media

1. Music Video Theory
Performance –it isthe easiestandcheapesttype of musicvideo,alarge varietyof shotsusedin
quicksuccessiontokeepthe videointerestinglike amontage,howeverthe riskof the videoisthatis
couldgetboring.
Narrative – a form of a cheesystoryline,howeveritneedstobe easytofollow because of the short
time period. Itcan alsobe relatedtoa filmwhere the musicvideowillshow clipsfromthe film.
Conceptual –are usuallysomethingdifferent,itisbasedaroundan ideainsteadof the lyricsor the
artist,to try and make the videostandoutand youto rememberit.
AndrewGoodwin –wrote a bookcalled‘Dancing inthe DistractionFactory’1992
 6 features of a music video:
- Music videosdemonstrategenre characteristics–whatwe wouldexpecttosee ina music
video
- Relationshipbetweenlyricsandvisuals –themes,mise-en-scene andeventsof the video
match withlyricsof the song.
- Relationshipbetweenthe musicandthe visuals –the cuts and editsof the videoare insync
withrhythmand beatof the song
- ‘A visual style’ –thisallowsthe recordlabel topromote asetimage forthe band/artist,
whichwill helptargetaudiences.
- Notionsof looking –the ‘male gaze’isoftenusedtoattract male audience,thisfocuseson
thingsthat menare attracted too.Helpingconnectwiththe artist.
- There are oftenintertextualreferences –musicvideoscanreference otherformsof media
mostcommonlyfilm,butalsocan be televisionandothermusicvideos.
 5 ways to analyse video:
- Thoughtbeats – where yousee the inthe sound – Step1: Structure to the song
Step2: The voice of the song
Step3: Artistsmode of address
- Narrative performance –The songsnevergivesusthe full narrative of the song,we only
tendto getthe gistof the meaningof the song,the musicvideosshouldhave acoherent
repeatabilityandthe artistactingas botha narrator and participant.The audience needto
believeit’sreal.
- The star image – howis the star isbeingportrayedinthe music video
- Relationof visualstosongs – there are three was inwhata musicvideocando, illustrate,
amplifyanddisjuncture.
- Technical aspectsof a musicvideo – mise-en-scene,sound,cinematography,editing.