The Andrew Goodwin Theory

The theorist Andrew Goodwin writes in his book, 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' that there are a number of features which are seen consistently within music videos.


1. The Features
Music videos frequently display genre characteristics. For example, conforming to the stereotypes frequently associated with music videos- a girl group performing a dance routine in a pop video or a heavy metal band having a purely performance video on stage extc. 

'Firestarter' by Metal band The Prodigy is a key example of Goodwin's theory , as predicated the video is performance based throughout focusing on the band and their involvement in the song, a common  characteristic of the heavy metal genre. The video is very dark with low key lighting which conforms to the dark nature of the song and the preconceptions of what a metal band's video consists of. 

In complete contrast is pop girl group 'Little Mix''s video for 'Fly'. As expected according to Goodwin's theory the video adheres to the stereotypes/ characteristics of the genre and the result is a peppy, upbeat performance based video, focusing on the dance routine and close ups of the band.


2. Relationships - Lyrics

Goodwin also makes the connection between the lyrics and visuals of a music video, whether these be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.

Some music videos contain an illustrative quality, whereby the lyrics of the song are illustrated to the audience visually throughout the video.

The video for Ellie Goulding's 'Starry Eyed' is a classic example of an illustrative music video. The song centres around the concept of stars, magic and being "starry eyed" - the video reflects the lyrics as the CGI of the video contains stars floating onto the screen, stars glowing on her hands and there are shots of Golding herself towards the end of the video, levitating and radiating light like a star. The overall effect is that the video flows and there is convergence across the lyrics and visual element of the video.

Equally, other types of music videos as identified by Goodwin are amplifying in nature, whereby the lyric of the song is presented in the video to an exaggerated extent to reinforce the lyrics.

The video for The Black Eyed Peas' 'Where is the love?' is an example of a video with an amplifying nature. The lyrics of the song contemplate the world, and how nobody cares for one another, "people killing, people dying". These lyrics are amplified by the visuals of the video as the artists are shown to be handing out flyers across the city of a question mark, referencing the title of the song. The video also exaggerates and focuses on crimes, and uses emotive close ups of children singing to amplify the point of the song and the video.

Another feature of this kind of relationship between lyric and visual is contradicting, this is whereby there is either no correlation between the lyrics of the song and the music video or they are deliberately different to make a point.

Maroon 5's video for 'Misery' is contradicting as the lyrics "I am in misery" are clearly contradicted within the video by Adam Levine's emotions and body language. The sequence does seem to match the lyrics initially as the actress in the video inflicts pain on Levine by punching, kicking and stabbing Levine - all conforming to the theme of misery. However, close ups of Levine's facial expressions and the close physical contact between him and his 'abuser' show him to be enjoying his apparent 'misery'.

3. Relationships - Music

Goodwin has also concluded in his theory that there is a distinct relationship between the music of a video and the visuals, again either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting. The correlation between the music and visuals is that the tone of the actual song complies with the lyrics and visuals of the music video.

The video for The Fray's 'How to Save a Life' is a perfect example of the illustrative and amplifying nature of a music video which has a strong link between music and visuals. The lyrics and melody for the song are very sad, reflecting the subject of the song and therefore the video too has an ethereal, deathly quality given the slow paced editing to reinforce the slowness of the song, and elements of mise-en-scene; such as the white background and close ups of expressions of pain on children/ adults' faces. Therefore overall there is a sense of convergence in the music and visuals of the video.

4. The requirements of the record label

Record labels often have certain demands for their artists, these may include the need for certain effects such as close -ups of the artist, and the artist may then subsequently retain a certain visual style (motif) which is carried across numerous videos/ their work.

The video for One Directions' 'What Makes You Beautiful', is an example of how the requirements of the record label are enforced. The video contains various close up sequences of individual band members as they each sing their own line, (a generic convention of boy band videos) but has a second close up sequence specifically for the band member Harry Styles - signifying his importance and leadership of the band. The distribution of close up sequences, and visual style of Harry being the most prominent member is carried across all of One Directions' music videos.

5. Voyeuristic treatment of women

Goodwin also comments on the presentation of women being 'looked' at within music videos, camera angels/ shots focusing on the female body provide the opportunity for voyeuristic treatment and the stereotypical sexualisation of women often occurs in the music industry.

Professor Green's remake of the hit 'Just Be Good To Me' (Green) is an example of the treatment of women in the music industry. The video centres around a conveyor belt of women, all wearing limited/ provocative clothing surrounding Green who is relaxing in a chair whilst the women parade around in front of him. The focus on the women and rapid sequence of close up/ mid angle shots emphasising body parts of the women such as legs, hips and bottoms dehumanises them and make them the subject of the 'male gaze'.


6. Intertextual Reference

Finally, Goodwin notices within his theory the use of intertextual reference in music videos. These intertexual references may be regarding film, Television programme, music videos and other media.

Madonna's music video for 'Material Girl' is an example of how a music video can use intertextual references. The video references the film 'Gentleman Prefer Blondes' and the song 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend' sang by Marilyn Monroe. In her video Madonna replicates the iconic dance routine performed by Monroe exactly and has been used, as the subject of the two songs are very similar - both discussing the importance of valuable material items. Therefore this is an example of how Goodwin's theory is used practically in the music industry.

