The purpose of music videos in the digital age

Music videos are simply adverts for different products, most importantly the song itself. Other products advertised include objects that are shown as desirable during the video, the album the song is on, the movie that the song features in or a tour that the song will be played at.

In the past, access to music videos were very limited and therefore the production was not as big as now. The only time that music videos would be commonly shown would be during TV show presentation, but even those would often just be opportunities to record new live performances. Now, with the widespread and free access of YouTube and other video uploading services, music videos can be shown on almost every electronic device and therefore they are seen as a much better advertising opportunity.

The problem with having these videos extremely easy to access and for free means that other people can easily rip these videos from the internet and upload them themselves to create revenue for themselves instead. To counter this, music producers now have official youtube channels where they upload the videos first. These videos will be the highest quality available and provide links to iTunes or other legal download websites. This also means that people can subscribe to these channels to get notified when their favourite artists release new music.

Conventions of music videos

Movement

Movement of the cameras and the movement of the actors in a music video is crucial to the genre and tempo of the song as well as the atmosphere it creates.

Songs with high tempos will often feature lots of cuts and fast movement in general. The speed of the cuts and character's movements will change to correspond with the music, as these song often have periods between choruses where the music calms down a bit and builds up towards the next chorus. This is important as keeping the video linked to the music means that they will be easy to remember and focus on, as if they had completely different timings it would not feel natural at all.

Slower or more relaxed songs will not be as fast paced as others. They will feature slow motion scenes and maybe a few long shots. They could still cut along with the beats but because the BPM would be lower, the cuts would not be as frequent. Fast paced songs might use slow motion scenes to convey a calm or chilled atmosphere but will not be used in the same sense as for slow songs.

Lighting

The lighting of each shot is an important way to communicate emotions or atmosphere in each video. These are important for setting the tone and defining the genre for each song.

Songs with performance music videos will feature genre specific lighting for each venue. A video set at a rave will include all the flashing strobe lights and beams, as is typical in a rave or party environment. These are just fitting of the environment and therefore included in the video which provides a very fitting theme for the song.

Songs with a darker aesthetic, such as rock or metal songs, will use silhouetted lighting around people to create a sinister look. These videos could use horror inspired lighting styles as that is the same design that these songs are going for.

Star image

Artists will always have a public image that they have to keep up. Normally this is just the band members or lead singer but can sometimes be an icon that they have for themselves. This image and, more specifically, closeups of them will be included throughout the video.

This is used for 2 reasons. First, to attract attention to the video and to entice fans of whoever is on screen. Secondly, this is also promotion for the band as there is now something or someone recognisable linked with the bands music and therefore can be used to promote future albums and songs.

Mise-en-scène

 

At the end of the day, music videos are simply adverts for different products, including the band themselves as they are of course trying to sell the music that is playing. But companies that sponsor the artists will use these videos as an opportunity to advertise their products as well. Shots that focus on the product and have people in the video using the product are never subtle and will, at times, ruin the pacing of the video.

The other objects around a music video will just provide extra insight into the locations and setting of each video and therefore benefit the genre of the music. These could be sexual, as per most hip hop and RnB songs, in which people manipulate the objects to perform a seductive dance.

Conventions of music videos

Typical Conventions of music videos - camera shots: long shots, close-ups and extreme close-ups are constantly used. Close-ups are usually used in music videos as it puts emphasis on the artist or bands face for promotional reasons and their lips to show the lip-synching.

• Camera movements: Pans, dolly track shots, crane shots and tilts are used to follow the movements of the singer/band or dancers.
• Editing: Jump cuts are the most commonly used as its purpose is to jump from a scene of the location to the artist to the instruments and vice-versa. Reaction shots are used with music videos with narrative as it expresses the relationship between two or more people. The pace of the editing is always in synch with the beat of the track.
• Mise-en-scene: Is associated to the inter-textual link of the music video, therefore it depends on the representation. For example, a video based on a sixties film (Madonna – “Material Girl” Is based on “Diamonds are a Girls best friend” from a Marilyn Monroe film performance) would use iconic staging, characters, costumes and so on to represent the time. Mise-en-scene is also reflected through:

1. Lighting: Extreme artificial lighting is the most common type of lighting used in music videos as it helps to enhance the look of the artist or band through making them seem ‘ageless’, this is commonly used in pop music videos. Lighting switches help to indicate a shift from the chorus to verse and vice-versa. Finally, lighting also enhances the atmosphere as it can be used to give a bright and upbeat feel particularly in dance music videos or a dark and eerie feel which is used mostly in rock music videos. For example, Cheryl Cole’s video for “Fight for this love” uses the lighting to show her flawless complexion.
2. Props: Props are essential in music videos
3. Costume: Reflect the genre of the music and the style of the artist; therefore costumes are essential because they compliment the artist. For example, Lady Gaga has specific clothing to show off her fashion, this is evident in her “Poker face” video.
4. Colour: colour represents the mood of the song for example; bright colours are usually used in ‘feel good’ pop songs, a good example is Kylie Minogue’s “In your eyes” video
5. Sound: usually the sound is the music and vocals; however some music videos are similar to short films with acting, therefore in these clips there are various sounds which can be heard such as diegetic and nondiegetic sounds.

Hip-Hop Videos

• Usually includes the artist
• Normally set in a club or a party environment
• Usually no storyline
• Typically women dancers or models. Usually half naked
• Features jewellery, alcohol and sport cars.
• Features mansion and branded clothing.
• Usually other famous artists are featured in the video.

