This document outlines a case study assignment on music video production. It includes 3 tasks: 1) the purposes of music videos and artist/label strategies; 2) styles, techniques and conventions of music video production; and 3) a case study analyzing at least 3 music videos. Task 1 questions explore entertainment/branding purposes, sales strategies, broader representation aims. Task 2 covers camerawork, editing, technical developments and genre conventions. The case study requires discussing video purposes, styles, techniques, intertextuality and conventions for selected videos. Formatting guidance and learning outcomes are also provided.

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Music Video Production
Case Study
Ben Prudhoe

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Unit 29 - 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

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Unit 29 – Music Video Production
 Learning outcomes, this case study is concerned with the first
two learning outcomes of the unit:
1. Understand the purpose of music videos
2. Understand the styles, conventions, and techniques of music
videos
3. Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a
specific music track
4. Be able to work to complete production of a music video.

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Unit 29 – Music Video Production
Assessment Criteria
 The assessment criteria addressed by this case study, further
details are in your project brief:

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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.

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Task 1 - Purposes

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Task 1 - Purposes
 Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short
explanation for each:
One core purpose of a music video is Entertainment. The artist/artists will have a
music video to go with there song is so that there fans have something to watch
as listening to the song. This can help them obtain more fans/a bigger audience
as people who do find the video entertaining will watch again and watch more of
the artist/artists video.
Another core purpose is Branding/Identity. This is so that there fans/views can
understand more of the artist/artist style and personality. This can help them to
obtain more fans/a big audience as they because who enjoy the style/think their
similar will invest more in them.
The last core purpose is Sales. A music video can help raise the sales for an
artist/artists as this will allow for it to feature on T.V. music channels and on the
internet. This will mean that more people are exposed to the song/the artists
songs and are more likely to buy them.

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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?
One boarder purpose that a music video serves is that they don’t have to play
live. Plying live is very expensive and will save the artist/artists lots of money.
Another boarder purpose that could be extremely important to the artist/artists is
to put across a personal/politic message. This in it self can help the artist/artists
very much as depending on the message, either good, bad or controversial can
create publicity and increase sale.
A broader purpose of a music video is to help the audience to interpretive the
music/song in there own way, with the video helping them. This can help fans find
personal connections and meaning in the song making them more likely to buy
the song

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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]

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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.


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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.


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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques
and Conventions

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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

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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
 Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing in music videos,
i.e. the way in which shots are sequenced, considering the
rhythm of the edit and combinations of shots and post-
production techniques

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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
 Q3 - Describe and explain some of the technical
developments in music videos, i.e. in terms of how the music
videos are filmed, edited/produced and viewed

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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 recognisable genre and use illustrations to explain
what their genre conventions are…

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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?

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Task 3 – Case Study

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Task 3 – Case Study
 For your individual case study you are required to prepare
material on a minimum of three music videos.
 This should provide discussion on the usage of the following:
 Purpose of the video [consider the strategy of the artist and the
intention behind the video, remember the core purposes and break
this down into the other purposes we discussed]
 Style[s] used
 Techniques employed
 Intertextuality
 Camerawork/editing
 Genre conventions

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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

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Songs
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQHsXMglC9A
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuwTgZOKcf8