How to make a music video..

The above video was shown to me by a fellow media student (Samuel Higgins) who suggested that I take a look as he felt it would help me in the preperation/planning stages of my music video. After some brief research, it is clear that the presenter/publisher of these video aids as there are many different ones which all relate to the production of a music video such as how to edit etc. Although these videos are not useful to me at this early stage, they will prove very crucial in later stages. There are also a selection of videos from other YouTube users which show other information which I may look at later on in the project.

Although the video is less than 4 minutes short, I feel it was a very good resource as it has allowed me to focus on how to prepare to produce my own music vieo. One thing which I have been struggling with is the formation of ideas and this video explains that the best way to format ideas is to sit in a silent room and play the song over and over again as this will allow you to concentrate fully on the song and any ideas which are formed should be noted down for later on. While carrying out this process, any ideas should be noted down, without to much time focusing on the cost, time etc. Another thing which I picked up on by watching the video is that to ensure you produce a music video that fits with the meaning of the song, you need to ensure that the artist/band has contribution in the production of the music video as they are the ones who will know the song best. This will allow me to create the correct association between the video and song.

What I really liked about this source was that it was visual and therefore it was much easier to evaluate and gain information as there was not a lot of writing to read. It also took a lot less time compared to other sources which I have looked at due to the length of the video compared to how long it took me to read particular sources. I feel this has given me large amounts of information in relation to creativity and has pushed me much closer to making critical decisions in relation to what song I wish to do etc. It has also provided me a list of steps which I wish to follow in the hope that I will produce a great music video. Although the positives in relation to this subject are many, I have to understand that YouTube is a user generated website and therefore this video is full of opinions. Although the man is providing me with many good suggestions in what steps to take, just because this progress worked for him does not mean it will for me.

How to study music videos..

Before I start the planning stages of my music video I need to understand what target audiences think of music videos and what they mean to the general public. To do this I chose to look at a secondary resource known as ‘How to study music videos’ by Peter Fraser as this would provide me with an insight into what the public see and view music videos as. Below are my findings from this particular source:

From the very beginning many pessimists complained that music video television e.g. MTV has made music more about the visual aid instead of the songs/lyrics. They believe that music should be about the song itself and what really matters is the appeal and power of pop sounds although recently it has been largely focused on the image base. ‘The sounds are the basis of a process of visualization that serve to enhance not restrict the original pop sound effect’.

Another opinion which is held about music videos is that pop songs alone are not enough to please the consumer and create pleasure but the added value of star image created by CD covers, live performance and music videos is well suited to this job. The appeal of music videos on the public is great as a form of entertainment although not all music videos are of a high quality. As described by Pete Fraser in MediaMagazine there are ways to study music videos and consumers use these basic guidelines to decide whether or not they like a particular music video which would therefore lead to them either purchasing or not purchasing that specific single.

There are 5 things to look for when deciding if a music video is any good and I will use these prime examples to ensure my music video is of high quality, so much so that it can be shown on music channels e.g. MTV:

1.‘Thought Beats’ or seeing the sounds in your head

When listening to a particular song, some images are formed in the minds eyes. The basis of visualising images come from a psychological process called synaesthesia. This idea is absolutely central to understand music video as they build on the soundtrack’s visual associations in order to connect with the audience and provide additional pleasure.

When analysing a song, the consumer should start with a piece of music of their choice. Real concentration is required as the listener needs to sort out the way the song works, taking into account the way the song has been planned out with sound; this is a form of integration. Lyrics are key for doing this, but unlike poetry, they do not need to be analysed word for word and instead should be considered for the way they introduce a general feeling or mood. It is very rare that songs have a coherent meaning that can be understood fully by the target audience but they are still important for at least creating a sense of subject matter. Certain key phrases or lines will have a part to play in the kind of visuals associated with the song, especially lyrics found in the chorus of any song.

Roland Barthe’s theory, known as the ‘grain of voice’ describes the singing voice as a more expressive instrument to the singer and describes it as ‘a fingerprint’ and it is therefore able to create associations in itself. The voice refers specifically to vocal music. Although the “grain” is primarily arbitrary and subjective in nature, Barthes suggests a “twofold opposition” in order to separate the “grain” from “the acknowledged values of vocal music”: theoretical and paradigmatic. (http://thelibrary.hauntedink.com/ghostinthemachine/intro.html) Some artist’s such as Michael Jackson have trademark sounds which instantly sets him apart from other singers and audiences really like this. The voice of songs may even possess trademarks that work hand in hand with the star image trying to be created.

Another thing that should be considered is that if songs are being portrayed as stories, then the singer is the storyteller and they need to connect with the audience. This obviously makes music videos stand out on TV, as they feature a first person mode of address rather than stereotypical television narrative. Another opinion on this, held by Andrew Goodwin, is, instead of singers being portrayed as storytellers, they are in fact stand up comics in the way of a personal trademark or signature which dominates the performance.The arrangement of the song, including music, instrumentation, the mix and effects including samples, generally works with the lyrics and grain of voice.

