Styles
Narrative
A narrative style music video is one that uses it's visuals to tell a
short story that is compiled as a mini movie. The story being told is usually
one that relates to the lyrics of the song it's accompanying although it
doesn't have too, the story telling is all done visually as the music being
played leaves no room for dialogue, this helps to interpret a song's meaning to
the viewer. Artists use narrative music videos to draw parallels to their own
life experiences or that of others they know, by doing this the viewer can
create a reform with the artist and feel more spiritually connected to them, as
well as making the artist look good by showing they care about everyday issues.
For example: the music video for 'Take On Me' by A-Ha tells the story of a young
woman being taken into a comic book and escaping some villainous characters
while there and ultimately getting back to the real world, it is a very
entertaining and memorable experience that helps to get across the songs
message of taking a chance in life and that it's better to be safe than sorry
by living in the moment, the young woman willingly jumps into a world of danger
and excitement because if she doesn't then she'd regret it; the music video
also shows how two people who seemingly can't be together can be together, a
problem that many have making a spiritual connection being audience members and
the video.
Interpretive
Interpretive music videos are used to explore what a music and/or
visuals mean to the viewer and engage their emotions and intelligence to decide
what it means to them personally. The visuals greatly utilise mise en scene to
convey a message that can be interpreted in various different ways (hence the
name), this usually means the video has abstract visuals that can seem to have
little connection to the music or are just a random compilation of imagery
shown with a song. Katy Perry's 'Firework' is an example of an interpretive
music video, it depicts various different people suffering, fireworks starting
to sparkle around them, then them overcoming their suffering and dancing in the
street; that all sounds confusing but it connotes so many meanings, it could
mean that you can and will overcome your suffering, or the light from the
fireworks could symbolise that everyone is beautiful, or the dancing at the end
could represent that everyone deserves to be happy, or something completely
different! There are just too many meanings to interpret from this one video,
making it a perfectly good example of an interpretive music video.
Surreal
Also known as 'surrealist', surreal style music videos are highly
artistic by attempting to emulate aspects of the human subconscious including
dream, fantasy and hallucination. The visuals used in these videos are often a
combination of live action and animation, this is used to create very abstract
spectacles that could never possibly be real; these videos generally do not
tell stories although they sometimes can, so as not to alienate some viewers
these videos usually contain shots of the artist(s) playing. The music video to
Peter Gabriel's 1986 song 'Sledgehammer' is a perfect example of a surreal
style music video, the video is full of imagery that you could never even
imagine, from uncooked chickens dancing on stage to Peter Gabriel with
hammerheads for hands with another man growing out of his face; the video is
incredibly surrealist thanks to the combination of live action performing and
plasticine animation, this however is where the music video gets it's
likability and made it very popular, enjoyable and indisputably memorable, so
much so that it won a record number of 9 MTV Music Awards!
Impressionist
Impressionist music videos are done entirely to provoke emotions in the
audience, they use abstract artistic imagery (that may look out of place for a
music video) through use of lighting, colours and thought-provoking subject
matter to tell an emotional story; much like interpretive videos, they also
convey a message that can be interpreted in many different ways like a piece of
art can. This can help to improve the image of a song, video and/or artist by
making them look high class and important; this can help draw in a new audience
for an artist's work and expand the interests of the existing fan base.
Parody
A parody music video is a derivative spoof of an existing piece of
media (whether it be a movie, TV show, another music video and so forth), this
means that the music video is imitating the original media and is taking a
comedic spin on it. Parodies can be of any music video style and are usually
fan made, due to copyright law they are currently protected and allowed to copy
other media without permission and be made fun of; they usually copy the
visuals, music style, shot types and mise en scene from the original media to
help viewers realise what the video is referencing. Unless the artist(s) pride
themselves on comedy, they usually won't make parody music videos as they are
generally seen as a poor promotional tool, however it is becoming more popular
and beloved amongst viewers because it does what people love to do: make them
smile! 'Star Trekin'' by The Firm has one such music video, it entire video
matches the song by mocking the popular science fiction program 'Star Trek', it
shows poorly done special effects, crummy alien designs, terribly animated
characters and takes the Mickey out of how the ship looks like a pizza with
sausages sticking out of it; the visuals are what makes this song even more enjoyable
to experience than it already is, the clever use of stupid animation and humour
results in a very entertaining music video that leaves me laughing myself silly
every time I watch it.
