Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Monday, 8 October 2012
Music Video Techniques
Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics & Music
In music videos there is always a link between the lyrics and the visuals, even if it is only a small link it will always be there. This allows the audience to watch the video and hear the song, then come up with their own interpretation of the video. The video can either be made to illustrate the point of the song, contradict and make a joke of the song or even amplify and fit in with the song and work perfectly well along side the music. A rough example of this is a song like So Good by B.o.B where he is talking about going on holiday to specific places and he is shown in many different places as he sings whilst dressed in holiday clothes.
Genre Characteristics
Music videos have a specific look for each genre of music in the industry. For example rock videos usually share the same characteristics such as guitars, dark scenes, dark clothing, screaming fans etc. However in a genre such as rap there are usually characteristics such as fast cars, attractive women, gangsters, guns etc. These are just a few examples but each genre has its own stereotyope of video. One example is a pop/rap video to the song Heatwave by Wiley. This video is traditional for a summer song of this genre and involves all of the usual characteristics and conventions.
Another example for comparison is the song Fat Lip by Sum 41This video is far different to the first video and appeals to its target audience a lot more by including the same ammount of fun in different ways. This is the case because fans of a certain genre expect a certain thing from the bands that offer that genre of music.
Star Image
Star image is essentially the way that the star that creates the song presents themselves in both the song and the video. This could involve either coming across as a crazy star or a suarve sophisticated star incuding anything in between. This style is what determines the sort of fans an artist would get as well as the number. For example artists such as lady gaga have put across the image to fans that they are wild and unpredictable. This is the reason for her fanbase consisting of the type of people that it contains. Another example to contrast with this one is the video to Santa Claus is coming to town by Michael Buble. Michael Buble presents himself as suarve and a gentleman in his music; so its not a shock when the video to a song he sings is performance based and a little like this.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is actually a very common technique in a lot of music videos typically associated with genres such as rap or if the singer is a female. The technique consists essentially of showing the audience something that they will feel uncomfortable or awkward around, as though they shouldnt be watching it. An example of this style is the video to Beyonce's Put a ring on it. In this video Beyonce promotes the song using sex appeal whilst also displaying a performance of female dominance.
Intertextual References
An intertextual reference is when one media production recreates or references another, usually a very famous or traditional film. Lots of productions do this because it helps their own production to become more well known as people who know the original reference will be interested in their production. This can often be used to create comedy but can also be used in other ways, for example in the video to The Island by Pendulum the video is styled from the film, The Island to fit in with the song and to make it seem more epic.
In music videos there is always a link between the lyrics and the visuals, even if it is only a small link it will always be there. This allows the audience to watch the video and hear the song, then come up with their own interpretation of the video. The video can either be made to illustrate the point of the song, contradict and make a joke of the song or even amplify and fit in with the song and work perfectly well along side the music. A rough example of this is a song like So Good by B.o.B where he is talking about going on holiday to specific places and he is shown in many different places as he sings whilst dressed in holiday clothes.
Genre Characteristics
Music videos have a specific look for each genre of music in the industry. For example rock videos usually share the same characteristics such as guitars, dark scenes, dark clothing, screaming fans etc. However in a genre such as rap there are usually characteristics such as fast cars, attractive women, gangsters, guns etc. These are just a few examples but each genre has its own stereotyope of video. One example is a pop/rap video to the song Heatwave by Wiley. This video is traditional for a summer song of this genre and involves all of the usual characteristics and conventions.
Another example for comparison is the song Fat Lip by Sum 41This video is far different to the first video and appeals to its target audience a lot more by including the same ammount of fun in different ways. This is the case because fans of a certain genre expect a certain thing from the bands that offer that genre of music.
Star Image
Star image is essentially the way that the star that creates the song presents themselves in both the song and the video. This could involve either coming across as a crazy star or a suarve sophisticated star incuding anything in between. This style is what determines the sort of fans an artist would get as well as the number. For example artists such as lady gaga have put across the image to fans that they are wild and unpredictable. This is the reason for her fanbase consisting of the type of people that it contains. Another example to contrast with this one is the video to Santa Claus is coming to town by Michael Buble. Michael Buble presents himself as suarve and a gentleman in his music; so its not a shock when the video to a song he sings is performance based and a little like this.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is actually a very common technique in a lot of music videos typically associated with genres such as rap or if the singer is a female. The technique consists essentially of showing the audience something that they will feel uncomfortable or awkward around, as though they shouldnt be watching it. An example of this style is the video to Beyonce's Put a ring on it. In this video Beyonce promotes the song using sex appeal whilst also displaying a performance of female dominance.
