Music Video analysis

In  3-4 minutes a typical music video combines  a mix of live performance, narrative, and other visual imagery including computer graphics and animation.

•It does this to advertise the band/artist and song

–Promotes a single and, normally, an album

– Promotes the  artist or band

– Creates, adapts or feeds into a ‘star image’

– Entertains the audience

– Sets the ‘meanings’ of a song  by the use of images

Often contains a number of different elements:

– Performance

– Narrative

– Thematic

– Symbolic  

Often contain shots of the artists performing

•Can be a live stage performance, with shots of artists and audience

•Can be the artists in “real life” situations eg warming up, talking, fooling around

•Often includes lots of close ups of the artist and there can be a particular visual style that goes with the artist (a motif) eg particular clothing, actions, props, type of images.

•Often the artist can appear to perform in an unusual place - all lip-synched  eg a field, a rooftop 

• Features images of the band interacting with their audience
• Everyday setting of a street/barber shop 
• direct address 
• No clear narrative 

  

Music Videos may be considered to be examples of 'spectacle'.

•In this the performers are performing, often looking directly at the viewer.  This is called “direct address” -where they are directly interacting with the viewer.  

• This video unlike the Miley Cyrus video is not overtly sexual 
• includes direct address 
• close ups shots show emotion 

Often the video tells a story either that features in the lyrics or is suggested in the lyrics eg girl dumps boy

•This narrative can be like a Mini film, with a beginning, middle and end

•Or it can suggest some links to a story

•It can promote a film with clips from the film included telling a story 

 

There are lots of common themes in music videos

•Depends on the genre of music

•e.g. Heavy metal bands go for performance dominated clips

  Rap has lots of “street” images

  dance routines are common for  many female artist performances 

Use of lots of symbols to build up meaning e.g. graveyard…death

•Lots of use of montage -lots of images to create meaning sometimes often contradictory

•Lighting often used to suggest mood

•Fast paced - often only a few seconds per shot to build up meanings

Use of lots of symbols to build up meaning e.g. graveyard…death Lots of use of montage -lots of images to create meaning sometimes often contradictory Lighting often used to suggest mood Fast paced - often only a few seconds per shot to build up meanings Pictures can support or contradict the lyrics

•Pictures can support or contradict the lyrics