The purpose of a music Video

There are lots of different purposes for a music video. The purpose of a music video is to promote the song, artist, film and the record company.

The music video promotes the song because it explains what the songs are about and it puts an image to the words and helps people to understand what the message of the song is. Music videos also promote the song because people remember the video which helps the listener to remember who it was sung by.


The music video helps promote the bands/artists new album as they can insert something which relates to the album name or cover, an example of this is the song Kids in the Dark which is from the Future Hearts album. This is what they include in the song to tell people what album it's from it also means people will remember the cover and search up for more music with that album cover.

The promotion of a new artists in music videos are shown if they help by singing in the music video or being part of the music video. This helps new artists as it gives them a name and it makes people want to search them up and listen to any music that they have previously made. For example Eminem and Emeli Sande as this was her first music video that went live and because of that people started to like Emeli Sande, as they knew she was a good singer and started making good music.

The artist changing their musical directions or image will promote the band/artist because it will reach out to an wider audience and have more people that will reach out to the band/artist and start listening to their music. An example of this is Taylor Swift she went from being a country singer to becoming a very famous pop-culture singer/ songwriter. 

Bands or artists music video also gets promotion by the song being part of a film or tv programme. This help s the band/artist get promotion on the video as people who hear the song will watch the video and then they will watch the movie this helps them because they might show the film to their friends and then it goes around in a circle. An example of this is Adele who stared in the James Bond film Skyfall with her song Skyfall.

The music video increases the income for the record label as they get to put their name on the video and every time its gets played they get more money. Bands and Artist can also make their own record label or own one that was already owned and they just brought it out. The recored label also gets promotion because up and coming bands might look at the record label and go to them to start their career as a band or artist. An example if a band or artist owning his or her own record label is Oasis, they own Big Brother records and Beady Eye records when they split up and became Beady Eye. 

The bands/artists get promotion by the use of social media like twitter, Facebook or youtube. This helps promote a band as it gives them a chance to say what they want about their music video or their song or if their song is part of something like a film or a tv programme. People who use social media a lot are people like Taylor Swift or Nicki Minaj 

Techniques of music videos

Techniques of music videos
Cutting to the beat:

Cutting to the beat is when the music video changes from one scene to another when a certain note is hit. An example of cutting to the beat is Foo Fighters Pretender this is an example because it uses cutting to the beat twice, they are both towards the end. The first example of cutting to the beat is when as soon as the music goes soft the people dressed in police gear  start running towards the band and then as soon as the music picks back up again the wall behind the band breaks and red paint and water start spraying out at the band and the police. I think that the technique the band has chosen works because it shows the audience what they want us to think about the video. I also think this works because it goes with the genre of music. 





Effects:

A Special Effect that has been added to the music video or a sound affect that has been added to the song. Brick by Boring Brick by Paramore is an example of this because they use affects to create this magical land and they use special effects to place people in mirrors. I think this works because it suits the style of the band and it suits the song lyrics. I also think the audience likes the way they made this video as its the way they imagined how they should make music videos. 

Miming and Lip syncing:

Miming and lip syncing is when a band or artists doesn't sing live they sing along to an already recorded song. Nirvana is an example of this because they want on top of the pops and was told they weren't allowed to sing live so what Kurt did was change some of the words and sang the song deeper then it was originally recorded to show people that they weren't going to lip sync. I disagree with the way they done this because its not how the genre of rock goes and also the band wouldn't normally agree to do miming and/or lip syncing as its not how they would normally play live. I think the audience also disagreed because they like when the band put there own spin on how the song is sung live and would like it different to the track song. 






Multi-mage:

 This is when a band or artist puts multiple videos in their one music video. Example Kickstarts is an example of this because it shows different people being the top of the head doing eye movements and shows different people being the bottom of the head singing the song. It also shows different people dancing and takes other peoples bodies and puts them over the top of the original person. I think this works because it goes with the rhythm of the song and keeps the song up beat and happy. I think the audience liked it as it keeps to the artist and doesn't change to much to what the artist has done in previous videos.












