The purpose of this video is to entertain. It was created to have a visual image alongside the audio of the song. This helps to promote the song and gets it more hits on YouTube. The video features the singer from Faithless singing the lyrics, which helps set the mood and atmosphere for the song. The video was created to entertain a persons sight as well as them listening to the song. The purpose of this certain video is to promote the single as well as the album that the song is from.

What was it for?

This song was not for a certain film or TV programme but was simply for entertainment and pleasure. The song was part of the album Reverence. The song was just to entertain people and promote the band themselves.

Outlets of the video

This music video has been shown on various music channels on television including MTV channels such as MTV DANCE, and is also on YouTube. The song is also played in various clubs, mostly dance clubs in London.

Sales of the song

The song was released in 1995 as their second single and became one of their most successful. It became a hit in Dance Charts and was #27. In 1996 the song became #1, which is why the song was so popular and the band became very well-known. The song was re-released in 2005 and reached #48. This shows the songs longevity. When the song was released in the US in the Hot Dance Club Songs Billboard, it reached #1.

Hits on youtube: 10,257,950 million

The purpose of this music video was that it was a part of the hit movie Titanic. The video shows different shots of Celine Dion singing the song on the set of Titanic and clips of the film itself. The purpose of the video is for when someone is listening to the song they can watch the entertaining images. It is a visual express of the lyrics of the emotional song. The lyrics are quite deep, therefore the video helps the express them. As the song is known to be sad, the music video sets the atmosphere.

What was it for?

The song was for the film Titanic. The song has now evolved into the iconic part of the film and is incredibly well known over the world. The film came out in 1997. The song was released in 1997 on the Titanic soundtrack album and Dion's album Let's Talk About Love and went to number 1 all over the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and Australia. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time was the world's best-selling single in 1998. The song is increasingly popular all over the world.

Outlets of the video

As the song and music video was immensely popular over world, the music video is still being played on various TV channels. The film itself is also played a lot of times on the TV, which also plays the song throughout. The music video is also on Youtube, alongside other videos with the song's audio with lyrics on screen.

Hits on youtube: 31,776,118

Sales of the song

The song is Celine Dion's biggest hit and one of the of the best-selling singles in history. It sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The song stayed at number one at various billboards in the United States for up to ten weeks. As a testament to the popularity of the song on the radio, the song broke the record for the then-largest radio audience ever, garnering 117 million listeners in February 1988. Eventually in the United States, the single certified gold. According to Ask Billboard, the digital copy of the single has sold 1,133,000 units since being available.

The purpose of this video is to entertain and to promote. The song was a large hit and the video was also an iconic part of this. It was largely entertaining to watch whilst listening to the song. It is a visual image of the lyrics and Lana Del Rey herself singing the song. The main purpose is promotional. By creating a video it will promote the song and the artist. Del Rey actually directed and edited the music video for her own song, which may even promote her skills as a director and editor.

What was it for?

The music video was just for publicity and to get herself out into the world of music. The music video was created alongside the song to promote Lana Del Rey herself and to promote her album. It was created to have a visual image with the audio from the song to show Del Rey singing the song. The music video also shows a large amount of various of clips of people being happy, being with friends and loved ones and enjoying themselves. This gives a happy atmosphere and feel to the pop ballad.

Outlets of the video

This music video is shown on lots of music channels. As the song is quite recent, it is currently being played on music channels such as MTV. The song is also played in various clubs and bars. There is an official video on YouTube amongst with various others, including remixes.

Hits on YouTube: 47,129,655

Sales of the song

The song was largely popular in various countries. It was a commercial success. It peaked at number one in Germany and Luxembourg. In the UK, Belgium, France and the Netherlands it reached a top 10 position. The music video certified platinum in four countries. The music video became very successful. As it was directed and edited by Lana Del Rey herself it was partly know for that.

Exposure and expansion of the artist profile- All music videos promote the artist in one way or another. This will expand and expose the artist in various ways and will even show their image which will promote them. It will expose them as an artist and hopefully expand their profile. For example the song Like a Virgin like Madonna increased her image and expanded her profile.

To sell the song and invoke a reaction so that audience remember the song- The music video is important as it sells the song and gives a visual image to the lyrics. It shows the song in a visual way and involves the audience in what is going on. It creates a larger reaction to just the audio, by adding visual images to the song. This gives the audience a larger opinion of the song, and will make them remember it for much longer. An example of a song that has created a large impact on audiences is a song by Miley Cryus - We Can't Stop. The song features outrageous and strange scenes which makes the audience remember it much more, purely because of the video.

