Music Video Case Study

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Music Video ProductionCase Study

Ben Huyton

+Unit 29 - Music Video Production■ We will look at Music Videos from a number of perspectives,

this template is for you to write up your notes and to complete your case study.

■ The document is split into 3 different tasks, each with separate questions to answer.

■ Task 1 is concerned with the purposes of music videos and the strategies employed by labels and artists

■ Task 2 is concerned with the styles, techniques and conventions of music video production

■ Task 3 is your own case study into a minimum of three music videos where you can unpack and discuss the videos considering everything you have looked at in Task 1 and 2

+Unit 29 – Music Video Production■ Learning outcomes, this case study is concerned with

the first two learning outcomes of the unit:

1. Understand the purpose of music videos

2. Understand the styles, conventions, and techniques of music videos

3. Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a specific music track

4. Be able to work to complete production of a music video.

+Unit 29 – Music Video ProductionAssessment Criteria■ The assessment criteria addressed by this case study,

further details are in your project brief:

+Notes on completing the case study■ It is often easier to show something you are discussing

than to take time describing it. With this in mind, feel free to add lots of illustrative images from your chosen video examples. Links to YouTube/Vevo/etc are also encouraged.

■ Remember, when you make a point or define something, you should follow this with an example, an explanation of this and then link to further texts/videos where possible.

■ If you don’t think there is enough room to add your full response to a question, don’t just reset the font size to really small, add an extra slide wherever necessary.

+Task 1 - Purposes

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short explanation for each:

■ The first core purpose of a music video is its promotional values. These will obviously vary for different artists, whether they are mainstream or not. A 2nd core purpose of a music video is the extension of income. Artists will spend more on music videos to get more attention and therefore turn a profit. However only mainstream artists can afford to do this so less recognized artists will try to focus more on the quality of the vocals, rather than the uniqueness of the video. A final core purpose of a music video would be the extension of outlets. This would include music channels, direct DVD and CD sales, websites and downloads. Music Videos can also potentially lead to fame and can give artists nominations and awards. The core

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Promotional Values –

■ In reality a music video is an advertisement and is designed to emphasize the music and illustrate the song. Music Video’s are made to appeal to a visual audience. Some songs despite racking up many sales are more famous for the videos that go with them. This includes PSY ‘Gangnam Style’ and Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ (links to the videos above)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=9bZkp7q19f0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Extension Of Income■ A main source of income for the artist can

potentially come from the music video. Singles may be bought due to the fact they have seen it and heard it first through the video. This can also lead to merchandise being sold. Music Videos can potentially also raise the profile of the artist. For instance videos that show wild personalities may encourage people to attend tours etc. An example of this would be LMFAO ‘Sexy and I know it’. Just like the previous two songs, it still racked up many sales but this all came from the video and ultimately the majority of the income would have come from the visual content (above) and the merchandise that would later follow. (right) (link to the video above)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyx6JDQCslE

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Extension Of Outlets■ Music Video’s give benefits to

the artists in many ways. These include YouTube hits, plays on music channels and websites. All these factors will increase income for the artist. The aforementioned ‘Gangnam Style’ by PSY has racked up approximately 2.45 billion hits on YouTube as of November 23rd 2015. As of the same date 10 other music videos have passed the 1 billion mark. (shown right)

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Q2 – What are some of the broader purposes of music videos? Think about some of the strategies employed by artists in their videos and how they represent themselves, you could consider where the artist is on a major label, independent label or unsigned, is there a difference between them?

■ There are different types of artists that include self produced, independent and major label. The music video for each therefore shows a different purpose, and despite the music video being important to all of them they show it in different ways. The ‘Big Four’ record labels are shown above.

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Major Labels■ There are 4 multi national corporations in the music

industry. ‘The Big Four’ consist of Universal, Sony Music, Warner Brothers and EMI. These 4 labels own smaller companies so they are able to branch off into different genres. These include Columbia, Island, Syco, RCA and virgin and are known as major independents. 3 of the 4 major labels push through their videos through VEVO. The only exception is Warner Brothers. For these major labels the purpose of the music is clear. They provide a strong online presence and allow them to make more profit through advertising. Pretty much all of the mainstream artists are signed to a major record label and you will notice the vast majority of them have a VEVO channel. Major labels will usually be shown at the start of music videos.

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Independents

■ There are many small companies in the game with no connection or very little to majors. These companies often concentrate on a small number of acts. Warp Records is a highly successful independent. Warp Records was founded in Sheffield in 1989 specializing in experimental electronic music and intelligent dance music.

