Purpose Of A Music Video

Music Video Outlets

 Music video outlets can be any programmes that help promote an artists new song or album. Music video's can be watched anywhere the main outlets are; main stream tv, music channels, directly through Cd's or Dvd's, streaming websites like youtube, artists personal website an in illegal downloads.

Mainstream

Mainstream TV is the most common outlet were people can watch music videos easy because it is free of charge and is accessible to everyone. Also by watching music videos on mainstream TV They tend to show all types of music genres they don’t favour a specific genre of music. The channels are also well known by everyone which means there would be a wider audience watch the music videos they release. The main disadvantage of having music videos on mainstream TV is that the music videos are only shown for a certain amount of time unlike the internet the music videos stay on there forever. The main reason it’s a disadvantage because most mainstream channels that play music video’s only have a limited time and if the audience don’t like the videos they are seeing they can complain and get the programme shut down. Mainstream programmes that did not work out for long are Pop Idol, top of the pops and many more these types of programmes only have a certain amount of time on the TV for example X factor that is on now only lasts for a couple of months. These types of shows are normally on every weekend and they allow established artists to perform and become more known on the results show.

The most popular mainstream now is X factor however the only problem is not all of the audience are going to like the artists that perform. Mainstream programmes like this help established artists promote their new songs for example last weekend Rihanna performed her new song ‘We found love in a hopeless’ and by Rihanna performing her new song on X factor made her song more known which helped I get her song to number 1 in the charts. Also artists also take their time when they are on the show to promote ongoing events they are doing for example Rihanna told everyone when her tour dates are. Here is Rihanna’s performance on X-Factor.

 Music Channels

Music channels are a popular way of watching the latest music videos because it is easy to access and shows you the type of music you like. Music channels offend play a wide range of music genres. Music channels are the main response to people watching music video’s through the channels because the music channels are well known rather than a website that is not known by a lot of people. Also the advantage of watching music videos on the TV by the music channels is that there are specific music channels to specific genre types so for someone who only likes listening to Rap/Grime they would most likely watch channel aka where as someone who likes dubstep and dance music they would mainly watch dance hall channel. Here are some popular music channels:

Dance Nations is a music channel specifically for the music genres which fuses house, trance, disco anthems and classics. Dance Nation is a dedicated dance music channel, delivering pure club culture and a continuous mix of massive anthems.

 

Massive R&B is another music channel that plays specific music genres. Massaive R&B mainly play R&B and Hip Hop music Videos.

Scuzz is the only music channel that only plays one type of music and that is rock. The music channel is devoted to the rock fans.

The advantage of having music channels is that as viewers you know what channels will best suit the type of because you like where as mainstream is not specifically for a specific genre type.

An advantage to label deals is if there signed artist get more plays on music channels, instead of it being a one off thing the song gets plated for about 2 months which helps the song get more noticed and the artist which would increase the salary income.

CD/DVD Special Release 

Many artists release DVD’s with their music videos on it to get more promotion. The main reason artists do these special releases of these DVD’s is because they know their fans will buy it because they put backstage footage and rehearsal footage that the viewers can only see if they buy the DVD. This is good because all the footage they put on the DVD cannot be seen on the internet or TV. However because the DVD has footage on it that cannot be watched unless you buy the DVD it will cost a bit more than just buying the single. Some viewers may think there is not point buying the DVD when they can just wait for it to go on YouTube. The only disadvantage for record labels when doing stuff like this is often there are people that copyright the DVD so costumers will by the copyright one for cheaper rather than buying the more expensive this can cause salary loss for labels. An example is the 

is JLS bringing out their own DVD which got released in cinema for one day and now it getting released on blue-ray on the 1st December. The DVD is a good way for them to make money plus its in 3D so lots of young girls are going to want to buy it. In their video it contains lots of unseen backstage footage which is the main reason why the film will sell easy and it has high quality filming from there concert tour.

Artist Website

Artists have their own websites so they can post blogs and videos directly to their fans this is a good way of getting them more known. By having your own website as an artist is allows you to share whatever information you want to. A website for an artist is good because it’s where they can post all of the release dates for singles/albums and it also gives them a chance to sell their own stuff within their brand. As artists on their websites or twitters/face book they also get people helping spread the word about video’s and products. Also to look at certain things on an artist’s website you may have to log in this is then for the artist to have your email address and they can update you with everything regally rather than you having to look on their website all the time. A good example of artists that use their website to keep their fans updated and to see products is the JLS website. The website is http://www.jlsofficial.com/ on their website they tell their fans about all their latest competitions and merchandise. They also use their website to post important dates and information for fans.

