Unit 29: Music Videos Task 1Lauren Jones

Artists create music videos for a number of reasons, one of the main reasons being so that their

music can be accessed on a wide variety of platforms such as on TV or online as it is expanding

their brand and for the audience to enjoy the visual as well as the music. Music artists are now

not only popular for their music but also their music videos to go with their track. Consumers

enjoy watching as well as listening to their favourite artist or band it also helps artists music to

be accessed on multi platforms not just the traditional radio. You can now access music videos

anywhere, anytime on TV, Online ( sites such as Youtube, VEVO) and apps.

Some other purposes for music videos

-To visualise an artists creativity and put picture to an audio story or expression

-To promote an artist

-To express the narrative of the lyrics

-Synergy

-Extentions of outlet

-To promote the producer

-Product placement

-Make money

-Promote the launch of a new album or single

Controversial music videos can be a way to get the word out

and cause a video to go ‘viral’. Social networking sites can

cause a video to be known worldwide in seconds by the

millions of people sharing and talking about the video which

has a knock on effect and can end up benefiting the artist. For

example Miley Cyrus’ music video ‘Wrecking ball’ caused an

uproar globally when she was seen naked throughout the

video. Thousands of people took to Twitter, Facebook and

other social media sites to express their opinions bad or good on the video, the phrase ‘Any

publicity is good publicity’ certainly applied to this video. This video was one which changed her

whole image as well as her career and she became more

well known as Miley Cyrus and not Hannah Montana. She

received lots of hate and a loss of younger fans however

with the video being so controversial and it caused such a

buzz she was more well known as a result.

Unit 29: Music Videos Task 1Lauren Jones

Some music video styles can vary and can range from a simple performance on stage or at a

live event to a deep narrative storyline based music video. The style of the video can portray the

type of artist and personality, some artists prefer to be more abstract with their videos for

example an animation. This is a quirky way to draw people to the video and can also be more

fun rather than the generic pop video for example In Your Arms by Kina Grannis is a stop

motion animation video that shows the artist herself going on a journey through trees and

forests as well as lip syncing. This gives the video more depth and creativity and is appealing to

a wider audience as it does not have a specific genre and is open to enjoy. Other music videos

can be interpretive this is used to interpret the meaning or the lyrics and/or visualise the artist

emotions and feelings within a song. This can be engaging as it allows the audience to

understand the meaning of the song as well as the artist and their own life or story. A music

video that portrays that excellently is Sam Smith ‘I Know I’m Not The Only One’ it shows a story

of a broken relationship which Sam Smith revealed was based on his own life. A narrative

music video is similar in which they both portray a scene of a story. A narrative music video can

sometimes be classed as a short film that involve characters and storylines. It can extend the

meaning of a song and sometimes can be difficult to

understand if they are over complicated for the audience. A

music video with a narrative is Hoziers ‘Take Me To Church’

gies the impression of a gay relationship and the struggles

that the couple you get to learn about, face. It follows a main

character and you get to experience their emotions and

feelings. It gives the song more depth and a meaning.

Impressionist is another type of music video and its purpose

is to make the audience feel a particular way and feel particular emotions. They can be totally

different to the song which it is made for and have no meaning or link however it is used to

combine a visual with the song making it available on other platforms.

Genres

Genres of music have their own generic conventions that are included in most music videos.

Pop

Pop music is popular music and is rather generic, it generally applies to a large mainstream

audience. The songs by pop artists are usually very catch therefore meaning the music videos

Unit 29: Music Videos Task 1Lauren Jones

represent this too. The generic pop song and artist have a

wide audience of different ages, sexual orientations etc.

They stereotypically appeal to homosexual males and

young girls and things such as bright colours are used to

attract the target audience. Colours like blues,pinks,

purples, red are used to attract the stereotypical audience.

The narrative of a love story is a hugely used storyline as it

attracts a young girl audience, the sexualisation of women

is also used e.g. short shorts, provocative dancing is a

common trend in the POP Genre.

