Vivienne Clarke’s ‘Music Video Styles’

By Skylla, Wrenae and Loveline

Camerawork

• Camera movement may accompany movement of performers

• It is also used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance

• The close up does predominate because of the size of the screen and because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer

• It emphasises half of the commodity on sale

Narrative and Performance

• Narrative in songs is rarely complete, but more fragmentary• The same is true of music promos, which more often suggest

storylines or offer complex fragments of them in non-linear order

• In doing this the music video leaves the viewer with the desire to see it again if only to catch the bits missed on first viewing

• The video allows the audience access to the performer in a much greater range of ways than a stage performance could

• Eye contact and facial gestures via the close up, role playing through the narrative and mise-en-scene will present the artist in a number of ways which would not be possible in a live concert

Quotes

Camerawork‘John Stewart of Oil Factory told me that he sees the music video as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups and lighting being used most prominently for the star’s face.’

Narrative & PerformanceAs Steve Archer puts it: “Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)