The verse and chorus are the most important parts of the song as we can look at key sounds, like the tempo/speed of the song and structure of the song in terms of this. Many instruments can create visual associations and because we all share a memory bank of popular culture imagery, known as intertextuality. A sense of shared cultural history without which these references would make no sense. Basically, much of the music we listen to allows us to form personal contributions to the creation of a story. Places, people, feelings, personal situations – all of these can be summoned from the sounds of popular music.  A prime example of this is the slow twang of a guitar which may create visual geographically based visual associations of the deep south of the US. The images created from this music would be personal for every single person although we all share a memory back of popular cultural imagery. This is why after some life experiences people struggle to listen to certain songs because it brings back bad memories.

The visualisations that people hold can arise from more personal, individual responses and much of the ideas we have come from experiences we have had from previous life experiences. Taking ideas from part of your own autobiography allows us to connect fully with the music. A combination of these shared and personal images tied to the words and instrumentation form the basis of music video creativity.

2. Narrative and Performance

It is very rare that songs tell complete narratives and were used to studying them with other visual texts like film. In music videos, we often get the suggestion of a story with a hint of some kind of drama unfolding as much of the music in modern-day society relates back to personal experiences. The narrative fuzz in songs affects the way stories are used in music video representations of a songs meaning. As many of us do not fully understand the lyrics, or all lyrics of a given song do not apply to the same story, it is very hard for the audience to create a full story.

Another important reason why music videos should avoid a classic realist narrative is the major role they play within the advertising industry. Similar to adverts, the consumer needs to be able to watch a music video over and over again without getting bored which means they should have a looser approach to storytelling. Music videos need to have repeatability built into them.

As shown in Britney Spears ‘…Baby one more time’, music videos often cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the artist/band. This makes things more interesting for anyone viewing the video. To aid this idea of repeatability and visualisation a carefully choreographed dance may be part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video. Sometimes the singer, Britney Spears in this example, will be part of the story, acting as narrator and participating at the same time. This is an idea that Britney Spears uses throughout her wide range of music videos. Even with this consideration, it is still the lip sync closeup and the mimed playing of the instruments that remains at the heart of the music video to really emphasise to the audience that the artist/band are capable of performance.

A popular genre known as pop music is stereotypically known as romantic art, all about truth, talent and magic. For this to work for the audience and them to be able to connect to it, we need to believe in the authenticity of the performance. This starts from the very beginning of many artist/band careers examples being contestants on Pop Idol and X factor who, in an effort to win our respect and affections, try their very best. The supposed individual and original qualities held by these particular stars is the source of all profit in the business because they are THE STAR!

3. Star Image

Meta-Narrative:
 A term used to describe the development of a star image over time, the stories that surround a particular artist.

The music industry relies on only a small minority of artists/big names to fund its activities due to it often failing to connect with popular audiences. Figures show that only about one in ten acts put forward by the music industry actually makes any money.  So, using the description provided above, the meta-narrative of the star image will have an important part to play in the role of a music video production process.

Michael Jackson has a very peculiar star image, one which he lost control of in his final few years alive. His meta-narrative was a long and difficult one.Throughout this rollercoaster of a life Michael Jackson shared in some crucial moments of pop stardom which made many fans around the world love him. One of the most renowned moments would be the successful move from being one member of a world-famous ‘Jackson 5’ to becoming a solo artist. This was made easier as Michael was acknowledged as its central talent due to him being the youngest member of the group. He was able to negotiate one of the most successful solo careers ever by developing both his trademark sound and image. Although this appeared amazing for a short period, throughout the 1990’s, Michael Jackson’s meta-narrative took a wrong turn and this unique star image became freakish and self-indulgent. His life being portrayed throughout the media, especially his childhood, lead to this male singer never really growing up and the child star still laid within. Thus, the Jackson talent becomes the reason for his adult weirdness. His younger self – black, funky and energetic is constantly held up to condemn his change into a withdrawn man, with no clear ethnicity who is over produced to the point of ceasing to exist. This abrupt and unusual change still led to large media coverage which, in the public eye, still made him a star. Much controversory occurred in relation to allegations of child abuse also lifted his profile whether that be good or bad. Meta-narratives of star image are not simply a matter of manipulation, but a dialogue or negotiation of what the music business asserts about their star, and what we accept! The music videos which he produced throughout his career allowed him to try regain control over his meta-narrative but it still didn’t allow him to remove the bad persona’s he had portrayed over the year and he couldn’t drop the different associations he’d accumulated during his career including the bad and good moves.

This case study alone shows us that music videos are one of the best ways and most important to help ‘manage’ an artist’s images.

4. Three ways in which music videos relate visuals to the song

There are 3 main ways in which music videos work to support or promote the song and this is the real thing consumers care about in the modern world. These are: ILLUSTRATION, AMPLIFICATION and DISJUNCTURE and they are extremely useful in attempting to generalise the effects of individual music videos.

One of the main uses for music videos is to ILLUSTRATE the meaning of particular lyrics and genre, providing a sometimes over literal set of images. Thus, this is the most straightforward technique and the classic example of visualisation, with everything in the music video based on the source of the pop song. ‘Stan’ by Eminem is a great example of a visual translation, showing the song’s dramatic narrative.

As mentioned throughout my secondary research, similar to popular advertising, the most persistent type of video adds value to the song. AMPLIFICATION is seen as the mark of the true music video Auteur, the director of the artist, and an increasingly common way to view music video creatives. An example of this was VH1’s best 100 videos placing Spike Jonze in the Auteur category because his work always amplifies the original songs meaning and effect, usually through surreal humour. What separates this support from disjuncture is the fact that amplification music videos retain a link with the song and work to enhance or develop ideas rather than fundamentally changing them.

As briefly explored above, unlike amplification, DISJUNCTURE is a term used to describe those music videos that ignore the original song and creating a whole new set of meanings (normally intentionally). This is known as a concept based approach. This is quite a radical and unusual technique which is mostly used by arty artists/bands in order to assert their difference and originality. It is very common that disjuncture videos of this form don’t make a lot of sense and may be based on abstract imagery Spike Jonze’s ‘Da Funk’ involves a man sporting a dogs head and his arm in a cast walking around New York, ignored by everyone, with dialogue completely unrelated to the song itself. Many critics do not agree with this type of music video and disjuncture videos are bad, ill-conceived and self-indulgent mistakes.

5. Technical aspects of music videos

The final essential aspect of the music video is to study the technical aspects. This is something many people within the media are familiar with as it includes camerawork, movement and angle, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. It is important to remember that the more general features of music videos already mentioned when trying to work out the technical effects, especially those that are post production effects. Below is the summing up of the technical conventions:

1. SPEED – is visualised by camera movement, fast editing (montage) and digital effects
   -Camera movement is often motivated by running, dancing and walking performers.
   –Fast cutting and mantage editing creates a visually decentred experience necessary for the music video consumption, with the images occasionally moving so fast that they are impossible to understand on first viewing and thus need to be viewed several times (REPEATABILITY)
   –Post production digital effects mean that music videos can be edited including colourised images, multi split screens and so on, to complicate and intrude, providing pleasure again and again. It is not all about speed though and some slow pace shots are added using dissolves or static shots.  This type of editing was used in Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing compares 2 u’ and makes the video striking and is very effective. The majority of most music videos cut to a close up of the singer’s face and this is to once again highlight that the voice is seen as the most important part of the pop video.
2. BEATS! – the video will try to represent the music through the use of the cuts to go with the beat or the key rhythm
3. LIGHTING & COLOUR – is used to emphasise key moments in the song, using methods from lighting live performances for dramatic effect.  Colour may be used to show a development in the song, going from colour to blame and white or vice versa.
4. MISE-EN-SCENE – Obviously, as with any form of media, the setting of a music video is vital, often to guarantee the authenticity of the clip rather than anything else. Increasingly, CGI is used, especially for dance songs, which don’t rely so much of being ‘real’ like rock, soul or rap acts.

My last finding was people’s thoughts on whether music videos were an example of advertisement or art. As described by Pete Fraser:

 ‘Art or Ads? Soft porn or genuinely romantic, even spiritual experience or star worship?.. But music videos themselves can be wonderful extensions of the song, adding ideas and pleasures on top of the primary wonders of popular music’

Evaluation of source
The age of this source greatly knocks the reliability as the information provided is very much out of date and therefore things may have changed over time. This is especially clear when focusing on the case study of Michael Jackson as since this article was written the pop artist has passed away. Therefore, when I writing about the source I had to alter the tenses. Another problem with this source was the length as there was so much information to cover and this took quite a long time. There was many positives to using this type of source as it has allowed me to understand music videos in much more detail and to actually finally understand some technical aspects of producing a music video. Some of the terminology used throughout the article proved difficult to understand and I had to use a search engine to find definitions which therefore made the job longer for me. I did not expect this as the article was found in MediaMagazine and this is aimed at a wide target audience. Due to the length of this resource, below is a small list of finding I have discovered to make it easier to relate to:

• Repeatability is something focused on largely throughout the music industry, because like adverts, the music videos should be suitable for the audience to watch over and over again.
• Post production is a main way to ensure the video produces lots of pleasure for the target audience.
• There are three ways in which music videos relate visuals to the song. These are: illustrate, amplification and disjuncture.
• There are 5 main stages to studying music videos: Thought beats, narrative & performance, star image, promotion of the song and technical aspects.

LIP SYNCING

Lip syncing
when a person moves his or her lips at the same time as a recorded sound. The word sync is short for synchronize, meaning to do something at the same time.

To understand the importance of lip syncing and the accuracy involved I underwent a short task which involved filming and editing a short clip of myself or a friend lip syncing to a song of my choice. Due to personal reasons I chose to use a friend of mine who undergoes singing lessons in her spare time, as I believed she would be a suitable choice due to her being able to perform well. We sat together in the media suite considering the best song for many hours as I wanted to choose a song which really exercised the lips and would be easy for me to match against a real song. As I was going to be filming just the lips of my chosen singer I felt it appropriate to really focus on effect and ensure that I matched the lip-syncing up exactly. As my previous research had shown, good lip-syncing is crucial in making a music video look professional so therefore I wanted to know that I could achieve this before I began planning lip-syncing into my final idea.

