The purpose of a music video

There are 5 categories for why music videos are made:

1. Promotional - To sell the song and ensure the audience has a reaction that makes them remember the song, to allow the audience to better understand the song, to entertain the audience and allows the artist to showcase their talent, to sell their music to the public by creating memorable visuals and for marketing purposes as it enhances and expands the artists image
2. Extension of income - To help promote the song long after it has been released e.g. Kanye West's song Famous only had a music video months after the song had been out, as well as the fact some artists are only remembered for their music videos rather than the song
3. Extension of outlets - Compared to the past where music videos were usually on TV on channels like MTV but now has been changed as there are multiple platforms for release such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Google. This enables audiences to look for any music videos they want and encourages word of mouth as the more out there the video is the more it spreads due to its memorability. The use of controversy on media outlets gains massive publicity for an artist and their music due to people's fascination with anything remotely entertaining or controversial.
4. Synergy - Where two areas of media work together, examples of this include celebrities appearing in videos e.g. Bad Blood, or the artist may use a movie clp as it means that their song will be featured in a movie e.g. See you again by Wiz Khalifa and Fast and Furious 7, this increases the potential viewing numbers and expands the audience awareness, product placement also helps the record company and artist to make money as major labels get paid lots of money to use certain products, 
5. Producer's strategies - Vevo is an example of this as they have a partnership with Sony and Universal, they host music videos on YouTube and use adverts at the start of each music video to create revenue, this allows companies to regulate their online distribution and to make money from it, this also allows a wider audience to have access as Vevo has different platforms such as Ipad and certain applications

Star Image

Richard Dyer:

• British media theorist, who discussed a star's special place in the audiences' lives
• he suggests that a star's image impacts on the consumption by the audience
• he argued that the star image is manufactured and that individual stars have their own unique selling point (brand values) in order to grab and hold our attention - for example - Justin Bieber's hair, Amy Winehouse had her tattoos

A stars image relies on:

• rebelliousness
• youthfulness
• anti-authoritarian
• sexuality
• passion
• being artistic
• difference
• talent
• confidence / youthful swagger
• style

Dyer suggests that a star must be represented simultaneously as, just like us (the audience / regular people), but also at the same time possess something we do not have and something that makes them special, different, extraordinary... They are idealised versions of humanity.... idols

His key paradoxes that he discusses in his central idea are that a star should be both ordinary and extraordinary, a star should be present and absent.

A star image needs to change over time, for a star to maintain their celebrity status and their target audience they need to constantly re-invent themselves as their audience grows up and grows older.

E.g. Miley Cyrus

• started as a synthetic pop star working for Disney and had a star image of being clean cut and wholesome
• as she grew up and her audience aged he attempted to re-invent herself as a more mature artist
• she started to act more rebellious and anti-authoritarian around the time of her song wrecking ball  in order to sell herself and rebrand her image
• this included the twerking incident in 2013
• since this point she has also tried to show herself as different by working with the band the flaming lips and coming out as bisexual and gender neutral
• ultimately Miley Cyrus has played with her image in order to widen and change her target audience and also to rebel against the industrial system she was packaged to be a part of
• examples of how she had transformed can be seen in the video below:

Analysis of artist's CD cover:

Disc-overy by Tinie Tempah:

Narrative Structure of Rihanna

BBHMM by Rihanna:

Equilibrium - Attractive women is going through daily routine of getting ready in bright lighting and soft touch focus, this compared to the villain who is in a dark setting and lighting shows the binary opposition being established through the lighting to show how Rihanna the villain is the different to the attractive women.

Disruption - occurs in the lift as the song kicks in and there is a low shot of her dragging the trunk with the woman in further showing her as the antagonist, camera pans around her showing her expression as calm over the situation

Acknowledgment - Rihanna finds out she is not going to get her money so she smashes the phone and then there is a dutch tilt to show her setting fire to the car, this alongside of the slow motion of her walking away enhancing the idea that she is covering her tracks

Attempt to restore balance - by killing people and getting justice as she has a dead body under the water seen by the tilt to under the pool, she is now going for the husband, there is a slow zoom to the truck to show her getting ready and the the eyeline match to the tools for killing shows her determination, quick cuts after the knife show that a crime has been committed

New Equilibrium - Rihanna in the trunk as the camera pans across and zooms in to show her naked and covered by her money and blood to represent that even though she did get her money it turned her into a killer

Laura Mulvey 1975:

Discussed the ways in which the camera assumes the position of a male spectator and therefore encourages the audience to view films / music videos from the male perspective.

