+

Music Video ProductionCase Study

James Horbury

+Unit 29 - Music Video Production We will look at Music Videos from a number of perspectives, this

template is for you to write up your notes and to complete your case study.

The document is split into 3 different tasks, each with separate questions to answer.

Task 1 is concerned with the purposes of music videos and the strategies employed by labels and artists

Task 2 is concerned with the styles, techniques and conventions of music video production

Task 3 is your own case study into a minimum of three music videos where you can unpack and discuss the videos considering everything you have looked at in Task 1 and 2

+Unit 29 – Music Video Production Learning outcomes, this case study is concerned with

the first two learning outcomes of the unit:

1. Understand the purpose of music videos

2. Understand the styles, conventions, and techniques of music videos

3. Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a specific music track

4. Be able to work to complete production of a music video.

+Unit 29 – Music Video ProductionAssessment Criteria The assessment criteria addressed by this case study,

further details are in your project brief:

+Notes on completing the case study It is often easier to show something you are discussing

than to take time describing it. With this in mind, feel free to add lots of illustrative images from your chosen video examples. Links to YouTube/Vevo/etc are also encouraged.

Remember, when you make a point or define something, you should follow this with an example, an explanation of this and then link to further texts/videos where possible.

If you don’t think there is enough room to add your full response to a question, don’t just reset the font size to really small, add an extra slide wherever necessary.

+Task 1 - Purposes

+Task 1 - Purposes

Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short explanation for each:

Entertainment is the biggest purpose of a music video you want the audience to sit down and watch and not change the channel, or click on another video. You want a good opening like the music video bad blood that opens with a fight scene and leads into the song.

Branding/identity, when you say a bands name, the band wants the first thing you think of to be they music videos. Because a music video tell you who they are and what they are like. A band like the Gorillaz tell you what they identity is and what they are and what they music is like.

Sales, there are many different ways of selling your music and music videos is one of the biggest ways because you want people to see the video and then buy the song on iTunes. An example of this could go with the music video Mike Posner “I took a pill in Ibiza” because it is very much a club song and the music video is just there to get it to more people.

+Task 1 - Purposes Q2 – What are some of the broader purposes of music videos? Think

about some of the strategies employed by artists in their videos and how they represent themselves, you could consider where the artist is on a major label, independent label of unsigned, is there a difference between them?

The main purposes is to give the feel of the band/singer preforming it live, some people won’t be able to see the band or singer live so music videos are they way of giving that feel.

allow the audience the advantage of interpreting the song through the use of the video playing in the background. When you hear a song some times you don’t really understand what it is about, but a music video can explain the meaning behind it and can give you a new look and feel about the song.

Major label want they artist to look good and want to make money off them so they will put money into they videos and hope to make a profit off them, but for independent labels or and artist that are unsigned, so they have to find a cheap but clever way of making a music videos, because they need to stick to an budget but at the same time make a video that people will remember, so the difference is that one has money to spend and the other has a budget so they have to be careful

+Task 1 - Purposes

Q3 – Describe what is ‘synergy’ is and how it has been used in music videos [min. 3 examples of synergy and convergance]

In the 80s MTV could put a song to number one if they put a heavy rotation on the song, this is because people would think if MTV is showing so much of the song that the song must be good and have to buy it.

When a TV shows becomes popular so does the theme song, when the TV show “Friends” become popular so did the song “I’ll be there for you” which was number one for eight weeks.

Major labels now see co branding as a way of making a big profit from a music and a way of justifying glossy music videos. An example of co branding is the music video lady gaga Beyoncé telephone, which blow up when it was release because both artist have such a big audience, and when two big audience come together your going to have a big track.

+Task 1 - Purposes

Q4 – Branding; select an artist you like and look at how they present themselves in their music videos. Explain what their ‘brand’ is, who is appeals to and why they might have done this.

Imagine dragons branding in their music videos is that they put themselves in a world or a story and the members of the band are the main character. So the branding is that the members of the band are up front and in the public eyes. It appeals to fans who want to feel like they know the band and think they are part of the band and are living the stories with them. They did this because they need to stand out in the world of music and it is very hard because almost everything has been done.

