Understanding Music Videos
Purpose
Promote - Often artists will make a music video in order to promote their song, by invoking a reaction which the audience will remember the song by, an album or an upcoming tour. However, with the rise of YouTube, and their partnership with Vevo, nowadays a lot of artists make music videos in order to promote Vevo. In Katy Perry's Dark Horse, she is mainly promoting Vevo, however in the description of her video she is also promoting her single as well as an upcoming tour.
Advertise - Music videos can be used as a device to promote the sale of records, as it often works as catalyst for sales and/or downloads. Often enough, product will be placed into the music video in order to advertise the company/product. A very common product placement which is seen in a lot of music videos nowadays, is Beats by Dre. In the first example, Adidas, i.am+ Camera and Beats Speaker are all placed in the music video. The second example served extremely well in promoting the sale of records, as of 2012 the song made a revenue of $13.4 million and currently has a over 2.15 billion views on YouTube, and has since become one of the most known songs and subsequently one of the most known artists.
Entertain - Some artists simply want to entertain their audience, which can give the band a better image and reputation, and could afterwards result in more sales of the single and/or album, so it links into the advertising and promoting purposes a little.
Create an image/alter the image of an artist - Artists who haven't made a music video yet tend to be because they are still small and don't have the resources to make one, therefore when it comes to making their first music video, it would be in their style and it would create an image for that artist/band accordingly. Eminem's first music video, was made so that after watching the video, the audience would get a clear idea of what he is like and how he thinks, which people would later acknowledge as Slim Shady, this is also implied by the title of the song.
On the other hand, there is also the moment when an artist would like to change their image and how they are viewed as an artist. Miley Cyrus did just this in her music video for Wrecking Ball, in which she made it clear that she didn't want to be viewed as a Disney character any more and that she has grown up and out of it.
Artistic Self-Expression - Some artists would like to express their feelings and emotions and go deeper in the lyrics than most other songs. In order to do this in a music video, it will often represent and emphasise the emotion the artist is feeling. In these projects the artist has more saying on how the music video will turn out than in other projects, and the director and producers aren't given as much freedom as usual. In this example, the artist wanted a simple music video, expressing primarily just one emotion which is shown by the actors throughout the whole video.
Styles
Homage - This is when something or someone is given a special honor or respect shown publicly. Often enough, in the music industry it tends to be about past artists who have died who receive this honor. In this example, the special tribute is given to 2Pac, who had died ten years before the release of this music video. The video acknowledges the legacy which the artist has left behind. In the video, an actor plays the role of 2Pac and it's reliving the final moments of the artist before his death.
Animation - There are different types of animation an artist could use for a music video, including 2D, 3D and Stop motion. Some bands have a unique artistic image and style and only do animated music videos. An animated music video could potentially attract more people as it is different to most other music videos, and it allows great freedom of what can be put on the screen, which can be something very pleasing to view.
Gorillaz is a band which only has animated music videos, and in result they are known for having this style. Their animations also have a very unique style which is uncommon from other animations, so this might have resulted in a greater audience .
An example of stop motion would be You Came Out by We Have a Band. Which uses clever make up and stop motion to create a unique music video, which resulted in an increase of popularity of the band.
There can also be a mixture of real life and animation, predominantly using 3D animation. Some music videos will render in 3D figures but use real life surroundings. The Offspring's Hit That uses this method, in which it renders in a 3D head on people with its unique characteristics and also some animals in the same style. Some costume might have also been used for the person's hands.
Narrative - Sometimes a music video has a story, most often the story relates to the lyrics of the song but it doesn't always. In the case that the story does relate to the lyrics, the purpose of this would be to aid getting the message of the lyrics across to the audience, as often the audience will not pay close attention to the lyrics, by visualizing them it makes it easier for them to understand it.
Occasionally, there will be extended versions of a music video with a narrative, where the song is implemented into the story somehow, whether it being at the start, middle, end or throughout the video. A very popular example of an extended music video is Michael Jackson's Thriller, which has an additional eight minutes of narrative and the song is implemented throughout the film.
Live - Artists might decide to use footage from a concert, tour or behind the scenes for a music video. This choice of music video is primarily up to the artist. In most cases of a live music video, the footage would be synched to the audio when the singer is seen singing or when the song "drops".
