Purposes and conventions of a music video (R1)

Music videos aim to:

• Promote new artists to an audience and maintain an audience focus on an existing artist
• Promote both album and single sales
• Promote an image of an artist or band that is exciting or dynamic
• Entertain the audience and encourage re-plays of the video
• Create visual images that convey the meaning or story of the song 

Where they can be seen and why?

Exhibition:

The 1960's and 70's saw music videos as a 'feature film' tied to albums and singles. This was the start of music fans craving visuals to go alongside their tunes. The Beatles were eager to give their fans the fullest audiovisuals - A hard day's night for example.

Music TV shows like top of the pops, the old grey whistle test where musicians promoted their music - they later showed the music video (like the Jimmy Fallon Show).The most significant music videos of this era was Bohemian Rhapsody which debuted in 1975.

MTV:

The music video giant MTV launched on 1st august 1981 with  The Buggles' video, which has the first aired two years previously on Top of the pops for a live performance.

MTV enabled music fans to watch music videos 24hrs a day and offered artists a visual platform to promote their music.

MTV continued to be popular up until the start of the millennium when budgets for the videos were stagnant or even started to shrink. This is when videos were growing importance online, especially on YouTube. In 2005 YouTube was created. It was intended to be a way people could share their home videos with each other, in October 2006 it was acquired with google. 

The music video has found new life on YouTube. In 2009, Vevo was born. It was the product of the debate between universal music group (UMG) and google over content licencing for YouTube. Vevo meant record labels could actually make money on their videos being streamed. Vevo still dominates the YouTube charts, running from the catalogue of about 75,000 videos. Mega viral videos like 'Gangnam style' have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue for artists and labels.

Between 2010 and 2015, a number of high profile music acts made the most of the internet by making interactive videos (often which has to be accessed via their own website). 

Code of conventions (the 2 styles):

Music videos can feature the artists themselves or actors, and usually follow the codes and conventions of two main styles, the performance music video and the narrative music videos. 

Style 1 - The performance music video:

Footage of artists performing, singing or playing instruments. The mode of address may be direct so the audience feel the artist is performing to them specifically.

Clips to the concert footage which often shows the crowd and makes the viewer feel a part of the concert.

Artists and bands may perform in strange places

Footage of the band in informal situations that illustrate their job (in rehearsal room or on the tour bus)

Lip synced (Unless video from live concert)

Style 2 - The narrative music video

Tell the story of the song lyrics through technical codes and how the video is editied

Use actors to tell the story or the band themselves

Could be a short video to communicate the meaning of the song, the same as a feature film.

Conventions, how and why are they used?

Camera

Editing and sound

Mise en scene

Technical conventions:

Camerawork:

Band shots: Mid shot of whole band, clips of lead instrument and vocalists

High angle/ Low angle shots: Shots of singers and instruments

Close ups/ extreme close ups: Of mouth singing or instruments

Mise En scene: 

Reflecting atmosphere, equal division shots upon band members OR focus on key members. Reflecting the music genre (bright colours - pop)

Camera Movement: Tracking shots, pans, hand held camera, zooming in and out

Editing: Cuts reflect the tempo of the song and structure, cutting to the beat

Colour effect: Often monochrome to effect the mood, black and white

Montage: Images put together to create a symbolic meaning

Narrative: Might illustrate all of some of the lyrics


Symbolic


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