EXAMPLES:- 50 Cent, B.I.G – Notorious,

Rock Music Videos

• Usually dark/deep colours
• Displays the band performing on stage
• Usually no narrative
• Eerie/weird videos
• Uneasy camera movements
• Hand-held shots
• Usually no use of special effects

EXAMPLES:- Rolling Stones, Limp Bizkit

Pop Music Videos

• Colourful
• Close up of artists – shows innocence
• Fun and light hearted
• Appeals to younger target audience
• Shows artist/band involved in dance routines
• Good mood – location – happy for example a beach/friends house.
• Teenager scenario ( having a crush )
• Video usually has narrative

EXAMPLES:- Britney spears, Lady Gaga

Indie/Rock Music Videos

• Shows artist or band throughout the video· Some special effects
• Usually calm setting, but changes when beat kicks in
• May be black and white
• Sometimes has a narrative
• Close up of artists and characters shown in video
• Shows band performing

EXAMPLES:- Snow Patrol, Kings Of Leon, Kasabian

Dance Music Videos

• Dance routines
• Sometimes narrative
• Location – Clubs or party
• Upbeat and fun videos
• Women dancers usually half naked
• Bright colours
• All dancers wearing similar costumes

EXAMPLES:- Eric Pryds, Basshunter, Faithless

R’n’B Music Videos

• Usually a narrative
• Artist/band always shown
• Usually dance routine
• Close up of artists
• Usually set in calm locations such as houses, beaches
• Hardly no performance
• Women usually wear revealing clothing
• Money portrayed positively.
• Alcohol and party scenes
• Use of special effects

EXAMPLES:- Destiny’s Child, Rihanna

Analysis of She Wolf by David Guetta

She Wolf (Falling to Pieces) is an electro house song by David Guetta and featuring the vocals of Sia.

The video immediately starts with a shot of a naked woman from behind. She is not given any identity and is only there for the visuals. This applies to Goodwin's 5th feature which states that there is a frequent reference to looking or voyeurism, which in this case is all that this women appears for.

During the more bass heavy segments of the music, the video will turn into shots of the hunters or the surrounding environment with graphics that resemble bars used to measure sound. They go up and down with the beat and are put alongside spikes that rapidly go up and down along with the music too. This applies to Goodwin's 3rd feature which states there is a relationship between the music and the visuals, which in this case just illustrates the beats of the music.

The whole music video revolves around a group of people hunting down a wolf. The video is split into segments where the wolf is running away whilst they follow and other scenes where the wolf freezes the hunters whilst the camera pans around them. This fits the lyrics as they talk about hunting and wolves, which obviously fits what is going on in the video. This applies to Goodwin's 2nd feature which states there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

The genre of the song is electro house, as previously stated. This often features segments of heavy bass with more calm and quieter breaks between. This sort of music is supposedly adrenaline pumping at times and the build up to a 'bass drop' should get audience hyped for the drop. The video mirrors these feelings as the hunters would be quite adrenaline fuelled whilst hunting and the buildup to each standoff would raise their heartbeats in preparation, much like the music.

Music videos

A music video is a short film that will play in the background of a song. Often, whatever is occuring on the screen will reflect the lyrics or the theme of the music and provide the audience with something to watch whilst they listen.

The videos are used to attract audiences to listen to a song, often using sexual images to keep them enticed. In doing so, this will promote the single, or album, that the song belongs to and, more importantly, the band itself.

There are 3 types of music video:
Narrative - a story is told
Performance - a live performance of the song is shown
Both - clips of a story and somebody singing are cut between

Sometimes, if a song becomes popular before a music video has been created or finished, they will create lyric videos, which simply show the lyrics of the song as they are spoken.

Digipak

A digipak is a small package that contains an album. It will often have a tracklist and a booklet inside that contains details and behind the scene information about the band and the production of the album.

Because the digipak can contain any small item, the band could decide to include limited availability merchandise or links to such products aswell as special edition content that is only available from the digipak. It will, of course, also provide a means of promotion for their other music or a website or upcoming gigs. They are also seen as a display piece as they will have a themed design on them and could easily be propped up somewhere.

Digipaks will only normally come in one style, a fold out container wrapped around the album and CDs. How big the digipak is and how many CDs come inside it is all that varies across different designs. Sometimes 2 CDs will be included in 2 different pouches so the digipak will be bigger to compensate, but the usual design is just 1 CD and a booklet.

Website homepage

A website is an online page that bands can use to keep fans constantly updated with news and information. It is also a great place for adverts to be displayed.

Bands will often use websites as a medium for promoting their music and albums. Sometimes bands will have a website devoted to their whole band and then buy domains for separate albums that they release afterwards. This allows them to personalize each album's website with the aesthetic of the album. They can provide links to download or purchase the album or other merchandise and just generally promote the band.

The album's website could either be a simplistic advert which shows the digipak or the music video, which is a common design as it is seen as stylish to have a minimalistic approach to the layout, or have multiple links off to other band endorsed websites. These are much more busy but still use the same tactics of self promotion.

Brief

A promotional package for the release of aj album, to include a music promo video, together with two options:

• a website homepage for the band
• a cover for it's release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)

The length of the track is the usual convention, but if it is a [articularly long track they could fade early. Three minutes is the classic pop song.