Understanding music videos

Understanding Music Videos

Purposes of music videos

Music videos have many different purposes. These include:

• To sell the song and to invoke a reaction from the viewer to ensure they remember the song and listen to it again

Nicki Minaj's 'Anaconda', as shown above, certainly invoked a reaction. The video, which is 4 minutes 50 seconds of not much else other than Nicki and her backup dances bums wiggling about, currently standing at almost 360 million views on YouTube. Leading up to the video release, Minaj excited many of her fans by uploading many racy teaser clips and promo pics to social media, in particular photo sharing app instagram. These teasers undoubtedly enticed people to watch the video, whether this was out of admiration for her risqué performance, or pure curiosity as to just how explicit she could make the video and have it still allowed to be shown on YouTube. All of this, alongside undeniably catchy lyrics, ensured this music video was watched over and over again by many and certainly made it memorable.

• To provide the listener with a better understanding of the song and any meanings behind the song. (This only really applies if the video is narrative)

Ed Sheeran's debut single 'The A Team' was a massive hit, coming in at number three in the UK Singles Chart. The indie folk ballad's heavy meaning isn't obvious to the average listener, unless someone is really listening and understanding the lyrics; they tell of a young homeless lady who is addicted to crack cocaine and turns to prostitution. The video, whilst reflecting the lyrics, portrays the story of this quite simply and beautifully by following the girl as she spends a night sleeping rough on a bench in the cold (follows lyrics 'white lips, pale face, breathing in snow flakes'), tries to sell Big Issue magazines (follows lyrics 'struggling to pay rent'), eventually resorts to picking up a man (follows lyrics 'long nights, strange men'), sleeping with him in his hotel room (follows lyrics 'sell love to another man'), using the money to buy crack (follows lyrics 'go mad for a couple grams'), smoking it (follows lyrics 'in a pipe she flies to the motherland') and eventually succumbing to the drug abuse and dying (follows lyrics 'it's too cold outside, for angels to fly, an angel will die). Sheeran wrote this song after visiting a homeless shelter and hearing one of the residents stories, the emotional impact this had on him is shown through the video and lyrics. 

• To entertain the viewer and show off any other talents the musician may have, such as dancing and acting.

Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off'' was her first release from her most recent album '1989'. This song acted also as a kind of reinvention of Swift's musical style, from country pop to all out uptempo pop. To go along with this new pop sound, she needed a stereotypically pop music video. It's certainly entertaining, showing Taylor fully immersing herself in a variety of dancing styles including ballet, hip hop, ribbon twirling and cheerleading, none of which are her usual music video style. It's silly and funny, she wears lots of outfits you would never expect to see Taylor wearing fitting with each dancing styles stereotype and doesn't take herself seriously at all, trying her hardest to twerk alongside the other hip hop dancers and plies as well as the professional ballerinas. This side of her is not usually seen, as her videos will often go with a heart wrenching ballad about some guy who treat her badly, or be her stood singing and playing her guitar/ukelele/banjo. Bar a few ('You Belong With Me' and 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' stick out in my memory), none of her past music videos are particularly entertaining, nor do they show her clear dance and comedy talents as this one shows. With over 454 million views on YouTube, the video must of entertained many.

• To show the reinvention of an artist/ change their image

Miley Cyrus' transformation is probably one of the most famous of the modern music industry. From Disney teen pop star to scantily clad controversial pop sensation, Miley clearly felt just leaving Hannah Montana behind her wasn't enough and that she needed to do something big to show the world that she's all grown up now. The video begins with someone, probably Miley, cutting a tag off of their leg with a big pair of shears; if anyone needed any conformation that the sweet, America's sweetheart country inspired pop icon that was Miley Cyrus is gone, here it is plain and simple. The most amount of clothing she wears throughout the video is a cropped white vest top paired with skin tight white leggings, from there it gets less and less to the point where she is wearing not much more than underwear whilst spanking one of her female dancers. The song itself, despite being about partying, dancing, drinking and containing lyrics such as 'shaking it like we at a strip club', is not too dissimilar from a lot of Miley's previous songs she has released under her own name (such as 'Kicking and Screaming' and 'Can't Be Tamed'), so it really is the music video that does all the work with this reinvention. Prior to the video release, the internet had already been filled with images of her shocking new hair cut, leaving many intrigued to see what the new Miley was all about. All of her many tattoos are on show throughout the video which is something she hasn't really done before this, she dances provocatively with giant teddy bears, wears bright red lipstick and even grills at some point. The entire video shows her reinvention as a fun, sexy adult who does what she wants. 