Pastiche/Referencing/Homage
pastiche music videos are almost exactly the same as parodies, the main
differences is that whereas a parody is made to poke fun at the original media,
pastiches are made to pay homage and praise the original media. Because they
aren't parodies they are not free to reference due to copyright law, they are
also seen as a poor promotional tool as it makes the artist(s) seem unoriginal,
although it can be seen as a great thing if done to the appropriate standard of
the original medias fans. The following music video is a fan made example of a
Pastiche which pays homage to 'The Legend of Zelda' video game franchise using
the Queen song 'We Are the Champions', the video details the franchise' past 25
years of greatness, it features popular imagery from the franchise that is used
at moments which correspond to the lyrics to do both of the original medias
justice and make any 'Legend of Zelda' fan proud.
Commercial
With music videos being as popular as they are, advertising companies
to use them to their advantage by having music videos created just to promote a
product, this is called a commercial music video. They usually consist of shot
showing what the product is and what it's about along with shots of the
artist(s) performing the music that goes with it; the products that can be
advertised range from phones, movies, videogames and especially the artist(s),
the song accompanying the video is always relevant to the product in some way.
Although there are many examples of commercial music videos in England
promoting movies and such products, the example I'll use here is from South
Korea with the song "Lollipop" by the popular South Korean pop bands
'2NE1' and 'BIG BANG'; the video consists of many shots of these 2 bands that many
people idolise waving their new LG Lollipop GD580 cell phones around as well as
shots showing the 2 bands performing in the style that makes them so popular,
by doing this LG reached out to a massive demographic and brought together 2 of
the countries favourite bands together, this made people love LG and resulted
in a massive amount of sales.
Animation
Animated music videos are quite simply music videos that are either
done in 2D or 3D animation, they can depict any of the music video styles
above. Unlike live action, animation isn't bound by any real life restrictions
meaning that the sky is the limit for creativity, just about anything can
happen! It can look incredibly stylish and visually appealing to the mass
audience which is good for brining in new fans and showing affection for
existing fans at the same time, an example is Daft Punk's 'One More Time' music
video which was done in a Japanese animation style supervised by famous anime
artist Leiji Mastsumoto, the Japanese anime art style makes the video look like
a masterpiece of animation which appeals to Japanese anime fans, Daft Punk fans
and general fans of animation; this gave the video mass appeal and really
helped make it popular and help make Daft Punk famous, because of the
fantasy/sci-fi nature of the video the animation helps make this setting which
would've otherwise looked insane become a brilliant spectacle.
Conventions
Lyric Interpretation
This is when the on-screen visuals presented through a music video
match the lyrics being sang by the artist(s) and any given moment, this is done
to convey the meaning of a song's lyrics to the audience by using word
association, this essentially throws the song at the audience which makes the
video more engaging to watch and more memorable as well. The disadvantage to
using lyrical interpretation though is it can make a music video come across as
being uncreative and lazy due to it literally mimicking a song's lyrics without
exploring the underline themes of the song or the way the lyrics are written.
The music video for 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus is a prime example of a music
video that uses lyric interpretation, the lyrics tell a story of a teenage boy
who has a crush on a teenage girl, the 3rd verse of the song (skip to 2:28)
goes like this: "Man, I feel like mould. It's prom night and I am lonely.
Low and behold, she's walking over to me. This must be fake. My lip starts to
shake", the visuals in the video accompanying these lyrics are exactly what
is described, we see the teenage boy looking lonely and disheartened, then the
girl he likes walks over to him which makes him confused and his lips start to
shake; the combination of the visuals showing us what is happening and the
music providing narration on the main character's feelings, the video is able
to fully immerse the audience into the shoes of this teenager, we are able to
feel exactly what he feels which enhances the viewing experience for the
audience, making the music video memorable and very enjoyable too.