The two videos below show the difference between singing along to a particular song and using editing techniques to cancel out the singers voice and overlapping it with the real song/singer plus any extra sound, and one where the singer is only miming the words so there is no actual sound coming from my choice of singer. I wanted to choose a song which we were both happy with, especially seeing as I would need to hear the same song over and over again to ensure the editing was exactly in line with the lyrics. I chose to carry out this challenge to understand the necessity of perfect lip-syncing and how much it improves the quality of any music video. I also felt it good for me to get the opportunity to see how capable I was before I attempted to do it on my final music video. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of my control, the beginning of each of the videos is slightly out of sync although this was not the case before i rendered and uploaded them to YouTube. After speaking with an IT technician it is understood that the computer may not be able to keep up with the speed of the video so for best viewing please view a latter part of each clip to truly see the lip syncing at its best. The camera that I used for this particular task was a Panasonic HDC-TM80 as this was HD and allowed very clear footage, something which I wanted when trying to carry out this difficult task. It also gave me chance to familiarize myself with the camera as it would be this particular camera that I used when filming my final music video. Another way I began to familiarize myself with the later stages of the formation of a music video was to use the same editing facility which I would use when editing the real music video: Final Cut Pro. Although I was not required to use any of the special effects at this time, I wanted to get used to using this software again and consider the different cuts I would need to use later on and how to import clips/music once again.

Although I could have chose to do a very simple shot which showed the singer standing in a preferred location and me just standing the camera in one given location and filming a mid shot I chose to do something which would really allow me to evaluate how good my timings are. In some ways this particular idea made it easier for me as the camera just focuses on the lips so therefore I can just try and work out what she is singing but this would mean if I made a mistake it would be very noticeable. Below [clip 1] is the example where Alix actually chose to sing along to the song. Although it is not noticeable now, when editing this clips together it made it extremely easy to match what Alix was singing to what Katie Perry sang and this led to me gaining perfect timing. I had to play around with the music many times, moving it forward and backward on the timeline several times, very gently so as not to move it to far to ensure that the song matched completely. The second clip, one where Alix does not actually sing but just mines the words, was a little harder to edit and I was required to deeply concentrate on what her lips were doing and forming some kind of visual aid to the lyrics. Luckily for me, this is a song which I was familiar with meaning I knew the lyrics without having to have them in front of me and I was able to sing along with both Katy Perry and Alix and this allowed me to fit the song in. As my evaluation below will show, I uncovered findings which I expected to see although this particular task has made me realise that to aid me in later stages, if i choose a song for my final music video which I am familiar with and know the lyrics well, it will make my editing a lot easier for me as I will be able to sing along and fit them in.

THIS IS ALIX MUMFORD SINGING ALONG TO KATY PERRY ‘TEENAGE DREAM’

 

THIS IS ALIX MUMFORD MIMING ALONG TO KATY PERRY ‘TEENAGE DREAM’

EVALUATION OF MY LIP SYNCING TASK
Although many of my fellow students only chose to do one lip-syncing task, I think it has been very beneficial for me to do two, one with miming and one with actual singing as it has allowed me to highlight, very simply which is the best out of the two. Whereas the second clip shown above was extremely hard to edit and ensure the timings were correct, when Alix was actually singing to the song it was easier for me to achieve match-on-action and from there it looked instantly higher quality. It would be easier in the real thing for me to let our actor sing and then cancel out all sound than ask them not to and then have to spend longer amounts of time trying to match their lip movements to the song. Although Alix is a professional singer, due to her not being familiar with the tone or pace of the song, there are set times within both of the videos where Alix does not keep to the pace of the song. The way that I could go about sorting this in the real music video which I create is to sit with the actor and not only rehearse the lyrics but also make them understand how important it is for them to familiarize themselves with the song and all aspects of it. In previous attempts at filming my lip-syncing Alix continuously started to laugh and while editing the above clips together I watched over it and saw how unprofessional it looked. When choosing my actor for my final music video I will choose someone who I can rely on and who has time and patience to repeat the scenes many time as I want the final video to look as high standard as it possibly can. One major problem, as stated above, with these particular clips is the start of each where the song begins but the quality of the video can not quite keep up with it meaning Alix only starts singing one third of the way through the song. Although this is out of my control, it will be good if I could possibly find a way to avoid this problem occurring again as it really upsets the flow of the music video and as you can see from these two preliminary examples, it looks unprofessional and consumers would get annoyed if they had to watch that all the time.

Sound & Vision: a music video reader

I studied a textbook called ‘Sound & Vision: a Music video reader’ by Simon Frith to once again understand the main purpose of music videos. As the resource comes from an official textbook, this source is reliable and the information it contains can be used as background information.

Music videos are the ultimate expression of various trends in the modern culture coming together for many reasons which are listed below:

Blurring the distinction
Music videos blur the distinction between high art (opera, art…) and popular culture (film, TV, pop music, comics…) which begins many different things together and shows the public the variety of art that is available.

Heavily borrowing content
Music videos borrow content heavily from other cultural texts in a postmodern way  by taking different genre elements of fashion/musical style and fusing them together. This can be shown greatly in music videos through the use of design.

Commodification
This is a way of describing how music is not just produced for its own sake and the hidden purpose is in relation to promotional products which can be packaged and sold. Many people want to just make music but there is always benefits to be had.

Textual ‘Schizophrenia’
This refers to the way particular music videos include many different ideas and throughout it jumps from one idea to another – as long as they look cool, that’s all that matters

Lawrence Grossberg & the erosion of authenticity
This man uses the phrase ‘the ideology of authenticity’ which explores how music can be considered at its most authentic when people are playing instruments or singing live. Throughout all music videos, artists are just performers for entertainment purposes, lip-syncing or miming along to pre-recorded music. People watching the videos know that musicians are not actually performing and are instead performing to the camera, but viewers go along with this inauthentic authenticity because the public are more concerned with the visual spectacle of the video rather than whether it is ‘real’. This is largely due to the fact that people are not bothered by the music anymore and instead rely on the visual aid.