Another example, in which the artist used footage from a concert and also some personal clips which add to the music video via the audio, video and also show emotion, is Krewella's Human. They combined these two in order to show the stages the band had been through, it was also part of an announcement.
There can also be live music videos in which the video uses live audio as well as live footage. The quality of the song isn't as good and the cheering from the crowd is also present, which usually means that the music video isn't as successful. An example of this is Linkin Park and Jay-Z's Numb/Encore collaboration.
Parody - It is rare to see an artist who has never made a parody to make a parody as their next single, however, there are some artists who are specialized in parodies and only make that style of music and music videos. They imitate the style of a particular writer, artist or genre with deliberate exhageration in order to produce comical effect. These can be very successful if made well, and there are some examples of famous artists who specialize in parody.
The Lonely Island are famous for their comical music, and as their latest music video, they made a parody about Avicii and the EDM genre. They show the parodic exhageration constantly throughout the video as well as in the title of the song.
Surreal - Depending on the style of an artist they could make a surreal music video. This consists of creating an environment which has a nonrational significance of imagery by using chance effects and unexpected juxtapositions. This can be a great commercial tool as it can get people sharing the music video and ultimately the band/artist.
Nirvana made a surreal music video for their song Heart-Shaped Box. It suited their style and also the feel of the song and the lyrics.
Lyric - It is very common for songs to eventually have a lyric video, in some cases the lyric video comes out before the oficial music video. Lyric videos are made to visualize the lyrics of the song to the audience, making it easier to understand the meaning of them. The lyric video should suit the style of the artist and the feel of the song.
Nowadays it has become very hard to make an impressive and creative music video, as they all have to deliver lyrics to the screen, and it can become hard to do this creatively. Avicii's The Days, has a very unique and creative lyric video, which is a step forward for lyric videos. It proves that there are still different ways of making a lyric video other than just having words appear on the screen in time with the song.
Pastiche - These music videos are similar to parodies, but instead of making fun of something, they celebrate the style or artist. These two often get mixed up, as pastiche will still use characteristics from another piece of work. A good example of this is Foo Fighters' Walk. Which is heavily influenced by the 1993 film Falling Down. It follows around Dave Grohl picking up trouble along his journey to a warehouse, where he is to play with his band.
Some artist have a particular style of making a lot of pastiche references in their music videosOne would be Eminem, who since the beginning of his career has been using parodies and pastiches. In this example, the opening of the music video pays tribute to Max Headroom. This opening shot was used as the trailer for the released music video for Rap God.
Techniques
Slow Motion - A very impressive, yet rarely used, technique for a music video is slow motion. This effect is used to set the pace of a song and can also be used to showcase some footage which might look otherwise boring in normal speed. The use of slow motion also means that the total length of the production could be shorter, as there would be less time required to shoot.
Fun. use slow motion throughout their music video for We Are Young. The only parts of the music video which are not in slow motion is the opening shot of the singer and the final shot also of the singer.
Fun. use slow motion throughout their music video for We Are Young. The only parts of the music video which are not in slow motion is the opening shot of the singer and the final shot also of the singer.
Another example, would be While You Slept's Havoc. Which is in slow motion for the whole video and impressively only used 18 seconds of filming, at 300fps. Due to this, the video received a lot of media publicity and the artists are therefore more known than before. They have also released the behind the scenes for the project which has alongside the music video gained publicity, which can be found in this link: http://vimeo.com/58610223
Effects - There are many effects that can be applied to a music video, it is however unlikely to find a music video with an effect for most or all of the video. The use of effect can imply an emotion or feeling, or can simply serve as an aesthetic effect.
Route 94's My love uses an effect for most of their music video, the only shots where they arent used is the opening shot and the last shot. In the opening shot the protagonist walks towards the camera and the next shot he goes into a club (this shot has the effect applied). This could imply that the character is in a different environment or state of mind when in a club, as in the last shot he leaves the club and walks away from the camera, which has not got the effect applied to it.