Legal/Illegal Downloads

One of the ways many people download their music now is illegally this is bad for the Artists and Record labels because they are not selling enough records because people are downloading it for free instead of paying.  The illegal downloads are rising because it is easy to access and people can get whatever song and video’s they want for free instead of paying for them. The only good thing for record labels is if people get caught they get fined for downloading music illegally and these programs can contain viruses so many people don’t trust downloading music illegally now.  Many people now use YouTube as a way to get their music, there are many websites that help customers get their music for free by converting YouTube video’s into mp3.

Legal downloads are aloud because you have to pay for the music you download and by downloading them legally the money goes to the artists and record labels. Many songs get released on download before being put on CD so this is a good way for artists to make money because some fans might want to get the downloaded version before the actual CD. Legal websites that are aloud are websites like Itunes and Amazon. However because you have to pay for these downloads most people feel no point where they can just get it for free and the UK are not that strict to illegal downloads; you don’t really get arrested for downloading illegal.

Streaming Websites

Streaming website are very popular because you can watch old music video’s as well as new music video. YouTube also allows you to watch music videos from unknown artists that are rising whereas music channels apart from Channel AKA don’t play unknown artists music videos for example Bluey Robinson is an up and coming artist who was found through YouTube and not many music channels play his music video’s because not a lot of people will watch it because they will not know who he is. Also streaming websites are good for viewers because unlike music channels you can watch your favourite song over and over again whereas on the music channels you will be able to watch it very rarely. Streaming websites like YouTube also allow the audience to watch acoustic versions of the artist’s songs. Streaming websites are also a reason why label companies don’t get paid for lots of plays on the internet. On streaming websites now they gave started to do adverts before the music video they have selected to watch plays and they also have banners of new single releases. Many people complain about the adverts being on before their video comes up because they want to see their video not an advert of another artist. An example of using YouTube as a way of promoting new songs is When you click to watch any of Beyoncé’s pervious sounds there is a banner underneath with a link to her new music video.

The Purpose Of Music Video's

Different aspects of releasing music videos

All different music video's have different purposes for posting their videos and networking. Many Videos have different reasons for releasing here are a some popular reasons. A music video could be uploaded to promote either an artists new song or a particular brand. Another common reason for music videos is to make a lot of money from releasing it. Other reasons could include; to showcase an artist look(image) or music, to showcase the lyrics of a song.

Promoting
The first purpose of releasing a music video is to promote something. It could be to promote a new artist or to promote a new song release. Promoting something by using a music video is similar to an advert because an adverts main objective is to advertise a new product. The more a video is promoted the more the song and artist is promoted helping them become more know and helping their music spread widely.

This is why it is so important for an artist to create the prefect video so it is likeable to a wide audience helping them become famous. A good example is for an unknown artist by promoting their new music video on a worldwide website like YouTube helps them become well known and not just in the United Kingdom but also worldwide because YouTube is a website available to any country. YouTube is a promoting website that helps unknown artists become known for example Justin Bieber who is known worldwide got found on YouTube and the same as new artist Jessie J.

A good example of promoting something is JLS the video underneath shows an advert of a countdown to JLS’s New tour an shows you backstage stuff. This is promoting JLS’s tour because every music video you click to watch the short advert/clip comes up of JLS. It also tells you that basic information of the dates and the website. So this is a good example of promoting something, JLS are promoting their tour to get more viewers to buy tickets to their tour. The second picture to the left shows a advertisement of JLS's new tour this is to help sell tickets and raise awareness of their event. This advertisment is on most music video's before the videos come on. This is so even if you don't know JLS you would hear from them through other people's youtube channels.

To create a visual representation of an artist

The visual representation is where the artist has a distinctive look which makes them stand out and their look compliments the kind of music they sell. This helps the audience what kind of artist he or she is. For example the video allows the audience to see the artist whilst not performing and the audience can feel there energy and the values of the artist. Also the music video can also help the artist reinvent themselves for example Rihanna use to be this young sweet girl then she brought out this other side when she cut her hair and names her album good girl gone bad. The music video could be a way of showing the artist grow and change whilst sending out a particular message or meaning. Rihanna is a good example of visual representation she changed her appearance and her appearance now reflects on the music she sells, she often wears short, bright and young clothes which represents the music she sells which has a young fun feel to it. Rihanna also dresses the way her music comes across outside the public eye so in more detail in Rihanna’s day to day lifestyle she wears the type of clothes she wears in her music videos and on her concerts.

Through Rihanna's newest music video 'We found love' shows her style of clothes which not only represensts her as an artist and as a independent female it also makes young girls want to dress like her. This video is a good example of Rihanna's appearence reflecting on her fun music.