Another thing which this source informed me of is that many critics suggest that music video is killing rock culture. While some people believe this, others feel that it is just changing the way that audiences relate to music. As stated above, this is largely due to the fact that music is not as dominant anymore as it used to be and music videos have arguably made ‘image’ more important than the experience of music itself. Although this has its positives such as selling more singles/albums and also opening the public eye to new forms of entertainments, negatives including creating ‘poor’ images for artists. This also becomes part of the viewers life, with many young people being conscious of their appearance. Another thing which is criticised in relation to music videos is that they limit the imaginative freedom of fans by taking away the listener’s freedom to interpret a song how they imagination. Much of the music we listen to creates personal images that the listener can relate to but music videos take this away and we are imposed with a visual or even narrative interpretation of the song upon them. Music used to be about creating emotion and people were able to relate the music to certain events in their life but due to the creation of music videos this has decreased greatly.

Evaluation of source
‘Sound & Vision: a music video reader’ has had its advantages and disadvantages in relation to helping me out with my project. While I have gained some key information from the source in relation to how people, especially critics feel about music videos it has not aided me in showing any technical aspects of producing music videos. It explores a range of critical perspectives on music videos, providing key points which i can use as background information. As I have looked at many sources which talk about music videos and how they have changed entertainment, I now need to begin considering what technical aspects I should be aware of in relation to creating a music video. Due to this reason, it lacks in information to help my creative imagination to begin ticking.

Different genres: conventions of a music video

As stated previously, there are many different genres of music and within each of these genres, the music video style differs greatly. For each particular genre there is a specific list of codes and conventions which must be followed as this is what the consumer is familiar with and it will aid the record company greatly in selling their product (the artist/band single). Due to the different varieties of music that are portrayed throughout music videos and the different emotions each video creates, there are particular ways that things need to be done. Mise en scene and lighting also contribute greatly to the genre being portrayed and it is what people are used to which they enjoy the most. Below is a small selection of genres that I am most keen on following through to the final stages with information on the codes and conventions of music videos within that genre and a prime example of that information.

R&B

There is much to be said about the way R&B music videos are put together, especially seeing this is one of the more popular genres. Music videos vary depending on whether it is a male artist or a female artist as the target audience of each is very different. Many R&B videos, whether it be aimed at male or female involve the singer lacking clothing which is known as a sexual influence. It is key, in any music video of this sort, that both males and females are good-looking as this encourages the viewer to want to be like these people, therefore encouraging them to buy the single/album. R&B videos are usually very sexual and both males and females convey their sexuality through the lack of clothing. A lot of the locations used in R&B music videos are extremely unusual also they aid the performance greatly, making the viewer want to be there. Many gender stereotypes are challenged throughout R&B music videos although there are particular things referenced or expected from the public throughout the majority of music videos of this genre:

Wealth, Minimal clothing, Good looking males/females, Cars, Sexual references, Dark colours, Sepia/grey colours

There are many popular R&B artists including Rihanna, 50 Cent and Neyo. An example of this is ‘Take a Bow’ by Rihanna.

POP

Many modern-day pop videos use a narrative based music video as the lyrics of many of the songs are very catchy and relate to many dramas within the consumers life. Although it is ever-changing, many pop songs involve a a basic template which involves a love story between boy and girl, this is especially shown when the singer is female. Similar to R&B, stereotypes are focused on largely and much of what is shown on-screen relates back to gender theory that women enjoying swooning over males. The general storyline starts with the couple apart and then as the song continues and at the end of the music video, the characters begin a relationship.  If this romance idea does not apply then the song is generally a happy story.This differs slightly in more original music videos. Similar to R&B the males and females featuring in this type of music video are also good-looking and this is greatly focused on by the use of camera angles. Once again mise en scene is crucial and involves bright lighting and popular costume choices. Once again, there are specific elements of this genre that is expected by the consumer in a music video of this genre:

Romance, Upbeat track, Happy ending, Bright colours, Daytime, Close-ups

There are many popular pop artists including popular favourites such as Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepson. An example of this genre of music is ‘Teenage Dream’ by Katy Perry.

RAP

The majority of rap music videos include a performance from the artist such as Eminem or 50 cent. The artist will look straight at the camera and will address the audience, which aids the sales of singles. A lot of baggy clothing is used throughout this type of music video to make the rappers appear more casual, like they have things in common with the target audience. Throughout many rap videos there features themes of violence, sex and/or drugs as this is stereotypically what rappers are interested in. This type of genre is also great for portraying emotions as the rapper can clearly show emotions such as anger. Aswell as a performance based video, most rap music videos include a narrative section which relates back to the lyrics being sung. Storylines are very basic and it the use of camera angles and editing facilities which determine whether this type of music video will be good or not. There are very clear codes and conventions which must be followed when producing a music video of this genre and these are referenced below:

Casual dress, Themes of violence/sex/drugs, Narrative, Performance, Emotions

The most popular rap artist in the present day is Eminem although this type of music is becoming more and more popular in the modern-day with artists including Kanye West and Dr. Dre. An example of this type of music video and one of the most popular is ‘Love the way you lie’ by Eminem.