To give the audience a better understanding of the song- For certain types of music, it is important for the lyrics and the meaning to get across to the audience. The music video helps by a large amount to give the audience a better understanding as it can give a visual image to the song. The clips shown can link with the lyrics and explain the meaning of the song further. An example of a song that does this is National Anthem by Lana Del Rey. The video shows various scenes of her and another man which helps to explain the lyrics.

Advertising- For some music videos, they are created to advertise a product or organisation. These products are likely to be something music related for example a brand of guitar or headphones. A music video that does this is Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and Pharrel. In the video, the drink Remy Martin is shown and the singers are drinking it. This will advertise the product.

Promotional for music and the albums - Most music videos will promote the song largely. It is likely that if the person enjoys the music, they will research into the artist and listen to other songs. Some music videos may promote their album, which is important for artists to expand their musical profile. For example Bjork - all is full of love.

Synergy - This is where the song will either promote a new movie or is part of the soundtrack to it. A very well known song and film for this is Adele -Skyfall. This song was a large part of the hit movie as it set the mood and atmosphere for the part of the film it was played. The music video features part of the movie in it, which will promote the movie if the viewer enjoyed the scenes they viewed.

Tells a story - A lot of music videos tell a story with the lyrics from the song. This helps explain the lyrics and story of the song so can be a lot more understandable for people. It can help to enjoy the song more, and involve the viewer more in what is happening. This is a big reason for creating music videos alongside the song itself. An example of a music video that tells a story is Common People by Pulp.

Promote or show off new talent - Many artists will create a song and have another artist who is not very well known in the music industry feature on the song. This will show off new talent in the music video. This could also mean a new talent that the original artist has that they wish to show off. For example Beyoncé - Crazy Right Now. This shows her dancing in the video as well as singing, which shows off a separate skill to what she is known for.

Charity - Over the years, there has been many music videos that are created to raise money for a certain charity. This can be very effective as some of these songs feature various artists, which appeals to a varied audience. The music videos show these artists, which makes them so popular. An example of these types of song is Do they know it's Christmas by Band Aid.

Promote festivals - Another purpose of music videos is to promote festivals or a certain festival that the band or artist are playing at or have played at. A music video that does this is

Promote another artist - There is a very large amount of songs that feature more than one artist. This will mainly make the song better and by having more than one artist will make it have different sounds and voices. But by collaborating with another artist, it will promote them and their music. They are usually both in the music video, which promotes their image. For example Earthquake by Diplo ft Dj Fresh and Dominique Young Unique.

Opens up another market- Music Videos open up a varied amount of other markets other than the music industry. It can feature dancing, fashion, products and many other things. It will show the artist in other different ways. For example the video for Superbass shows the artist Nicki Minaj dancing to her song.

Generates money for the record company - The main thing that the artist and record company gain from music videos is the money. Music videos gain a large amount of money and promote the song in a much larger way. This will make the song more of a hit and will gain much more money for the record company and artist.

Extension of income - Sometimes music videos are so shocking in good and bad ways, that they are remembered more than the song itself. This makes the artist remembered too, for a very long time. An example of this is Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympthony. This is such an excellent video, that the song is largely remembered for this.

Selling the image of an artist - Most music videos feature the artist themselves. This will promote their own image and style. It will show off their fashion, hair and beauty. Rather than just knowing an artist by the name, they will be known largely by their image. An artist who this occurs to is Nicki Minaj, for example in her music video for Superbass, she is known for her outrageous clothing and hair.

Producers strategies - The producers may use strategies to raise the popularity of a music video. They may use YouTube and Vevo to show the music videos on. Most official music videos are supported by Vevo on YouTube which increases the popularity of Youtube and Vevo themselves. Social networking sites are very important to artists as they increase the popularity by a high amount. A band's popularity who are increased by social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are One Direction.

An example of music video from the 60's in My Girl by The Temptations. This video was released in 1964 and became a number one hit in 1965. It was written and produced by members of The Miracles.

The video is quite simple yet effective. It shows the five members of the band singing and dancing to their song. They are all dressed neatly in smart suits and leather shoes. This gives an image that they are smart and sensible. They begin to dance in sync and then sing along to the song. When the camera pans out, it shows an audience watching the band perform. The camera uses roughly 7 different shots, which some are used more frequently than others. Some are technical yet most are simple shots of the band altogether, from the audiences perspective and from a side view. These shots are still used today, but are more technical. The quality is not excellent and the video is in black and white. Although the video is quite clear, not all small details, such as the laces of the members shoes, are shown. The video probably was not edited too much, as no effects have been made, yet only a few different shots were made that needed to be put together.