Media Products Which Have Influenced Me/ My Video

Whilst researching artists, videos, directors and theories I have also compiled some other media products which have influenced me and that I have taken inspiration from, and would therefore like to incorporate into my music video.

 Album Covers

I have been influenced by the media product of album covers. Album covers come in a variety of forms, lots of albums use artwork or a typical shot of the artist, however I was influenced by these two album covers as they are different to the norm. I specifically liked Katy Perry's 'Prism' album cover given the combination of a usual shot of the artist and the interesting use of bleaching and colour in the background which gives the cover a creative feel. Equally, I enjoyed the creative nature of Ben Howard's 'Every Kingdom' as it is alternative to the typical album cover and the use of water and lighting give the cover an ethereal feel. Overall I was influenced by these media products as they subvert the stereotypical 'headshot' image used on an album colour and I would like to experiment with lighting and colour to make a creative album cover when it comes to making the digipack for my own music video. 

Creative Videos

I researched creative music videos and found that I was influenced especially by a certain few, the video for Naughty Boy ft Beyonce and Arrows' 'Runnin' is massively popular already for its alternative nature, the video has been live since the 17th September 2015 and already has over 12 million views on Youtube. I have enclosed below the link to the video - please watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RNftSQj4cM

 These screenshots capture what I found so influential about this video. The video has a transfixing quality and the audience cannot look away, the unusual use of nature and the sea is mesmerising and produces a beautiful effect, in terms of the use of movement, colour and lighting which I found to be particularly effective and influenced me to want to involve nature in some way within my music video.

Moreover, alongside the spectacle nature of the video is a narrative storyline which is demonstrated in this screenshot. The video influenced me as despite being so creative it was also able to portray a strong narrative/romantic storyline which gives the video an added depth and it therefore conforms to certain generic conventions of the genre - although the slow pace of the editing and lack of frequent cuts give the overall appearance of a short film, more than a traditional music video.

I also enjoyed the alternative and creative nature of Taylor Swifts' newest single, 'Wildest Dreams'. The video has been live since the 30th August 2015 and currently has over 84 million views. I have posted the link below, please watch

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

The video for 'Wildest Dreams' is unique for its extensive narrative sequences and exotic location. The video follows a 1950's movie star theme which is carried throughout, but the parts of the video which influenced me most were images like this; the focus on lighting and filming with the setting of the sun combined with bleaching gives an interesting lighting effect which appealed to me.

The last creative music video I researched is Justin Bieber ft Skrillex's 'Where are you now'. The video was posted on the 29th of June 2015, and has over 180 million views on Youtube, the most of all the videos I have researched and the unique nature of the video is evidently why. The link is posted below - please watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntGTK2Fhb0

The video for Bieber's 'Where are you now' is especially unique given its experimentation with animation and CGI. I particularly like the creative element of this video, in which there is an animation sequence whereby the audience can stop the video at any time and a different drawing on Bieber's image as seen in the screenshot can be viewed.

The video also focuses on lighting and using this in different ways. I especially enjoyed this sequence of the video because of the use of a projector to create a new image, like an overlay on top of the shots of Justin. The combination of projector and overlay allows for a new image to be created - an artistic outcome of paint splatters and pattern is produced which is an unusual element of a music video.

Adverts

Certain adverts, although not for music videos have influenced me also. The full advert for Chanel, 'Bleu Du Chanel' is directed by iconic movie director Martin Scorsese (who has also worked with artists such as Michael Jackson) and is interesting given its narrative theme throughout. The reason this advert, and others like it have influenced me is the use of a flashback sequence, incorporating lots of post production editing techniques such as ultra violet, bleaching, black and white filters extc. to give a nostalgic feel to the main characters' memories.

I have also enjoyed and been influenced by the narrative nature of other adverts such as the galaxy advert, which uses CGI of Audrey Hepburn to promote the product. However, what I enjoyed most was the narrative storyline within the advert, this too is what I enjoyed about the Chanel no 5 advert, combined with the high key lighting and cinematography. I have posted the links for both of these adverts below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx9eDoS76LM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8asRWe5XNw8

What I have taken from my research into the adverts that have influenced me, is that I feel a narrative storyline is particularly enjoyed by the audience, and is what I hope to incorporate in some way into my own music video, as well as experimenting with and focusing on lighting and colour.



Type of music - The genre/ sound

Within my music video, I intend to use a piano as a key part of the video - therefore although I have not yet chosen my song I know what kind of music I will be looking at to fit my vision. The kind of music that has influenced me in this project, and I feel will best fit the ideas I have my video is more classical / ballad/folk like than say a pop song. The type of artist who I envisage fitting this sound are male artists like; John legend, Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, James Bay and George Ezra, whilst the female artists I would associate with this would be artists such as; Taylor Swift, Rachel Platten and Gabrielle Aplin. 

The Male Gaze

The male gaze is a theory put forth by Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay entitled, 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' within the essay Mulvey addressed the representation of women within film and how women are frequently sexualised given the dominance of men in shots and how the audience usually watches something from the perspective of a heterosexual male, but also how the woman is always the subject of the male gaze - women are positioned to please in a voyeuristic manner.

Mulvey's theory relates directly to the music industry and how women are presented in music videos as women are frequently the subject of the male gaze within a male artists video or make themselves the subject of the male gaze through the camerawork of their own music videos as 'sex sells'. Controversial music videos such as Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' have been criticised for their conformity to the male gaze theory and sexualisation/ objectification of women.