+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5tWYmIOWGk

+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sENM2wA_FTg

+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU

+Task 1 - Purposes

Q5 – Compare One Direction and Animal Collective music videos [find them on YouTube!], what can you discern about each act from their videos? What is the main aim? Explain why.

+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zol2MJf6XNE

+Animal Collective

Animal collective is very bizarre they is no real purposes to they music videos and if I had to find one I would say it is to be artistic.

The aim of the video is not to relent the video to the song but to give you something to watch well listing to the song, also they music videos are called art because they are clever and stand out from all the other videos out there.

The reason they do this is because they are not a big band and have to stand out some way in the big world of music, that is why they make these wired and artist videos because it gets people looking they way.

+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E

+One direction

One direction is an British boy band whose music is aimed at teenage girls and that is why in they videos the main forces is the members of the band.

The main aim is to get teenage girls to buy they albums and to buy tickets to see them live, they do this by having the band in front view of each videos, because when the fans watch the videos that is what they are looking for.

The reason they do this is because when the band was on X factor the reason they where so popular was because they were four young men and girls liked them because they were good looking and want to see more of them, so to make money from them you have to feature them in the videos.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Q1 – Describe and explain the use of camerawork in

music videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Very wide shotThis is where the artist is shown visible (barley) but the emphasis is still on placing the artist in the location/setting. As you can see in this shot the singer is barley visible and the location is the main focus of the shot.

Wide shot

This is when the artist is shown taking up most of shot but the location/setting is still focused on. You can see in this shot that the person is in focus but you can still tell what the location/setting.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Mid shot

This shows the artist from his/her waist to head, and focuses mainly on the subject but still giving an impression of the location/setting. Medium close up

This shot is half way between a mid and close up, showing the artist from chest to head.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing in music

videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Linear editing

The process is basically mechanical in nature, in that it employs the use comcorders, VCR’s, edit controllers, titlers and in linear steps, one cut at a time or a series of programmed cuts to its conclusion. Non-linear editing

The process is entirely digital and employs no mechanical functions except for the input of the video sources and its final output to tape or CDs. Editing in this environment I essentially is a visual cut-and-paste method.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions In-Camera Editing

Video shots are structured in such a way that they are shot in order and of correct length. This process does not require any additional equipment other than the Camcorder itself, but requires good shooting and organizational skills at the time of the shoot. Assemble Editing

Video shots are not structured in a specific order during shooting but are rearranged and unneeded shots deleted at the time of transferring (copying). This process require sat the least, a Camcorder and VCR. the original footage remains intact, but the rearranged footage is transferred to a new tape. Each scene or cut is "assembled" on a blank tape either one-at-a-time or in a sequence.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Q3 - Describe and explain some of the technical

developments in music videos, i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this

Music videos usually include a variety of shots which match the flow of the music, and the feeling that is supposed to be portrayed by it. The shots are very similar to that of photography, except in music videos motion is obviously applicable. For example, a close up portrait will show emotion, a landscape wide shot will show the environment.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Q4 – Genre conventions; often music videos adhere to

genre conventions within their visual style and production techniques. Select a recognisable genre and use illustrations to explain what their genre conventions are…

Stop motion is a very recognizable genre of music video. These stop motions are sometimes mixed with normal motion video as seen in the Animal Collective Brothersport music video. The conventions of this genre often include bright colours and rough looking drawings or play-doh style models which move to the rhythm of the song. They are often used with dance music as they can be very fast paced.

+Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and Conventions Q5 - John Stuart’s description of the music video

“incorporating, raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the essence of intertextuality [something asserted by Andrew Goodwin]. Can you explain what intertexuality is and find some examples of it in music videos?

Intertextuality can be reflected in the visual style of a music video, by referencing another style. But it can also be in the form of a parody video-which is often humorous. The parody video may give the video a new meaning or just expand on what has already been shown.

+Task 3 – Case Study

+Task 3 – Case Study

For your individual case study you are required to prepare material on a minimum of three music videos.