As said before, the men are dressed very smartly. This may happen today, and male artists may dress in suits but singers from other genres such as rap, may dress otherwise, for example in a tracksuit. They way they dance is very different to dancing these days. The dancing is quite classical and plain, which is unlikely to be used in videos nowadays.

The type of music is rarely re-made these days, therefore the styling of the video, shots, and clothing is rarely used in new music videos.

An example of a song with a music video from the 1950's is White Lightning written by JP Richardson also known by his stage name The Big Bopper. The song was performed and recorded by American country music singer George Jones and was released in February 1959. 

The music video features a ball room full of people dancing and enjoying the song. The video is in black and white as it is very old. All of the people in the video are in couples are dancing together in a 50's style. They are all dressed very smartly and are mostly covered up. If this was compared to music videos today of a group of people dancing, the outfits and style of dancing would be very different. It is likely that they would have short dresses and low cut tops on for the women, and may be dancing provocatively. This shows how much times have changed and that this type of dancing is not in fashion anymore.

The camera uses various, but not many techniques. It sometimes pans across the room, which is still used in recent types. There is not many shots overall in the video, roughly 3. This is a lot smaller than the amount of shots in music videos in the past decades.

The quality of the video is also not very good, but for the time it was made it seemed to be very high quality. It uses no special effects. Also something that is noticeable in this music video is that no one is seen to be singing.

The song that I have chosen for the 1970's is I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. This song was released in October 1978 and is a very popular disco anthem. The video is far more technical and better than the ones from previous years, and uses techniques that have rarely been used before.

The music video features Gloria Gaynor herself singing her song. She holds a microphone and keeps eye contact with the camera at all times. The studio she sings in is all black and just her face and chest area is lit up. Sometimes lights are also shown in other areas behind Gloria, which makes a glamourous theme to the video. There is other shots of another woman rollerblading and dancing to the music, in the same lighting as Gloria. Even though this video is quite plain and empty, at the time it was effective. The camera shots pan a lot across the artist whilst she is singing. These types of shots are still used today amongst others. The video is in colour, so the quality is instantly improved. Yet it is still quite fuzzy and blurred. When the camera is at a mid shot, the details on Gloria's face are not as clear as they would be if the video was film today with a high definition.

The style of the music video is still used today. A large amount of music videos are filmed in a studio nowadays and use similar lighting. At the time, the cool new lighting effects that were used in this video were seemed new and different and proved a big hit. The song itself was very popular which made the video well known too.

It is obvious when watching the music video the style and fashion is outdated but correct for its time. Gloria Gaynor is dressed in what seems as a glittery purple dress with a gold chain necklace and large earrings. She has her hair styled in an afro, which is a very 70's style. Her outfit and style may be used today, but will still be known as 70's style. Gloria has not released any songs recently, therefore she is still known as her 70's/80's herself.

I have chosen an extremely popular music video from the 80's, which is Thriller by Michael Jackson. The hit was released in 1982. The video was extremely popular and the shots, special effects used and style shocked the world as it was so incredible and new.

The style of the clothing is very 80's which fits with the genre of the song. The song is by Michael Jackson, who is one of the worlds biggest pop stars known for his personality as well as his music. As it was created by Jackson, everyone wanted to see the video before it was released. It is extremely well-known all over the world. The video created a large impact on the music industry as the video was so shocking yet excellent.

This music video changed the music industry as it used new and exciting special effects. In the video, Jackson is shown to turn into a werewolf, in which special effects were used. This video is one of the first to use these incredible special effects, which impressed the world. After this music video, special effects were used a lot more. Also this music video was filmed in various settings all on location, including the cinema and the forest. A varied amount of shots are used in the video, which was not used many times before. The video has been edited excellently, as the programs needed to edit a music video were not as technical as they are now. The shots are smooth and the editing is brilliant.

This music video introduced a narrative to the music industry. The video includes a storyline about him and his date at the cinema, then after he turns into a werewolf many people join the scene and all start dancing. This created a large impact on the music industry. Even today people still want to see Michael Jackson's music videos and success today.

In the 90's the styling of music videos changed. For this example I have chosen Aaliyah - One In A Million. This song came out in 1996 and was a big hit. The genre of the song is R n B, which was extremely popular during the 90's. The fashion trends and themes for this music video are quite similar to they are now. During the 90's, the clothing in music videos started to change and women started to dress more seductively. In this video, the artist Aaliyah is shown in just a bikini, then later a crop top and shorts. She is shown to be loved by a group of men, yet still shown in sexy way. After this video and other similar ones, women were shown in a sexual way as they always were, yet were shown in small outfits.