Styles of music videos

• Performance Videos

Performance music videos are mostly made up of shots of the band/artist performing or lip syncing. There is no narrative, nor much meaning to the videos however they do add a further experience to the music in the form of visuals. These videos can be shot in a studio, using things such as props, green screens, costumes and artificial lighting and will often have shots of the band/artist dancing about provocatively, dorkily or looking like they're just genuinely having fun, all of this depends on the style and or genre of the music and music video. An example of a studio performance video is:

Another style of performance music videos is one that consists mainly of shots of the band/artist simply performing. This could be on their own, in a studio or in front of a crowd such as at one of their concerts. These style of videos often use a wide variety of camera angles, often switching between band members, focusing on their instruments, hands playing the instruments etc. These videos could also be intercut with shots of found footage or random things, possibly relevant to the music but sometimes completely for aesthetic purposes. This style is favoured among rock artists. An example of this style of performance video is:

• Narrative Videos

Narrative music videos tell a story through the video and act as a kind of short film, showing and describing a sequence of events, Often, these short stories will correspond with the song itself and the lyrics. Narrative video's are popular, as they are interesting and engaging to watch and can provide a whole new meaning to the music. An example of a narrative music video is this:

Though not relevant to the song itself, the video tells a story about an overly obsessed fan who tries to duplicate Ed Sheeran's life as his own. The story and character progress throughout the video, allowing the viewer to enjoy it as if they were watching a short film. This video is different and interesting as instead of featuring Sheeran himself, he opts to choose a kind of lookalike in the form of Rupert Grint, a fellow well loved ginger, which was also reel in the views for the video promoting Ed and his music. 

• Interpretative/impressionist videos

This style of video will often be very abstract, and whether the video has any relation to the music will mostly be completely based on the decision of each individual viewer. The main focus of these videos is to add depth to the music, in the form of creating a visual experience to be interpreted however each viewer wants. An example of this style of video is:

A risk that an artist can face when creating an interpretative video is that it can be taken completely out of context. The above video, which I personally enjoy and find interesting, has been slated in the media stating it is a show of paedophilia. The video is nothing more than interpretative dance, and the official deeper meaning and whether it correlates with the song itself is a mystery .

• Surreal music videos

A surreal music video style can be seen as very similar to that of an interpretative/impressionist music video. The main difference, however, is that the theme/ story of a surreal music video is quite obvious, it is just quite strange. These videos will often comprise of animation alongside live footage to create a surreal and distorted feel. They will often show a likeness to a vision or a dream and are quite artistic and creative. An example of a surreal music video is:

• Animated music videos

Animated videos are either entirely or partially animated. They can be quite low cost to make as the video is completely digital; there is no need for props, venues, cameras and other filming equipment. Though you may think animation is aimed mainly at children, this style of music video is used across a wide range of genres, such as the example below:

Despite being animated, Kanye West's heartless still contains many of the conventions typical of the r'n'b genre his music falls into, such as images of people smoking, fast cars and night clubs with half naked girls dancing.

• Pastiche

This is when an imitation is created or implied of a specific artist or period in time. This is achieved through reinforcing the styles of that artist or period within the music video. An example of this:

Christina Aguilera's 'Candy Man' is set in the era of the 1940's. This is achieved through the hair styles, costumes and backgrounds all incorporated in the music video that reflect this time era. 

Conventions

• Rock music

Each individual genre conforms to it's own conventions. An example of a rock video is:

Rock music videos will often follow the style of being narrative or performance based, or in the case of this video, both. A lot of black is used in the clothing, and textiles such as leather are often used. Rock is heavy on image, many rock bands have their own individual styles which they are instantly recognizable by.

• Pop

Pop is a very popular genre within the music industry, so the conventions within a pop music video are very wide and adaptable depending on which sub genre or age range it fits in. Generally, pop music videos are very bright and colourful and fun. The main locations used for a pop music video are parks, schools, beaches and other locations that allow the viewer to relate to the video/artists. The lighting is often bright and the videos will often include dance routines, performed by the artists themselves or other dancers featuring in the video. Due to the teenage demographic most pop is aimed at, a lot of these videos revolve around love stories, parties and having fun with friends. The clothes worn by all in the video will be modern and stylish. An example of a pop music video is:

• RnB

RnB music videos typically portray the artists/characters featured in the song as living a successful and wealthy lifestyle, and male music artists will often have videos consisting of scantily clad girls dancing around, fast cars, helicopters or any other overt signs of wealth. The body language of these artists often shows confidence and power. Outfits worn in these videos are usually high end designer clothing, hoodies and heavy jewellery, often gold and diamonds. An example of an RnB video is:

• Country

Country music is a lot more popular in America than it is in the UK, however it still has a faithful following. Music videos following the country convention will often include the artists playing acoustic instruments such as guitars, with the singers singing along with the lyrics as though they are performing it in front of you. As well as this, country music videos will often follow a narrative strongly linked to the lyrics. The locations used within these videos are very stereotypical, often in small cities and towns or in barns surrounded by hay. The mise-en-scene of these videos tends to be quite traditional and almost old fashioned. An example of a country music video is:

Techniques

• Cutting to the beat

This involves both the music and the video itself. This is when the shots incorporated in video are cut along with individual lyrics or themes within the song. This technique allows the video to follow along with the lyrics, perhaps further portraying them. An example of this is:

• Split screen
• Camera shots
• Lighting (low key and high key)
• Effects

Effects is a large section to cover as a single technique. Effects are used in many music videos, whether this be a lens flare in the corner or a complete digital graphic incorporated within the video. Green screen will often be used in videos, to place the artist in a location the cannot realistically get to, such as the moon or something. These effects will be achieved in the post production stage through the use of computer programs. An example of a video with lots of computer effects is:

• Animation

• Miming and Lip Sync

This is used often in pop music videos. It is where the artist will sing along to the song which is already pre-recorded. An example of this is: