styles of music videos
TRANSCRIPT
GENRES
• There are a lot of different and creative genres used for music videos,
here is a list of some of them; Electronic, folk, hip hop, jazz, pop and
rock.
• Some genres are very popular in todays society and some are
becoming very unpopular e.g. you don’t see many rock music videos
nowadays but you see a lot of pop videos.
• Genres can identify the target market and bring in a large fan base if
one of them is successful making some genres more successful than
others.
• As people in the music video industry become more creative new
genres may be created as time goes on.
ANIMATION
• Animated music videos need a lot of hard work to become successful
because its a lot of editing. A good example of a successful animated
music video is Daft Punk – ‘One More Time’ which was released in 2000
and made Daft Punk very famous and gave them a lot of publicity.
• Stop motion is also a viable way of creating music videos, they are not
as successful as other types of animation but there is still a audience
for them.
INTERPRETATIVE MUSIC VIDEOS
• Interpretive music videos look into what the lyrics are and how they
create a clear meaning.. Some can have a in depth narrative or a
meaningless collection of images presented throughout, sometimes the
images may not be connected to the song at all and be very abstract.
• They allow the audience to develop their own thoughts of the music
video and the meanings behind it.
• These types of videos usually have great impacts on the viewers which
are interesting.
• Zedd is a very good example of someone who creates meaning through
their music videos.
NARRATIVE
• The narrative in a video echoes the lyrics of the song while the narrative
inspired by the song adds a new element to compliment the themes of
the song. The narrative also has a very small relationship between the
song.
• Narrative is subordinate to performance and a video that includes a
visual story that is easy to follow, a example of a narrative music video
could be ‘Grenade’ by Bruno Mars
• Audience takes in the information for music videos in a more looser
way, more casual.
• Authenticity is very important in the performance of music videos.
IMPRESSIONIST
• An impressionist music video makes the audience feel a certain way
about the images from a music video based off of camera angles, shots,
movement and position. Editing also helps these types of music videos
by using unrelated and random shots to make the theme of the music
video stand out.
• Each shot links together to create one theme using mise en scene,
camera shots and editing.
• A lot of impressionist music videos will also include synergy to create a
meaning and have a effect on the audience/viewer. A good example of a
band that uses this is ‘Lonely Island’
PARODY/PASTICHE
• Parody /pastiche music videos are usually music videos that are related
to other music videos and copying existing ideas creating them into
something else. The intention of these music videos is often for
humour.
• Some parodies can even be intended to mock the producer of a song
and give them a bad image to the public.
• Weird Al Yankovic is a very good example of someone that creates
parody music videos intended for humour.
• Yankovic did create his own music videos however he got very popular
and his fame from creating parodies
HOMAGE
• Homage is a demonstration or show of dedication or respect to
someone or something where a music video will relate to something
that they respect.
• Justin Timberlake shows homage in his music video ‘Take Back the
Night’ making references to the very popular music video – Michael
Jackson’s iconic ‘Billie Jean’ video.
INFLUENCE OF COMMERCIALS
• Being a director is about learning and experts continually experiment by
working on commercials and music video. When music is used in a
commercial usually the producer of the song needs to be asked for
permission and with that the producer of the music video gains
publicity and becomes more popular.
• Some commercials would rather have their own song or beat to make
the commercial more fitting.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 1
Mise-en-scene: The mise-en-
scene in this music video is stylish
which is conventional with all the
work he has done in this album
fitting in with his soul and R&B
style. Looking at his costume, he is
in a suit and looks smart
throughout suggesting that he is
formal and giving a sense of the
style of music video that is being
presented to us; the audience.
Plan B – Stay too long
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 1
Camera Work:: The use of multiple close
ups are used throughout this music video to
show the audience who he is and close ups
on his face add authenticity. When
Strickland gets drunk the use of canted
angles is used to give the effect of him
being unstable and drunk. There are a lot of
POV shots which helps viewers relate and
emphasise with people in the video. When
the song picks up so does the speed of
shots so that there is a relationship between
the shots and sound.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 1
Editing: Editing is normally slow at first
because of longer takes and shots of the
main character to create a meaning or
story. When he gets drunk an effect is
used which blurs the image to add a mood
which connotes instability, this also helps
to add to the validity of the lyrics as it
suggests that things are getting out of
control. This links in with Goodwin’s theory
about the relationship between lyrics and
visuals. Time is also a key factor because
it is mainly focused on Plan B which lets
the audience relate to the situation.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 2
Professor Green -
Monster
Mise-en-scene – The mise-en-
scene in this music video is the
same throughout with Professor
Green wearing casual clothes
suggesting that he is informal and
doesn’t work. The lighting in this
video is very little as every couple
of shots there is either a bright
light coming from the corner of a
shot or reflecting off of the props
in the background.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 2Camera Work: The music video opens with
“Professor Green” in a shot of a car, this
creates a sense of anticipation, waiting for
what will happen next, there are a lot of POV
shots or shots to make it seem as if were
looking from “Professor Green” which helps
make the music video more emotive and adds
a sense of drama and chaos to get a feel for
the social aspect of the video where
“Professor Green” becomes jealous over a
girl. We also see the facial expressions from
close ups in the start of the video making
“Professor Green” looking depressed and
towards the end of the video that is shown
through the girl. The music video also ends
where it starts; back in the car and it turns out
that it was outside the girls house suggesting
that his love for this girl is strong.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 2
Editing: This music video isn’t as fast paced
as his other releases; this slow pace
represents the meanings and thoughts shown
from the music video. There are also jump cuts
between the girl and “Professor Green”, this
could be to show that they have both
separated and no longer have that connection
that they once had. “Professor Green” is also
given a lot of time on screen to give him
authority over the girl and indicates he is of
importance over the other characters with a lot
of the shots focused on him.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 3
Mise-en-scene: The opening scene is a
west end sign lit up, this could show that
the performer is popular as it also has
“sold out” written across it. The shot after
we can see a microphone and the
performer standing in front of a live
audience, this creates an atmosphere and
helps the audience engage with what its
like to be at a live performance, with bright
lights flashing at a fast speed along with
characters dancing and drinking alcohol to
suggest that the music video has a happy
mood to it, very similar to the music video
“Stay Too Long”.
Plan B – The Writings on The Wall
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 3
Camera Work: This music video opens with a low
angled shot and what appears to be a west end
sign with the words saying “Strickland Banks Sold
Out” shown on it, this low angled shot is used to
create a sense of importance or as if this character
“Strickland Banks” is a person who people look up
to. This music video is very similar to “Stay Too
Long” as they both use lots of close ups of the
main character, this helps promote the artist (Plan
B) and helps with branding. There are also POV
shots of Strickland Banks which could be used to
show performance from the audiences point of
view and help add emotion and empathy to the
video, There are also a lot of shots focusing on
females dancing, this could be related to the ‘Male
Gaze’ Theory.
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS PT. 3
Editing: This music video includes a lot of
cross cutting between the band playing
and the storyline portrayed from lyrics and
shots in the video. This relates to
Goodwin's theory and that music videos
must follow a storyline so that the audience
can have a better understanding of the
meanings and thoughts portrayed through
shots and sound. There are also a lot of
slow motion shots to perhaps cause
tension or to make the performance more
exciting for the audience.