assignment 01 2019 thea

Music Video Production
Case Study
THEA JENNINGS

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

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.

Task 1 - Purposes
 Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short
explanation for each:
 The first core purpose of a music video is its promotional values.
These will obviously vary for different artists, whether they are
mainstream or not. A 2nd core purpose of a music video is the
extension of income. Artists will spend more on music videos to
get more attention and therefore turn a profit. However only
mainstream artists can afford to do this so less recognized artists
will try to focus more on the quality of the vocals, rather than the
uniqueness of the video. A final core purpose of a music video
would be the extension of outlets. This would include music
channels, direct DVD and CD sales, websites and downloads. Music
Videos can also potentially lead to fame and can give artists
nominations and awards.

Task 1 - Purposes
Another purpose would be promotional values, in
reality a music video is an advertisement and is
designed to emphasize the music and illustrate the
song. Music Videos are made to appeal to a visual
audience. Some songs despite racking up many sales
are more famous for the videos that go with them.
This includes PSY ‘Gangnam Style’ and Michael
Jackson ‘Thriller’ (links to the videos to the right)
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMa
A
m/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f
0

Task 1 - Purposes
 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=wyx6JDQCslE
 Another purpose would be extension of income. A main source of
income for the artist can potentially come from the music video.
Singles may be bought due to the fact they have seen it and heard
it first through the video. This can also lead to merchandise being
sold. Music Videos can potentially also raise the profile of the
artist. For instance videos that show wild personalities may
encourage people to attend tours etc. An example of this would
be LMFAO ‘Sexy and I know it’. Just like the previous two songs, it
still racked up many sales but this all came from the video and
ultimately the majority of the income would have come from the
visual content (above) and the merchandise that would later
follow. (right) (link to the video above)

Task 1 - Purposes
 Another purpose would be extension of
outlets, music video’s give benefits to the
artists in many ways. These include YouTube
hits, plays on music channels and websites.
All these factors will increase income for the
artist. The aforementioned ‘Gangnam Style’
by PSY has racked up approximately 2.45
billion hits on YouTube as of November 23rd
2015. As of the same date 10 other music
videos have passed the 1 billion mark

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?
 There are different types of artists that include self
produced, independent and major label. The music
video for each therefore shows a different purpose,
and despite the music video being important to all
of them they show it in different ways. The ‘Big Four’
record labels are shown to the right.

Task 1 - Purposes
 Another broader purpose would be major labels. There are
4 multi national corporations in the music industry. ‘The Big
Four’ consist of Universal, Sony Music, Warner Brothers and
EMI. These 4 labels own smaller companies so they are able
to branch off into different genres. These include Columbia,
Island, Syco, RCA and virgin and are known as major
independents. 3 of the 4 major labels push through their
videos through VEVO. The only exception is Warner
Brothers. For these major labels the purpose of the music is
clear. They provide a strong online presence and allow them
to make more profit through advertising. Pretty much all of
the mainstream artists are signed to a major record label
and you will notice the vast majority of them have a VEVO
channel. Major labels will usually be shown at the start of
music video.

Task 1 - Purposes
 Another broader purpose would be
independents. There are many small
companies in the game with no
connection or very little to majors. These
companies often concentrate on a small
number of acts. Warp Records is a highly
successful independent. Warp Records
was founded in Sheffield in 1989
specializing in experimental electronic
music and intelligent dance music.

Task 1 - Purposes
 Another broader purpose would be independent artists.
There are very few independent artists in the game right
now, but the ones that do still tend to be fairly successful.
An example of this is Chance The Rapper who is assigned to
his own label Chance The Rapper LLC. Chance only gets
around 15,000 to 35,000 dollars in his pocket. But if he plays
150 shows a year he will earn around 2 million dollars in
revenue. Not to mention the money he can make from
feature appearances, endorsement deals and writing for
other artists. In terms of Chance the Rappers music videos,
as well as the rest of the independent artists out there, it will
all be about them whereas artists under major record deals
it is not up to them. This allows freedom to artists like
Chance.

