Research on music videos

In class we had learnt about the three main types of music videos, which are performance, narrative and conceptual.

 Perfomance based: this shows only the band/artist performing the song. It is the cheapest and easiest type of video to make, providing you can find a suitable location. A large variety of shots is needed in order for the video to look more visually effective and interesting as it may look boring with only performance. An example of this is 'best of you' by the Foo Fighters. This video has many different varieties of camera angles and movements, and it is also intertwined with random video footage in order to maintain the audience’s attention.



Narrative based: this type of music video focuses on a story throughout which matches the lyrics. It usually uses actors to portray the story rather than having the artist/band themselves, however sometimes the artist/band is shown between the story that is told. Narrative based music videos can be used if the song is used in a film and therefore there is a sense of the movie cut into the video. An example of this is Bon Jovi 'always'


Concept based: this type involves the audience focusing on the artist/band themselves rather than following a story throughout the video. There is a variety of shots of the  band/artist playing along with different shots of random images which are often used in this type of music video to break up the performance of the band/artist. These shots can be related to the video or not. Furthermore, this type of music video is usually unusual with a particular editing or filming technique. An example of this would be Genesis 'land of confusion' 

Auteur theory

What is the Auteur theory?

The auteur theory originates from France which translates as Author, this means that a director's film reflects their creative vision. The Auteur theory was introduced in the 1950's by french film directors like Francois Truffaut who promoted a focus on the contribution directors made on the style and form of film. An Auteur is a film maker whose style is distinctive in their work and it in turn creates a signature auteur status for them. Before an Auteur would be considered as just a film maker, for example, Hichcock whose most famous films include Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window and is known for his smattering of mystery and murder. Now an Auteur can be seen as director's of music videos such as Chris Cunningham, who is known for his work being mysterious and out of the ordinary, for example his work directing 'Aphex twins, come to daddy' and 'Madonna, frozen'

Who is Hype Williams and what is his signature style?

Hype williams is a well known music director, he was born in 1970 and has been active in work since 1991 till present. He has worked with many different artists such as 2pac, Beyonce, Will Smith, LL Cool J, Jay Z and Kanye West. He made himself known by tagging local billboards with his graffiti tag.

He is considered an innovator as he puts across his own ideas through his music videos with his own signature style. A signature style used by Hype throughout most of his videos is the Fisheye lens which distorts the camera view around the central focus, for example in Will Smith's 'getting jiggy with it' 

Another signature style of Hype's involves placing the shots of the music video in a banner of a widescreen ratio, while another shot is split and placed in the upper and lower bars. An example of this is 'check on it' by Beyonce.









Hype also has the tendency to use bold, primary colours in most of his work. This makes the video more visually effective but also reflects the bold statement he makes in his videos. For example, in Kanye West 'Gold Digger', the use of the bold red and orange in the background catches the audience's eye and does not make it dull.







The sexualisation of women is portrayed in Hype William's videos through the use of costume, for example, lingerie and bikinis where we can see flesh. This is something modern feminists would feel strongly against has it supports patriarchy, however he continues with this signature style. For example, Nicki Minaj's 'stupid hoe'

Goodwin's theory research

Andrew Goodwin says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require.

He identified a number of key features in music videos, these include:

1. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals- the visuals would illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics
2. There is a relationship between music and visuals- the visuals again illustrate, amplify or contradict the music
3. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and may develop motifs which recur across their work- this will allow artists, either developing or an established artist to become noticed and be memorable. Also they may develop fans who would like their particular style on their quirky motifs
4. There is frequent reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
5. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics- for example, boy bands which we expect them to dance and bands playing instruments
6. There is often intertextual reference- with references to other music artists, films and television shows

Origins of music videos

1900's

It was in the early 1900's where performance shots were taken in music halls and singers were filmed

1920's/30's

It was in this time that visuals were used alongside sound, such as musicals where there would be someone playing the piano

1950's

In the 50's there was no youth culture and popular artists at this time included Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. In this era musicals were the popularity such as Marilyn Monroe's 'diamonds are a girl's best friend'. The 50's was also the birth of rock and roll, during this time artists such as Pat Boone, Rosemary Clooney and Perry Como ruled the pop charts. Musicians such as Little Richard and Hank Williams helped redefine the entertainment industry with their music

1960's

The music difference between the 50's and the 60's is defined as being when the "british invasion" occured in American music. The Beatles came into prominence and soon dominated the global music industry. Artists such as The Beatles and Elvis Presley had such a large fan base that they had to send their own video recordings all over the world.




1970's

Around the time of 1976 we saw the era of punk music from acts such as the sex pistols. In the 70's top of the pops emerged in the UK, this created an environment of innovation and competition amongst bands and record labels as the show's producers placed strict limits on the number of videos it would use

1980's

In 1981 MTV is launched and the first video to be launched was Buggles- video killed the radio star. In the early/mid 80's artists started to use more sophisticated effects on their music videos, they also added a story line or plot to the video. Michael Jackson was the first artist to create the concept of the short film, he did this in a small way with Billie Jean.

Modern day

With the information technology era being active still, artists have the chance to promote their songs through the use of youtube and other online sites. Youtube and also itunes allow the audience to be more up to date with the latest music available, itunes also allows people to download straight from the internet,

Search for the song

Over the summer I have explored a number of ways in order to find a song of my choice. This had included such things as going to East Barnet music festival and asking bands who had performed and also supported if they could be a part of my music video, however this did not succeed and unfortunately I did not hear back from any of the bands I contacted. I have also been searching online on music sites such as mp3unsigned and have emailed a number of artists, I am still awaiting on their reply. I am hoping to use the genre of pop or r'n'b as I believe I am more familiar with the conventions of these.

Evaluation

Evaluation dorna from KExcell

Story board