To extend the playability of a song and its income.
To make a new music video/song become more noticed they would get posted on music channels. There are loads of music channels and some music channel play specific music genres for example Channel AKA play grime/rap/rnb and the music channel Scruzz play heavy metal/rock music. Music channels are everwhere on the internet and radio but most artist want their music video's to be shown more wider so they are shown on the tv. When music video's get played on the Tv the record label pay for it to get played and everytime it gets play it gets more views and most likely the music channel will keep showing the music video for atleast two months, this means the artist is kept in the public eye for a long period of time. A song that was played a lot in november 2011 was LMAO 'Sexy and I know it' when it was first released it got played as a vip track which means important play. By first showing the musiv video like that it got plays everywhere and everyone was obsessed with the song because it funny and a good song to dance to. Lots of people then requested for the song to get played on different music channels. This helped the song become more known which made music channels play it because they get more views.

Creating Synergy with other media sectors.

Creating tie ins between media sectors can help promote the different things involved for example a common example would be singers having a specific song for a film. So it is to raise awareness of both sectors involved and may allow artists to be involved in different sectors within the media. A good example I have of two sectors joining together to get more awareness is the film ‘Dream Girls’ and Beyonce’s music video ‘Listen’ they both tie in. The film dream girls are about a group of girls trying to break out into the music industry world and the main actress in this film is Beyonce herself. Beyonce is the main actress in the film hence having her own single called listen that ties in with the film. Within the music video it has flash backs of scenes within the film also the song ‘listen’ that was released helped the film become more known because it starred one of the best female artists. In the film Beyonce also sings the song listen which would help her single to the number 1 in the charts. These to have tied in together by having the same actress starring in the film to have her own music as well so the two different sectors help each other when it come to raising awareness of the film and music video.

The music video is a clear example of a film 'Dream Girls' and the song 'Listen' working together to help promote each sector. They work together well because Beyonce is in the film as a main character and she is also the artist for the single.
Art

Many artists care about the overall presentation of their music videos, many artists want their music video’s to be memorable so they use art and graphics in their music video to make the video more engaging and fun to watch. Artists like Lady gaga who cares about how her music videos are portrayed she not only cares about the lyrics but she cares about what the video looks like. This is why of the main reason why Lady Gaga uses lots of weird use of art within her music videos. The art can help explore what the video means and the emotion behind the music video. These music video’s tend to be the most popular because they are more fun to watch because the video uses a great deal of camera use, with the shot types and the affects. Artists like Lady Gaga are very imaginative so by her putting all these illusions and weird things in her music video kind of lets the audience understand what is going on in her head and it instantly makes the video more memorable. This could be a good risk because the viewers could either love the reader and the whole idea of the art in it or they can dislike it because they don’t the point of the art being in the video. Lady Gaga’s music videos are a good example of good videos that use art and are engaging. Lady Gaga is one of the most successful pop artists music her weird contrasts of videos gets the viewer’s talking about her. Lady Gaga is the only artist around at the moment that makes her videos live up to the lyrics and performance; she wears weird costume, she has weird actors and actresses in her film, she also puts imaginative affects in her music videos. This is why Lady Gaga is so known.



Styles & Conventions Of A Music Video

`    Popular Boy Band Music Video

A typical boy band would be aimed towards the younger generation and in the music genre of Hip Hop and R&B would have specific aspects within their music video’s. Using the boy bands we curerntly have now as an example would be JLS, One direction and the wanted all their video’s would contain the same aspects. If you were to watch all those three boy band music video's, you would consistently notice the same outline of things. The main aspect you would see in a typical boy band music video is females within the music video whether they are dancing or just general actresses, you would see a change of outfit, basic routines(dances), showing some flesh perhaps their abdominals. All these things are what you would see in a typical boy band music video because these are the typical things girls would want to watch. This is why they would do those things to increase their fan base. Mostly you would see the boy bands wearing more casual clothing in their music video, this could be to set trends and be fashion icons. You would not see a typical boy band wearing weird outfits in their video's like Lady Gaga because it would be less appealing.

This is a typical boy band music video which is by JLS. The video has a dance routine. It also has that cool/party vibe to it with the club, there are a lot of girls with them and they are also wearing casual clothing, that they would wear on a normal day. This music video leaves an impact mainly on the female viewers, making them want to party with JLS. This video is a good example of a typical boy band because it ticks all the boxes that young females would want to watch which makes it more fun to watch. Most of Jls's music video's contain the basic aspect which is why there are becoming so liked by the public. An example of a boy band that did not do so well is Westlife because they became less and less appealing towards females as their video's became less captivating. Their music video Lighthouse does not contain any aspects or elements that females would want to watch which makes the video seem boring.