Task 1 - Purposes
 The final broader purpose would be artist self
produced. artist self produced videos have the
smallest budget and are usually unknown artists.
Music Videos will therefore be absolutely vital to
promoting their early career. This allows them to
use websites such as YouTube which can lead to
great success. An example of an artist that was
discovered on YouTube was The Weeknd. Abel
Tesfaye who is better known as ‘The Weeknd’
started posting videos on the site in 2010 before
going viral. Tesfaye now boasts an impressive
musical career 5 years on.

Task 1 - Purposes
 Q3 – Describe what is ‘synergy’ is and how it has been used in music videos [min. 3 examples of
synergy and convergance]
 Synergy is where two or more forms of media combine to make a promotional video.
 An example of this would be the song "Happy" by Pharrell Williams that was used in the film
'Despicable Me 2'. There are various references to the film included in this music video including a
dancing minion, and actors including Steve Carrell and Miranda Cosgrove who were in the film.
 Another example of this would be the song "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts and was best
known as the theme song for the popular TV series 'Friends'. There isn't a lot going on in the music
video; only the band playing their song while the cast of the hit TV show play around with them.
This song rose to fame because of the TV sitcom, which is how most synergy music videos result to.
 The final example would be the song "Skyfall" by Adele featured in the James Bond movie Skyfall.
Both Adele and the producers of Skyfall stand to benefit from this arrangement as the film
promotes Adele's song and Adele's music video promotes the film.

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.
 The artist I have the chosen is Melanie Martinez and her music
has been described as pop, art pop, electropop, and alternative
pop. She also dyed half of her hair blonde, in the same vein
as Cruella de Vil. She became known for the look as well as her
"baby doll"-inspired outfits.
 Her brand appeals to 12 to 14+.
 The reason why she has done this is because she wants to stand
out and be different.

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.
 In terms of One Direction their image is always on the screen
where as on the Animal Collective videos you can’t see their
faces. The Videos are quite clearly constructed for the former
and are easy to understand. On the flip side the latter’s videos
are confusing and disjointed. A reason for this could be the
budget that they are working on. Animal Collective clearly have a
much inferior budget to One Direction so therefore naturally the
videos will be a lot harder to grasp. Finally on this comparison it
is quite clear that AC are artist driven whereas 1D are label
driven.

Task 1 - Purposes
 Examples- As you can see
quite clearly on the right
an example of the fact
that One Direction show
there faces whereas
Animal Collective do not.
This is also represented in
the Album covers.

Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions

Conventions
 Q1 – Describe and explain the use of
camerawork in music videos, i.e. the
types of shot used with examples to
illustrate this
 There are many different shot types.
In music videos this is no different.
(different shot types listed right)

Conventions
 Close ups are the most used shot type in music
videos. These are usually used in music videos
as it puts emphasis on the artist or bands face
for promotional reasons and their lips to show
lip syncing.
 Another reason for why close ups are
commonly used is that this shot type creates a
level of intimacy between the artist and their
audience by invading their personal space and
making them feel as though they are directly
spoken to. This also conveys the emotions that
the lyrics are trying to portray.

Conventions
 A prime example of an artist that takes advantage
of the close up shot is Ed Sheeran. The majority of
his songs are emotional and this is reflected in the
videos. Ed has not only used himself as a close up
in the video for ‘Drunk’ (middle right). He also
uses other characters to show emotion. An
example of this is in the video for ‘The A Team’ as
he uses a women to portray a message (top
right). (He only appears in one scene throughout
the whole video. Both examples shown below.
This example however is slightly different as he
does not lip sync on the close ups. An example of
a lip sync close up to show emotion differently is
Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball (bottom right).

Conventions
 Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing
in music videos, i.e. the types of shot used
with examples to illustrate this
 Editing in a music video can create big
changes to the visual style of a song. For
example a video with bright colors and
quick cuts will mostly represent an upbeat
song. On the flip side to this a music video
with dull colors and soft transitions will most
likely represent a downbeat song. These
edits will be done to suit or expand on the
songs style and lyrics.

