G324
ADVANCED PORTFOLIO
A2 MEDIA STUDIES - Robert Atkinson
RESEARCH - 4/6/15
What is a Music Video?
A music video is a short combination of both song and visual imagery to entertain it's genres target audience and promote the artist and the track itself.
There are 3 different typologies of music video, which are:
1) Performance - where the performer/s are seen performing the song, dancing, playing instruments etc. This typology is usually seen within rock, indie and alternative songs to show the raw talent the artists possess.
2) Narrative - where the video is based around some form of story, with either actors and actresses taking a part in telling the story, or the artists themselves playing some role to match the song.
3) Concept/Abstract - where the video is based upon some concept or idea to bring together one or multiple meanings, making the audience think a bringing together a form of symbolism.
"Music Videos are not primarily a commodity form but a promotional one" - Andrew Goodwin - 1992.
This quote from Goodwin links to what a music video is all about, suggesting that the reasons of making a music video is not necessarily needed, but to further promote that particular track as well as the artists social status.
Researching Music Videos and their Typologies - 5/6/15
Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk ft.Bruno Mars
Typology - Performance - We see Bruno Mars and others dancing and singing to the camera mostly throughout, emphasing his talent.
Illustrative Mood - this is because the song is of a 'funky' mood, and the lyrics and dancing represent that cool aspect in a literal way.
The genre of the video appeals to the audience as the performance seen in the video would attract them to imitate what they are seeing in the video, with also promoting Bruno Mars' talent of singing and dancing towards audiences making him more respected. Adding another fact of being a popular song made by Mark Ronson, it makes Bruno look wanted within the industry and gives him another popular song to add to his roster.
Hozier - Take Me To Church
Typology - Narrative - We see actors take on a specific role of being homosexual partners, and other actors being the 'bullies' in a story of extreme homophobia.
Amplification Mood - This is because the visuals extend our understanding of the lyrics and story that is trying to be told. As it is based around homosexuality, which is looked upon a sin in peoples eyes, 'Take Me To Church' emphasises a sin value, for homosexuals to go wash away this 'sin'.
The visuals inside the video connects to the audience emotionally, showing a brutality of certain events that still occur in the modern world, therefore appealing to those who care, and making those who don't, care. Leading on to promoting the artist by making audiences repsect him for addressing a problem we have and making him a different type of vocal artist than others, someone who sings about issues rather than the stereotypical theme of 'love'.
MGMT - Kids
Typology - Concept - Throughout the video, there is an unclear story with what is going on, as montages of random art pop up every now and then, which make the audience think theres some sort of meaning behind it and the hidden message gets amplifies through the young child.
Contradictory Mood - This is because the lyrics do not match the visuals as much as they should, excluding 'Kids' with the baby in the video, so there is a contradiction between lyrics and imagery.
This video appeals to the audience as it gets them involved with trying to figure out what the overall meaning to the song is, with the added advantage of the song being a well known cult hit. It promotes the artist by showing the audience how unique they are with both song and representation and how exactly they want their song to promote a certain message towards their target audience.
The Cribs - Burning For No One
Typology - Performance/Narrative - In this video there is a mixture of the two typologies, performance, because we see the singers perform to the camera. This is typical of an alternative/indie band to do so as they usually like to show off them singing etc to show the audience their talent. Then narrative, because theres is a clear story of the band being stranded on an island trying to somewhat survive.
Contradictory Mood - This is because the lyrics do not truly represent the video itself as they are stuck on an island, no obvious lyrics shows their struggle of being isolated.
It appeals to a wider audience by being a mixture of the two typologies, involving those who like performacnce videos, and those who enjoy the narrative side. It therefore promotes the artist by making the song and video more relatable to a wider audience and gives the audience some sort of story to follow and be intrigued by.
50 Cent - In da Club
Typology - Performance - We see 50 Cent himself rap and perform to the camera throughout, along with others particularly girls dancing, showing the audience their talent and getting us as an audience more involved with the song.
Illustrative Mood - This is because the tune gives the song a hip hop, head bobbing feel, and therefore the lyrics, especially, "go shawty" relates to the dancing in the video.
It relates to an audience by getting them up on their feet and dancing along to the song, therefore bringing people together to enjoy it. Then by adding attractive women dancing throughout, it appeals to more of a male audience as they will be more drawn towards the females. It also makes 50 Cent fanatics appreciate the artist more by seeing him show of his talent of being a good rap artist.
Analysis of a Print Media Text - 26/7/15
THE HISTORY OF THE MUSIC VIDEO - 30/7/15
When did they start and Early Influences
Music videos originated firstly in the 1960s to the present day in terms of proper music videos. Beforehand hand there were musical films known as 'Soundies', these were three minute American 16mm musical films produced in New York, Chicago and Hollywood between 1940 and 1946 which each contained a song, dance, and/or band or orchestral number. These influenced the formation of full length feature music videos which helped promote the artist in a unique new form and influenced music videos throughout the years.
Early influential music videos that came out in the '60s were 'House of the Rising Sun' by The Animals. This particular music video challenged an initial view of music video and confused audiences, as it mixed traditional folk music with pop, alternative and other different genres. It was the first video to display a sort of hybridism along with different typologies of performance/concept with us being able to see the band playing instruments and singing, with a kind of subtle symbolism behind it. With the song being a stand out music video led the song to becoming a No.1 hit in the UK, USA, Sweden, Finland, Canada and Australia in 1964.
Since, progressively over the years there has been many more influential music videos that have left a mark on todays videos. These could be videos such as Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley which had it's distinct and unique choreography and revolutionary use of camera techniques, such as predominant close ups used on Elvis himself, promoting his raw talent to audiences all around the world. With it being one of the first music videos to use these such techniques before anyone else, it therefore helped it become what we as the present see it as today, a complete game changer for modern entertainment.
Then in 1975, a new music video was on the block, and is arguably one of the greatest to date. Bohemian Rhapsody. Mostly famous for it shot of the four band members in a diamond type formation, that iconic shot has become a imprint on today's society and it's entertainent and has been parodied in many different versions and perceptions that suited people best. Similarly to the House of the Rising Song, the song used hybridism using a variety of different genres in order to gain a large audience, such as rock, alternative and a type of classical/operatic approach. The uniqueness of the video managed to change music history and is easily recogniseable in any household. Reasoning? Mainly because of the revolutionary and never seen before editing techniques that audiences gazed upon in awe. A good example of that is around 58 seconds and 2.12 in the video, where we see a lot of fade techniques and mystical disorientating colours that really caught audiences eye. After that, we saw many other bands use such editing techniques, noticeably The Buggles with 'Video Killed The Radio Star' which firstly featured on the new channel of MTV, which went on to change the music video legacy, letting audiences around the world see and appreciate something different and give them a new lease of excitement and joy to look forward to over the many years they have been evolving.
Andrew Goodwin, a recent theorist stated that there a 5 different characteristics of the music video:
1) They must demonstrate genre characteristics. (linking to how The Animals went against this, we no one really knew what genre they were sticking by)
2) They must have a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
3) They must have a need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs.
4) Frequent reference to the notion of looking e.g voyeuristic treatement of the female body.
5) Intertextual reference.
From looking at Goodwins claimed characteristics we can already assume that not every music video that has been made between past and present include every single one of these characteristics but may have 1 or 2 involved in them in order to make them a success, but it also suggests that you don't really need one of those characteristics to make a successful video, considering House of the Rising Sun went against some of them.