Narrative Music Video 

A narrative music video is not about the dance routines, the clothes or anything else a narrative video has a specific reason for the video. It will have a main story which they want to portray through the lyrics. So a narrative music video does not focus on the artist singing the words it focuses on getting the story across, so it’s like a small film. A narrative video's main point to get across is the storyline and to get across their opinion.

The video I have chosen as an example of a narrative music video is Trey Songs ‘Your side of the bed’ because it has a deep meaning and displays a good narrative music video. This music video shows that it is not about the artist singing, it is about the storyline which is about a married couple. The music video shows the emotions of a wife living a career that she no longer wants to live. The video is captivating because it is a real life situation it actually happens all over the world. This particular video has a big impact on the viewer after they watch it because it makes them think about life and all those people who are fighting for their country. The video is based on a true life story, so it is very affective. The music video is very interesting and engaging because of the story line which make the viewer not get bored. Trey Songs video 'Your side of the bed' is an example of a good narrative video because it allows the audience to understand the tone and emotion behind the video. The video also uses a quick seen that has no lyrics just pure emotion which helps grabs the viewers attention.

Performance Music Video

A performance music video is mainly focussed on the artist singing, it is to create the feel that you are watching a live concert or gig.  The music video would consist of the artist singing directly towards the camera and maybe having a routine to show more of a performance. The music video would be presented like how you would watch it at a concert. The impact it has on the audience would be that they want to get involved and it could also be more engaging for them to watch. An good example of a music video that uses the style performance is Beyonce's song 'Love on Top'.

The music video by Beyonce is a good example of a performance video because it shows her singing the song with a mic and back up dancers. The music video shows clearly her just perfoming the song. The video does not have a specific story it. This is engaging and exciting to watch because it feels like your watching her at one of her concerts and it is a short video with dancing and singing which is entertaining and fun to watch. The lighting and costumes styles also make the video seem more real and helps the viewer get into it. The video byy Beyonce's main purpose is to entertain the viewer just like she would when she is on stage. This style of technique could be more affective than others because she is looking straight into the camera lense which makes the viewer feel like shes addressing them. It creates more of an intimate feel making the viewer feel apart of the performance. Also by doing a performance as a video allows the video to have more camera angle shots which is not shown on an actuall show. This helps the video seem more enjoyable to watch.

Performance- Live Concert 
The performance music video shows the artist performing to an audience, this shows that the video could have been pre-recoreded and just used clips from the main show. These music video's can be affective because they show a performance, so live dancers/dance routine and a band. The main reason for putting video clips of performances in a music video is to make the music video more entertaining to watch and more fun. The idea of an artist using this style could be to show the viewers who didn't see their live concert/tour to get a glimpse of what happened. The video's also allow the viewers to see the atmosphere of the concert.
A good example of a music video that contains live extracts from the artists concert is Beyonce's music video 'I was here'. The lyrics in the music are about her journey up until now and the concept of Beyonce using a live performance of her singing the song makes it feel more devoted to her fans. Overall the video is very touching because it not only shows Beyonce's performance it also shows the audience(her fans). By adding the performance makes the video that bit more enjoyable to watch. Beyonce's music video is a good example of performance because it shows the emotion when she was singing the song; something you would not get if it was just a normal video. It also contained lots of lights, which draws the viewer in because it makes the video more interesting. So overall the music video 'I Was Here' by Beyonce is an affective wa of using live performances in a video to get across the worlds and in Beyonce's case sum-ing up her carrer, makes the video more enjoyable to watch.

Animation

 An animation video is either a stop motion or digital. These two different styles are to create more of an unsual video. The style and conventions of animation can go we alot of different technique to narrative to interpretive for example in Bruno's Mar's song 'Just the way you are he uses animations and drew the images of what he was saying. The example I have chosen is
the by Black Eyed Peas. The music video is a good example of a video that contains animations to make the video more exciting to watch. The Black Eyed Pea’s song ‘Rock that body’ contains stop motion and digital animation. They use stop motion to go  with the lyrics of the song because the song is about move that body, so dancing by dancing and creating that stop motion affect helps tie in with the lyrics making it more engaging.

Two seconds into the music video they use the stop motion of two dances greeting, this is more engaging and fun to watch because it makes sense to what they are singing and it also placed on the beat which is affective for the audience to watch. They also have an animation robot throughout the music video which is not what most video’s contain so it’s more fun and lively and it makes the video seem like there are a lot of stuff going on at once.

