Styles and conventions of Music Videos

Styles and conventions of Music Videos 

Performance

This usually captures a live performance of a band/artist showing the excitement of a live event used mainly in metal punk and country. The use of a performance music video is to make the audience feel involved. For example with the crowd jumping up and down and excited about the performers this gets the people excited at home. An example of a performance music video is Little mix 'Hair'. this makes the audience that are at home like they are there. Also live performances lets the audience that are actually there buy their merchandise at the concert they are at. Also they have camera's in multiple places some are very close to the stage and some are way at the back and you can see the crowd enjoying and taking pictures of them. 

Another performance music video is Little Mix 'Wings'. In this music video its a live performance by Little Mix. Going to live performances gives audiences some escapism because it's something that the audience may not do regularly. They use natural lighting due to the fact that it's performed outside this shows that it's realistic rather than filming it on a set that doesn't look very look realistic. In this video we can see the response from the crowd and they are there listening and singing away and Little Mix at the beginning asked them to sing a part of the song so this helps them feel engaged and its creates an interaction between the singers and the audience. They use a lot of long shots when filming this because Little mix also dance when singing so it shows their moves and also getting all four of them in the frame to show that their in sync.  

Narrative 
The narrative tells a a story to the audience which the audience could relate too for example a cheating spouse, family issues etc. This type of music video was very popular in the 80's. Music video's with a narrative is like as short film it has a beginning, middle and end however there is music being played over the top of that music video that relates to the story. This is so that the the audience gets personal identification with the characters from the music video. This can also draw some emotion for the audience for example if it's a happy story then the audience would feel a happy emotions. The music video that I have chosen is 'I'm not the only one' by Sam Smith. This music video shows a relationship between husband and wife. The wife knows that her husband is cheating on her but he doesn't know that she is aware of this and she spends her days crying while she knows that her husband is with another woman and when he returns home she pretends that everything is fine. The type of audience that could relate to this music video are woman who have a husband that they know is cheating on them. This causes the audience to respond with emotion. The lighting used in the music video is quite dull because of the emotion in the song and what the song is actually about. It wouldn't be happy and joyful for the audience to watch it would be quite sad and depressing for the people that have actually been effected by something like this video. This music video was created in 2014 however it can relate to anyone in what ever year or era they are in. 

Another music video that uses a narrative music video is Taylor Swift in the song 'We're never getting back together'. In this music video she has broken up with her boyfriend but throughout the music video he wants her back but she basically tells her that she doesn't want to get back together. The lighting that was used in this music was nice and bright. Even though that the song was about the characters and their break up it seemed quite happy and cheerful as if she was happy to be out of the relationship. The location that they use for this music video is a teenage girls bedroom which I would say then would aim at teenagers and young adults I would say aged 16 - 24 year old. in this music video the camera also follows Taylor Swift when she's walking around the apartment. This could make the audience feel more engaged and make them feel like there actually there with her. 

Conceptual 

This type of music video uses visuals that are appropriate to the tempo of song. An example of a conceptual music video is 'Colours' by Halsey. In this music video it shows the singer Halsey the singer dating a boy (Tyler Posey) and she likes to take pictures of him but towards the end of the video when the male character sees the photos there actually of his dad which starts to make sense to the audience when we realise that every time she was taking a picture the dad was there with him. However the lyrics to this song doesn't really go with the actual music video and what there doing. When researching further into the actual lyrics and what they mean it's about Halsey's boyfriend Matt Healy from the 1975 band. When looking further into the meaning of the lyrics it shows that Halsey wrote this song about her boyfriend that even though that he does drugs and is damaged she still loves him. The lighting that they use in this music video is looks very dull however it's natural lighting that is used this makes it look realistic to the audience. She mentions the colour blue a lot but that could be because blue may connote sadness which is how Halsey feels in the song because she can't be with the person she wants to be with. 