Time Lapse - This is the opposite of slow motion. Where an image is taken every X seconds, and then once they are played back, it will create the illusion of motion. This can require a lot of production time and patience, however the final results can be very impressive and can make a song well known thanks to it. Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know use time lapse for the majority of his music video, as his body is being fully painted in order to blend in with the background.
Another very impressive music video which uses time lapse is Coming Of Age by Foster The People. This music video is particularly impressive and creative as it uses a lot of different shots and angles and very peculiar shots choices and styles.
One Take - These music videos can be very hard to accomplish and require a good cast. In these, there are no cuts and the whole music video is just one shot. If done well they can be very impressive, especially if there are choreographed dances included in them or some occurrence which can only happen or be made once. Kiesza's Hideaway includes multiple choreographed dances and the singer is the main dancer in all of them, which makes this music video notably unique and splendid.
There are different ways to approach a one take video. OK Go's The Writing's On The Wall uses optical illusions throughout the whole video and seems so much more impressive, as at the end the whole path the camera took is revealed and it can really shock the audience.
One of the most iconic one take music video, which happens to be officially the first music video ever recorder, is Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues. It is also a unique style of lyric video, and has lyrics on the screen which don't even appear in the song.
Cutting To The Beat - This technique is commonly used in most music videos at occasional stages of the video. It is mostly due to the fact that a cut at a beat seems much more natural and pleasing than a cut off beat. It is however, difficult to maintain this technique throughout the whole video, but it can be sustained through most of the video. An example of this would be The Offspring's Pretty Fly, where the cutting to the beat is present in the majority of the video, but are not present at some points.
Lip Synch - This is used in almost every music video, particularly the ones where the singer is present in the video. It consists of the singer or actor, singing along to the music, usually while performing. A good example of this technique would be Eminem's Without Me, where he is seen singing the song throughout most of the video. Also, as mentioned earlier, Eminem is known for his parodic style, and this music video is also a great example for that.
Voyeurism - It has become very common recently to use sexual figures as a method to sell the video and attract audience. Not only does this serve well in attracting an audience, it can also create controversy in the media and the public, creating further spread of the word and publicity. There have also been unofficial competition between three famous pop stars, as to who can make the most revealing and successful music video. A great example of voyeurism in a music video is Nicky Minaj's Anaconda. Where she reveals a lot of her body and constantly makes sexual references in the video.
Another great example, which was supposed to be competition with Anaconda, is Jennifer Lopez's Booty. Which was aimed and made as a response to Nicky Minaj's Anaconda.
Conventions
Lyrical Interpretation - This is when visuals are being used to interpret the meaning of the lyrics. This is very common in most music videos as it is logical to make a music video relating to the song or the lyrics. This can be done in many different clever ways, but the most common is simply showing the object or action of which is being sung. In Katy Perry's Firework, the protagonists are seen to be releasing fireworks from their chest as she sings "You are a firework".
Another good example which uses lyrical interpretation is Eminem's Love The Way You Lie. In this music video the lyrics are constantly interpreted visually having a burning house in the background, also on occasions when the house is set on fire when he sings "Ima tie her to the bed and set this house on fire" and one of the protagonists burning while he sings "watch me burn".
Consolidation Of A Song's Meaning - Using symbolism and things in the mise on scene to emphasise the meaning of the song. It closely links to lyrical interpretation as visuals are once again used to explain the meaning of the lyrics. However this is more straight forward. In Lily Allen's LDN, she is singing about London, and how its perceived of being nice and pleasant, however if you look at it again closely, you will realise that its fake. In the music video everything is shown in two perspectives, one in which everything is nice and bright, and the other which is dark and dull. This method can make it easier for an audience to understand the lyrics and meaning of a song.
Allusion - This is simply a subtle reference to something, similar to a pastiche in the sense it doesn't mock anything or anyone, but an allusion isn't as obvious, and instead it's more indirect and discreet. This can be used to puzzle the audience for some time and preserve their attention as something they see might remind them of something they have seen somewhere else. 30 Seconds To Mars does this in the music video for The Kill, in which they are cleverly alluding The Shining using multiple references throughout the video.
Another example where the song links to another artist, which in this case is a collaboration of these two artists, is Tinie Tempah's Pass Out, which links to Labrinth.
