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Music Videos

What is a Music Video?


Why do Music Videos exist?
What are the codes and

What are music videos?

Music videos are


short films or
videos that
accompany a
piece of popular

Types of Music Video


Narrative based video
A video consisting mainly of a story line relating to the lyrics
and genre of the song and is good for engaging an audience.
(Often used for songs that feature in films)
Performance based video
A video featuring the band/artist performing either to the
camera or an audience. (Popular with rock bands; using
concerts with high energy)
Concept based video
A video based around one idea, often concentrating on a
specific editing technique.

What are you expectations for


music videos?
Visual
effects

Sound

Narrative
(how the story
is told/ the
order)

Characters /
Representati
on

Conventio
ns

Editing: pace/
sequences/
rhythm

Camera
work

Mise-en-scene:
Lighting,
costume,
make up,
setting

Genre Conventions
Andrew Goodwin Theory of 7 elements:
1) Music Videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performances
in heavy metal videos)

2) There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (either


illustrative, amplified or contradictory)

3) There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (either


illustrative, amplified or contradictory)

4) The demands of the record label will include lots of close-ups of the
artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work
5) There are frequent references to the notion of looking (screens within
screens, telescopes etc) and particularly voyeuristic (sexual) treatment
of the female body
6) There is often intertextual references (films, TV Programmes, other
music videos)
7) Whether the video is primarily performance-based, narrative-based or
concept-based and how the element of each is used in it.

Purposes of Music
Videos
To promote the artist (create an image)
To promote the song; could be a single or an album
(marketing)
To promote a film (as part of a soundtrack)
To promote a director; many film directors began as
music video directors
To represent the ideology of the institution, and deliver
a message to the audience.

What is Ideology?
An ideology is a world view, a
system of values, attitudes and
beliefs which an individual,
group or society holds to be true
or important; these are shared
by a culture or society about
how that society should function.

Homework
Watch the following music videos and
write down what type of music video they
are (performance, concept, narrative)
along with 2 conventions and the purpose
of the music video.
Playing God - Paramore
Candy Shop - 50 cent
She Knows J Cole

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