Extending/Consolidating a Song's Meaning
When the lyrics of a song are used as metaphors to symbolise underlying
themes which give deeper meaning to a song, the accompanying music video can be
used to explore that deeper meaning further. This is a common trait for music
videos for songs with deeper meanings as the visual language on-screen is able
to convey the song's meaning through the use of mise en scene, special effects,
obscure camera angles and symbolism to explain the lyrics of a song through
visual story telling; this makes the meaning of a song easier for the audience
to pick up on and be affected by, creating a stronger emotional link between
the audience and the music, it also generates interest in the music video and
song as it sparks discussion amongst fans whom are trying to decide what
exactly the song means. "Playing God" by Paramore uses its music
video to extend the underlying themes of the song, with lyrics such as "It
has to be so lonely to be the only one who's holy", "Well maybe you
should tie me up so I don't go where you don't want me" and "Just
keep on cramming ideas down my throat", it was believed that the meaning
of the song was to destroy oppression brought on by religious zealots in modern
society; this was until the next year when the backup vocalist of the band Josh
Faro left, it was revealed that Faro had been acting like he was above the
band's lead singer and songwriter Hayley Williams, he judged her, made her feel
bad about herself and tried manipulating her to be the way he wanted her to be;
it then became accepted that the song was about Williams expressing her anger
for him and his actions, this is seen at 1:53 in the music video when she has
him tied up with the rest of the band in her basement then shouts in his face,
it's also seen at 2:19 when Williams is arguing with her reflection about what
she should do while it cuts to shots of Faro in-between trying to dictate her decision
in song.
Links to Other Artists
A music video creating a link to another artist is exactly what the
name implies, it's when a music video includes a reference to another piece of
media much like the pastiche/referencing/homage style of music video does,
except in smaller doses. This can be done by having lead characters in the
video wear clothing that is iconic in another form of media; featuring a
recreation of a scene from another piece of media in the music video;
name-dropping a celebrity; and so many other different and unique ways of doing
it to. The Foo Fighters reference the 1980s comedy movie 'Airplane!' in their
"Learn To Fly" music video, not only do the two share similar plots
where everyone on the plane but the main characters (in this case the band) becomes
incapacitated so the main characters have to land the plane themselves, but the
take off sequence is a near shot-to-shot remake of the original film.
Allusion
An allusion in a music video is just like creating a link to other
artist, it's when a music video includes a reference to another piece of media,
except to be an allusion the reference is more of a subtle hint as appose to
the 'in your face' nature of normal reference. Allusions include using certain
symbolic objects or items from another media in the background, creating
similar visual styles, and using similar outfits and makeup; allusions can be
seen as great things as they help appeal the video to a wider audience of the
fans of the media being referenced, they also provoke discussion as fans of the
video watch is over and over again trying to identify each allusion they can
find. Lady Gaga is definitely one to subtly reference other forms of media in
her music videos, in fact the music video to the Gaga song 'Applause' is filled
with them: her outfit and hair at 0:04 reference Madonna's 'Vouge' music video,
her outfit at 0:21 is similar to that of
Death's in the 1957 movie 'The Seventh Seal', her makeup and the way she smears
it on her face pays tribute to Heath Ledger's depiction of the Joker character
from 'The Dark Knight' from a brief moment at 0:29, the visual style mimics the
'German Expressionism' art style from the 1920s at 1:08, and her outfit at 1:50
comes from a controversial Rolling Stone magazine cover from the 90s.
Techniques
Cutting to Beat
This is when the transitions from one shot to the next in a music video
are done in time to match the beat of the music. As the beat is the pattern
that creates the pacing, rhythm and time in a song, cutting the shots in a
music video to this beat makes it more impactful on the audience and helps the
video come off as being more dramatic and exciting. An example of this would be
'NOW' by Paramore, as (with exception to the portion of the song with no beat)
it always does it's shot cuts at the same moment in which the hitting of a drum
is heard, this is used to increase the impact of the warfare happening on
screen to immerse the audience in the carnage and thus forth make it more enjoyable
to watch.