Intertextual References
An intertextual reference is when one media production recreates or references another, usually a very famous or traditional film. Lots of productions do this because it helps their own production to become more well known as people who know the original reference will be interested in their production. This can often be used to create comedy but can also be used in other ways, for example in the video to The Island by Pendulum the video is styled from the film, The Island to fit in with the song and to make it seem more epic.
Music video Styles
Music videos are generally split into three different catagories. These catagories cover all types of music video however some videos can overlap and can easily be considered either style of video.
Performance Based
Performanced based music videos are probably the most simple and basic videos to both create and explain. A performance based video is simply just a video of the singer themselves, usually singing the song directly into the camera and being shown from many different angles in many different scenes. This is common in songs from bands because they often are shown to be playing their instruments. This style of video can be useful in many different ways for example, it shows the artist fully and usually goes with the song very well, whilst promoting the look of the artist. It is also good for keeping the audience focused on the music instead of making them lose concentracion by getting too into the video. An example of a performance based music video is Professor Green's Avalon. This is a traditional performance based video because the entire video video has no point or drama to it and in each scene they are looking towards the camera and performing the muic.
Narrative Based
Narrative based music videos are probably the least commonly used style of music video that can often be hard to create to the exact definition. Basically a narrative music video is a music video that follows the story of the song. This can be used to explain the song easier to the audience and to easily create an entertaining video that almost always goes with the song. In the music video for The Arctic Monkeys' song Leave Before The Lights Come the a narrative is used to make the video more interesting and follow a story for the audience to get sucked into as they listen to the song. The narrative is an impressive story for a music video with an interesting ending and this works well for the ratings of the song.
Concept Based
A concept based music video is a video that doesnt really relate to the song or sometimes relates in a small way. These types of music videos, if done well can be by far the most popular and creative on the producers behalf. Concept videos usually include strange things that couldnt be possible in real life to really make the video stand out, as is the purpose with this style of video. An example of a concept based video is Bangarang by Skrillex, The song is a simple song without many words or meanings so the video is completley out of the blue and random however it was made in a clever way to really fit in with the song and impress the audience with its style and the thought involved.
Performance Based
Performanced based music videos are probably the most simple and basic videos to both create and explain. A performance based video is simply just a video of the singer themselves, usually singing the song directly into the camera and being shown from many different angles in many different scenes. This is common in songs from bands because they often are shown to be playing their instruments. This style of video can be useful in many different ways for example, it shows the artist fully and usually goes with the song very well, whilst promoting the look of the artist. It is also good for keeping the audience focused on the music instead of making them lose concentracion by getting too into the video. An example of a performance based music video is Professor Green's Avalon. This is a traditional performance based video because the entire video video has no point or drama to it and in each scene they are looking towards the camera and performing the muic.
Narrative Based
Narrative based music videos are probably the least commonly used style of music video that can often be hard to create to the exact definition. Basically a narrative music video is a music video that follows the story of the song. This can be used to explain the song easier to the audience and to easily create an entertaining video that almost always goes with the song. In the music video for The Arctic Monkeys' song Leave Before The Lights Come the a narrative is used to make the video more interesting and follow a story for the audience to get sucked into as they listen to the song. The narrative is an impressive story for a music video with an interesting ending and this works well for the ratings of the song.
Concept Based
A concept based music video is a video that doesnt really relate to the song or sometimes relates in a small way. These types of music videos, if done well can be by far the most popular and creative on the producers behalf. Concept videos usually include strange things that couldnt be possible in real life to really make the video stand out, as is the purpose with this style of video. An example of a concept based video is Bangarang by Skrillex, The song is a simple song without many words or meanings so the video is completley out of the blue and random however it was made in a clever way to really fit in with the song and impress the audience with its style and the thought involved.
The Purposes of Music Video
Music video is the producers way of illustrating a song. It is used in the media for many different things. On one hand music video helps to promote the singer by involving celebrities and sex appeal. At the same time if the artist is big a lot of money can be made by using product placement and advertising in the video. Music videos have become increasingly popular over the relatively short period of time they have really been created; this is the reason for how much more advanced and common they are. Today music videos have got to the stage where the video alone can make the song as popular as other songs even if the song is much worse. The fact that people nowadays carry around devices capable of watching music video makes the purchasing of music video almost as common as songs themselves. A recent example of a music video that has recently beome extremley popular is the video to the song Gangnam Style which is a joke video that has promoted the song a rediculous ammount in a short period of time.
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