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Independent Artists■ There are very few independent artists in the game

right now, but the ones that do still tend to be fairly successful. An example of this is Chance The Rapper who is assigned to his own label Chance The Rapper LLC. Chance only gets around 15,000 to 35,000 dollars in his pocket. But if he plays 150 shows a year he will earn around 2 million dollars in revenue. Not to mention the money he can make from feature appearances, endorsement deals and writing for other artists. In terms of Chance the Rappers music videos, as well as the rest of the independent artists out there, it will all be about them whereas artists under major record deals it is not up to them. This allows freedom to artists like Chance.

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Artist Self Produced

■ Artist Self Produced videos have the smallest budget and are usually unknown artists. Music Videos will therefore be absolutely vital to promoting their early career. This allows them to use websites such as YouTube which can lead to great success. An example of an artist that was discovered on YouTube was The Weeknd. Abel Tesfaye who is better known as ‘The Weeknd’ started posting videos on the site in 2010 before going viral. Tesfaye now boasts an impressive musical career 5 years on.

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Q3 – Describe what is ‘synergy’ is and how it has been used in music videos [min. 3 examples of synergy and convergence]

■ Synergy is the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. For example in music videos ‘the synergy between artist and record company’ For example ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ by Sam Smith. This is an example of synergy because the song promotes the film ‘Spectre’ and the film promotes the song. Another example of this would be the synergy between the song ‘See You Again’ by Wiz Khalifa and the film ‘Furious 7’. This is slightly different to Spectre as the film and the song are tributes to the late Paul Walker. They both however relate to one other and are therefore an example of synergy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jzDnsjYv9Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKAFK5djSk

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Q4 – Branding; select an artist you like and look at how they present themselves in their music videos. Explain what their ‘brand’ is, who is appeals to and why they might have done this.

■ The artist/band that i have chosen is Maroon 5. Despite not being my favourite, there videos are very easy to understand and relate to. The vast majority of their videos are like films and carry a story. For instance in ‘Payphone’ the video begins with a flash forward that starts with Adam Levine (lead singer) next to his car dialling a telephone number at a payphone (top right). (this immediately links to the song title from the very start of the video). An action scene where people are shot down and held hostage follows while the song plays in the background. This underlines what their brand is and the fact that they are are showing short films to get acrss messages to the audience

+Task 1 - Purposes

■ Q5 – Compare One Direction and Animal Collective music videos [find them on YouTube!], what can you discern about each act from their videos? What is the main aim? Explain why.

■ In terms of One Direction their image is always on the screen where as on the Animal Collective videos you can’t see their faces. The Videos are quite clearly constructed for the former and are easy to understand. On the flip side the latter’s videos are confusing and disjointed. A reason for this could be the budget that they are working on. Animal Collective clearly have a much inferior budget to One Direction so therefore naturally the videos will be a lot harder to grasp. Finally on this comparison it is quite clear that AC are artist driven whereas 1D are label driven.

+Task 1 - Purposes

Examples -As you can see quite clearly on the rightan example of the fact that One Directionshow there faces whereas Animal Collectivedo not. This is also represented in theAlbum covers (above).

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Q1 – Describe and explain the

use of camerawork in music videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this

■ There are many different shot types. In music videos this is no different. (different shot types listed right)

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Close ups are the most used shot type in music videos.

These are usually used in music videos as it puts emphasis on the artist or bands face for promotional reasons and their lips to show lip syncing.

■ Another reason for why close ups are commonly used is that this shot type creates a level of intimacy between the artist and their audience by invading their personal space and making them feel as though they are directly spoken to. This also conveys the emotions that the lyrics are trying to portray.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ A prime example of an artist that takes

advantage of the close up shot is Ed Sheeran. The majority of his songs are emotional and this is reflected in the videos. Ed has not only used himself as a close up in the video for ‘Drunk’ (middle right). He also uses other characters to show emotion. An example of this is in the video for ‘The A Team’ as he uses a women to portray a message (top right). (He only appears in one scene throughout the whole video. Both examples shown below. This example however is slightly different as he does not lip sync on the close ups. An example of a lip sync close up to show emotion differently is Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball (bottom right).

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Q2 - Describe and explain the

use of editing in music videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this

■ Editing in a music video can create big changes to the visual style of a song. For example a video with bright colors and quick cuts will mostly represent an upbeat song. On the flip side to this a music video with dull colors and soft transitions will most likely represent a downbeat song. These edits will be done to suit or expand on the songs style and lyrics.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Examples of editing in music videos

■ The pace of editing in music videos will normally correlate to the tempo of the song. For example a song such as ‘Hitz’ by Chase & Status featuring Tinie Tempah with a fast beat will have shorter time between cuts to match the music.