Anaconda

WARNING - This video contains explicit content. 

Female artists such as Nicki Minaj have also utilised the male gaze theory to promote their music. Minaj parodies Sir Mix-a-Lot's track 'Baby Got Back' within the video and follows the sexual nature and provocative dancing which evokes the male gaze. The camerawork of the video focuses on shots of Minaj's body and minimal clothing, her dancers and the provocative routines are use intentionally to ensure the audience views Minaj in socophillic manner. Minaj ensures that she is the subject of the male gaze from the audience, when performing to the camera and then equally she is the subject of the male gaze by the artist 'Drake' who appears in the video. 

-Minaj becomes the object of the audiences' male gaze by the angle of the camera, her seductive stance, and the focus on her eyes and lips, typically associated as the most attractive part of a woman to the heterosexual male audience and complying with the male gaze.



- Minaj subsequently becomes the object of artist, Drake's male gaze. The positioning of this sequence is important as the male is given a chair and status/ dominance, whilst Nicki crawls along the ground instantly devaluing her and making her the subject of Drake's male gaze. This is encouraged by Minaj and her provocative stance/ clothing.

Blurred Lines 

WARNING - This video contains explicit content.

Male artists such as Robin Thicke have been criticised for objectifying women in their music videos and adhering to the male gaze theory. The video contains the artists interacting with and staring at, three models in limited clothing (topless in the original video) with plastic wrapped around them in some cases - the use of the plastic highlights the sexualisation/ objectification of the woman and shows them to be (in accordance with Mulvey's findings) present purely for the voyeuristic pleasure of the male artists and male, heterosexual audience. The models in the video are both the subject of the male artists' male gaze in which they leer at the women, blowing smoke in their faces, counting out dollars and dancing with them, however the woman are presented as enjoying this which conforms to the theory of the male gaze in which women are pleased to be the object of sexualisation.


- The positioning of this close up shot is designed to make the model the object of the male gaze. The emphasis of the shot is of the model's bright red lipstick, drawing the audiences' eyes to her lips and the subsequent seductive placement of her finger - this positioning conforms to Mulvey's theory of women being positioned in a socophillic manner to please the male audience.


- This shot is a clear indicator of how within music videos women are often the subject of the male gaze, from either the (male, heterosexual) audience or the other character in the shot. In this case it is clear that the model is the subject of Robin Thicke's male gaze as is evidenced by his stance towards her.



- Lastly, this shot conforms to Mulveys' argument that within film/ music videos women are presented in a sexual manner by camera shots which linger on the woman's body and encourage the male gaze to occur, like within this shot which precedes to have the toy car roll down the models back emphasising her curves.

Viral Music Videos

When looking at music videos I feel that it is important to research the videos with the highest views and those that have gone 'viral' to analyse why this is, what has made these videos so liked by the audience, and subsequently whether I should take inspiration from these and attempt to mimic certain elements within my own music video.

As can be seen from this screenshot the top 5 most viewed music videos on YouTube are;
1. Psy - Gangnam Style
2. Justin Bieber - Baby
3. Taylor Swift - Blank Space
4. Katy Perry - Dark Horse
5. Katy Perry - Roar

1. Gangam Style - Psy

The K-Pop song was published on Youtube in 2012 and has over 2 Billion  views. The song holds the Guiness World Record for the most liked video on Youtube and has become a part of popular culture. Gangnam Style is a showcase/ performance based music video which is massively popular for its unique and unusual nature and the dance sequence which is a big feature of the video is replicated by fans and flash mobs alike - even political leaders such as the UN secretary have confessed their love of the 'gangam style' dance.

2. Justin Bieber ft Ludacris - Baby 2010

Despite having 5 million dislikes as opposed to just 3 million likes, Justin Bieber's 'Baby' comes in second for the number of views with over 1 Billion Youtube views. The video is a representative of Bieber's explosive popularity, predominantly among teenage girl although a good number of those views are from his critics also. The video itself is a classic hybrid of performance and narrative, it conforms to numerous generic conventions of the genre. The video uses fast paced editing, cutting to the beat of the music and the lighting is fairly low key with strobe lighting to give the desired 'party' effect seen within various pop music videos.

3. Taylor Swift - Blank Space 2014

Taylor Swift is currently the top female artist in the charts, with her album 'Red'  going quadruple platinum and her current album '1989' has gone platinum already, her songs are frequently in the billboard top 10, if not number 1. Swift is known for her narrative music and correspondingly many of her music videos such as 'Blank Space' are narrative also. Blank Space has over a Billion views and although predominantly narrative and performance the video contains an elements of the showcase given the over exaggerated nature of swifts' reaction to her cheating love interest; including attacking his car, ripping portraits of him on with a knife and stabbing a cake which precedes to spurt blood. The showcase nature of this is an intentional decision by Swift and she is parodying her representation by the media of being heartbroken given many of her songs are written about past loves and relationships. The nature of the video, its content, cinematography and exotic location make it so interesting and has undoubtedly contributed to the large number of views.