The Black Eye Peas music video is a good example of stop animation because throughout the music video the video contains different animations from the robot and the stop motion of when the extra's are dancing. By using animation within the video makes the video more engaging to watch because not many video's use these types of styles and conventions, so it makes the overall video seem more unique which makes the audience more locked into the music video.

Interpretive 

An interpretive music video is a video that interprets the visuals directly into a story that matches the lyrics of the song. So An interpretative music video is when the lyrics the artist is singing goes with the movement in the video. Not a lot of music video use the concept of interpretation because it seems quiet childish. So for example if in the song it says 'I;m walking through the fields' and in the music video when you hear them say it you also see the motion of the words they are singing. By interpretating the music video makes it seem simple music the shots relate to the lyrics. Examples of video's that use this technique are nersery rhymes like the wheels on the bus. So this is why not many music video's use this style because it comes across as childish.

An artist that uses this concept is Rebecca Black. The concept of her music video ‘Friday’ is very interpretive. At the beginning of the song she says ‘Everybody is rushing’ then in the background you see her family members rushing. She may have used this concept to make her music video more engaging and she might have aimed this video to the younger generation perhaps school kids. The video got a lot of criticism because the use of interpretation makes the video seem childish and stupid. You can see from the picture to your right that when she says 'rushing' that her mum and brother are rushing around. Rebecca Black's main audience is the younger fans, this could be an indication as to why she chose this style.

Homage

Homage is when a music video duplicates a similar feature that has been previously seen. Lots of music videos may use this technique to make their music video more engaging because the public may notice certain things being repeated for a film possibly. Homage can have a similar style to the original or it may copy the entire original. A good example of a Homage is when an artist using the same idea that has been seen in a well known film into their music video. Most music videos that use this idea would use films that were a success and everyone would know about. Homage can also be known as a Pastiche because a Pastiche uses the same idea as a Homage which copies the style from a period of time. Homage is mainly seen through hip hop artists for example in Chris Browns music video ‘She ain’t you’ he uses the same effects and moves that Michael Jackson used because Michael Jackson was his biggest influence. So many artists would use this style to show that they were influenced by the artist or film. An example of an artist who used this concept are Katy Perry and Kayne West with their sone 'E.T'. The song uses the idea's from a well known film called Avatar.

The music video 'E.T' by Katy Perry and Kayne West contains lots of different ideas from previous films and programmes. The overall concept of Katy Perry’s music video looks like she has had influences from the film ‘Avatar’. Katy Perry looks like an avatar and she uses the same kind of shots you see in the film with the sky. The video is like a fantasy; however the fantasy is about aliens and avatars. The video has no main concept of the video having the aliens however it is visually entertaining for the viewers. By using scenes from the film ‘Avatar’ and making Katy Perry an avatar makes the film more engaging because the viewer is confused and left guessing which makes them want to watch it.

The image to the right shows that Katy Perry uses the film Avatar to create her image in her music video and uses the fil for inspiration. This is affective because the public viewers will constantly watch it because of the similarities between the film and the music video.

Katy Perry also uses the same idea from the programme True Blood. The image to the left shows the fox that is in Katy Perry's music video but this fox is also in the opening of the TV programme true blood. So Katy Perry used different elements from different films and programmes to make her music video more interesting to watch.

Parody 

Parody is when a music video displays similarities to the original video but portrays it in an amusing way. It could be to take the mic out of the original song or it could just be to make the original video seem funnier. Most of the video’s that use parody are often created for the viewers to make them laugh. So the video is created for the entertainment purpose. The videos will exaggerate on what you saw in the original video to make it more comedy like. They also would change the lyrics a bit to make it seem more humorous. Parody’s can be made of music video’s all films for example the film ‘Vampires Suck’ is a parody of the film ‘Twilight’ which imitates what they do but in a funnier way. Most parody videos are posted on YouTube because they are just for the entertainment purpose only. The example I have used is the parody music video of Rebecca Blacks sing ‘Friday’.

    

The video above is a copy of the the original video by Rebecca Black but it changes the lyrics to make it seem funny. The video is a parody because it makes a joke of the video by Rebecca. In the parody it show the main with two types of cereal because Rebecca’s lyrics in the video are ‘gotta have my cereal’ so the parody used these lyrics to make a funny joke about it. The parody video is funny and exciting to watch because it’s engaging for those who want to watch a video that is not so boring. The parody video was only posted on YouTube it did not go on the TV music channel because it was a realese of a new song its purpose was just to entertain people and show the reaction they got from watching the official music video.