Camera Angles: 
Camera angles are very different for different videos. There are low shots and high shots and some that show a large area at the beginning to give people an insight into where the music video is set. There are also extreme close up shots which are very close shots of the eyes or teeth.  This is an example of a close up as it starts of by zooming off Chris Martians face to show you where he's lying down. This is also and example of a high angle. I think this worked because it goes along with the lyrics and gives it more of an emotional level to the song and makes people feel the meaning to the song by his facial expressions. I think the audience liked it because they are not straying to far from their path and making something people wont enjoy.


Camera movements: 
Just like any other form of media, there will always be a certain camera movements that are used for the different reasons; an establishing shot will generally set the scene at the beginning; a long shot will normally set out the location of a closer scene, so that the audience have a better understanding of the atmosphere.

Conventions of music Videos


Lyric Interpretation:
This is when an artist or a band links the video to the lyrics which links to what the singer is singing about. It can be overused in some music videos and makes it less creative and makes it less enjoyable to listen to. I have used Coldplay Viva la Vida as an example because it shows that the lyrics and the video come together as it talks about a king who loses his throne and about the fact that he lost statues the video shows this as it shows abandon castles and lot so fold English historical images like the Tudor rose. The video is also set up to look like everything in the shot is broken or cracked with shows how the king has lost everything.  I  think this convention works for the band because it shows images of what the lyrics are about and it also means that people can focus on the song and the lyrics more then the video. They have done more videos since then and I think that they would have been much better doing a music video to this song instead of not having one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE

Extending or consolidating songs meanings:
This is when the artist or band is using symbolism or mise en scene to make the meaning go further and/or add a meaning to the song. This can also bring the lyrics together into a visual definition of what the song is about. I have used Lily Allen LDN as an example because it shows that when you look once everything seems so nice and amazing but when you look again it just shows that nothing about it is real. I think this convention works really well with the artist as its very her style and it doesn't stray to far from pervious videos and music.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmYT79tPvLg

Focus on Performer:

This is when the music video puts more attention on the artists or performer then they do anything else. 

The three types of performance are: 

Dance

Song 

Instrumental
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY

Lighting for mood:

The lighting is mainly based on how the mood is created. There are three basic elements: Key, Contrast and Colour. The difference between straight and artistic video lighting is mood. As to give an example if the mood is quite tense then the lighting will be very dim and not very colourful where as if the mood was happy and vibrant then the lighting would be very bright and in certain situations may change colours. This is an example of this because the lighitng is dark and the mood of the video is very dark so the lighting helps as it gives it more of a feel of being dark and gloomy. I think this convention works for this song as it is trying to lay across a message to people and because of the lighting it does that and it also works with the artist as this is how all their music is and will continue to be this way. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR5ApYxkU-U

Pace and cuts of the music video:
The pace of the music video all depends on what sort of song it is, if the song is slow then the pace is going to be slow and the rate of the shots that change in each part of the song will not be the same speed as the rate of the song, It would be the opposite if the song was fast pace the camera angles and shots would change and be very different as the song has a different speed. 



Editing:
Editing is very important as its the last part of making a music video as it enables the artists to make sure they can take out any thing that they don't want and add anything that they think they are missing. It also helps the band/artists to see if there's massive cuts in their video that they don't want or that are not necessary and also if they mess up they can just get rid of the bit that they did wrong.

Allusion:
This is when the audience thinks that something is going to happen but then it turns our that it wasn't as it first seemed.