This is referred to as the male gaze and situates men as objectifies to be identified with whereas women are shown to be objectified. Think like a man, but look / gaze at the women.

The camera more frequently uses slow motion shots, panning and tilting around female character as a means of objectifying them to the male gaze.

Rihanna encapsulates the male gaze through the conspicuous close ups of naked women. The slow zoom around the trunk reveals Rihanna to be naked in the trunk, slow motion shots of naked bodies, slow pan across the swimming pool as the girls sunbathe in their bikinis

Narrative structures of Music Videos

Todorov Narrative Structure

Hero by Enrique Iglesias:

Equilibrium - The state of normality

Love - Enrique through the close up shot embraces Jennifer Love Hewitt and whispers I can be your hero baby

Disruption - When the normality is challenged or disrupted 

The medium shot of the money in a holdall in the back of the car indicates that something illegal has happened. This is further emphasised by the birds eye view of the landscape which connotes an action or crime thriller

Acknowledgement - Is when the protagonist accepts that he will need to overcome obstacles in order to get his/her life back to normality

The close up of Enrique's face as he lip syncs I could die for the one I love alongside the crane shot of the car signifies he is being followed this then dissolves into a shot of Mickey Rourke - introducing us to the antagonist

Attempt to restore - the attempt to restore occurs during the end of the narrative and involves the main character overcoming the obstacles he has to get back to normality

Through the wide shot of the protagonist and antagonist followed by the camera tilting down towards the antagonists gun. This is followed by the protagonist hitting the antagonist in time to the music to demonstrate how he is prepared to fight for his love

New Equilibrium - Is the new normality. This is always slightly different to the equilibrium at the beginning due to the adventure the characters have been on

The tracking shot of Enrique walking through the streets in the dark being chased by his love as he falls to his death. The new equilibrium may result in his death but enables her to gain freedom from the gangsters. This is shown through the soft focus lighting as he sings 'you can't take my breath away' and the police arrive on the scene to arrest the antagonists

Vladimir Propp

7 types of characters in a narrative:

1. hero
2. villain
3. princess
4. father figure
5. helper
6. donor
7. false hero

These character types can be interchangeable and one character can be more than one character type. 

Hero - Enrique - Camera time / soft focus lighting / white shirt / close ups of him kissing the girl

Villain - Mickey Rourke - gun / clothing / hairstyle / in a gang / lack of close ups and camera time

Princess - Jennifer Love Hewitt - white dress / soft focus / extended camera time / close ups whilst kissing / tears during close ups when man dies

Claude Levi Strauss

Binary opposition  - To show differences you need to show opposites

Mickey is black, tough, violent and old

Compared to Enrique who is;

Enrique is white, weak, kissing and young

Graph of what people in target audience like in a music video

The graphs below show the questions we asked the target audience and the responses they gave, green means yes, purple is no and yellow means they didn't mind either way.

The answers we got showed an overall pictures of what people like in a music video, we found that people most people prefer videos with a narrative as there is something to follow. There is no specific gender that is more liked in a video and therefore it does not matter if your artist is male or female. People also prefer a video that has colour in it rather than being black and white, this is because it makes the video more vibrant and exciting. Most people also hate the idea of having a sexualised women in the video. These results help us know what people like and what should be included in our video.

Target Audience responses

1. What is your favourite music video?
2. What do you like about this video?
3. What music videos do you not like?
4. What would you change in this video?
5. What do you like to see in a music video?
6. What do you not like to see in a music video?
7. Are there any specific things you prefer to be in a music video?