4. Katy Perry - Dark Horse 2014

Katy Perry's Dark Horse is from her massively popular album, 'Prism'. The song reached number 1 in the United States and reached the Billboard top 10 in 20 countries. The video follows Perry's usual pattern regarding her music videos - many of Perrys' videos are narrative with performance elements, the video for 'Dark Horse' is consistent with this changing between a Cleopatra narrative and a performance sequence. The video has over a billion views and ultimately the mise-en-scene of the video is what makes it so spectacular. The video conforms to generic conventions of the genre in its use of lighting and CGI to create an effect. The video is marked by the audience by its use of colourful imagery, and the narrative is carried consistently by the use of costume, make up and set which all enhance the ancient Egyptian theme.

5. Katy Perry - Roar 2013

Impressively, Katy Perry's 'Roar' also is listed in the top 5 highest views of Youtube, the video has over a billion views and is also off of her album 'Prism' - highlighting its explosive popularity. The music video for 'Roar' is unique, it follows a strong narrative throughout and the creative elements of cartoon, animation and CGI all aid the appearance of a jungle story. The video centres around Perry learning to survive in the jungle following a plane crash and thrive on being independent which strongly relates to the lyrics of self empowerment "You're gonna hear me roar". The mise-en-scene of the video are vital in creating the scene, the mixture of low and high key lighting show Perry's transition and the set, costume, acting and make up all connect to the narrative of the video and follow the consistency of the the theme. It is the strength of the narrative, colourful set and CGI which make the video so appealing to the audience.      

Ultimately, after researching these viral videos and what has made them so popular I have found that attention to detail, consistency within a narrative music video and miss-en-scene are key components to focus on and make the video unique and entertaining. Therefore, when it comes to creating my own music video I will ensure that I look back on these videos and take inspiration from them to enhance my finished product.

Artists That Have Influenced Me

The inspiration for music videos often come from the artists, I therefore felt that it would be helpful to compile and contrast 2 of my favourite artists as they often have a specific style that is consistent with their music genre seen throughout their videos.

Gabrielle Aplin

Gabrielle Aplin is an English indie/ folk artist who, despite her massive success continues to write and star in music videos which are very 'British', this is a contrast to other English singers who go to America after gaining success and their music and videos take on a very 'Hollywood - esque' feel such as in the case of Charli XCX. Aplin is therefore fairly unique as many of her videos contain shots of the countryside (like the photograph to the left, taken from her hit video ' Please Don't Say You Love Me') and focus on lights and the narrative which I connect to and believe to be effective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxNYvk_0Onw

I particularly like the music video for Aplin's cover of Frankie Goes To Bollywood's 'The Power of Love', the video is simplistic but the use of location, artistic props; of dried flowers, stained sheet music, silk sheets and the camerawork/ angles that focus on the piano and the artist is unique and transfixing.  The use of fairy lights and candles creates an ambient feel and overall despite its simple nature it is a very well shot and carefully choreographed music video which appeals to the audience and keeps our attention, despite it being purely performance based with no narrative elements.

Demi Lovato 

Demi Lovato is a totally different kind of artist to Gabrielle Aplin. Lovato is an American pop artist who is massively popular in both the US and the UK. Lovato has had many hits in the Billboard top 100 with her albums going gold and platinum. Lovato's videos tend to be fairly simplistic in nature, (such as the photo to the right taken from her hit 'Skyscraper') and frequently conform to the generic conventions of a music video, the use of an exotic location and high key lighting/ bleaching to set the tone and series of close ups and different camera angles are typical of a music video but the lack of frequent cuts and slow pace editing gives the effect of continuity editing which is not so frequently used in music videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg

I especially enjoy Lovato's video for her hit single 'Heart Attack'. The video is slightly alternative to her ballad like songs and the accompanying videos but conforms to many of the generic conventions of the music video genre. For example, the editing of the video conforms massively given the frequent cuts to the beat of the music and fast pace which matches the tempo. The video is predominantly a performance music video but contains elements of the showcase given the alternative shots of Demi emerging from black paint, and shots of the paint on her hands which she precedes to wipe over her face - a certainly unique sequence! I particularly liked the use of mise-en-scene within the video, the contrast of black and white throughout in the costume and set of the video is extremely artistic and the effective contrast of low and high key lighting is effective in grabbing the audiences' attention.

Looking at, and researching some of my favourite artists has been extremely beneficial as I have analysed parts of their videos which I liked, I have noted techniques in terms of lighting and a consistent theme which make them so popular and I intend to mimic certain elements (such as the lighting effect of bleaching and the involvement of musical instruments in the video) of my favourite artists'  work when creating my own music video. 

Videos That Have Influenced Me

There are many good music videos that have interested me, both modern and classic. I have not got a particular favourite genre of music video, although I feel that a mixture of narrative and performance within a video are potentially the most popular and what I may like to recreate. Below I have considered and listed some of the music videos that have influenced me personally.



The music video for Miley Cyrus' 'When I Look At You' has influenced me to a certain extent - although written for and used within the film 'The Last Song' I enjoy the video for numerous reasons. I love the use of the piano within the video, this is something that if possible I would like to replicate within my own video as I think it is very effective when combined with other performance shots and sequences in different locations. The video does however feel a little dated despite it only being released 5 years ago, but advantages in technology mean that it has a different look to more modern music videos. The video conforms to may generic conventions, especially the use of close ups, bleaching lighting to ensure Miley Cyrus is the focus of the video and the frequent changes of scene and location with the piano ensure that it stays interesting and doesn't become mundane.