Links to other artists:
This is when a band/ artist makes a music video or song and put another aritsts name or band in the lyrics or video. This is an example of this because the person who sings with Eminem states his name at the beginning and is featured a lot throughout the music video. I think this convention is good for the artist as it means that he can try out different people and see who fits what he wants it to sound like. Also I think the audience liked it because it means that an artist they like is giving them someone else to listen to who isn't as big and has more of their own music. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVkUvmDQ3HY

Styles of music

Styles of Music

Pop
Rock
Indie
Alternate
Rap
Hip- Hop
Metal
Jazz
Classical
Blues
House
Dupstep

Concerts or Live footage:

Concerts and/or Live footage is when a band or an artists is able to play on stage in front of a live audience. Concerts can be a orchestra, bands, solo artists, choirs. Concerts can be played in a wide range of places like a festival, small houses, arenas, fields, parks, entertainment centres and lots more. An example of a live concert is Coldplay In France
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0A43HhKMCk  


Animation:
Is a style that the artist or the band can use to maybe show how they are really feeling or how they think the world should or will be. They can also use animation to show people how they see the world out of their eyes. Animation can also be used to reach out to people. An example of this is the Gorillaz- Clint Eastwood. They have chosen this type of style because its their normal style as all the music videos they have made before. I agree with this style of video for them because its what they are used to and its what their audience are used to. I also agree with this style because it goes with their songs, it they did real life videos it wouldn't fit with the music as what they ding in their songs they cant act out in real life which means that they are able to animate them to make the lyrics more understandable to the audience. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UclCCFNG9q4

Narrative:
This is the style when the artist or band are performer is telling a story using the lyrics and the video to tell people about either something thats going on in their life right now or its an experience that they have been through and they want to share to the world or they want to get a message across to the people listening so they can warn them or let them know that  things like what they are telling us about happen. An example of this is Carrie Underwood- Before He cheats. I think she went with this style of video because it gives a better explanation to her lyrics. Using this style also helps put the picture to the lyrics which gives the audience a feel of how she really felt. I think this worked because it is her telling the audience about what has happened in her life and wanting people to understand how she felt. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSy8yy-mr8


Surrealist:
This is when a band or artists takes the music video to somewhere that is not real. Its an imaginary world that is created either for the performer or another character that is featured in the video. Surrealist also makes the audience feel like they can imagine what it would be like to live in a world that isn't like our own. An example of this is Brick by Boring Brick by Paramore. I think they used this style because it goes with what the bands lyrics are and gives the audience a sense of something that isn't real. I agree with what they chose to with their music video because it completes the song and makes people understand what the lyrics are trying to say.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A63VwWz1ij0

Interpretive:
This is when the audience has their own version of the song or music video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWWFZoTNrEs

Impressionist:
Its very similar to surrealist, its taking you away from reality, showing you things that you may not want to believe in or some that you wish were real. An example of this is Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez. I think she used this style because it goes with the genre of her music. I also think she chose this because it goes with the lyrics of the song. I agree with the style for Melanie because it suits her genre of music, it also suits her fashion style, which is crazy and out of this world and very imaginative, which is why i think it works as it follows along the same lines as the way she dresses.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcVv9R1ZR84

Parody:
This is when a band or an artist takes the mick out of a song that has already been made. An example of this is Bad Blood Parody by Barley Productions. I think the band went for this from the beginning because they found it funny and thought it would be something interesting to do. I agree with this because its something funny that everyone will enjoy because most people who make parody's are only making a joke and not trying to offend people. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEkJOb3V5U8

Referencing:
This is when a band or an artist has a film linked in the song lyrics or the music video. This can also work the other way round where the film would be referencing the song . An example of this is Adele - Skyfall. I think the reason Adele did this style because she was asked by the makers of James Bond asked her too. I don't think it worked because she was already very famous and i think that maybe somebody up and coming should of sung it so people would get to know new artists 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HKoqNJtMTQ

Homage:
This is when there is a show or demonstration of respect or some sort of dedication to someone or something. An example of this is Lurther Vandross - Dance with my Father. I think the artist chose this style because i think they were trying to get their feelings out and not keep them bottled up. I think this worked as the artist shows he emotions in song and for some artists that a difficult thing as people like to keep their private lives away from the music but i think this worked as it means he was able to make his song better with all the emotions he had. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmDxJrggie8

Pastiche:
This is when a band or artist has a different adaption of an already excising music video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YbRASlEMqw