The quality of the footage is a lot better than ones I have previously researched. A large amount of varied shots are used which shows that the industry has improved with time. The shots used include mid-shots, close up and long shots. These show Aaliyah in various ways, and shows off her image. The editing for the video seems excellent. The video flows smoothly with the song, which creates a good atmosphere.

The artist Aaliyah was a big artist when she was creating music in the 90's and the early 2000's. The singer died in 2001 when she was just 22, but this made her songs more of a hit. After her death, her fans and normal people would research her and her music, which increased her popularity even though she was not alive. Some people believe Aaliyah was extremely big in the 90's and influenced many similar artists to her in years after.

The dancing in this video is also noticeable, as the dancing her and the male dancer is very sexual. In the video the dancing seems to be more serious and sexy, rather than music videos in the 60's where dancing was fun and enjoyable.

When did music videos start?

The first record of a music video is in 1894. Two sheet music publishers named Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern hired an electrician named George Thomas and other various performers to promote to sales of their song "The Little Lost Child". They used a magic lantern which projected a series of images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. This became a popular form of entertainment and became know as the illustrated song. This became the first step toward music video.

In-Concert and live footage

Some music videos feature live footage of them playing their song. It usually is footage from a concert or festival in front of a large crowd. This can be a good effect in music videos as it can show the talent of the artist or band. A band that does this is Coldplay, in their music video for Fix You. The video starts off as a narrative, about the main singer, then carries on and then they are altogether on stage at a concert, which is live footage. This is very effective to the music video as they show the talent that they have and show the extremely large crowd that are their to see them perform.

Also known as cartoon. This music video for Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz uses animation. The entire music video is animated, showing various characters during the strange scenes. Some of the characters represent the members of the band, which gives a cool effect to the video. The band Gorillaz never show their real image in the videos, so their animated characters are well known. They wanted to hide their identities, so pretended to be cartoon. This was effective as their cartoon selves are more known than their real faces. The video also features large animated gorillas crashing down statues and the ground. This can also link to the title of the band.

Interpretive music videos are where the lyrics for the song explains what is going on in the video. An example of this is I'm On a Boat by The Lonely Island. The music video shows the three artists on the boat singing to their song. The lyrics describe everything that is going on in the shot that happens whilst they are singing. The chorus is the phrase I'm on a boat repeated over and over, and obviously whilst they are saying this, they are on the boat. They also use interpretive imagery in the music video. For example, one of them sings "I've got my swim trunks and my flippy floppies". After this lyric, it shows the artist sitting down waving his flip-flops.

A narrative is any account of connected events, e.g telling the story. A music video that uses this style is Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna. The video shows a boyfriend and girlfriend having arguments. They are seen to have physical fights as the girl tries to leave. The house in the background is also on fire, which makes the arguing seem extreme. They are acting out the lyrics whilst Eminem and Rihanna sing them. Later on in the video, Eminem and Rihanna feature in the video, and they are singing the lyrics. By using the characters explaining the lyrics, the audience can understand the song more.

A pastiche music video is one that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. The example that I have chosen for this style of music videos is Smells Like Nirvana by Weird Al Yaknovic. This song is imitating a song by Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit. Therefore the name is a play on the songs title. The video imitates the original, and according to Wiki Answers, the exact same set, model cheerleaders and model janitor were used in both videos. Weird Al must of wanted to copy every part of the original song so much to the extent to using the same set. Rather than a parody, pastiche imitates work rather than mocks it. The artist Weird Al has created various other songs with are all pastiche.

Impressionism in music videos is where the video has a mood or atmosphere from a different era. For the example, The Importance of Being Idle by Oasis seemed to fit the style exactly. The music video was created in 2005, but is set years before. The group all feature in the music video along with other characters, but are dressed in old fashioned suits. The props and the setting is all very old fashioned, and the video is in black and white, which shows that they wanted for the video to seem old. This just gives a different effect to the video, rather than it being modern, it evokes certain moods, places and natural phenomena.

A surrealist music video is one that uses visual artworks. It is something that is impossible to happen in real life therefore is crazy and surreal. An example of a music video for this style is Where's Your Head At by Basement Jaxx. This video features a man going for some sort of test at the hospital. During the test the man seems to be seeing things that are impossible in real life. There is monkeys jumping around the room he is in, with human faces, which are singing the song. This is a cool and crazy effect in music videos as it makes the audience interested in what is going on.