Miming and Lip Syncing
Sometimes in music videos we see footage of characters on screen
singing the lyrics of the song, what actually happens is the characters are
simply moving their lips to mimic the lyrics to create the illusion that they
are singing the song when they actually aren't. This is called lip syncing
(also known as miming) and is a common practise in music videos and in live
music performances too. The advantage to lip syncing is that artists can appear
in their own music videos and appear to be performing them, giving the artists
a chance to show off what they can do and positively boost the public opinion
of them; miming can also be mean actors who portray characters in music videos
can appear to have musical talent, making them more enjoyable for the audience
to watch on screen. I'm sorry to keep coming using Paramore music videos as
examples but their "Daydreaming" music video uses lip syncing in a
very inventive way, the final version of the song that had been releases months
before the video came out is lip synced to live footage of Paramore singing the
song live from a concert held at Wembley in London in September 2013; as the
music video's story is about 2 girls going to this show, using the actual live
footage was both a natural and cost effective way of getting the footage for
the video's edit, it also helps keep the music video as realistic as possible
to form a connection between the audience and these 2 girls who have travelled
a long way to get to the show, the mimed video footage also serves as a thank
you letter to fans of the band who were at the concert, making them feel
beloved and keeping them listening to Paramore for years to come.
Playback
Pre-recorded audio playback is the most important thing to have when
filming a music video, as it is almost impossible for artists to repeat the
exact same actions they did when recording the audio files for a song, having
an audio playback handy for the artists to listen to while they perform will
help them provide the most accurate and believable recreation possible.
Creating the best possible shots for a music video helps to make aspects such
as miming/lip syncing more believable, as well as making the artists performing
the music look more professional in their work, this improves the audience's
perception of the artist in a positive way, creating appreciation for the
artists and gaining them public appeal.
Multi-Image/Multi-Mage
Multi-imaging (or just Multi-mage for short) is when a music video
features multiple shots on screen at the same time through the use of video
layering and matting, this can be used to make a music video stand out and
create its own unique visual effects to engage and interest viewers in a variety
of ways. The a cappella band 'Pentatonix' use multi-image through their 'Daft
Punk' song's music video, the screen goes from having 2 to 21 shots on screen
all at once as the song progresses, the shots on screen cut and change to the
song's beat to highlight to the audience whom is singing what part of the song
at any given moment, meaning that the audience can see all the work that has
been put in by these 5 artists to create this a cappella masterpiece.
Camera Angles and Movements
Just like in any form of moving image production, the way the camera is
used in the most important aspect of a music video. Music videos use all kinds
of camera shots, including extreme wide shots of locations to set the scene, mid
shots of characters and objects in the video to help tell the story to the
audience, and close up shots of the artists to show emotion and reflect the
lyrics of the song through lip movements; the camera can also be moved to
create dramatic panning shots to show off the artists in ways the audience has
never seen before, providing an up close and personal look at the artists that
fans love to see.
Chroma Key
Chroma keying is a special effect technique used to layer two images
onto one another by removing the single-coloured background (traditionally
green) from one of them to make the other one show through. This opens a music
video up to a world of endless possibilities, Chroma keying can be used to set
the music video anywhere as the background can be changed, computer generated
special effects and animations can be layered on top of the footage, certain
colours in a shot can be altered, and so many other uses that make Chroma
keying such a brilliant tool to make a music video unique and special. Paula
Abdul's famous 1988 music video for 'Opposites Attract' features heavy use of Chroma
key work, it's used to bring a cartoon cat into the real world for the majority
of the video, thought it's most notably used at 1:40 when Paula Abdul is taken
into an animated world; having this cartoon character in the music video was
only possible with the use of Chroma key, and by including him it greatly
increases the appeal and fun nature of the video and song as it makes itself
enjoyable for children, so much so that the children's only TV station 'POP!'
still show the video today despite being over 25 years old!