■ Another example of a Chase & Status song ‘End Credits’, around the first 40 seconds of the song are in slow motion. Therefore the video in this first part is of a man slowly falling (shown right) to match the tempo of the song. The rest of the track is faster helping adding to the effect of the different speeds within it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=YXIHXQjbtl8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jh-xcKazSk

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Examples of editing in music videos

■ An example that I have already used Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’ would fit into an effective slow transition music video that matches the songs speed and interpretation. The video is also in black and white which links into the dull color factor. A modern black and white video however will not always interpret that the song is downbeat. An example of this is ‘Justin Timberlake and Jay – Z’s ‘Suit & Tie’. This song despite being in the standard colors has an upbeat beat and positive vibe. In the pictures to the right, it will show the stark contrast in the mood and feels to the tracks. A shot from ‘The A Team’ is shown top right while a shot from ‘Suit & Tie’ is shown bottom right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAWcs5H-qgQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsUsVbTj2AY

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Q3 - Describe and explain some of the technical

developments in music videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this

■ Music Videos usually include a variety of shots which match the flow of music and the feeling that is supposed that is supposed to be portrayed by it. The shots are very similar to that of photography, except in music videos motion is obviously applicable. For example, a close up portrait will show emotion, a landscape wide shot will show the environment.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Example of Technical Developments

■ The key innovation in the development of the modern music video was of course video recording and editing process, along with the development of a number of related effects such as a chroma key or a green screenDeveloped Technical Codes

Fast Cut MontageSplit Screen (right)ColourisationNon Representational (Artist Never Shown)Long ShotsSteadicam

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Example of Technical Developments

■ An example of a non representational video where the artist is never shown would be Rudimental’s Waiting All Night. Despite the artist not being shown, the song's lyrics reflect with the video and vice versa. Example Shown below I’ll be

waiting all night for you…

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Q4 – Genre conventions; often music videos adhere to

genre conventions within their visual style and production techniques. Select a recognizable genre and use illustrations to explain what their genre conventions are…

■ The example I have chose is Indie/Rock. The music conventions of this genre are that they tend to be black and white, the artist/band are shown throughout the video. A use of extreme close ups and long shots are popular, Dark locations, they are fast paced and there is also an occasional use of special effects.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Examples■ Two examples of Indie/Rock bands

that show these conventions are Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon.

■ For example despite it not being set in black and white ‘Sex On Fire’ by the Kings of Leon is set in a dark place, uses special effects and the bands faces, most notably the lead singer are shown throughout. The Arctic Monkeys ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High’ also set about the same trends. Examples are shown right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF0HhrwIwp0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6366dxFf-Os

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions■ Q5 - John Stuart’s description of the

music video “incorporating, raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the essence of Intertextuality [something asserted by Andrew Goodwin]. Can you explain what Intertexuality is and find some examples of it in music videos?

■ Intertextuality is the way in which one media text is referenced in another. The word Inter-Text means to incorporate two texts and merge them together so within media, Intertextuality means to bring together two bits of media text.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions ■ Examples of Intertextuality in

Music Videos■ The two examples that I will be

looking at are Examples ‘Stay Awake’ and The Script and will.i.am’s ‘Hall Of Fame’

■ Example uses lyrical and visual references to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which is the famous literature book wrote by Charles Dodgeson. Just like in ‘Stay Awake’, ‘Hall Of Fame’ shows lyrical reference to the film ‘King Kong’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5CcOq8UzkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5CcOq8UzkI

+Task 3 – Case Study


■ For your individual case study you are required to prepare material on a minimum of three music videos.

■ This should provide discussion on the usage of the following:■ Purpose of the video [consider the strategy of the artist and

the intention behind the video, remember the core purposes and break this down into the other purposes we discussed]

■ Style[s] used■ Techniques employed■ Intertextuality■ Camerawork/editing■ Genre conventions


■ Idea Generation

■ I want to incorporate 3 different genres and styles in my case study. The one genre I am 100% looking to include is Hip Hop. At this moment in time there is not a specific hip hop artist or song that I am certain on doing. As for the other two genres I am looking at 2 from 4. The other genres that I would potentially consider are Dance, Pop, Alternative and R&B. My personal preferences would be R&B and Pop because I feel the genre conventions are a lot more obvious and stronger than the other two.


■ I will pick 3 songs from 3 different genres. The genres I will be looking at will be R&B, Pop and Hip Hop.


■ The first genre I am looking at is Hip Hop. In hip hop music videos a crowd is usually shown dancing or bouncing their arms in time to the beat of the song. This implies that they like the song. This therefore gives credibility to the artist because it shows people do like the song, therefore making it easier for the audience to like it.

■ The clothing is usually sporting attire, to signify strength and sporting prowess. There are also usually lots of references to wealth of the artist through the use of mise-en-scene (money, cars, jewellery etc.)

■ Close Ups are the most common shot type and almost always the artist face will be showing.