This image shows that the parody video has the same scenes at the same time for example when she wakes up at 18seconds so does the parody video. This makes the parody video more funny and fun to watch because the viewer can understand the reason why they have created the funnier video.

Referring 
Music videos that contain reference means that the video has a tie in with a film. This could be to promote the film as well as the song. Also most of the time you see tie ins the film would only want a famous singer for example the example I have chosen is a song by Leona Lewis who is a nationwide singer known by everyone singing a song called ‘I See You’ which has a tie in with the famous film Avatar. This is effective because it promote both sectors getting them more views. The music video by Leona Lewis contains shots and scenes from the film which help get the lyrics out more making the film more passionate.

http://youtu.be/3YDz-ftqr1g

This style of video is engaging for the viewer because it tells a story, a story that is already known which makes the video more interesting. By having Leona Lewis sing the words as if she was in the film makes the video seem more emotional which strikes the viewer to watch. Also the video shows that it is not about the artist it is about the film which is what the music video is based on. The music video is beautiful overall because it gets the viewers mind lost into the video making them want to watch the film. So the main purpose of this style of music video is to promote the film and Leona Lewis has made this music video engaging to the eye through the use of colours and backgrounds bringing the viewer back to the film. The music video mainly contains clips from the film to help tie in with the lyrics that Leona Lewis is singing.

Impressionist

A video that uses the style ‘impressionist’ is to create imagery that may not tie in with the lyrics but links to the mood and style of the video. This is to create atmosphere and tension which makes the viewer watch the video. So the main point of the video is to create imagery making the video seem more interesting to watch. The video type impressionist can use elements of surrealism or animation to make the video seem more interesting. However not depending on the type of style in the video, the pace will still match the mood. For example if the song was slow the video would be dark and unexplained. The example I have of a music video that uses the style ‘Impressionist’ is the music video ‘All of the lights’ by Rihanna and Kayne West. This video uses different elements to help the mood and pace of the video however the clips don’t match up.

The video by Rihanna and Kayne West shows at the beginning a little girl walking and its quite dark and looks cold by the way she is dressed. This beginning part does not necessarily tie in with the lyrics because the lyrics are about turn the lights up so you can dance, however, the clip at the beginning of the young girl goes with the tone of the beat because the main instrument is the violin which sets the moos to a sad and cold mood which links in with the girl walking slow and sadly and the weather being cold with the snow. However by seeing the girl walking you would automatically think the lyrics would be about a lonely and homeless girl where as the video is about turning the lights up. The video uses this technique in an engaging way because it miss leads the viewer until you see lots of bright lights. It also makes the viewer want to watch the whole video so they can understand what is happening.

Surreal/Abstract

Surreal and abstract videos are when the imagery shown in the video gives the viewer a shock also the visuals that can be see may not link to the lyrics being sung this is called Juxtaposition. This is when to opposite things have been put together for example in Lady Gaga’s music video ‘You and I’ it shows imagery of a scary man in a ice cream van however this imagery does not reflect on the lyrics because Lady gaga is singing about a relationship. This shows that the music video may not make sense this is why it is interesting for the viewer to watch. 

The video I have chosen by Lady Gaga called 'You & I' shows surreal/abstract footage this is because the video has shocking and weird objects in the video. At 23 seconds in the video we see a old man inn an ice cream which looks like a dummy, this is very strange. The lyrics Lady Gaga is singing are 'I'm not leaving without you' this shows that the video is about a relation and that Lady gaga wants to stay with that person. So the lyrics and the video's don't go together, this makes the viewer confused which makes them intriged to watch the rest.

Intertexuality

Intertexuality is when a music video uses one media text to copy the scene or settings. The music video could also take similar features from the media text whether it’s from a programme or a film. The music industry uses this technique to make the videos more interesting by taking advantage of the viewers understating on different media texts. Intertexuality is used to give the music video that bit more excitement because when viewers watch it and can relate it to the media text it is copying it automatically makes the video more enjoyable, it is also enjoyable to those who may not perhaps no the media text it is copying. An example of an artist that does this is Geri Halliwell she uses this technique to make her video more extreme than others it also gives the song more of an edge.The video I have chosen as my example for intertexuality is 'It's raining men' by Geri Halliwell. Geri Halliwell uses the film 'Fame' to help create an amzing music video.

Geri Halliwell duplicates the famous dance film ‘Fame’ in her music video ‘It’s raining men’. Geri Halliwell uses the same setting and atmosphere as shown in the film to make her music video more memorable. Geri Halliwell uses this concept so the audience can relate to the video which makes it more enjoyable because they get into it because they have previously seen that type of dancing before on the film. 