Conventions
Examples of editing in music videos
 The pace of editing in music videos will normally
correlate to the tempo of the song. For example a
song such as ‘Hitz’ by Chase & Status featuring Tinie
Tempah with a fast beat will have shorter time
between cuts to match the music.
 Another example of a Chase & Status song ‘End
Credits’, around the first 40 seconds of the song are
in slow motion. Therefore the video in this first part is
of a man slowly falling (shown right) to match the
tempo of the song. The rest of the track is faster
helping adding to the effect of the different speeds
within it.
m/watch?v=Y Qjbtl8
https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=4jh-
xcKazSk

Conventions
Examples of editing in music videos
 An example that I have already used Ed Sheeran’s
‘The A Team’ would fit into an effective slow
transition music video that matches the songs speed
and interpretation. The video is also in black and
white which links into the dull color factor. A modern
black and white video however will not always
interpret that the song is downbeat. An example of
this is ‘Justin Timberlake and Jay – Z’s ‘Suit & Tie’. This
song despite being in the standard colors has an
upbeat beat and positive vibe. In the pictures to the
right, it will show the stark contrast in the mood and
feels to the tracks. A shot from ‘The A Team’ is shown
top right while a shot from ‘Suit & Tie’ is shown
bottom right.
https://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=UAW
cs5H-qgQ
m
/watch?v=IsUsVbTj2AY

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
 Music Videos usually include a variety of shots which match the flow of
music and the feeling that is supposed that is supposed to be portrayed by
it. The shots are very similar to that of photography, except in music videos
motion is obviously applicable. For example, a close up portrait will show
emotion, a landscape wide shot will show the environment.

Conventions
Example of Technical Developments
 The key innovation in the development of the
modern music video was of course video recording
and editing process, along with the development of
several related effects such as a chroma key or a
green screen
Developed Technical Codes:
 Fast Cut Montage Split Screen (right) Colourisation
Non Representational (Artist Never Shown) Long
Shots Steadicam

Conventions
Example of Technical Developments
 An example of a non representational video where
the artist is never shown would be Rudimental’s
Waiting All Night. Despite the artist not being
shown, the song's lyrics reflect with the video and
vice versa.
 Example shown to the right: I’ll be waiting all night
for you…

Conventions
 Q4 – 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…
 The example I have chose is Indie/Rock. The
music conventions of this genre are that they
tend to be black and white, the artist/band are
shown throughout the video. A use of extreme
close ups and long shots are popular, Dark
locations, they are fast paced and there is also
an occasional use of special effects.

Conventions
Examples
 Two examples of Indie/Rock bands that show
these conventions are Arctic Monkeys and Kings
of Leon.
 For example despite it not being set in black and
white ‘Sex On Fire’ by the Kings of Leon is set in
a dark place, uses special effects and the bands
faces, most notably the lead singer are shown
throughout. The Arctic Monkeys ‘Why’d You
Only Call Me When You’re High’ also set about
the same trends.
m/watch
?v=RF0HhrwIwp0

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?
 Intertextuality is the way in which one media text
is referenced in another. The word Inter-Text
means to incorporate two texts and merge them
together so within media, Intertextuality means to
bring together two bits of media text.

Conventions
Examples of Intertextuality in Music Videos
 The two examples that I will be looking at
are Examples ‘Stay Awake’ and The Script
and will.i.am’s ‘Hall Of Fame’
 Example uses lyrical and visual references to
‘Alice in Wonderland’ which is the famous
literature book wrote by Charles Dodgeson.
Just like in ‘Stay Awake’, ‘Hall Of Fame’
shows lyrical reference to the film ‘King
Kong’
m/watch?v=f5CcOq8UzkI
m/watch?v=mk48xRzuN
vA

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]

Idea Generation
 I want to incorporate 3 different genres and styles in my case study. The one
genre I am 100% looking to include is Hip Hop. At this moment in time there
is not a specific hip hop artist or song that I am certain on doing. As for the
other two genres I am looking at 2 from 4. The other genres that I would
potentially consider are Dance, Pop, Alternative and R&B. My personal
preferences would be R&B and Pop because I feel the genre conventions are
a lot more obvious and stronger than the other two.

 I will pick 3 songs from 3 different genres. The genres I will be looking at will
be R&B, Pop and Hip Hop.

