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BLOG #1 - MV Research

Writer's picture: mcaccammcaccam

Updated: Nov 25, 2022



"I'm obsessed with the power of music and image together. There's also something about music videos that are incredibly glamorous - there's a fetishistic aesthetic to them that you don't really see in movies in the same way." - Max Minghella


What is a music video?

A music video (MV) is a unique form of media used to convey the meaning of a song by using visual representations. MVs are also a marketing tool to promote an artist, their song, and their album.

Purpose of music videos

  • Promote the artist's album and sales.

  • To introduce new artists to an audience or to maintain audience focus on an existing artist.

  • To establish the "branding" of an artist or band.

  • Show artists' creativity (if they have the right to decide on what will be the concepts, etc).

  • Create visual images that convey the meaning and story of the song.

Structure of music videos

MVs are typically 3-4 minutes, it can include a combination of live performance, narrative, and other visual imagery including computer graphics and animation. However, there should be a performance element to the MV as well as a storyline to hook the audience. Typically artists act as both the narrator and performer (the main subject of the mv) to make the sequence have a more authentic feeling, but sometimes non-conforming artists like to subvert this (ex. Avicii, Sia, etc). Usually, the MV tells a story that either features the lyrics or is suggested by the lyrics.


Who's involved in the making of a Music Video?

Forms of Music Video


Narrative

A narrative-based music video is a music video where the artist or band is trying to tell some sort of story. It is essentially a short film based on the song. Narrative music videos typically include a structure of a beginning, middle, and end. There are also usually no lip-syncing or musical performances in the video. The band creates a narrative around the lyrics relating to the song's themes.


Ex. Taylor Swift's All too Well (10-Minute Version)



There are exceptions, depending on which type of narrative music video it is. There are three different narrative techniques used in music videos: Illustration, Amplification, and Disjuncture.


If the director uses illustration, they create a music video where the narrative is based purely on the song. The video will usually include a direct reference to the lyrics. The scenes are a more or less direct representation of the meaning of the lyrics.


Ex. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night



The director will utilize their creative genes when creating the music video with amplification. Here the lyrics are still closely connected to the music video. It can have complementary scenes not necessarily in the verses but relate to the themes and amplify the song's meaning.


Ex. Taylor Swift - Shake It Off



Lastly, disjuncture is when the narrative becomes detached from the song's meaning. Here the director chooses to create a new meaning or theme through the video.

It is essentially a narrative video that might not make much sense on first viewing.


Ex. Somebody that I used to know




Concept

Concept music videos are videos without a storyline and typically have no relevance to the lyrics themselves. The concept music video is usually based on the artist's vision. It can be seen as a way to expand their creative vision with the song. The concept music video typically includes a performance or a narrative, so the audience doesn't get all lost. But while there might be a smaller narrative in the video, there is typically no structure to the video. What makes these types of videos so attractive is their uniqueness which can sear into the audience's brain.

Audiences will get fascinated by trying to understand the video, or just because it's so eccentric, they can't forget it.


Ex. Coldplay - Paradise

When talking about concept music videos, we typically talk about two types: Thematic videos and symbolic videos.

  1. Thematic videos are based on a theme. The music video uses a theme based on the genre or the song's meaning. This could be the setting of the music video or a specific color. Ex. Beyonce - Single Ladies


2. Symbolic videos are made up of different frames that build meaning with each other.

It typically features a lot of fast shots and well-utilized lighting.

Ex. Childish Gambino - This is America


Performance

A performance-based music video can include dancing, lip-syncing, and band members playing their various instruments. It can even be a recording of them playing live in some cases.

However, that doesn't mean that you can't be creative with a performance music video. Typically the bands are located in various exciting locations that connect with the song and the feeling they're trying to create. Performance music videos are more uncomplicated to film than other music video kinds, and it's great for when a band wants to create a video with a low budget.

It was also the standard before the other types of music videos became popular. Hence, most old music videos are performance-based.


Ex. Bruno Mars, Anderson.Paak, Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open


Lyric Music Video

These videos were extremely popular in the early days of YouTube, albeit they were usually uploaded by a third-party source who didn't have the rights. Lyric videos started out as windows movie maker videos, with a blue background and the lyrics listed on the screen. But slowly, the industry adopted it and started making official lyric videos with matching fonts and colors. They have transformed from a modern karaoke-type video to become more creative and innovative. The lyric music videos typically include a font that matches either the theme or the genre of the song and the background color and font color that goes along with it. In some cases, the words can be animated to give more meaning to the music. Outside of that, there's usually a lot of movement in the lyric video, so it's not just static text shown on the screen.


Ex. Adele - Skyfall


Animated Music Video

Animated music videos mean everything from a simple 2D animation to stop motion or CGI. Animation music videos typically follow the same structure as other music video types.

In some ways, you can see the animated music video as a hybrid.


Ex. The Weeknd & Ariana Grande - Save Your Tears

Synergy Music Video

Synergy, in music videos, is where two or more forms of media combine to make a promotional video. Many songs are featured in certain films in which once a music video for that specific song is released it will contain scenes from the film it originally featured in.


Ex. Pharrell Williams - Happy


Cameo

A cameo in the music video is where a popular celebrity appears inside the music video as either a background character or main character. The music video can be of any form however it includes a famous person in it, and usually, cameos increase the views of the MV.


Ex. Cardi B. - WAP

Parody

parody, in music, is the creative reworking of a preexistent composition to form a new composition. Parodies are usually humorous imitations of a serious composition.


Ex. Wassabi Productions - Call Me Maybe Parody




Harrow Beijing Media Studies

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