Question	16 year old male	30 year old male	17 year old female	30 year old male	40 year old male	14 year old males	17 year old female
What is your favourite music video?	Del moro by BL	Let forever be by chemical brothers	The one that got away by katy perry	Praise you by fatboy slim	queen transgender video	Famous by kanye west	Bad blood by taylor swift
What do you like about this video?	Fun and entertaining	Pushes boundaries and nothing like it	Storyline, emotional, film like, into watching it	Memorable and makes you think about it, bad dancing	Challenging stereotypes	Abstract and definitely odd	Has celebrities in it to attract attention
What music videos do you not like?	n/a	Old pine by ben howard	n/a	Videos that sexualise women	Videos that sexualise women	Sugar by maroon 5, elastic heart by sia	We can’t stop by miley cyrus
What would you change in this video?	As colourful as possible	shiny  stuff, colour, storyline	n/a	No sexualisation of women	No sexualisation of women	Less random with a storyline	Less sexualisation
What do you like to see in a music video?	fun, colourful	shiny  stuff, colour, storyline	Storyline, clash with performance based	Less flesh, more abstract and not boring	More clothes on women	Show what the song is about and the story behind it	A story, relates to the song and follows the lyrics
What do you not like to see in a music video?	Plain and unnecessary use of colour	n/a	random , scary, not to do with the song	Sexualisation of women	No sexualisation of women	Random, sexual harassment	Provocative dancing and randomness
Are there any specific things you prefer to be in a music video?	Entertaining, energetic	Fit the song, colour, storyline, drama, follow the song	Storyline, planned and fits the song	An interesting abstract concept that sticks in your memory	No sexualisation of women	Abstract with a storyline that surprises you	Relates to the song and matches the lyrics

Pinterest profile of target audience and their interests

This is the profile I made for our target audience, it shows the ideal persons interests and what they like by seeing what they follow, by using pinterest you are given access to a wide variety of musical genres such as the ones the target audience follows including hip hop, pop and indie, the pictures below show the account I made, the pictures of what the account homepage looks like, the pictures of each page the person follows and each genre they follow show a range of artists and a collection of music.

John Stewart theory on music videos and examples of this

John Stewart conventions of a music video:

• The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the star’s face
• He sees visual reference in music video as coming from a range of sources, although the three most frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion and art photography.
• Stewart’s description of the music video as ‘incorporating, raiding and reconstructing’ is essentially the essence of Intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings
• The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can. The mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle

Camerawork:

• significant impact on meaning
• movement, angle and shot distance should all be analysed
• camera movement may accompany movement of performers or stage performance
• close up dominates because of the size of the screen and desire to create a sense of intimacy
• lighting to focus on the artists face

Editing:

• mostly fast-cut montage
• images difficult to grasp on first viewing
• some videos slower pace and gentler shot transitions to establish shot mood
• digital effect like split screen and CGI

Intertextuality:

• post-modern text
• drawing upon existing texts in order to spark recognition in the audience
• short hand
• not all audiences will spot the reference
• pleasure
• some draw upon cinema, TV genre, other music videos or video games

Lady Gaga Telephone:

In the music video it opens with tv show like opening credits, there are frequent clips and images suggesting that it takes place in a prison as seen by the barbed wire and fencing, the fast cut montage of different areas which are joined by the opening credits detailing who will star in the music video. Mood is established during walk through the prison, it is more dark and gloomy with a few gaps of daylight, the tracking shot of the women in the prison cells who are attractive shows an aim to attract a male audience as well as addressing stereotypes of a women's prison. The surveillance video showing the women working out is another prison stereotype but the outfits counter this as the extras wear dresses and clothes, the kissing scene is another stereotype of female prisons portrayed by tv. The fight also adds to the tension as it conforms to violent stereotypes. The various tracking and wide shots establish the singers intentions as well as sexualise her due to the fact she is wearing very little. Once let out of the prison is moves to a wide shot of the main two singers in a vehicle, this is associated with leaving prison. This is where the featuring singer Beyoncé appears and shows her part of the song, she is also portrayed as being a troubled individual as well as her clothes sexualising her. This then transitions from a car journey to a diner, another singing clip takes place here in the kitchen. Overall the lighting of the video is reflecting of its location, the prison is more gloomy and dark until it becomes brighter once she leaves, this is then changed when moved to the diner kitchen where the brightness is shown as she is free. The sound is appropriate to each location, from shouting in the prison, to talking in the car and then the sounds of cutlery in the diner. Most of the shots are tracking however there are various wide shots that establish location and mid shots when the singer is one screen alone. There is eye-line match in the diner and clear slow motion in various sections of the video as well as the security camera effect. The costumes are chosen to sexualise the performers and the extras, the women are all attractive and sexualised to gather male audiences as well as young girls seeking to imitate the artist. The props used are everyday objects that anyone has access to that adds to the idea she wants people to imitate her.