The song I am looking at under the hip hop
section is Fetty Wap ‘679’ featuring Monty. The
video for this track is what you would typically
associate a hip hop video to look like. This
video is shot entirely at a party. Throughout
this track there are cutaways to people dancing
and bouncing their arms in time with the beat
of the song. This like I said before shows that
they like the song and therefore gives
credibility to the artist/artists because it will
make the general public much more likely to
approve to this as it is shown already that
people like this track. (This is shown right)
m/w
atch?v=ELNgQFPdgrA

Although in this song to there is no visual and lyrical references to cars, there is
plenty of references to both money and jewellery, especially money. For
example in the hook Fetty Wap says all fast money, no slow bucks. This implies
that there is growing power and wealth. This is proven by the constant flashing
of money in the video. Close ups are the most common shot type in Hip Hop
videos and this is no different. An example is already shown of not only flashing
money but a close up of Monty’s face. There are also many examples of close
ups of Fetty Wap with one shown bottom left. Although Fetty Wap is going
against the typical sporting outfits that Hip Hop artists wear, Monty does not
disappoint and keeps the general trend continuing into this video. Monty is
shown topless in his scene sporting a snapback. By doing this he is showing off
his sporting prowess and strength.

The 2nd genre I will look at will be Pop. There are plenty of general conventions
for Pop music videos. These videos will usually encounter bright colors, lots of
makeup and fashion accessories. In terms of editing there will most likely be
tints and filters to boost colors. There is also a chance they will Photoshop
artists so they look perfect. Finally in terms of shots used there will probably be
many close ups of artists faces and also long shots of dancing and partying
scenes.

The Pop song that I am going to look at is ‘The
Weeknd ‘Can’t Feel My Face’. This video is arguably
not a typical pop video as instead of being at a party
with lots of dancing, The Weeknd is performing on
stage in front of an audience at a nightclub. For the
first 40 seconds of this track the camera is fixed on
‘The Weeknd’s face. The first verse is lip synced in
the first 25 seconds at an extreme close up before
slowly zooming out. The first verse is shown at an
extreme close up because of the fact The Weeknd is
talking to you the viewer about this women. The
pre chorus is when the camera starts zooming out to
build it up to the mid shot of the full stage for the
chorus. The video then therefore synchronizes with
the song as the tone slowly gets louder.
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=KEI4qSrkPAs

Throughout the chorus the video cuts to the audience's facial expressions with them all
looking intrigued by the performance. This shows that he has fans and will therefore further
entice people to look out for him online etc. In terms of the camerawork plenty of different
shots and angles are explored. At points in the video it looks at the audience from The
Weeknd’s viewpoint to show what he is facing. This is very common in music videos. A very
popular move made by pop artists is creating special effects and this is no different. The
Weeknd is shown to be on fire but still dancing and singing at the same time. This is a visual
reference to the songs title ‘Can’t Feel My Face’. This ultimately changes the audience from
being intrigued by the performance to being thrilled by it and start dancing and jumping their
arms to the songs beat. This shows that they like the performance. Despite this video being
shot in an extremely dark area, the bright lights etc. give the video the feeling that it is a pop
video as the general conventions of this genre are that they encounter bright colors to give the
video a positive vibe. Another reason to rubberstamp that this is a pop video is due to the use
of long shots of dancing and partying towards the climax of the video.

The final genre I will look at is R&B. In terms of male fashion, the four most
likely things that you will notice is that they are topless, wear jeans, have many a
tattoo and wear plenty of jewellery. For women again they will most likely wear
minimal clothing, have eye catching hair and makeup, will again wear plenty of
jewellery and will most likely wear heels. The majority of R&B videos are filmed
in grayscale or sepia tone which adds a sensual tone to the imagery in the video.
Slow R&B songs are almost always filmed in the aforementioned tone. This is
because darker colors evoke emotion. On the flip side fast R&B songs consist of
bright colors, flashy cars and jewellery similarly to Hip Hop.

I am going to look at a top R&B artist called Trey
Songz. Admittedly not a huge fan myself but i am
fully aware that he is recognized as one of the top
R&B artists in the game. I am going to look at the
video for ‘Simply Amazing’. As previously
mentioned the 4 things to typify an R&B male
video would be for them to be topless or near
enough, wear jeans, have plenty of tattoos and
wear plenty of jewellery. This is evident from the
very beginning with Trey Songz wearing just a
vest, and covered in tattoos in the opening
intimate scene. (top right). Throughout the video
it cuts to Trey Songz lip syncing with a beautiful
backdrop. You will notice him wearing jeans. This
again is a common fashion of R&B and is shown
again here.

 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

Mv assignment 01 2019 thea

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