I feel that any individual music video can inspire me in different ways, whatever the style. I feel that the style does not particularly matter when it comes to what inspires me. If I had to choose the main style that makes and impact on me, it would be narrative. I feel that most narratives have to create a storyline that is effective, otherwise the audience will get bored and not want to watch it. I feel that if the lyrics are emotional and relatable, it will inspire me and will make an effect on me in various ways.

The style of music video that inspires me as well as narrative could possibly be surreal or animation. I feel that both of these genres impress me more than others. I enjoy seeing things happen that are impossible or are just very strange. This can happen in either of these two styles.

Overall I can decide that surreal music videos inspire me most. Whether they inspire me in a self-bettering way or just after watching it I will feel happier, I think that they will benefit the mood I am just slightly. They are usually funny, strange but most importantly, entertaining and inspiring.

What would you consider for your own production of a music video and why?

There is various styles that I would consider for my own production of a music video. I personally enjoy surrealism in music videos, as said before. I think that they can be made enjoyable in so many different ways that a large audience can enjoy them. With the equipment and props that I am limited with, a surreal music video may be difficult. As this will not be easy to do, I want to create a surreal and interesting mood to the video. I am going to choose a song that will match this mood, so that overall the music video will have a surreal and dream like atmosphere. There is various settings and shots that will come together to complete this style.

I do think that animation would be an excellent idea yet, the resources I am given limit this. I have thought about stop-motion animation, which will be possible, yet I am not sure that it will fit the surreal atmosphere I am hoping for.

A parody music video is a video take mocks another using ironic imitation. On YouTube there is a very large amount of parody music videos of various genres of music. A popular artist who makes parody's of songs is Bart Barker. For example, a song by him named "I knew you were trouble" which is a parody of Taylor Swift's "I knew you were trouble". In the music video, Barker dresses up as Taylor Swift and makes up new lyrics, which are all mimicking toward Swift. He makes fun of her and her lyrics throughout the entire song. This will create popularity for Barker, yet most parody's are not released officially. Parody's are popular within the music industry as they may make a mockery of an artist someone dislikes, therefore they may enjoy it.

Referencing in a song and music video is when the artist refers to another artist, or another artists image is shown in the music video and they are referred to in the song. A song that uses referencing in is Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Throughout the video Lady Gaga is shown in various outfits, which are referencing to Madonna. Most of the outfits she wears and the styling of her hair and make-up is very similar to Madonna's style. Gaga has been seen other times in outfits that Madonna has worn in the 90's. Gaga may be copying her, but is flattering her by liking her style. The audience may recognise this and the video may become more popular for Lady Gaga.

Homage is a demonstration of respect or dedication for someone or something. This can occur through a simple declaration or reference. A recent music video that includes this is Walks Like Rihanna by The Wanted. This song is an obvious reference to artist Rihanna. Throughout the video, the band are praising a girl that she walks like Rihanna, which is obviously a compliment to her. They are showing respect to singer Rihanna by saying she walks in an incredible way. Fans of both The Wanted and Rihanna, will watch this music video and enjoy it. The Wanted are giving respect to the artist perhaps to gain respect back and to be noticed. Many Rihanna fans who do not know who The Wanted are, may know now the song has been released, which will increase the band's profile.

The phrase commercial refers to advertising, messages in newspapers, magazines, flyers, billboards and various other related products. A well known music video that features commercials is Where Is The Love by The Black Eyed Peas. In this video the band are shown to be putting up posters around the city, sending messages via text about the same message and also broadcasting it on television. They use various commercials throughout the video, which influences the public. The band were extremely popular when they were together in 2003, therefore this music video will inspire a large audience.

Cutting to the beat in music videos is when the shots in the video cut in time of the beat of the music. An example of this is The White Stripes - The Hardest Button to Button. The whole video uses this technique throughout. For the continuous beat, a woman is at various drums and drum-sets which she is playing. This makes a cool effect as the video really link up to the song, which makes it entertaining. The video really shows the rhythm of the song, and for people who are really into the music and instruments, this would be enjoyable for them. This makes the song successful, as it really shows the instruments and beats used in the song.

In recent years, special effects have been largely popular in music videos as well as films an TV programmes. An music video that features excellent special effects is Hey Ya! by Outkast. In this video, the lead singer of the band Andre 3000 sings in front of a set-up audience. All of the band, including back-up singers, drummers and various others are all him. This has been created by using special effects to give the effect that every member is Andre 3000. This makes a very cool effect, as it shows him doing various things for the song, which shows off his talent. It makes it entertaining although it may look strange.

Other effects used in music videos can include animation and graphics. These techniques in music videos can make them more successful as it shows the growing technology of special effects.