Rock

Rock artists/bands are stereotypically male however their fan base/ audience is mixed between

men and women. Rock music includes guitars,bass and drum and is generally quite dark music

with lots of emotion. Rock music videos are more likely to have conventions that are relevant to

the lyrics. They are usually narrative or parodys this is more common in the mainstream rock

bands like foo fighters and 30 seconds to mars. The lighting in rock videos are usually very dark

with dim lighting. The clothing is the generic rock look; jeans, tshirt denim jackets, leather

jackets and trainers.

House

House music contains lots of sub genres however it has its own unique style, it is a style of

electronic dance. It is generally characterised by beats, rhythms provided by drum machines.

The artists that make this genre of music are Avicii, sebastian ingrosso and Axwell. They

produce upbeat festival/club tracks which are targeted to a younger audience. In a house music

video there is usually a setting of a club or festival with hot weather. They mostly consist of

performance footage or impressionist style. For example Swedish House Mafia consists of 3

robotic figures that represent the 3 band members. This is a surrealist video because of the

robotic figures and futuristic people however it is also impressionist as it gives the view and

Unit 29: Music Videos Task 1Lauren Jones

impression of the song and type of music made by the band. The conventions of a house video

is cutting to the beat, this is very popular within this genre.

Analyse Music Videos

IGGY AZALEA - Fancy feat. Charli XCX

Fancy is a homage music video to the classic

and well known film ‘Clueless’. The music video

was created in homage of the film its other

purpose was also to reach out to a wider

audience, as the movie is such a popular, well

known film it is more than likely that figures will

raise as it gives a broader audience range. In

the music video the characters are re-created in

every detail to recreate as best as it can. The

costumes for each individual character mirror

the films characters. Iggy wears a yellow and

black tartan outfit which is identical to the main

character in the movie. A scene in the film at a house party is recreated in the music video and

attracts people around the same age of the majority of people which is 17+. People who would

have watched the film when it was released in 1995 are now of an older age and therefore the

new generation of young people would be attracted to the party scene in the music video

creating a wider audience scale and allowing any gender to watch. This video falls into the pop

genre as it is very catchy, top in the charts and follows some of the main conventions sch as

female dancers and bright colours.

Unit 29: Music Videos Task 1Lauren Jones

SIA - CHANDELIER

Chandelier is a very well known music video as

it increased it popularity when young dance

moms star was the leading role. The video

shows a young girl dressed in a wig which is

the same as the artist, sia. The young girl

dances around what looks like an abandoned

apartment with most dance steps her face

changed showing she has different emotions

through the song and at different points where

the lyrics change. This music video and follows the conventions of a pop video with a narrative.

Firstly there is a young female dancer which is a main convention for a pop music video. The

video also starts off slow and silent before the lyrics are sang this is a generic convention for a

music video with a narrative.

AVICII - THE NIGHTS

The nights is a house track and is made mostly in this genre of music video. Not every house

music video follow the same conventions as there are so many sub genres it is difficult to

pinpoint the specific house music video. The sound itself is very fast paced and the music video

represents that b being a point of view video wit lots of POV Go Pro shots of fun activities like

bungee jumping. It suits the song well as it is in a hot climate which is mostly seen in house

music videos and having fun. The target audience for the song is young people aged around

16+ so having fun with a fast paced life attracts the audience and makes them want to be living

the dream as they are watching and listening to a fulfilling song and video. Certain lyrics were

portrayed visually whilst they were being said in the song such as ‘Light a fire’ there was a shot

of a real fire. There is also some lip syncing in this video although not by the artist himself but by

the main character this makes it look as if he is just singing the song normally instead of

performing it, he is being very natural and care-free. The purpose of this video is to mainly

promote the song and the artist as the video attracts a young audience and social media is

more so used by younger people the video can be accessed through the internet by sharing and

viewing. Most of this is done by young people.

Overall music videos have evolved greatly from the first ever music video that was show on

MTV and are now accessed of multi platforms. They serve many of their purposes, some being

Unit 29: Music Videos Task 1Lauren Jones

to promote the artist or to give a message to an audience. Music videos now allow an audience

to visualise instead of just listening, it gives an image of which they can create their own opinion

on. They can leave a huge mark on an artist career and leave a lasting impression on an

audience.