Critical & Conceptual Awareness in Music Video Production
In this essay I shall be taking a look at the different styles and conventions often see in music videos, analyzing the different types and so forth in music videos.
Simon Firth came up with a theory in 1988 that there are three main different types of music videos; performance, conceptual and narrative. Performance music videos generally feature a performance of some form, most commonly of the band or musician performing their song. There are numerous different ways in which this is done, including a recording of the band live at a concert, or simply re-enacting a performance specifically for the music video. Despite the basic premise, performance based music videos can vary wildly, with different shots, styles and so forth affecting the final result. Narrative music videos frequently show a narrative in common with the lyrics in the song the video is for. This can vary from an exaggerated representation of the lyrics, or a fairly coherent, basic portrayal. For example a song about a negative relationship having a music video with the couple fighting each other with guns would be an exaggeration of the scenario in the lyrics. Narrative videos don’t always have to reflect the lyrics in a song particularly however, there have been narrative music videos which barely if at all reflected the lyrics in the song. Conceptual videos, also known as experimental videos, unlike a narrative do not often have a story and can basically be anything. Many show images in tune to the beat of a song and so on, which is particularly common with instrumental videos which have no lyrics, or vocals, thus don't often have a narrative. For example a dance song with no lyrics is a prime candidate for an experimental music video. There are also many songs with lyrics that have experimental music videos however. They frequently match an aesthetic that the artist who created the song wants to achieve. Some experimental music videos are not merely random but try to bring forward a point in relation to the lyrics in some form, but in an alternative way to that of the narrative music video. For example the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” is an experimental music video, but it tries to bring across a point by using imagery. For example whilst singing about ruling the world, the singer grabs a hold of a globe.
To help bring accross my point regarding the different types of music videos, I shall analyise various videos and point out these features.
Here is an example of a performance based music video. In this, we see the band (Tuxedo) performing their song (the same footage is used as the official music videos for two of their songs however). Performance videos as you can expect, consist of the musicians performing their music. Here is a rather basic performance based video, with minimal and basic shots. This video has a vintage aesthetic however, the camera used for a start looks about twenty years old, which goes with the retro style of this band.
Here is an example of a narrative music video. This song, called the Walk is basically about wanting to get a someone out of the singer's life (Mayer Hawthorne). The narrative in the video is however more extreme, with Mayer having a gun fight from who's presumably his girlfriend or wife, which is to emphasize the fact he's singing about a damaging relationship that needs to end. It's an interesting contrast of styles (action is usually associated more with rock music, whilst soul is more associated with more generic romance and so on), however I think this mix works well together nonetheless, the contrast in the visual and audio style complement each other excellently.
Here's an example of an experimental music video. Experimental videos unlike a narrative do not particularly have a story and can basically be anything. Many show images in tune to the beat of a song etc, which is particularly common with instrumental videos which have no lyrics, or vocals, thus don't often have a narrative. This video, Come to Daddy, shows first an old lady with her dog find a bunch of trash with a TV set in, then it "comes alive" with a face appearing. We then see a bunch of children all with the same face having some cheeky banter and causing mischief, and by the end of the video we see more interesting creatures and characters, including the emergence of who's probably "daddy" and then he's there with his kids.
Music videos have many different characteristics. Andrew Goodwin has some theories regarding this. These include “thought beats”, which he states is otherwise known as being able to see sound. He states it needs to be taken into account that the structure of the song, including the chorus and verses, can actually be seen to start off with, and then looking at the voice used to sing the song. He states the artists voice in unique thus allows the song to form identification and hallmarks, and in turn helping create a star image, and the voice in the song is also an instrument. Goodwin created the idea that songs fail in giving the complete narrative, and as such one is required to read further into the song and music video. Goodwin states a music video in a way is a form of advertisement for the song and the music artist, and that the best music videos are able to be repeated and watched again without the audience loosing interest.
Here I shall analyze some music videos and their key points.
In this video I will analyse the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics; this video is about Mayer Hawthorne going on various dates but rejecting the women, this is most prominently represented visually by him taking away a pink/red heart shaped vinyl record from these various women (the rest of the video is in black & white). The song’s title is “just ain’t gonna work out”, which the visuals within the music video having the same theme.
For this video, I shall take a look at the genre characteristic that are present. The clearest parts of the specific genre of this song that are represented visually include the clothing, movement, vehicles etc. are clear indicators that this music video is of a hip-hop song. For example baseball caps, sunglasses and so forth are frequently present in this video. This makes the general vibe of the music video very in-keeping with the genre of the song.
With this music video, I will observe the relationship between the music and the visuals present. The music video is experimental in nature, with Plasticine being used frequently, mostly used for stop-motion animation. This coupled with other effects such as the fading in and out of various members of the band create an overall experimental and at the time modern music video, which matches the song very well due the the genre being at the time contemporary synthpop, as well as some beat editing being present at times. Overall both the song itself and the music video are rather typical of the 1980s.
Close ups of the artist will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos. For example in this music video, we see many of Michael Jackson's trademark dance moves as well as many features such as the lit up pavement tiles that light once he steps onto them, which has now become iconic. We also see numerous close ups of his face.
This music video has an emphasis on "looking" or searching for something. It has the singer, Bruno Mars, looking for a way to prove to his love he’s devoted to her and tries to win her over (and fails). As such he is also looking to get back on good terms with the girl in question.
This video is packed with numerous inter-textual references, including Eminem dressed up as Spock whilst reenacting a scene from a famous Star Trek episode, the Transformers in some capacity being present, Elvis, Amy Winehouse, and in the lyrics Eminem rapping/speaking about Christopher Reeve, like he does in numerous songs of his.
In conclusion I have learnt numerous new things about music videos, including various codes and conventions I had not picked up prior to the beginning of looking into this subject, and the concept of there being three main types of music video is something I had not picked up on before. Noticing these conventions and now being aware of the supposed three main types of music videos will help me in the music video project in numerous ways. Categorizing types of music videos will help me target what key features to include in my music video project, what conventions and types of video are appropriate for the genre of music I shall be making a video for, as well as the fact that by studying music videos in depth has expanded my general knowledge of music videos, and as such will mean I have picked up upon new influences that I could possibly incorporate into my upcoming music video.
Bibliography
Nagyy, G. (2013) Simon Frith’s theory. Available at: https://gabbynagy.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/simon-friths-theory/ (Accessed: 5 December 2016).In-line Citation:(Nagyy, 2013) Nagyy, G. (2013) Simon Frith’s theory. Available at: https://gabbynagy.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/simon-friths-theory/ (Accessed: 5 December 2016).
Music Video. 2016. Andrew Goodwin’s Theory | Music Video. [ONLINE] Available at: https://likkleg.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/andrew-goodwins-theory/. [Accessed 05 December 2016].
