Uses of Music Videos

• They are a form of marketing, and prioritise entertainment over realism. 
• Promote both album and single sales
• Promote new artists to an audience and maintain an audiences focus on an existing artist.
• Promote an image of an artist or band that is exciting and dynamic
• Entertain the audience and encourage replays of the video.
• Create visual images that convey the meaning and story of the song
• Can illustrate, amplify or contradict lyrics 

However, musical artists often wish to make statements about the world we live in. 
Some use social realism techniques to make a claim of realism for their representations. 

For example, Massive Attacks 'Unfinished Sympathy' makes claims to social realism. This means that they represent social issues and social groups. They do this by using the following conventions:

• exploration of social issues
• use of real locations
• use of non-actors
• an authentic performance style
• use of continuity editing and naturalistic mise-en-scene 
• a realist narrative with consistent, identifiable character and plausible chain of cause and effect.

Research into Iconic Music Videos

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues - 1965
One of the first "modern" promotional film clips and It illustrates the lyrics. Many other music videos have used Dylan's cue-card concept. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxjIBEZvx0

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody - 1975
The most significant music video of the 1970s. It combines performance footage with a couple of novel in camera special effects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

Michael Jackson - Thriller - 1983
High production values
Directed by John Landis
High budget - £500,000
Inspired by American Werewolf in London and Trading Place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Intertextuality
where one media form knowingly acknowledges, references or parodies another one. 'Material Girl' (1985) by Madonna references 'Gentlemen prefer Blondes' (1953).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p-lDYPR2P8

Ariana Grande's 'Thank U Next' has intertextual references to Legally Blonde and Mean Girls, which are some of her favourite films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k

Video Practice Shots

I practiced taking different video shot types, including close ups, extreme close ups, long shot, upward tilt and wide establishing shot.

Previous Cohort's Music Videos and Websites that I like

I absolutely love the animation introduction screen from a video a student created last year for their NEA. It’s very cute

I like the performance aspect of this video, and the vibe that the projector has created.

Theory I will be Applying to my Music Video

Richard Dyer: Star Theory

Dyer's work on stardom sets out a number of elements by which we can begin to deconstruct and decode our understanding of what a star is. Dyer states stardom can only be fully understood by considering :

• star as an image
• star as a commodity
• star as an ideology

A star's image is created through roles. the star will have something distinctive about them whether their look or voice. the distinctive element sets them apart from others and makes them recognisable to audiences.

Performers become familiar to audiences and associated with particular roles, they are a commodity used as marketing devices. they appear across promotional materials in other media (EG: magazines, TV)

Audiences identify with stars they are familiar with, relate to some aspect of their image and what it represents - their values and ideology (the star's persona might tie into certain values and beliefs that they hold or aspire to)  Surrounding publicity material reinforces these roles while also providing some insight into the 'real' person, therefore forming a strong relationship between star and audience.

Andrew Goodwin

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g stage performances in metal video, dance routine for girl/boy band)

2. There is a relationship between lyrics & visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting)

3. There is a relationship between music & visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting)

4. The demands of the record label will include need for lots of close up shots of the artist & the artist may develop motifs that recur across their work (a visual style)

5. Frequent reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc) and a particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. Often intertextual references (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc)

I will apply these theories to my music video, and use techniques including lots of close ups of the artist, which is a good marketing technique too. There will be a relationship between the music and the visuals, as I plan to edit on the beat, and I will illustrate the lyrics wherever possible.