The image below shows the two different scences one from the film and one from the music video. The image clearly shows that Gerri Halliwell has taken inspiration from the film and creating the film into a small music video.

Good & Bad Music Video Techniques

Good Use Of Cuts

This music video is an example of a good music video that has a lot of cuts. This music video displays lots of cuts because of the speed of the song and the singer Bluey Robinson is singing so the shots are from lots of different directions making the cuts more frequent. The cuts are also good because the cut happens on the beat. The cutting helps the space of the video seem faster which is more engaging to the audience. Most of the cuts happen on a specific beat in the music which is when you hear the sneer. This is affective because it gives the video a good flow and doesn’t make the audience feel like they’re out of time when watching the video. The effect of using this number of cuts is not only to make the video engaging but when the video wants to make something else a subject they cut it. So overall Bluey Robinson’s music video has a good number of cuts which helps the video more interesting. Within the first 20 seconds of the song there are 10cuts this show that the cuts are frequent to keep in time with the beat of the song because it would not make sense if the cuts were slower than the actual song. This video of cuts was a success.

Bad Use Of Cuts  

This music video by J Cole called ‘Who Dat’ displays a poor use of cuts. The filming crew may of intended not to use any cuts within the video but the disadvantage is without having any cuts it makes the video seem longer and boring, nothing can surprise you. I feel the intended effect of using no cuts was to show the whole journey of J Cole throughout the video however by portraying it did not have a good affect on the audience. The song has an upbeat tempo so it only feels natural for the audience to see cuts on the beat; the cuts would help the video feel like it flows better and would be more affective to watch. The overall technique of using no cuts was unsuccessful because it made the video seem more boring, because by placing cuts in a video makes the temp of the video feel fast like the song where as in this video the video does not go with the beat. Also the use of no cuts meant that the film had a lot of panelling in it which is a bit repetitive which loses the audience interest. I feel the connotation of using no cuts was to help keep the camera left on J Cole (the artist). Overall J Cole ‘Who Dat’ shows a poor use of cutting.

Good Use Of Camera Shots

The music video ‘Love on top’ by Beyonce shows a varied of camera shots, there are high angle shots, low angle shots, close ups, mid shot and many more. By having more than one shot type makes the video more engaging to watch rather than watching a video from just one prospective. The intended effect of using different camera angles would be to give the video a more dynamic feel because the moves Beyonce is performing are basic so by doing different camera shots for example when they have the camera facing her feet and then her backing dancers hand. These entire camera shots help make the small things seem more interesting. The overall technique of the different camera shots has been a success because it makes the video more engaging and fun to watch. The different types of shots help empasis the dance routine they are doing, because the moves are very basic by adding lots of different angles you can the move from automatically makes the video more captivating.

Bad Use Of Camera Shots

  

Jessie J’s music video ‘Who you are’ displays a poor use of camera shots making the video seem long and quiet dull. Throughout the music video the shot type is a mid shot and because the shot types do not change you can see a lot of panelling. Overall I think the intended purpose of using just one shot type throughout the video was for the audience to focus on the lyrics she is singing and her face expressions. The whole idea of keeping the camera use at just one shot could be the connotation of they wanted to keep the video simple and plan, so the lyrics came through more, the intended idea was to emphasis on the lyrics. However the weakness of using basic shot types makes the video seem boring, which is not engaging for the audience to watch. The technique was not successful because the audience want to see more than the artist lip synching the words. The video felt like it dragged on to long because of the one shot type. The video is not engaging and captivating towards the audience because of the basic shot types. The music video represents the artist as plain and simple; Jessie J is wearing simple clothes so that the video is focussed on the lyrics and the shot types are simple, this could be the connotation.

Good Use Of Green Screen

In Beyonce’s music video ‘Countdown’ she uses green screen to make her video more effective an engaging for the audience to watch. The intended effect of using green screen in her video is to grab the audience’s attention and because the video has an up beat tempo the green screen helps make it more effective. In Beyonce’s music video she uses the green screen affectively because when you are green screening it is important that you don’t wear the same colour as the background because it can sometimes look bad. However Beyonce has gone against that and every time you here the sneer her colour of the costume and background changes this is affective because she is using the green screen with her beat making it fun to watch. She uses this technique to engage the audience at 37seconds to 49seconds. The green screen make the video enjoyable to watch because it is very different to other videos contain and also the use of the retro colours towards the younger generation makes it more engaging. The denotation of using green screen was to make the video seem more fun and lad back, as if it was a party. The connotation of using the green screen could have been to emphasis when she is counting and the beat.