ROCK

Another genre popular throughout the world is Rock and due to the strength of the lyrics/music, videos are largely formed from live performances. Some music videos for this genre also share narrative and performance based style. The performance section of a rock video shows the said band performing in front of a large crowd of supporters as this highlights how popular they are as a band and allows them to address the audience. The narrative piece of video is normally related to romance or action, with the band members generally involved. Mise en scene is crucial for this unique type of music video especially lighting as this makes the piece feel very much alive. There are many flashes throughout rock to keep the beat of the music. Props are also essential as throughout, musical instruments play a key part in this type of music video and the target audience have stereotypical ideas about what band members should be wearing including dark/black clothing. There are clear codes and conventions in relation to what the target audience expect from a rock music video and these are referenced below:

Mad hairstyles, Musical instruments, Dark clothing, Performances, Narrative, Particular lighting, Crowds

As many of the videos are live performances it has proved very difficult to attain a version of a rock music video although a good example shown below is  ‘Livin’ on a prayer’ by Bon Jovi.

 

 There are many different types of music video which I have explored in my previous blog posts although within this blog post I have concentrated on what I think are the most popular genres. At this early stage of my project I am still unsure what genre to follow although I feel by considering the most popular I am allowing myself a wider target audience. This blog post has allowed me to look at what is expected and what props/facilities I will need available to me to produce a given music video. I feel this will aid me in my decision as some genres will be hard to complete due to the expenses.

Once I have decided what genre of music I wish to follow I will look in more detail at the particular codes and conventions which I will need to follow to ensure that I create a music video which is well suited to my target audience.

Different music genres

There are many different genres of music throughout the world, many being more dominant than others. As you can see from the mind map which I have created below, each genre also includes a selection of sub-genres although these are less commonly used to describe a piece of music. Before I can begin planning my music video I need to choose a song and understand what genre that song falls under. This will allow me to research the codes and conventions of music videos related to that genre and therefore I can produce a suitable music video which would appeal to the predicted target audience. This information will be a lot easier to attain for certain genres such as R&B as this type of music video is very common and the public expect to see particular things from both male and females while there should also be some form of sex appeal to help sell the music. This varies once more with dance/ hip-hop genres as a lot of fast paced shots and bright flashing images/colours are used to make the video seem very upbeat and happy like the music. Although I have included a wide range of genres, there are also less common genres not included. Examples of these include screamo, trance and dance.

The other mind-map included in this post shows the main genres with examples of artists/bands which cover that type of music. This is crucial when deciding what song to cover as many artists/bands stick to one particular genre and I will need to understand what particular genre I am dealing with before beginning the planning stages of my video. As you can see from this particular mind map, there is a larger selection of different genres, especially seeing there was more room on the page. This is because after considering the genres included on the last mind-map, I have decided that I would be interested in other options as these will provide me with more of a challenge than carrying out the most popular music videos.

By producing these two mind maps it has opened up many new opportunities as I was not aware that there were so many different types of genres and sub genres. This will lead me to look at the conventions of each genre as I need to consider the resources available to me and whether particular genres are suitable for this project.  It has also allowed me to consider some of my more favourite artists as well as showing me that there are some less famous artists which I could use for my musical production.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUSIC VIDEOS

After some brief research into the different types of music video, it has come to my attention that there are 3 main types of music video. To ensure that I make the correct choices when producing my own music video, I will evaluate each type of video and discuss the main features of each and how they best suit the music they are paired with.

1.Narrative Based Video

This type of music video is based heavily on the moving images telling a story. It usually involves actors, sometimes well recognised ones such as Megan Fox, to portray the story which relates to the song’s lyrics. This type of music video is particularly popular for songs which are featured in movies and you will often see scenes cut into the music video. A good example of this is ‘Jump’ by Girls aloud which was originally written for the film Love Actually. The video below, ‘Stole’ by Kelly Rowland is a perfect example of a narrative based video as it contains many different narratives which all come together at the end of the film.

This music video, accompnied by music from Kelly Rowland is very unique due to the way the narrative is explored. The story matches the lyrics exactly although instead of telling one persons story it tells many which all come together at the end as one. It also includes Kelly Rowland throughout the piece appearing as if she was a student at the school the narrative unfolds in. It also focuses on one particular age group, older teenagers, which slighly aims it at a specific target audience.

2.Performance based video

These are easy to produce music videos, especially when you are working on a smaller budget. They feature the artist/band/group performing the song throughout the majority of the video, if not it all and it features largely on different camera angles. It requires a suitable backdrop for filming. Below is an example of this type of music video, ‘Best of You’ by Foo Fighters. The majority of this music video shows the band performing the song combined with small clips from others sources. As you can see from video, it focuses largely on different camera angles which creates suspense for the audience.

This music video focuses largely on different camera angles to show the band performing their own song in an extravagent way. A lot of close up’s of each singer allows the viewer to see who is actually singing. It has been combined with a selection of extra clips which relate back to the lyrics although this is just to add entertainment value to the actual music video. At the very beginning of the clip, the camera focuses on one particular singer which allows us to build up to the centre of the song where the most passion is shown.

3.Concept based video

The least common type of music video until recent years, this is a unique style of music video that is based around a single concept or idea. These types of video tend to be very rare to come by as they are fairly unusual or utilize a particular editing or filming technique. Due to the commercial world demanding things are more accessible it is increasingly hard to come by this type of music video although below is a great example. This music video is called ‘Warriors Dance’ by the Prodigy.