Another conceptual music video is by Sia 'Elastic Heart'. This music video basically shows a man (Shia Labeouf) and young girl (Maddie Ziegler) running around a cage in dirty clothing. The male also climbs on the cage out of the blue and the audience don't really understand why. The deeper meaning to this music video may be that the cage some how represents reality. The girls tries to get out of the cage however can't the male then starts to get frustrated which makes him more and more angry. In this music video the only prop that they use is the cage which is what is holding them therefore it allows the audience to just focus on what the male and girl is doing. The actual music video itself contradicts the songs music and lyrics. 

Surreal 

The type of music is hard to believe an abstract type of music video where they may not be any clearer narrative or message. Music video conventions are not obviously applied. There is usually some sort of artistic element to it showing the artist creative side. In this music video called 'Acid Rain' by Lorn is surreal because when a teenage girl gets in to a car accident and there is all this destruction she is hurt by the crash but then some how can dance and her friends that didn't wake up that were in the car with her appeared and started dancing with her. Then at the very end it shows the girls in the car bu unconscious as if they were dreaming about it. By the way. This can be quite appealing to some music video makers because there are no boundaries to what you are doing it doesn't particularly have to make sense because when the audience watches it they are more intrigues in the creativeness that the makers put in this can appeal to a wide range of audience from ages 13 - 45 years old.  

Another surreal music video is 'Can't believe' by T-Pain featuring Lil' Wayne. In this music video there are a few surreal moments when they are singing but then all these background effects start happening to them and making multiples of the same person this would never happen in real life therefore that would make it surreal. This type of music video however shows how confident the artist is due to the clothes that he wears in the music video this makes him look very flashy and quite wealthy. They also use smoke machines to give it a better effect. Also the black background makes the artist stand out more and it gives more attention to them rather than what's happening around them. I would aim this music video at primarily males between the ages 16 - 25 due to the song that is played it might appeal more to them also this can be all races and ethnic backgrounds. 

Animation  
This type of music video just uses animated characters with no live performances from real people. An example of an animated music video is 'Good Morning' by Kanye West. In this music video the bear who is suppose to be Kanye West wakes up in the morning however he wakes up late as he is supposed to be somewhere which is revealed to be his graduation ceremony from university but then when he leaves his day just continues to go from bad to worse. But when he gets there and he receives his diploma he is than happy and everything seems okay. They use brightly lit colors at the end when the rainbow appears showing that the bear that is symbolizing Kanye is happier now with his diploma which was for 'Bachelor of Hip Hop music'. Animated music videos may be used because the creativity that goes into them is limitless you could literally do anything that you wanted with an animated music video. Also because Kanye West is a rapper he may only appeal to older audiences possibly ages 16 - 25 year old boys. However by using an animated music video he is making his target audience a lot bigger and could start appealing to younger audiences possibly aged 7 - 15 years and even possibly starting to appeal to girls a lot more. 



Another music video that uses Animation is 'Try Everything' by Shakira. In this music video its very appealing to a wider range of audiences for example 7 - 20 years. I have gone as young as 7 to start of my age range because of the animation used in it that could give the younger audiences escapism and get them excited also I said 20 as my cut of point because it's still shakira's music and people that like her can still listen and enjoy it just the same. Animated music videos are the hardest but the cheapest way to create a music video because for example it may have be very time consuming by sitting on the computer adding all these effects but it's much cheaper than having to by loads of props and equipment when a person could just use a computer to do it.  

Interpretative  
This is a music video where lyrics of the song match the images shown in the music video. In this video Lily Allen walks down the streets seeing what she would like to see but then in reality what she sees is horrible. For example what she wanted to see was a young boy helping an old woman with her shopping however in reality he hurt the old woman. In Interpretative music videos the artist's intentions may be that they want to control the audience view on how they see a text. There could also be a hidden meaning behind it. For example maybe the reason that she sees things as nice but in reality its not is because that's what she wishes life was like and that what you want and what you have are two completely different things also it could be to open up audiences eyes that they can change society today into a better place. 