Bad Use Of Green Screen

This music video shows a poor use of green screening, as you can see from the video the editor has not cut around the body properly making the body look cut out. The intended effect of this video is to be amusing and fun, however the technique of which the green screen has been done is poor. The technique has not been successful because the artist is not visible because the cutting of around the artist was not done to a high standard it is quiet hard to see the artist himself because of the fade outs around him. Also he is wearing a white top and in quite a few screens the background has white so he gets lost in the background a lot. The impact on the viewer just seems like the artist is not taking the shoot seriously hence the weakness of the green screening. The connotation of using the green screen could have been to compliment the lyrics the boy is singing, the intended purpose could have been to make the video more lively and fun.

Good Use Of Special Affects

In Rihanna’s music video ‘Rude Boy’ she has added lots of graphics for special affects, they have made her video more engaging to watch. The intended effect of the graphics was to make the video more fun to watch also the connotation of using the graphics as an affect could have been to enhance the African/Caribbean theme. Throughout the music video you see Rihanna dancing in a African/Caribbean way and the graphics help link them together. The graphics are all bright and bold affects which give you that feel of Africa. The technique has been successful because it makes the video more fun and enjoyable to watch because of the colourful graphics and they also go with the dancing and the use of words Rihanna says ‘ere, is’you’ which are translations. The whole graphics link with the theme making the video flow more. The impact of the graphics almost makes the audience want to dance along with the bright engaging colours. The denotation of using the graphics was to reflect on Rihanna’s ethnic background and tradition.

Bad Use Of Special Affects 

In this music video called ‘All Of The Lights’ by Kayne West shows a use of good special affects through the graphics however after a while this portrays as a weakness because they are very repetitive which make the video boring. The intended effect of using the graphics was to help create a more disco feel because they are singing about flashing lights so by putting the words up in bright flashing colours compliments the lyrics however it because less affective the more it goes on for. The technique was not successful because it repeats itself to much and becomes boring to watch.  The impact on the video is to make them dance and feel as if they are in a club but by making the colours too bright makes the viewer not want to watch the whole video. The denotation of using these graphics was to emphasis the lyrics they were saying ‘turn up the lights in here’ and the connotation could have been that it was set for a party feel. Overall the affects were poor because they became too repetitive.

  

Good  Lip-synching

In JLS’s music video ‘Take A Chance’ has good lip synching because it is believable that they are actually singing because you can see the emotion you normally see when they actually sing. The intended effect of them lip synching is so that they don’t get tired of dancing and moving about. It is also to make the video look as natural as possible. The overall impact of them lip synching the words help them to not have to worry about sounding good and they can work more on the outcome. For example the way they say the lyrics if it’s sad, angry etc. The JLS song has a good use of lip synching overall.

Bad Lip- Synching 

In this video Cheryl Cole is performing at the Brit Awards and she is miming the words. The lip synching is this video is not good because Cheryl Cole does not suspend the words for long enough as what they are on the track and this is clear to see. The purpose of Cheryl Cole lip synching could have been to help her be able to dance and not get tired because if you dance and sing your vocals tend to sound worse. The overall presentation of Cheryl lip synching is bad because there are times when she comes in too late, so it is clear she is lip synching. This can cause the audience to say Cheryl cannot sing hence her miming he words instead. Overall this is a poor way of lip synching because the artist was not precise enough when seeing the lyrics.

Good Use Of Cutting To The Beat

The Olly Murs music video called ‘Dance with me tonight’ shows a good pace of cutting to the beat this helps the video flow more easily. The main reason for the cutting to go on the beat is for the song. The cutting to the beat is important because it allows the audience to feel the speed of the song and the emotions. For example if it was a slow sad song you would not see a lot of cuts. The cutting to the beat has been successful because it relates back to the song being up tempo. The cutting has been successful in this video because the cuts are not only to the beat but at one point the cuts go on all of Olly’s lyrics ‘uuhh’ this happens at 43 seconds to 47 seconds. By the cutting being on the lyrics helps the viewer feel the pace of the song. The cutting to the beat and particular words helps the video become more exciting and engaging for viewer to watch.

Bad Use Of Cutting To The Beat 

The music video by Jordan Sparks called ‘One step at a time’ shows a poor use of cutting to the beat, most of the cuts feel pre-empted. The cuts are not on the beat most of the cuts are before the beat which makes it feel off. The cutting has not been successful because it doesn’t feel like it flows through. By not cutting to the beat leads the viewer abit miss guided because they want to flower the beat however the cutting doesn’t allow them. So overall this video shows a poor use of cutting to the beat.