Miming and lip syncing to a song is very popular. Many artists sing to their songs in their music video. A video that does this is Miley Cyrus - 7 Things. In this video, the artist herself Miley Cyrus and other characters that feature in the video mime the song. The video shows Cyrus and her band singing and playing the song. It changes from her singing to shots of other characters facing the camera, some singing to the song. The band are also miming to the song, as they are playing the instruments to the song which has already been pre-recorded. By miming to her song, Cyrus is able to express her emotion for the lyrics, which are quite emotional and are sometimes talking about sensitive subjects. She gives the illusion of singing the song. This can be a good technique for a song as it can express emotion in various ways, and can also show off the talent and performance of the artist.

Playback:

Playback is when a song is pre-corded and the singer mimes to the song. Or when the song or recording is reproduced.

Multi image is when there is use of multiple shots on the same screen. A music video that uses this technique is Still D.R.E by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg. The video uses this technique many times, to show certain objects. Most of the objects that are shown in these multi- images is Dr. Dre rapping to his song, girls dressed seductively and of cars. Most of the multi-images in the video are split screens. Most of them feature the same object. For example the people sitting in the moving car, this is shown from different angles in both of the images. This shows off the car to audience and shows all of it. This effect can be used in various ways and is very effective.

Music videos often use various camera movements to improve the appearance of the video. This is where either the camera pans or uses a tracking technique. A music video that uses this is Massive Attack - Unfinished Symphony. The video features the main singer of Massive Attack singing to the song whilst walking through the streets. The camera is placed on a dolly and follows her around. This is called tracking. This gives the video smooth movement throughout the song. This is good as it improves the quality of the music video. The music video is brilliant because of this too, and is known for being such a simple yet excellent music video. The music video and band became very successful because of this incredible song an video.

As said before, camera angles as well as movement effect music videos. These angles can include eye level, high angle and low angle. The music video I am using is Just Lose It by Eminem. This particular music video uses many low angles throughout. These shots of are of the rapper Eminem, who is rapping to the song throughout and is sometimes talking, but his voice is not heard. The camera is filming him from below, which shows Eminem in an empowering way. It makes him look dominant and important. By using these shots, it mixes up the video and makes it more entertaining. If the camera angle was high rather than low, it would make the character seem less powerful.

Chroma key is special effects are used to layer (composting) two images or video streams together based on chroma range. This is used for the weather forecasts on the news, but also in music videos. A music video that is based on using this technique is Blur- Coffee and TV. This music video features a milk carton that comes alive and has facial features, arms and legs. The milk carton starts walking around and is looking for the missing boy which is posted on his side. This makes a cool effect in the video as it mixes it up a lot more. It is entertaining for the viewer. It also uses a narrative style. This technique is used very well and mixes in with real life.

Lyric interpretation is a convention that is used in the industry largely. It is used as a tool to give an artist a sense of indiviuality which is a very powerful thing at any editor's disposal.

The example I have found for this convention is Miley Cyrus - Can't Be Tamed. In this song, Cyrus sings the lyric "I can't be tamed" many times, and also sings similar lyrics too. She sings about how she is crazy and cannot be tamed, whilst she is dressed as a large bird. She is singing these lyrics whilst in a cage, in front of an audience. She is interpreting the lyrics in her actions. She is showing in a visual ways that no one can tame her, therefore she must be kept in a bird cage. This style is giving Cyrus a powerful way to showing what she is meaning by interpreting the lyrics in her music video.

Extending or consolidating a songs meaning is simply making the song reach out to people and effect their emotions. It gives the song more meaning to the lyrics by giving it visual examples. 

The example I have chosen for this convention is Gwen Stefani - Cool. This song is about her splitting up with her boyfriend, but she knows they are ok now and are not arguing as Stefani knows they are "cool". She sings the lyric "after all that we've been through". Whilst she sings this lyric, the video shows her and her ex boyfriend meeting up, being happy and doing fun things. This explains the lyrics and extends them. It explains the words with more meaning, so people can sympathise with her. By the lyric that I stated, it could had various meanings, but the video shows the true meaning. The music video 'tugs on peoples heart strings". The video simply shows more understanding of what the lyrics mean. The lyrics she sings are all similar to the one I stated and they are all extending in the video.

Allusion in music videos is when the lyrics gives a reference to, or representation of, people, places, event. literary work, myths or works of art either directly or by an implication. 