This should provide discussion on the usage of the following: Purpose of the video [consider the strategy of the artist and

the intention behind the video, remember the core purposes and break this down into the other purposes we discussed]

Style[s] used Techniques employed Intertextuality Camerawork/editing Genre conventions

+Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith Purpose: The purpose of this music video is to show off how imaginative

and distinct the brand is. The music video means nothing to most people, which is why it focuses on representing the brand. But the storyline followed in the music video is actually one from Bolivian culture. The story goes that the a young boy finds that he has the ability to shout or sing, so that the devil can not be heard, which is great, because spoken to an entire village and caused them to all commit suicide. The boy is brought to the devil in the mountains by 2 companions, when they arrive the men must leave so the boy can hide the devils sounds with his own voice.

+Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith Style/Edits: The style is very colorful, and cultural. The music

video focuses on the Bolivian/ South American culture. The imagery is very bright, making it visually impressive to look at. The edits are all very simple, the cuts are basic with no technical transitions. Some of the cuts do fall on the beat but not all of them. There is the use of slow motion in some of the shots, but it Is not excessive, it is just used to focus on the boys face as he's carried across the desert by one of his friends.

+Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith

Camerawork: I really like the camera work in this music video, as it is very engaging and never gets boring. There is very rarely a shot that isn’t panning or zooming. The constant smooth movement is much more visually impressive than basic still shots. The movement of the camera could represent the journey that they are making.

Genre conventions: This genre of dance/summer tunes often has a story line which has a very small connection to the lyrics. The lyrics in the song do not represent the old Bolivian tale as much as the music video does.

+ George Ezra - Blame It on Me

Purpose: The purpose of the video is made to go along with what was happening in the song. George Ezra is being victimized, in the video he gets shot by a toy gun, he gets run over and is tackled by an entire rugby team. He also suffers unfortunate events like something landing on his shirt, being ran over and ending up in the middle of a police gun fight

Camerawork: this video there is a mixture of wide shots and close up. The close ups are where something goes wrong for him and the wide shots are of him walking down the street. George Ezra is classified as a

folk singer.

+George Ezra - Blame It on Me

Style/Edits: The style is very colorful. The imagery is very bright, making it visually impressive to look at. The edits are all very simple, the cuts are basic with no technical transitions. Some of the cuts do fall on the beat but not all of them. There is the use of slow motion in some of the shots, but it Is not excessive. it is just used to focus on the boys face as he’s walks though the street and as all the things happen to him along the way.

+Beyoncé’s - Halo Purpose: The purpose to Halo by Beyoncé explain how much of an

impact a man has made on her life. She has been hurt by being in love before, and she has built up walls around her and made up rules for her to follow to prevent her from experiencing pain again. However, she met a person that quickly tore down the walls and let himself in, and she is realizing that she needed to protect herself from letting the wrong person in. The right person would not cause her such pain. This man is her "saving grace", and she is referring to him as her angel. She is able to feel his presence by his "halo", and she is hoping that he is not too good to be true. He has allowed her to break free from her own insecurities, and she now knows that their life will defy even gravity.

Style/Edits: The cutting rate is extremely slow throughout the music video and this suits Beyoncé’s genre and style of music. Mostly simple cuts quick with barely any transitions except for this one flash transition used in the end when Beyoncé is just in bed talking to this guy and then cuts to them talking again.

+Beyoncé’s - Halo

Camerawork: A lot of close ups are used to show Beyoncé’s facial expressions (happy ones) of her boyfriend in bed with her. Lots of eye-line match technique used in each close up in the beginning of the song this helps the audience connect with the Beyoncé more easily, the audience can easily tell what she is feeling then with the eye contact gained from this eye-line match. An over shoulder shot is taken of the guy who is watching her from a distance while Beyoncé dances. This looks very romantic because it seems as if the guy is watching over her as a guard if anything bad were to happen.

+Case studios videos

Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O1_3zBUKM8 George Ezra - Blame It on Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ifSrE8iSg Beyoncé’s - Halo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig

+Task 3 – Case Study

You should include a video link for the video You can include as many illustrative stills as you like Be creative in your approach, it is suggested you use

the heading on the previous slide a guide on how to structure your response to get you started

Remember, make a point, use a specific part of the chosen video as an example, explain yourself and then link to another video where possible