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Music Vids

Music videos typically have three main purposes: to promote a single or album, entertain audiences, and set meanings for songs through visual imagery. They usually run 3-4 minutes and combine live musical performances with narrative elements and visuals. Common structures include performances, narratives telling a story, thematic imagery, and symbolic elements that build meaning. Narratives are often fast-paced mini-films that can mimic genres like horror or science fiction. Music videos also employ conventions like cutting to the rhythm of music and using symbols, montage, and lighting to further artistic visions.

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31 views15 pages

Music Vids

Music videos typically have three main purposes: to promote a single or album, entertain audiences, and set meanings for songs through visual imagery. They usually run 3-4 minutes and combine live musical performances with narrative elements and visuals. Common structures include performances, narratives telling a story, thematic imagery, and symbolic elements that build meaning. Narratives are often fast-paced mini-films that can mimic genres like horror or science fiction. Music videos also employ conventions like cutting to the rhythm of music and using symbols, montage, and lighting to further artistic visions.

Uploaded by

jakedgley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Music Videos

Structure

The purpose of the Music Video


Promotes a single and, normally, an album
Promotes the artist or band
Creates, adapts or feeds into a star image
Entertains the audience
Sets the meanings of a song by the use
of images

Basic structures

In 3-4 minutes a typical music video


combines a mix of live performance,
narrative, and other visual imagery
including computer graphics and
animation.
It does this to advertise the band/artist
and song

Music Videos

Often contains a number of different elements:

Performance
Narrative
Thematic
Symbolic

Performance
Many

music videos include


performance of the artists as part of
the video
It was from clips of performances that
music Videos developed

-Often contain shots of the artists performing


Can be a live stage performance, with shots
of artists and audience
Can be the artists in real life situations eg
warming up, talking, fooling around
Often includes lots of close ups of the artist
and there can be a particular visual style that
goes with the artist (a motif) eg particular
clothing, actions, props, type of images.
Often the artist can appear to perform in an
unusual place - all lip-synched eg a field, a
rooftop

Idea of Spectacle
Music Videos may be considered to be
examples of 'spectacle'.
In this the performers are performing,
often looking directly at the viewer. This
is called direct address -where they
are directly interacting with the viewer.

In the case of men, this involves the look


of the character towards the viewer. The
male is seen to be addressing the viewer
directly. He is supposed to be singing
directly for you.

The female figure is often an object of an


erotic gaze, object of male desire which is
a voyeuristic gaze. A Voyeur is someone
who looks at someone for pleasure. This
means females in music vids are often
dressed and posed in very sexual ways

Narrative

Often the video tells a story either that features in


the lyrics or is suggested in the lyrics eg girl
dumps boy
This narrative can be like a Mini film, with a
beginning, middle and end
Or it can suggest some links to a story
It can promote a film with clips from the film
included telling a story

Narrative
Because it is only 3-4 minutes it can be
-very fast paced, lots of shots and cuts
-use inter-textuality with films, tv and other videos
-mimic other film and tv genre eg horror or sci fi
-sometimes the story can contradict what is seen for
effect
-sometimes the artist is a part of the story, or an
observer or completely separate

Thematic

There are lots of common themes in music videos


Depends on the genre of music
Eg Heavy metal bands go for perfomance
dominated clips
Rap has lots of street images
dance routines are common for many female
artist performances

Symbolic

Use of lots of symbols to build up meaning eg


graveyarddeath
Lots of use of montage -lots of images to create
meaning sometimes often contradictory
Lighting often used to suggest mood
Fast paced - often only a few seconds per shot to
build up meanings
Pictures can support or contradict the lyrics

Some Other Codes and Conventions

Visually stylish artistic mise-en-scene


Cutting related to the rhythm of the music
Intercutting between performance and images or
story
Experimental use of camera/editing (hand held
camera, distortion of colours)
Often break the rules of continuity editing. Can
use lots of jump cuts
Lots of use of digital effects

Types of Music Videos


1
2

Performance Clips
-Concentrate on stage performance of bands
Conceptual clips
Based around a theme or story
a) Narrative mini film idea
i)either simple fantasy situation with other images
inbetween eg artist
ii)Or complex genre story eg Michael Jacksons
Thriller
b) Non -narrative often dream like , random thoughts
around a loose theme eg lost love, use lots of symbolism

To

make your Music Video

What is the theme or aim of my music video?


Who will this appeal to?
How can I make it appeal to this group?
What are the lyrics saying?
What do the music/rhythms/genre suggest?
How can I link music/lyrics/images?
What type of video will it be?

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