 Taylor Swift's 'Style' is another influential video, the video is fairly simplistic but is very effective. I particularly like the use of everyday objects to create illusions such as pieces of glass, mirrors, projection screens extc. to distort images so that the audience sees what the artist wants us to see/ she sees herself. The video uses light in a really interesting way, the use of bleaching lighting with CGI to create transparent and other effects such as thunder makes the video unique. The video is a combination of performance and showcase - the artistic nature making it different from the average music video, although it does conform to some generic conventions of the genre such as the use of frequent close-ups of the artist and lighting to set the tone/ mood, although the editing of the video is slightly unconventional for the genre given that there are not lots of fast cuts but the editing is far more subtle, more continuity editing is used and allows the narrative of the video to flow - more like a short film than a music video.

Lastly, I particularly like the music video for Calvin Harris & The Disciples' 'How Deep Is Your Love' also. The video is quite alternative having a strange opening and is a narrative video but I like the use of slow motion and varying speeds in the editing to create a hectic feel matching the storyline. Moreover, the video conforms to many generic conventions of the genre such as the use of lots of changing, exotic locations around the world and the effective use of strobe and coloured lighting. The editing of the video conforms to generic conventions also, the video is edited so that the cuts match the beat; they are fast paced, jump cuts which are frequently used in music videos and conforms to the norms of the genre.

Music Video Directors

The directors of music videos are massively important and they help enable the artists' vision come to life. To replicate a good music video, when it comes to making mine it is important to research the directors and their work to see how they put the piece together. I will be looking at the top rated music video directors, big names who famous music artists use, to view their work and see why they are so popular.

1. Paul Hunter



Hunter has worked with many high profile clients such as Michael Jackson, who he directed a video for on his last album, Hunter also directed the video for the hit 'Lady Marmalade' featuring Christiana Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQa7SvVCdZk
The video is very well choreographed and follows the intertextual theme of 'Moulin Rouge!' as it was used within the 2001 film of the same name.


2. Hype Williams

Williams is a much sought after director who has worked with many stars and directed the massive hit by Daft Punk ft Pharrell Williams - 'Get Lucky' which remained at number 1 for over 5 weeks.

The video is intertextual, taking elements of performance and video game style animation - making the overall appearance of the video artistic and alternative, although it still has a classic feel given the performance shots of the band and Pharrell in suits which seems to replicate the artists of the 80s such as within the Police's 'Every Breath You Take'.

The classic performance shots of Get Lucky

The animation segments of Get Lucky

3. Anthony Mandler

 Anthony Mandler is an extremely popular music director who works with big stars and produces very artistic but classic works, such as JayZ and Justin Timberlake's 'Holy Grail'. Mandler has worked particularly with Rihanna, collaborating with her on 16 music videos - more recently they worked together on her number 1 hit, 'Diamonds'




The video for 'Diamonds' has a distinctly cinematic feel, the shots of landscape and a horse galloping captures the audiences' attention. The entire video is a mixture of performance and narrative, with Rihanna performing to the camera in different locations and the shots of a horse and fire build a sense of turmoil which is contrasted by the calm of Rihanna being submerged into a pool, the song is speculated to be about Rihanna's past unhealthy relationships - the hectic shots of the fire and war zones, and choosing a new path - the shots of her at peace in the pool, this is reflected in the lyrics of the song "I choose to be happy".

4. Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze is not purely a music video director, Jonze is an accomplished film director and his videos therefore tend to have a distinctly cinematic feel.

Jonze's videos tend to be fairly unusual, a key example of this is Bjork's 'It's Oh So Quiet' which has a musical style quality with the artist and back up dancers all dancing and singing in the street, more like a film sequence than a music video.
Equally, another example of this is Kanye West's 'Flashing Lights'. The video is unusual in that it is purely narrative with Kanye West only appearing at the end of the video. Equally, the video does not conform to the generic conventions of the genre given the long takes and continuity editing, a lack of frequent cuts ties the video together making it appear to be even more like a short film. I have attached the link below - WARNING explicit/ graphic content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ila-hAUXR5U

5.  Dave Meyers

Dave Meyers is a popular music video director who used to specialise in predominantly hip- hop videos during the 90s, started to branch out and became respected for his work with pop videos.
Meyers has worked with multiple artists including JLo, P!nk, Katy Perry, Missy Elliot and Ice Cube among others.

Meyers directed the music video for Katy Perry's 'Firework' which won the VMA award for 'Best Music Video Of The Year'. It conforms to many generic conventions of the genre, the video contains lots of cuts, camera angles and close ups to showcase the artist and her lip syncing. The video is a hybrid of performance and narrative elements. Another generic convention seen within the video is the use of CGI of the fireworks to create a colourful effect making the video interesting and linking directly to the name and lyrics of the song.

Generic Conventions Of A Music Video

The generic conventions of a music video encompass various different elements of the video, ranging from the type of video; to fit a certain theme, the camerawork, the editing, lighting and the mise-en-scene.

Camerawork

The generic conventions regarding camerawork are extremely evident when watching a music video.

• The video will usually contain  a selection of shots and angles to keep the video interesting and varied. The most well known camera angle used for music videos is undoubtedly the close up, or extreme close up of the artist lip syncing which is usually following a long or wide shot of a dance sequence.

An extreme close up from Meghan Trainor's 'Dear Future Husband'

A close up of Madonna's 'Vogue'

• The other form of camera movement which is a generic convention of the genre is the use of pans, whip pans, crane shots and the use of dolly's for tracking which lets the audience move with the pace of the performer/ dancers.  

