Music Video Techniques

When analysing a music video, peoples interpretations are always going to be different depending on how their mind will register certain things. One person may see deeper into a music video than another person, and there is no right or wrong answer, it's just their way of looking at it. The conventions that are in music videos vary depending on the genre and artist, but there are general conventions that apply to all. Based on the different opinions of others, there are theories which describe music video conventions in their own way.

Andrew Goodwin, who was a theorist, states that there are 5 key aspects of a music video, and as an audience we should be able to notice when we know what they are.

These are:

• Visuals
• Genres
• Close-ups
• The artist/band
• Voyeurism
• Inter textual references

He established that there is a relationship between the lyrics and what we see on screen, meaning the lyrics are illustrated, amplified or contradicted by the visuals. Within these visuals there will be artists of different genres, and individually they create their own iconography.Iconography is where a genre has its own music style, or are in some way related. They are giving the genre their own stamp as an artist and it's what they do in music videos and songs that help us identify them as a celebrity. Close-ups within the music videos are often demanded by the record company, because they want the artist or lead singer in a band to be the main focus point in the video. It establishes that they are slightly more important than everybody else and the attention will be on them. In doing so the artist will develop motifs that which reoccur over their work in a visual way. Goodwin’s theory of voyeurism refers to the idea of expressing a sense of sexuality in media texts, deliberately to catch the audience’s attention and to gain sexual pleasure for both genders. Voyeurism is mainly used in Rap and RnB genres of music videos, to sexualise a woman or portray her in an immense way. Inter textual references are used in music videos to reference other forms of media, such as films and TV. This promotes both the music video and what it is referencing to gain audiences in both forms of media.

Other theorists like Steve Archer and John Stewart agree on that there should be definite relationships between the music, visuals and lyrics. The mise-en-scene is a key part too as they believe in leaving enough space for a performance. Sigmund Freud's Theory is more referred to voyeurism and the pleasure of women being watched over by an artist unknowingly.

Although people like these I've mentioned had their own theories of what techniques should be used in a music video, there are overall techniques that the majority of video makers follow. They are much like the above, just not in as much detail as the theorists have gone in to.

Genre Characteristics
Genre characteristics relate to an artist visual style, and what sort of music genre they belong to. Pop music videos are considered to be upbeat and they often use bright colours, sunshine in the background and overall niceness. Whereas the rock genre is on the complete opposite side, as they use dark and dreary colours and use things such as blood on their set and use symbolism to connect to their type of audience. RnB however is associated with the black community as they are very soulful and use harmonies in their music, in music videos they focus more on the performance style and it's usually the artist r artists singing to a specific person, conventionally a woman, or just to women in general. They use women as their focus point and build the song and music video around love ans relationships and getting their message across to the woman. All artists develop their own characteristics and this is how we notice them, we become familiar with their styles and it's easier to associate an artist with a genre once we've established what conventions they specifically use in their videos. An example of an artist that has developed characteristics through genre is Cher Lloyd. She became very successful on The X Factor, and from her first audition we established what sort of music she liked to sing, which was pop and a hint of rap as she connects with beats. Now her career is escalating, shes had numerous videos and their is definitely a pattern in the conventions that she uses such as locations, props and colours. Oath was a song she released recently, and what we notice instantly is the use of bright colours, mainly pink. By doing this she attracts an audience who then become familiar with how she constructs her music videos. Props she uses include cars and material things such as a Nintendo Wii, this attracts a wider audience because girls feel like they can relate, and they want the same things.



Links between lyrics and visuals & Links between music and visuals
Andrew Goodwin's theory established that there should be definite links between lyrics and visuals and the music and visuals. As Ive briefly mentioned above, he said that the links between music and visuals should illustrate, amplify or contradict. We mostly see this happening in instrumental solos and it keeps the video fresh rather than it just being shots of thee guitarist or drummer if in a band. It helps to express emotion between the music and what we see the artist doing on screen, eg, performing solo on an instrument. In Justin Biebers music video for Beauty and a Beat, the links we see between lyrics and visuals is that he has Nicki Minaj starring and appearing on his track and this refers to the Beauty in his song title. The other link is an instrumental part in which the beat continues and he performs a dance in his video.



Star Image
Star Image focuses on how an artist or artists come across in their videos. It;s extremely important that they create a positive star image, and even more important for solo artists, as they are the main object that the audience will focus on. From the way they dress to the ways they act, it all builds up in to one image and creates the stars iconography, that us as the audience can associate and recognise to that particular person. The use of close-ups in music videos allows the viewer to identify certain aspects of an artists' appearance and how they use fashion, make-up and props to create their iconography and unique style. This is how artists are remembered and makes them individual from other artist who they may be in competition with in the music industry. Lady Gaga's video for Just Dance is a prime example of where she began to create her own identity in the music industry. As a new-upcoming artist in 2008, when she released this music video, her personality shone though as to what type of person she was. Her quirky and edgy dress sense made a big impact in the music world, and not only did it make her into a fashion icon, but it sent the sales of this song through the roof. To this day, it is the best-selling debut single of all time in the US, and this is down to the influences of who she is and what she wanted to make of herself.



Voyeurism
Nowadays, voyeurism is widely used and we see it all around us on music videos. Mostly used in pop videos, the way women are used as sex objects is very, very common. We may see a male artist surrounded by half naked women, or just half naked women in general, whether the artist be male or female. When women are used in this way to promote music, they often feel 'objectified', but the main reason why people choose to use women like this is because they know that it grabs attention and more people are going to watch the women. It doesn't mean they necessarily like it but it draws the attention in. There is so much pressure on women in the music industry to look a certain way and be like somebody else, and it causes women to feel insecure about how they look. Having women barely dressed in music videos cashes in on these securities and becomes successful off portraying women in this way. Some people wouldn't see this as fair and lots of opinions on the roles of women surround it but if it's going to contribute to the artists' success then they wont hesitate to do so. In Trey Songz' video for Hail Mary, we see a group of women barely dressed in very revealing rugby uniforms. From the nature of the song and genre we know this is done deliberately to sexualise women in this way. They use specific camera angles to focus on the body parts of women that they know the audience will like. It grabs the attention in a strong way, but it spread across the whole song by giving attention to the three male artists that are involved in the video.



Inter textual Reference
Inter textual referencing is where an artist will create a music video based on a another famous film or video, often impersonating them, or using elements of their videos and incorporating them into their own. An artist may imitate scenes from films and add these into their videos to not only promote the artist but the film they are referencing too. Lil Wayne is well-known artist all over the world, knwon for his rapping and explicit lyrics. In this In ception inspired video for 6 Foot 7, Lil Wayne and the Young Money Crew are portraying several scenarios from the film and it consists of numerous scenes which visualize many of the metaphors and similes Lil Wayne says in the song. Lil Wayne's references to Inception link in with his music and lyrics and shows the extent of which his songwriting can go to. To incorperate such a mind-bggling film in to a rap and express it visually is a great acheievment.