How to study music videos

The five think to look for when studying a music video:

1. 'Thought Beats' or seeing the sounds in your head:

• The process of visualising images is a psychological process know as synaesthesia, the idea is that music videos use visual associations to connect with the audience and provide additional pleasure to viewers
• If songs are stories then the singer is the storyteller, they are the focus of the video and the lyrics and grain of voice are usually in time with the sounds and tempo

2. Narrative and performance:

• Songs rarely tell complete narratives but rather hint at an unfolding drama, they avoid telling the complete story as it effects their role in advertising, the videos have repeatability built into them, the performance is a more important aspect than the narrative, but generally music videos cut between the narrative and the performance

3. The star image:

• The star of the video is telling a story and showcasing their development as an artist over time also known as a meta-narrative which tells the stories surrounding a particular artist

4. Three ways in which music videos relate visuals to the song:

• There are 3 ways in which the music videos support or promote the song: illustration, amplification and disjuncture and these are useful in attempting to generalise the effects of individual music videos
• Music videos can illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre
• The most persistent type of music video adds to the value of the song. Amplification is seen as the mark of a true music video and shows the director as an artist, amplification is different from disjuncture as amplification music videos retain a link to the song and work to enhance or develop, rather than fundamentally changing them
• Disjuncture is a term used to describe music videos that intentionally ignore the original song and create a whole new set of meanings

5. Technical aspects of music videos:

• This includes camerawork, movement and angle, mise-en-scène, editing and sound.
• The technical conventions can be summed up as speed, camera movement, fast-cutting and montage editing, post-production digital effects, meat, beats, lighting and colour and mise-en-scène
• Speed is visualised by camera movement, fast editing and digital effects
• Camera movement is often motivated by running, dancing and walking performers
• Fast-cutting and montage editing cause the videos repeatability as as it is difficult to understand the fast moving images and action without viewing the video more than once
• Post-production digital effects provide pleasure again and again as the videos are colourised and effects are added to complicate and intrigue viewers, not all camera movement is fast as some videos use slow pace through dissolves and static shots, this kind of editing is striking and effective in setting the song apart from the hustle and bustle of pop activity
• Meat refers to the cuts to close-ups of the singer's face, this is because the voice is seen as being the most important part of pop music
• Beats - often the video attempts to represent the music through the use of the cut to go with the beat or rhythm
• Lighting and colour are used to emphasise key moments of the song, different techniques emphasise different aspects such as colour emphasising a development in the song by going from black to white or vice versa when the chorus comes in
• Mise-en-scène - the setting is clearly important as it often guarantees the authenticity of the clip, so when concert halls or rehearsal rooms are used it emphasises the realness of the video, CGI is increasing used as it means the stars are not relying on realness but rather special effects

Conventions of a music video and analysis of Bad Blood

Andrew Goodwin says:

• a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics)
• a relationship between music and visuals
• particular genres may have their own video style and iconography
• a demand from the record company for lots of close-ups of the main artist
• artist develops their own star iconography in and out of their videos
• reference to voyeurism (screen with screen, binoculars, cameras...)
• inter textual references

Taylor Swift Bad Blood:

The video uses the process of synaethesia to allow you to visualise images by using the sound in the video, the traffic sounds allow you to imagine a busy environment and then the alarm tells you they are in some kind of trouble, the scream lets you know that something has gone wrong, the music then becomes more hopeful and upbeat signifying that the hero is winning, but once you hear the glass breaking you know something if off and then the lyrics start suggesting someone has wronged her and she wants payback. The futuristic video is showcased by the special effects and machines used to create a strong and more surprising story.  The sounds allow you to sense the mood through tone, pace and rhythm which is why the lyrics are less important as you are only able to tell the tone they are intended to be said in by the sound that is accompanying them. The focus is clearly on Taylor Swift as it is her they are primarily focusing on as the singer is the storyteller so she needs to be seen, the story told is never complete but rather provides parts or insights into. The video has many intertextual references to various other products or media such as the costumes and set up as well as the motorcycle sequence seeming like the movie Tron, the X-Men references are related to the idea of old friends against each other, as well as the clear abilities and traits the characters exhibit, there are references to The Matrix with the slow-motion glass window break and the falling in slow motion as well, the walking away from explosions references the Mad Max scene where the same thing happens in the film and the last reference I was able to notice was a reference to the Hunger Games with the training room and all of the martial arts going o focused around a female at that point. The video involves numerous cuts to different scenes or actions taking place depending on the rhythm of the beat or when there is a gap in sound. Her image is sold through close-ups in the video as it not only showcases her femininity but showcases her attractiveness to her fans and the viewers which sells her image as being attractive, young and female so she can access a wide demographic ranging from young girls who want to be her to young males who think she is attractive. Her lyrics match the video as it continues through the visuals such as the words bad blood are in time with her punching through walls and in the numerous shot-reverse-shot scenes it allows you to see who the enemy is, the scream of the word 'hey' as she comes out of the wall she has broken through match the video to the lyrics, the cigar smoke blow as there is a pause also adds to the tension in the video.

Analysis of Organic vs Synthetic album covers

Organic Album Cover:

Synthetic Album Cover:

Synthetic and Organic artists

Keith Negus - creating in the music industry:

• identifies two distinct ways of thinking about potential artists from within the music industry
• these ideologies shape the way in which the artists' images and careers are developed, and the way that they are marketed towards specific target audiences

The Organic ideology of creativity:

• a naturalistic approach to artists
• the seeds of success are within the artists, who have to be 'nurtured' by the record company
• the image of the artist is 'enhanced' by the record company
• the artist is given time to evolve and progress through their career
• emphasis is given to the album sales and the construction of a successful back catalogue
• often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers
• profits generated by this kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company
• examples of this include: Ed Sheeran , Coldplay, Adele, Muse, Jack Garrett, Ben Izak

The Synthetic ideology of creativity:

• a combinational approach to artists and material
• executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artists and the songs at their disposal
• the image of the artist is often constructed by the record company
• the artist will be given a short time to prove their success before other combinations will be tried out
• emphasis is given to single sales and to promoting first albums
• often aimed at younger, less sophisticated audiences
• profits generated by this kind of artist tend to be part of an immediate, short term strategy by the record company
• examples of this include: Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Pink, Katy Perry, Avicii, One Direction

Analysis of A-Level music video

The video above was an A-level music video done to the song walking on water, the video is a professional looking music video with accurate costumes that match the mood of the song, the actors used in the video are appropriate as they are clearly young adults looking for each other, the fact that the narrative involves running from the male indicates he is trying to find her and the numerous sequences involving water also are appropriate to the song title, the narrative combines the performance by the male in the music studio with the dynamic running and walking scenes as well as the female being more stationary showing her waiting for him rather than her going after him. The genre of the song would be pop as well as indie due to its mainstream song used but the location and angles used as well as the lighting show how the music video can be seen as more realistic with close ups, tracking shots and a more natural lighting. The singer is portrayed as a young male who is missing a girl he is looking for which is why he is constantly running looking for her, the video looks authentic through the use of natural locations and various angles that are very constant, the originality of the video is clear with the idea of using an outdoors location in various places combining a city location with a more rural location adding to the video.

Welcome to A2

-My name is Jonathan Baker,

-I am from London but my dad is Irish

-I am a big fan of eminem, stormzy and the weekend

-I support Chelsea FC and go to see as many games as I can

-I love to play any sport especially football

-I am studying Media Studies, History, Politics and Economics

-I mostly enjoy watching comedies mostly but some thrillers are also good

-I do not really have a favourite movie due to the fact that I have seen so many

-I love watching Netflix especially House of Cards and Daredevil

Interview from potential target audience about what they like in music videos

The videos below are the interviews done to ask our potential audience questions about music videos, the questions that we asked were:

1. What is your favourite music video?
2. What do you like about this video?
3. What music videos do you not like?
4. What would you change in this video?
5. What do you like to see in a music video?
6. What do you not like to see in a music video?
7. Are there any specific things you prefer to be in a music video?