Editing 

The editing of a music video can differ massively dependant on what the director wants to communicate to the audience, however the main generic convention is the lack of continuity, switching between artist, story line and instrument is typically of most music videos.

• The styles of editing; jump cutting and montage editing are usually dictated to by the music itself. Many music videos contain editing which gives the impression of 'jumping' from shot to shot to the beat of the music, although continuity editing (like in Sia's 'Chandelier) can be used also to create a smoother appearance. 

Rihanna's 'Disturbia' is a perfect example of how editing is used alongside the music, each cut matching a beat.

Lighting

The generic conventions of lighting for music videos are fairly extreme as lighting is so key in setting moods, although some music videos choose to have naturalistic lighting to carry a storyline, the norm is to use lighting expressively being either very high key or very low key. 

• Extreme artificial light, or 'bleaching' can be used on the artists during close ups to give them an ethereal quality which makes them seem powerful and almost ageless

The use of 'bleaching' in Taylor Swift's 'Style' 

• The use of black and white contrasted with colour for effect on choruses and flashbacks is another popular lighting technique within music videos, as is strobe lighting which is predominantly a generic convention of pop videos. 

Strobe lighting in Jennifer Lopez' 'On The Floor'

• Lastly, another common form of lighting used in different videos is the technique of CGI to create futuristic sets for the dancer to perform in which fit the theme of their music video. 

CGI as is used in Katy Perry's 'E.T.'


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8eRzOYhLuw  - Please click on the link to view Ariana Grande's 'Break Free' another example of CGI within a music video.

Mise-en-scene

The generic conventions of mise-en-scene contain the elements such as; costume, lighting, acting, make up and props, positioning and setting. The mise-en-scene can be put together collectively to emphasise a theme or storyline within the video.

• The mise-en-scene of a video may be used to convey a historical theme, this may stay consistent throughout or there may be obvious contrasts in the miss-en-scene to switch between two different settings/ time periods. This use of miss-en-scene to create a time period is demonstrated within Girls Aloud's hit 'Can't Speak French' 

• Some uses of mise-en-scene within a music video is to create a sense of realism and authenticity, such as a performance video filmed in a recording studio like Justin Bieber's 'Never Say Never'. 

 

• The other use of mise-en-scene in a music video is to have particularly beautiful sets/ locations and lots of props and miss-en-scene to confirm the artists 'star' status and show off their lucrative lifestyle, confirming how powerful they are to the audience/ fans.  

Iggy Azalea ft Britney Spears' 'Pretty Girls'

Best Music Videos Of All Time

The best music videos are much disputed, and various websites and resources rate the best music videos slightly differently - although in general a select few are rated highly on all websites such as Michael Jackson's thriller and other iconic videos.

 The popular music publication billboard have posted on their website, a poll taken by consumers of what is in their opinion the best music videos of all time, the top 10 videos from each decade - the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's. I have decided to use this particular websites' countdown of the best music videos of all time as it is the opinion of consumers of music and is therefore the peoples' choice of what the best music video is.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/468680/the-10-best-00s-music-videos-poll-results?page=0%2C1

The Best Of The 1980's

The 80's produced videos by legendary artists whose music is still remembered, the top ten videos include artists such as Janet Jackson, Duran Duran, The Police, Aerosmith and Peter Gabriel but I will be focusing on the top rated music video of the 80's, and more importantly what made it so popular. 

1. Thriller - Michael Jackson 1982

Arguably the best music video of all time and not just the 80's, Jackson's Thriller is spectacularly choreographed and performed, and up until recently with the rise of free music websites like Youtube whereby more recent music videos have millions of views, was the most watched music video also. The video itself is 13 minutes long comprising of a detailed storyline which sees Jackson terrifying his date by turning into; a werewolf, zombie and other kinds of evil creatures befitting the title. It is a narrative music video and follows its' theme throughout, even the elements of the video when Jackson is singing it is still in character, he does so to his date and with the back up zombie dancers. There is however an element of the spectacle about the video given its length and cinematography; the video is almost like a short film, the song being broken up by storyline and at one point whilst the back up dancers emerge from their 'graves' a lengthy voice over takes over for about a minute and a half acting as a bridge in the music. The 'Thriller' music video contains many generic conventions of the genre, it is extremely varied in its camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene. The video contains two shots, over the shoulder shots, long shots, tracking shots, panning, wide shots to show off the dance moves, high angle shots and the most frequently used camerawork of music videos - close ups. The editing throughout the video is fairly slow paced, the cuts becoming more frequent as the dance sequence begins to show different camera angles and there is some infrequent cross - cutting between Michael Jackson and his dancers and his terrified date to show her reaction to the situation. The miss-en-scene of the video is extensive within the video, the costume is very 1950's esque with his date initially wearing a big skirt and Jackson wearing a sports jacket, although this later changes at the cinema to more 80s clothing - Jackson always looks distinctive especially in his red leather outfit which ensures he is the star of the video. The lighting remains low key throughout the video to reflect its dark nature and the acting throughout the video is extensive with the video being like a scene from a movie. Extensive make up and props were used to enhance the video, with prosthetics and make up being used to transform Jackson and his dancers into terrifying creatures. The positioning of the shots often make Jackson look taller and more imposing than his date to give a sense of the danger she is in and his importance and the set of the video - a wood, grave yard and alleyway all build the 'scary' nature of the video as these places are usually associated by the audience with danger and wariness.