Another interpretative music video is One Direction 'Story of my life'. In this music video the band One Direction stands in a large room that has developed pictures of their lives and each of the pictures has a story behind them. Also in the music video we can see some of the pictures from their lives and then it goes into the picture bringing the picture to life but only the singer from the band has come to life in the picture and the other people that were in the video are frozen. For example in one picture Harry Styles when he was younger was sitting on a couch with his mother and then when it comes to life Harry and the mother have changed since then but the mom is sat their frozen but Harry con move. Also the song lyrics kind of go with this is as well because they mention the word 'frozen' which represents that all the pictures are frozen and they're now memories that you can't change. I would aim this music video at primarily females and I would say the age range would be 13 - 25 years old. I would say this because they're a band that most female teenagers and young adults listen to. In this music video the lighting that I would say is used is artificial because it looks like they are lightly lit well. Also their outfits look like something that would usually wear because it's telling their story of who they are now compared to then. 

Purpose of music videos

Purpose of music video

Representation of artist 

This allows artist to represent themselves and how they would be seen to the world however the representation of an artist can change over time. An example of an artist that has one this is Justin Bieber. 

Justin released his first song 'One Time' in 2009 when he was 15 years old, fans especially girls love him and looked up to him and from then things have just progressed even further for him. He made more songs that went worldwide he went on tour he even made a movie about one of his tours which was called Justin Bieber: Never say never. This was a success because he had so many incredible fans. However as time went on and Justin got older he became more outgoing, arrogant and reckless. 

In 2012 Justin was accused of reckless driving in his neighbourhood and then was charged in 2013 for vandalism. In 2014 Justin was in Miami Beach, Florida with the singer Khalil on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with an over 6 month expired driving license, and resisting arrest. The police had said that Justin had consumed alcohol, smoked marijuana, and had taken prescription drugs. Justin also had changed his style over time he started dressing differently he has his own style now. He died his hair which is also styled differently to how he used to have his hair. He has tattoo's in visible places on his body for example he has a tattoo sleeve. In 2015 the day that Justin was invited onto the Ellen show he made a video that night apologising to his fans for his arrogance and behaviour and how he had been acting that past year and a half. Since 2012 things slowly started going out of control with his behaviour but when he was arrested in 2014 he decided to change his ways and try get his back on track. He put his time, and work into his music and then started to make more songs and an album called purpose. He went on tour in 2016 called Purpose world tour. 

Justin Bieber - One Time - 2009                        

 

Justin Bieber - Company - 2016

Synergy

Synergy allows for two or more organisations or people to produce movies, music etc to give them better publicity, promotion etc. 
An example of this is the singer Adele singing the song Skyfall for the James Bond movie Skyfall. This allows both Adele and the James Bond movies to get publicity for both of them for example Adele fans may not have watched Skyfall therefore if they hear the song they might go out watch the movie and if James Bond fans like the songs they might go and listen to some more of Adele's songs therefore it's like a win win for both. This also allows both Adele, and the James Bond creators to earn more money. This is used quite often used and not just with music artists and movies it can be television adverts and television shows, or even movies and television shows it can be anything. 

Extension of outlets 

This is the distribution of music videos so that people are able to listen and enjoy the music that artist have created. 

This can be distributed by: 

- DVD'S & CD'S 
- Music Channel 
- Websites
- Download

Nowadays people download music on their phones since they are able to listen to music wherever they go and are able to just put their headphones on and listen. By using DVD's and CD's this doesn't allow the public to listen their music on the go it has to be either in a DVD player or CD player. Listening to music on music channels is free for example MTV Music, 4Music etc are free so that people at home are able to enjoy this. Also people who use websites to listen to music are only able to do that if they have internet and they also need to have a computer, laptop or smartphone.  

Major, Independent, & unsigned record labels

Major Record labels
This kind of record label allows the artist to earn more money and become more popular and is able to get their music out their easier because Major Record labels usually have many connections to get their music out there to the public. 

Some examples of Major record labels are: 

- Universal Music group 
- Sony Music 
- Warner Music Group 


Independent Record labels  
This kind of record label that artist usually go to when they first start of their music career, it's sort of a starting point for them and when they're ready to get to major record labels. 

Some examples of independent record labels are:

- Fool's Gold 
- A&M Records 


Unsigned Record label 
This kind of record label is for people who have made a song and they give it to unsigned record labels to listen to and see if they're good enough.

An example of an unsigned record label is: 

- Please Listen To My Demo