An example of this is Love Story by Taylor Swift. This music video is based on Romeo and Juliet, the play by William Shakespeare. The whole music video is Taylor Swift herself and another man acting out the story from the story Romeo and Juliet. They are all dressed in the theme of Romeo and Juliet and the set is the same, which shows that the music video is a representation of people, places, events and works of art. The lyrics of the song tell the story too, which really does give a clear representation of the story Romeo and Juliet. The refernce is direct and is obivous to see when watching the music video and listening to lyrics.

This is where an artist will reference another artist or band in the song lyrics or music video.

A song that does this multiple times is TiK ToK by Kesha. The song is about waking up and partying, simple about the party lifestyle. Throughout the song, Kesha adds in names of other artists throughout. The first lyric of the song is "Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy". This already is a reference to another artist, P Diddy. She is meaning that she is waking up feeling good, and cool, then referencing feeling like P Diddy. Therefore meaning P Diddy is cool. Later on in the song she sings "But we kick 'em (men) to the kerb unless they look like Mick Jagger". This is a compliment to Mick Jagger as Kesha wants the men in the video to look like Mick Jagger, as she is meaning that he is handsome. She is complimenting the artist on his looks. Throughout these lyrics she acts out what she is singing.

De La Soul - The Magic Number

This music video uses various techniques to create the video. The video uses a large amount of camera shots. As the scene is of a party and of people dancing, the camera movements create this scene. The camera zooms in and out on the scene to go with the hip-hop beat. Close-ups are used to show characters faces while they are enjoying the music, which creates emphasis on the enjoyment and happniness within the song. The camera pans across the club to show the characters dancing and enjoying the music. This just mixes up the music video so that it is not boring.

The mise-en-scene in this music video shows involves characters dancing to the music in different scenes. The props include the characters graffiti-ing the walls. They are writing the title of the band and drawing pictures of them in a cartoon style. The lighting is a part of the mise-en-scene. It is quite dark in some scenes, where the characters shadows are shown. In other scenes the lighting is quite bright, which shows people dancing in a club scene. Sometimes there is flashing lights, which makes an exciting atmosphere. As the music video is quite old, the quality is not excellent. The mise-en-scene involves clubs scenes and empty car parks.

Jump cuts are predominant within music videos. The music video for The Magic Number uses this technique. This is because this allows a sudden change from one scene to another. As the video is quite mixed up, these jump cut help enhance this effect. As the cuts change, lights flash, which create a cool effect. Some split screens are also used in the video, also four different shots are shown on the screen.

The lighting in the video changes a lot. Most of the time it is slightly brighter than normal. In the club scenes, lights are flashing from various parts of the room. These lights are coloured, which creates a cool effect on the dancing characters. In the scenes of the characters dancing in the car park, the light is very dark and dim. This is because their shadows are the ones being shown on the screen. This enhances the scene and the effectiveness of the lighting.

The main sound for this music video is the vocals and beat of the song. There is no extra sound in the song.

The video uses various but not many props throughout the scenes. The prop that is seen to be used the most is the spray paint cans, which are used to graffiti the walls. This is used repeatedly to spray on the cartoon pictures of the band and various words. This gives further significance to the drawings and the title of the band. The video was released in 1990, therefore the costumes of the characters fit the style of 80's/90's. In the time that this music video was released, the members of the band were seen to be fashionable. Fans of the band may copy what they are wearing, as they may see them as role models. The people are dressed casually, so that they are able to dance freely.

The colour within music videos is very important in music videos as it sets the mood of the song. In this video, the colour varies for each scene. For the club scenes, the colour is all very bright. The people are all dressed in different colours whilst dancing in the flashing colourful lights. This creates a happy and bubbly atmosphere. There is other scenes where it is very dim as the setting is black and grey, and the characters shadows are obivously black, but the bouncy music keeps the happy and hip-hop theme.

alt-J - Breezeblocks

As this music is a narrative and is very detailed, many different camera shots are used to show what is going on. Many long shots, mid shots and close ups are used to show the characters actions and facial expressions. This creates an emphasis on the characters and how they are feeling. It emphasises on the emotions, as this song and music video has a lot of emotion and depth to it. As the music video shows two characters having a physical fight, they are moving around a lot. The camera uses a panning technique to catch all of the action, which also creates a smooth atmosphere as the whole video is in slow motion.

The mise-en-scene involves two characters fighting the whole way through, with one other character only appearing for a short while. There is a deep storyline to it. The setting is of what looks like a small flat, where the action goes from one room to another. The lighting is quite dim, which sets the dim and sad atmosphere. Many props are used to fight with, including a breeze block, a glass bottle and a knife.