■ The song I am looking at under the hip hop section is Fetty Wap ‘679’ featuring Monty. The video for this track is what you would typically associate a hip hop video to look like. This video is shot entirely at a party. Throughout this track there are cutaways to people dancing and bouncing their arms in time with the beat of the song. This like I said before shows that they like the song and therefore gives credibility to the artist/artists because it will make the general public much more likely to approve to this as it is shown already that people like this track. (This is shown right)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELNgQFPdgrA


■ Although in this song to there is no visual and lyrical references to cars, there is plenty of references to both money and jewellery, especially money. For example in the hook Fetty Wap says all fast money, no slow bucks. This implies that there is growing power and wealth. This is proven by the constant flashing of money in the video. (example shown right). Close ups are the most common shot type in Hip Hop videos and this is no different. An example is already shown of not only flashing money but a close up of Monty’s face (bottom right). There are also many examples of close ups of Fetty Wap with one shown bottom left. Although Fetty Wap is going against the typical sporting outfits that Hip Hop artists wear, Monty does not disappoint and keeps the general trend continuing into this video. Monty is shown topless in his scene sporting a snapback. By doing this he is showing off his sporting prowess and strength.


■ The 2nd genre I will look at will be Pop. There are plenty of general conventions for Pop music videos. These videos will usually encounter bright colors, lots of makeup and fashion accessories. In terms of editing there will most likely be tints and filters to boost colors. There is also a chance they will Photoshop artists so they look perfect. Finally in terms of shots used there will probably be many close ups of artists faces and also long shots of dancing and partying scenes.

+Task 3 – Case Study■ The Pop song that I am going to look

at is ‘The Weeknd ‘Can’t Feel My Face’. This video is arguably not a typical pop video as instead of being at a party with lots of dancing, The Weeknd is performing on stage in front of an audience at a nightclub. For the first 40 seconds of this track the camera is fixed on ‘The Weeknd’s face. The first verse is lip synced in the first 25 seconds at an extreme close up (shown top right) before slowly zooming out. The first verse is shown at an extreme close up because of the fact The Weeknd is talking to you the viewer about this women. (lyrics for the verse shown middle right). The pre chorus is when the camera starts zooming out to build it up to the mid shot of the full stage for the chorus (both shown bottom right). The video then therefore synchronizes with the song as the tone slowly gets louder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEI4qSrkPAs

+Task 3 – Case Study■ Throughout the chorus the video cuts to the audience's

facial expressions with them all looking intrigued by the performance. This shows that he has fans and will therefore further entice people to look out for him online etc. (example shown top right). In terms of the camerawork plenty of different shots and angles are explored. At points in the video it looks at the audience from The Weeknd’s viewpoint to show what he is facing. This is very common in music videos (shown middle right). A very popular move made by pop artists is creating special effects and this is no different. The Weeknd is shown to be on fire but still dancing and singing at the same time. This is a visual reference to the songs title ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ (shown bottom right). This ultimately changes the audience from being intrigued by the performance to being thrilled by it and start dancing and jumping their arms to the songs beat. This shows that they like the performance (example shown below). Despite this video being shot in an extremely dark area, the bright lights etc. give the video the feeling that it is a pop video as the general conventions of this genre are that they encounter bright colors to give the video a positive vibe. Another reason to rubberstamp that this is a pop video is due to the use of long shots of dancing and partying towards the climax of the video. (below)


■ The final genre I will look at is R&B. In terms of male fashion, the four most likely things that you will notice is that they are topless, wear jeans, have many a tattoo and wear plenty of jewellery. For women again they will most likely wear minimal clothing, have eye catching hair and makeup, will again wear plenty of jewellery and will most likely wear heels. The majority of R&B videos are filmed in grayscale or sepia tone which adds a sensual tone to the imagery in the video. Slow R&B songs are almost always filmed in the aforementioned tone. This is because darker colors evoke emotion. On the flip side fast R&B songs consist of bright colors, flashy cars and jewellery similarly to Hip Hop.


I am going to look at a top R&B artist called Trey Songz. Admittedly not a huge fan myself but i am fully aware that he is recognized as one of the top R&B artists in the game. I am going to look at the video for ‘Simply Amazing’. As previously mentioned the 4 things to typify an R&B male video would be for them to be topless or near enough, wear jeans, have plenty of tattoos and wear plenty of jewellery. This is evident from the very beginning with Trey Songz wearing just a vest, and covered in tattoos in the opening intimate scene. (top right). Throughout the video it cuts to Trey Songz lip syncing with a beautiful backdrop. You will notice him wearing jeans. This again is a common fashion of R&B and is shown again here.


■ You should include a video link for the video

■ You can include as many illustrative stills as you like

■ Be creative in your approach, it is suggested you use the heading on the previous slide a guide on how to structure your response to get you started

■ Remember, make a point, use a specific part of the chosen video as an example, explain yourself and then link to another video where possible

Design

Music Video Case Study