Music videoBy Shema Begum

What is a Music video and it’s purpose?

A music video  is a short film or video which is used to accompany a piece of music.

Modern music videos are predominantly made and used as a marketing device and they intend to promote the sale of music recordings to consumers, but some artists or bands may create music videos for purely artistic purposes thus for interactions with fans.

Music videos use a wide range of styles of contemporary video making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation, music, and live action.

Although the origins of music date back much further, they came into prominence in the 1980’s, when MTV based their format around them.

The style of Music videos

Music videos tend to be categorised in terms of the style that can be applied and these include:

Performance style

Narrative style

Mixed performance and narrative style

Cameo style (where artists feature in the narrative but does not perform)

Animation style (digital/stop-motion)

These give artists a range of style to choose from before producing their music videos.

Performance style Music video

A performance style video tends to focus solely upon the artist/artists performing the song either alone or in front of a crowd.

They tend to lack any clear sense of narrative, whilst using a variety of camera angles and shots that are frequently repeated.

A performance style music video is very popular with rock bands as opposed to other visual styles.

Narrative style Music video

A narrative style music video usually focuses on telling a story or journey. It typically consists of a thematic concept that includes some elements of performance.

Most narrative style music videos have shots that directly reflect the lyrics of the song in order to reinforce the message.

Narrative music videos are popular with hip hop stars to highlight the journey in their lives leading up to the music video, and therefore promote a strong message.

The editing and sound in Music videos

A variety of techniques are used in the editing and sound of music videos and these include:

Split-screens

Editing to the beat of the song

CGI/special effects

Jump cuts

Straight cuts

Inclusion of diegetic sounds as well as the track itself

Changes in the volume and levels of sound

Development of Music videos

Using modern technologies, music videos tend to be distributed through online streaming sites such as YouTube and Vevo. In many albums, most artists also include the music video to accompany the different track.

Also, due to the popularity of music videos, a considerate amount are now made into collections and sold on DVD’s. Rather than watching the video to listen to the piece of music, some viewers now watch them purely for their aesthetic value.

However, critics have argued that in the modern day, music videos are too provocative as well as exploitative, especially in the representation of female artists therefore different narrative styled videos are avoided.