The video is played backwards for the entirety of the song. This creates a cool effect as the viewer will watch a story backwards, then begin to understand what is going on. This keeps the viewer interested and engaged in the storyline. The whole video is also played in slow motion. This is probably because people will be able to see what is going on better, rather than it being quick and confusing. Although this does give a cool effect as facial expressions and actions of the characters are shown in detail. This creates an atmosphere.

The lighting in the music video is quite dim and dark. This is because it links with the sad and emotional narrative that continues throughout the video. The video is never shown to be bright or even light, as otherwise it would ruin the deep and tense atmosphere. The lighting is very dim to show the dim feelings of the characters in the narrative. They are fuel with anger.

In the video, the only sound heard is the song Breezeblocks. Although we see things happening, such a the glass bottle smashing on the wall, we do not hear the smash.

As the music video features a physical fight between two characters, it is obvious that objects may be used and things will be knocked over. Various props are used within the fight for example a knife, a breeze block and a glass bottle. Props that were involved in the fight include the sofa, a bookcase and various other objects that were around the flat. The props help show the seriousness of the scene. They create a significance to the theme that they are fighting and are both being hurt but they don't care if they are smashing up their surroundings. The costumes in the music video are all very simple and casual. As the artist doesn't feature in the music video, people do not see their role model in it to see what he is wearing.

As discussed before, the lightning is very dim in the video. All the colours used are all dark and dreary, with no happiness within them. The flat that the video is set in is very darkly coloured for example a grey sofa, white plain walls, a black bookcase and a plain kitchen. This helps set the scene for the dim and sad atmosphere.

Katy Perry - Roar

This music video features singer Katy Perry travelling through the jungle, and being involved in certain events that occur on her journey. The video uses many camera shots to show the action and to show what is happening to Perry. Many long shots are used to show a large amount of the scene. Many mid shots are used too, which show Perry fighting a tiger. The camera also uses moving techniques to show Perry and the scene in interesting ways. A tilt is used in the video, which shows the expression if Katy Perry. Sometimes the camera zooms into Perry or the tiger. This usually happens when the chorus is slowly building up, so it links with the music and heightens the scene.

The mise-en-scene involves Katy Perry traveling through the jungle after a plane crash then begins to make do with her new jungle surroundings. She changes outfits, makes a house and finds food for herself. The lighting is always bright, to show the colourful scenes. The video uses many props including the animals in the video, the trees around her and her outfits.

Some parts of the music video are very daring yet dangerous, therefore special effects must be used to create these events. For example, when Perry is so close to the tiger, there is a risk that it will attack. Therefore special effects are used. In other scenes, cartoon images appear over real life images, which could be chroma key. The video is edited very well, using jump cuts throughout, sometimes cutting to the beat. Sometimes a fade is used in some parts of the video, showing that Perry is in another part of the jungle.

The music video uses bright lighting to enhance the colourful scene. As the scene is outside, they might have used extra lighting to show the busy scene. The bright lighting links up with the song as it creates no happy and exciting atmosphere. It sets the happy and bouncy mood to the song and makes it more interesting to watch.

Throughout the video, only the music of the song is heard. In the middle of the song, the music quiets down and a scream from Katy Perry is heard. The song then picks up again and goes back into full flow. This stop in the middle of the song just helps to explain the narrative, and the quietness of the song makes this more effective.

Various props are used without the video. These include the animals, trees and bushes within the jungle and the outfits that Perry changes from. The main animal shown is the tiger. This can signify strength and bravery. This is what Perry shows in the ending of the music video. The jungle can signify that Perry is lost and she needs to find herself spiritually. This also is revealed near the ending of the video when she makes herself a home and stands proud and tall in front of it. Katy also changes clothes throughout the video. At first she is in torn clothes, then slowly she changes into a revealing jungle-themed outfit. As the outfits she wears are outrageous and themed, people would not wear them in everyday life. People may gain inspiration from the style of her clothes, also how she styles her hair and make-up. Her fans may see her as a role model and will therefore want to be like.

As discussed before, the lighting is very bright. The colours used are all very loud and eye-catching, including bright greens, brown, red and orange. These colours enhance the happy and exciting atmosphere and make it more eye-catching and entertaining. These bright colours are usually used in pop music videos.

Assignment 1 – Why Music Videos

Task 1: Purposes of Music Videos - Unit 29 - (P1) 

Task 2: Music Video Research - Unit 29 - (P1, M1)

Task 3: History of Music Videos - Unit 29 - (P1, M1 & D1)

Grading Criteria 2

Assignment 2 – Videos and more videos

Task 1: Understand styles of Music Videos - Unit 29 - (P2 part) 

Task 2: Conventions of Music Videos - Unit 29 – (P1, M2)