   

The Best Of The 1990's

The 1990's produced equally fantastic music and the rise of music videos meant that they were gaining importance and the videos themselves were becoming more iconic and stylistic such as Madonna's Vogue which is a true piece of art, from the choreography and costume to the filter on the video, music videos were becoming as important as the songs themselves. The top ten rated music videos of the 80's were produced for massive industry names such as Nirvana, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and Guns N Roses.

1.  Baby One More Time - Britney Spears 1998

A pop classic Britney's 'Baby One More Time' was incredibly popular, the video is extremely well choreographed and the video is undoubtedly so popular because of this. It has different elements within it such as narrative - the story of Britney being a school girl singing to a past love, is carried consistently throughout the video as is the performance elements whereby Britney, whilst dancing sings and performs to the camera. The audience also notes the use of camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene within the video and how these conform to the expectations and conventions of the genre. Given the extensive dance sequences throughout the video, there is a lot of varied camerawork to show different angles, the video contains many long shots, wide shots, head and shoulder shots and the most frequently used shot for music videos - close ups all to ensure, in spite of the multiple back up dancers that Britney is the main focus of attention. The editing of the video is fairly slow paced to continue the day dream - like feel of the video, the cuts do however become more frequent during the dance sequences and chorus to build with the song. The mise-en-scene is extensive within the video, the costume being extremely consistent with typical 90's fashion, the lighting is high key throughout the entirety of the video until the bridge at the end which then changes to low key to reflect Britney's sadness at the situation. The acting of the video is done very well between dance episodes, with the help of close ups Britney does appear to be a heartbroken school girl, the make up is fairly naturalistic and the props are consistent with the high school theme. Britney is always positioned in front, or higher in the shot than her dancers to make her stand out as the star and ensure all the audience's focus is on the artist alone.

The Best Of The 2000's

The 2000's saw a new era of music, the advances in technology in editing means that modern music videos are carefully planned showcases which have the best choreography, camerawork, setting and directing. The top ten music videos of the 2000's includes works by the likes of Eminem, Missy Elliot, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Katy Perry, Rihanna and Britney Spears among others.

1. Bad Romance - Lady Gaga 2009

The video for Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' is definitely an artistic statement which is consistent with her unique artistic style, as opposed to an attempt to conform to the genres of a music video. The video is  predominantly a spectacle music video above all else, being deliberately different to say an early Taylor Swift video, it is deliberately unique and dangerous, pushing the boundaries of modern music videos. The video does however have distinct similarities to the dance sequences of Britney Spears' hit, 'Baby One More Time' in that they both contain performance elements during these interludes and still ensure that the star is the focus of attention, by both her attire and positioning within the shots. The video was massively popular winning the video of the year at the 2010 VMA's and it is easy to see why. The video is filled with juxtapositions, dark and light, evil and goodness and the themes of monsters and love run throughout the entirety of the music video. The camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene of the video are consistent with the genre in certain respects. The camerawork contains classic elements such as close ups, wide shots for the dance sequences, panning, long shots and head and shoulder shots to emphasise Lady Gagas' facial expressions and costumes. Equally, the editing of the video although starting fairly slowly, soon becomes very fast paced with frequent cuts between different situations within the video. Lastly, miss-en-scene plays a very important role in 'Bad Romance' the costume is one of the most iconic elements, Lady Gaga wears various different outfits, some black and some white to portray the contrasts evident throughout between good and evil. The lighting too switches between high and low key depending on the scene to show good and bad, Lady Gaga is excellent in portraying her heartbreak in the video, with various shots focusing on her reddened and emotional eyes. The make up of the video reflects its nature, bold and the props show the lucrative and glamorous lifestyle Gaga attempts to portray. The positioning of the video is consistent with the genre, with Lady Gaga being positioned at the front of each dance sequence and being shown higher in the shot than her love interest or dancers connoting her importance and power.

The Best Of The 2010's

Modern music videos have seen the age of technology, the rise of social media has meant that unusual or unique videos can go viral very quickly gathering millions of views. The following video is not listed on the billboard charts but I still feel that it is well worth mentioning given its low budget but extreme popularity - collecting over 27 million hits on Youtube.

1. Ok Go - Here It Goes Again 

The video for this song went viral on the Internet very quickly given its unusual nature. Audiences enjoyed the simplistic nature of the actual video with the carefully choreographed routine on the treadmill contrasted with the very basic set and lack of props. This was a music video on a budget but still manages to grab the audiences' attention. It is a performance video with elements of the spectacle about it - this shows that the band don't want to be categorised and do not necessarily fit into any specific genre.  The video stays the same for the entire duration, a wide shot of the band which is a continual shot, there is no sequence of cuts and different angles like within many music videos, and as a result the video does not conform to any of the generic conventions of a music video regarding camerawork, editing, lighting or mise-en-scene. The editing of the video is very unusual, subverting the norms, there are no jump cuts but continuity editing is used as the video is one long take focusing entirely on the sequence. The lighting of the video is unlike most other videos which use specific lighting techniques to highlight the artist or produce a certain effect, instead the band seem to have used a lamp to light the room - another budget saving technique. Lastly the miss-en-scene of the video is alternative also, the costume being fairly unique, although it does link the band together, the acting of the video is impressive the band lip syncing whilst performing an extensive dance routine on the treadmills. The only props present are the treadmills incorporated into the routine, keeping the video minimalistic and the positioning of the video is fairly even, keeping the band members all level to connote their equal importance. The set of the video is again a juxtaposition with the genre, totally different to the exotic locations chosen by many artists, their is a certain comic appeal to the silver sheet used as a backdrop but it is effective in focusing all of the audiences' attention on the band and their dancing. 