Throughout this video, the viewer does not once see a real person present and instead concentrates of a concept involving paper themed ‘people’ as warriors. This video has been produced using a lot of different editing effects which in turn had created a narrative in a concept based music video. Although this type of music video is very unusual and original as well as being effective, the time spent making this type of music video is much longer and some people, including critics, do not agree with this type of music video.

Although I have described the videos as being one particular type, this is unusual and many videos are made up of different types. Most videos incorporate a mixture of elements from each of these three types eg. An artist performance paired up with some narrative footage. A lot of modern day videos use this technique with one example being ‘Love the way you lie’ by Eminem. The example I show below is a well-known music video which uses all three techniques shown above. The video begins with a narrative, has a performance centre and finishes with a concept based video where people’s faces blend and change. This music video Is ‘Black and white’ by Michael Jackson.

This very popular music video by Michael Jackson is one which combines all three of the techniques mentioned above although this does not always aid the viewer in understanding the idea behind the song. Compared to the very basic narrative at the beginning, the centre of the music video is very alive and there is much change in backdrop etc. It finishes with a very abstract piece showing the changing of people’s faces as they blend into each other. As all three types of music video are combined, there is a wide range of camera angles used throughout and the music video is a much longer piece compared to average music videos.

Although this may work well for some music videos, I feel that it is not guarenteed to work for all kind of music. Depending on the song that I choose for my music video I will then have to make a decision in relation to what type of music video I will produce. This relies largely on the lyrics within the song and also what ideas I generate from listening to the song. For example, some pairings may not work such as joining an emotional track with a concept based video. Each type of music video is very particular and each has its own conventions and whichever I choose to use I will need to ensure that I stick to these guidelines.

Censorship

Censorship of music videos began between 1940 and 1970 due to the music videos being produced in relation to R&B and rock genres. As stated by Hall (2009), ‘Sex and drugs were no longer hidden and secretive acts, but something to be exposed and celebrated’. The music videos were beginning to grasp people’s attention due to the emphasis on sexual desires and drug references. The largest concern was that rock and R&B were thought to corrupt the young minds of listeners and helped promote immoral behaviour. The first censorship was carried out in 1955, which saw over 30 songs banned. This had many repercussions as it was mainly songs sung by black artists which were banned and this could of appeared to be racisim and stereotypically judging people.

Censorship expanded in the 1970’s/80’s to not only include music but also the corresponding music videos. Due to the amount of violence showed in particular videos, heavy metal, rock and rap music were all targeted by moral authorities due to the ideas that they provided to younger/vunerable viewers. MTV stopped airing music videos by black artists completely until many members of the general public complained about this issue. The first ever music video by a black artist to be played on TV was ‘Billie Jean’ by Michael Jackson. The birthing of the famous black and white ‘Parental Advisory’ symbol occured in 1990 after the Parents Music Resource Centre (PNRC) urged the music industry and government to create and promote a rating system for music, which would in turn evaluate the musical content. This was created in 1985.

In the modern day, due to the way society is changing, it is common for many words throughout particular songs to be censored, particularly profanities. Some music labels or artists choose to produce clean versions themselves whereas some lyrics are just censored prior to going live. This is to comply with the rules set by various radio and television programs. To ensure the radio station will not get in trouble, some decide to censor the lyrics themselves using one of several methods.

Forms of Censorship throughout Radio Edit

[taken from a Wikipedia source]

• Blanking: when the volume is muted for all or part of the offensive word.
• Bleeping: playing a noise, usually a ‘beep, over all or part of the offensive word
• Resampling: using a like-sounding portion of vocals and music to override the offensive word(s)
• Resinging: Replacing the offensive word/phrase with a more appropriate word/phrase
• Backmasking: Taking the offensive word(s) and reversing the audio, sometimes the whole audio is reversed (often because it is a home-made job), but more usually only the vocaltrack is reversed.
• Repeating: repeating the word(s) just said before the explicit word(s) was used.
• Skipping: deleting the offensive word(s) from the song without a time delay.
• Echo: instead of saying the explicity word(s) it echoes the last word(s) said in the line
• Disc scratching: in Hip-Hop, scratching on the swear word, making it sound like another word, or make the word said faster or slower.
• Robovoicing: making the world totally non-understandable by overpowering a robotic voice effect (usually used as a last resort for home-made jobs)
• Distorting: Usually in Hip-Hop, less offensive words are distorted. It is usually done by altering the pitch.

Censorship of Artwork

The orginial cover of nude Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s ‘Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins’ provoked an absolute outrade from the public, prompting distributors to sell the album in brown wrapping paper so as to hide the inappropriate images.

Scorpion also had there 1970 album ‘Virgin Killer’s’ changed because the original cover at showed a nude prepubescent girl, with a glass crack obscuring her genitalia. The alternative version of this cover art depicts the members of the band in various different poses.

Death metal band Cannical Corpse’s album ‘Butchered at Birth’ had to be censored in Germany until June 2006. The album cover featured hanging fetus skeletons and two zombie slaughtering pregnant woman’s corpse.

The most recent censorship of an album cover was Kayne West’s album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ which was censored due to the image of a woman’s buttocks being shown. The edited version shows the woman fully clothed.

DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION FACTORY

An article called ‘Dancing in the distraction factory’ by Andrew Goodwin has allowed me to understand people’s views about music videos and see the differing opinions which people view about the use and content of music videos. This article assisted me in forming a definition of what a music video is. Below is a range of opinions cultural critics hold in relation to music videos. These comments reflect how diverse and problematic they can be to define as an art-form or media text.

‘Mercer’ views them as a kind of cinematic genre

‘Fry & Fry’ view them in terms of adverts

‘Fiske’ holds the view that they are a new form of television as classic postmodern texts

‘Walker’ sees them as visual art

‘Lewis’ sees them merely in terms of shopping mall culture

‘Marcus’ views them as semiotic pornography

With these varying opinions, it proves very difficult to pin-point exactly what a music video is, and for every criticism that is levelled against them, it is easy to put forward a strong couter-arguement. MTV also comes in for criticism as that is blamed for the society we live in today and the short attention span much of society have. It also takes a lot of the blame for our obsession with image as much of the music videos and other programmes broadcast on this particular channel include perfect looking men and women. However, once again their is a counter-arguement that MTV are responsible for allowing black artists such as Michael Jackson to become global superstars. This shows that while many people slate music videos and MTV there are also political and social reasons to be greatful to MTV.

Meta-narrative and Star persona
A section of the article known as ‘material girl’ allows me to understand how artists such as Madonna cleverly set about creating a star persona through their successive music videos. Promotional music videos are key for doing this as the consumer is able to see the artist/band transform into a new image. Meta-narrative is a way of describing how the collection of promotional videos an artist releases builds up a story or meta-narrative of their development as an artist or person. The one described in the article is Madonna who used her music videos to transform from a sex symbol into a role model of female empowerment. This type of coverage of an artists life is not always positive though and Michael Jackson’s videos show his rise and fall as an artist as well as showing his race and culture.  An idea that springs to mind from this idea is Katy Perry who has released an album called Teenage Dream and her music videos for songs included on this album tell a particular story. She has had alot going on in her personal life and these videos have allowed the public to connect with her as a person.

Evaluation of source
‘Dancing in the Distraction factory’ has proved to be a useful secondary source because it explores a range of critical perspectives on music video, including clear and interesting case studies which I am easily able to research further if required. One of the most useful resources which it provides is a music video timeline which gives me key information/dates starting in 1921. Although there are many plus’s to using this resource, there are also some negatives including its value being limited. This is largely due to the book being targeted at Media students at degree level which makes some of the content very difficult to understand. Much of the content focuses on how music is portrayed on the television so although this aids me in uncovering a selection of background information, it does not aid me in generating any creative ideas other than the George Michael technical range analysis as this provides me a brief insight into camera angles which are suitable.

It aided me greatly in forming the definition of what a music video is. The definition below is provided by Andrew Goodwin:

A clip that responds to the pleasures of music, and in which that music is made visual, either in new ways or in ways that accentuate existing visual associations.

WHAT IS A MUSIC VIDEO?

There are many different definitions available to describe what a music video is although many of these differ largely. To begin my project I need to first consider and understand what a music video is and how it benefits the public and the music artists producing the video.

A music video is something which connects with a piece of music and depending on the type of music video, the need for the music video can differ greatly, although it is largely required to accompany the lyrics and provide the viewer with a visual relationship. When people listen to songs certain ideas and thoughts are created and these ideas are portrayed greatly through the use of music videos.

Below is a range of definitions which I have taken from across the internet:

“A good music video is ‘a clip that responds to the pleasure of music, and in which that music is made visual, either in new ways or in ways that accentuate existing visual associations”.
‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ by Andrew Goodwin

“A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes.”
‘Wikipedia’

“A commercial videotape featuring a performance of a popular song, often through a stylized dramatization by the performers with lip-synching and special effects.”
‘Dictionary.com’

As stated on Wikipedia, modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. The first music video ever produced was ‘Video killed the Radio Star’ in 1979 and was shown to the public on the music channel known as ‘MTV’. Throughout time many critics have differed in opinion in relation to music videos as although many see it as a step forward in technology, others believe that is taking meaning away from real music. When the first music video was transmitted, people were shocked at this new creation and wanted to see when this new creation would lead to. Seeing music joined with visual images back in the 1980’s was so unusual and many people were astounded.

There are 3 main types of music video which I will explore later on in this project although these are: narrative, performance and concept based music videos. Depending on the type of music video the link between visual aid and lyric differs greatly. While some music videos tell the same story as the lyics, others enhance the meaning behind the lyrics. Very rarely some music videos, especially the performance based ones include live performances but this depends on the type of video the record company are attempting to achieve.

From the very beginning music videos have been produced to coincide with the release of an artist/bands single release which encourages sales so is therefore used as a promotional tool although from the public eye they appear to be a form of entertainment. Due to developing technology, it is now possible for music videos to be viewed in many different formats including MP4 format on an iPod or iPhone. Due to there now being technological devices which are portable, many people are able to watch their favourite music videos on the go, especially seeing they are generally between 3-5 minutes so are long enough for bus journeys etc. Websites across the internet, including YouTube, are available 24/7 and this encourages people to search and now download their favourite music downloads but due to piracy issues this sometimes leads to a loss of money for record companies.

Found on Wikipedia, the statement below sums up my question ‘What is a music video?’:

“A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos date back much further, they came into prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including “illustrated song“, “filmed insert”, “promotional (promo) film”, “promotional clip” or “film clip”.”