Types of music video

There are five main types of music video which a song can be categorised by, however not all music videos fit into a specific genre, many cross over, some have a mash up of influences, whilst others take on a new genre altogether.

Showcase

The simplest form of music video, just the band/ artist in front of the camera performing the song - although it may appear to be effortless even these videos are often carefully choreographed, lip synced and each visual element of mise - en - scene has been considered. 

An example of a showcase music video is Blondie's 'Hanging On The Telephone' whereby the entirety of the video is the band performing to the camera from 20 seconds in until the end. The set of the video has clearly been carefully considered with a background of solid white and black lines, moreover Blondie blends in wearing a long black dress and standing only on the black line - the set of the video is a clear reference to the name of the band's album 'parallel lines' - a clever marketing strategy. 

A modern example of a showcase music video is reggae/ pop band MAGIC!'s hit song 'Rude' - the song is not however purely a showcase video, it has a consistent narrative story line throughout which is broken up by the elements of showcase.

The sequences which show purely the band performing to the camera are very much in the style of a showcase video and usually accompany the chorus, the narrative is tied into the showcase section towards the end however as the girl from the video enters the garage scene and dances with the band leader. This is a key example of how music videos are difficult to categorise and often contain several different genres.

Narrative

A narrative music video is one that tells a story, whether the artist/ band is in the video or it is using actors/ actresses the video will contain a storyline and are require a lot of planning and choreography to get right. Katy Perry stars in the video, as an old woman reflecting on her life, in a series of flashbacks the audience sees the a much younger Katy Perry in a happy, quirky relationship, after a row Perry's love interest drives off in a rage and swerves to avoid boulders in the road, ending up driving off of the cliff. As the old woman Perry stands at the edge of the road and is reunited with the still young man - 'The One That Got Away'. Everything about the video is cleverly structured, from the camerawork to the make up and props to convey the story consistently - it is done very effectively and the close up shots of Perry as an old woman carry a lot of emotion.

Katy Perry's 'The One That Got Away' is a classic example of a narrative music video, both the video and the song itself tell a story. Taylor Swift is another artist who tends to star in her narrative music videos such as 'Mine' - however other artists use narrative videos as a platform for discussion. 

The artist Hozier used a narrative music video for his number 1 hit 'Take Me To Church'. The video is purely narrative and unusually Hozier does not appear in it at all. The use of a narrative storyline is key within the video and Hozier examines prejudices regarding sexuality to provoke a discussion/ reaction from audiences.

Spectacle 

Spectacle music videos are vastly different to other genres, they contain unusual or strange elements that are usually carried through to the end and indicate that perhaps the artist does not want to be categorised or doesn't fit into a specific role / genre.

Gotye's 'Somebody That I Used To Know' is a key example of a spectacle music video.

The initial photography of the video include close ups of Gotye's face and show he is uncovered, the initial part of the video provides a vast contrast to later shots.

The introduction of painting/ body art which is abstract is used to show the audience how Gotye wants to be portrayed as not just another musician but an artist, he is also portraying his individuality and how he does not fit into a certain mould or genre.

Intertextual 

Intertextual music videos are unique in that they often cross reference, they may have the whole video in the style of something else such as Lady Gaga's video 'Paparazzi' and the references to newspapers and cameras, equally the video may cut between different scenes such as Taylor Swift's 'Love Story' which switches from modern day setting to a Shakespearean set/ dress. 

An example of intertextual references within a music video is seen clearly in Iggy Azalea's music video for her hit song 'Fancy' which makes direct references to the 1995 film 'Clueless'. 

                                   

                                         Iggy Azalea's 'Fancy' - WARNING explicit content.

Link to the trailer for the film 'Clueless', please watch to see the similarities 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS0KyTZ3Ie4

          Clueless                                                                                               Fancy                         

The clever stylistic inter textual references between a film about a typically popular, rich girl who 'owns' the school and Iggy's music video have a similar subject matter whereby her lyrics brag of the fast and lucrative lifestyle she now leads "I'm so fancy...Can't you taste this gold? Remember my name". 

Performance

Performance music videos are just that - videos of the band performing the song either live or pre recorded often using footage of the band at a concert. Performance videos can take various forms however, some are purely the band performing and (usually) lip singing to allow them to concentrate on staging and choreography whereas other performance music videos switch between the band performing and more relaxed shots of the band say with friends or reflecting like in One Direction's 'Story of my Life' in which the band both perform and stop to look at childhood photographs of themselves and their loved ones.

A modern example of a performance based music video is that of Australian band Five Seconds of Sumers' 'Amnesia.

 

The video takes place in three settings, the band performing in a garage like that of a live performance.

The band also perform as separate artists, with close ups of each band member singing their section of the song.

Lastly, the video is broken up from the performance segments by sequences of the band relaxing with friends, at a pool party and driving around their town reminiscing.

Another performance video which is purely performance footage of the band is Bon Jovi's 'Livin on a Prayer'.