Music Video assignment
A music video is created to go along side a piece of music to help advertise the song and artist. There are many different types of music video. They vary depending on the artist and their image.
Purposes
Every Music video will have a logical reason as to why it is made. Some music videos serve more than one person.
Money
The most obvious reason to make a music video would be to make money. When an artist releases a song, they will want to make as much money of it as possible. A music video really helps with this process as it adds to the areas in which the song can be heard. With a music video, the song can be played on TV on music channels. This way it will be heard by people flicking through the music channels whereas they do not play a song that has no video. Also, the better the music video, the more views it will get and more awareness of the song will come about. Sometimes songs are only played because they have such a good music video however this will not matter as the artists song is still being played and they are still making money.
This band are called 'OK Go'. They are especially popular for the music videos they create. This is one of their most popular songs 'Here it goes again'. In the video the band are doing a dance routine on treadmills. On YouTube, This video was one of the most watched for it's time with 52 million views until it was removed from their YouTube channel. It has now been re-submitted and has 24 million views. This video was more popular than the actual song that the band had wrote however it still earned them plenty of money. The band won a Grammy award for the best music video and also a YouTube award for most creative video. This is a perfect example of how a music video can make an artist money.
Statement
Another purpose for making a music video is to get a statement across. A lot of songs these days have a message that they are trying to tell listeners. Usually to inform them on a serious topic. The videos made to assist them usually display the same message. By giving the listener a visual they can see the message that is trying to be put across whereas before the listener may not have understood the lyrics and therefore did not see the point that was being made.
This video is 'Linkin Park's, What I've done'. In this video, the band are trying to show their audience all the bad things that exist in the world. The video consists of found footage that show many negatives that exist such as war and pollution. They are showing these clips to get the message across of all the bad things that people do. This is to try and get people to make a change in the world and make it a nicer place to live. At the end of the video there is a clip of grass re growing. This is to try and tell people that they can go over all the bad things that exist and make a fresh start. This also links in with the song where it says 'Forgive me, What I've Done'. This line is saying that all the bad things can be forgiven which is also shown by the grass growing clip.
Synergy
Synergy is another purpose to make a music video. Synergy in media when two different areas are brought together. An example of when this is used in music video is when a video is made for a film. By doing this you would be advertising the film and expressing the artists image. People who watch the video may then be interested in going to go and watch the film which will increase their sales and people who are interested in the film may listen to the soundtrack and make the artist money.
This video is 'Nickelback's Hero'. This song was the soundtrack to the first Spiderman film. The song turned out to get into the charts which meant the film 'Spiderman' got a lot more recognition. Also, the film Spiderman will have a large fan base as it is a Marvel film so Nickelback are likely to earn more fans as people will hear their songs after seeing the film.
Techniques
There are a lot of different techniques to use when it comes to music videos. It is important to know different techniques so that you can create the best form of music video.
Cutting to the beat
One technique is cutting to the beat. This is when a music video changes shots to fit in with the beat of the song. When the beat changes then a different shot is shown. This helps make the video look more fluent and like it only fits this specific song. If a song has a fast beat then the cuts are generally faster, and if the song has a slow beat then the shots last longer.
This song is 'Feel The Love' by 'Rudimental'. This song is a good example as it starts off with a slow beat but then gradually gets faster. This means the cuts get quicker as the video goes along.
Lip Syncing
Another technique used is lip syncing. This is used instead of the artist having to sing again when recording the video. This is helpful as if the sound is pre-recorded then it will sound better than trying to use the sound picked up from the cameras. The cameras sound will pick up a lot of background noise as well as the singing which means that the song won't come across. Also in some music videos the singers who are lip syncing may be involved in other activities which may distract them from singing. A lot of Music videos have dance routines which would put the singer out of breath for when they need to sing. Also a song would be recorded in a studio where there is no back ground sound which would make the music sound at its best.
In this video 'It's Time' by 'Imagine Dragons' the band is lip syncing the song. This is useful because in the video the band are in a wasteland and the weather conditions look bad therefore meaning there would be a lot of background noise that would interrupt the song. Also the band do not stay close to the camera for the whole video so in some parts it will be hard to pick up what they are saying.
Hyperlapse
Another technique which is proving popular in music videos is Hyperlapse. A hyperlapse is when a video recording is sped up. This is used to show that time is passing or simply to speed up a process that is taking a while. An example of a good time to use a hyperlapse would be to speed up things like grass growing or something cooking. These would generally not be used in music videos.
This song is 'Centuries by Fall Out Boy'. This video relies completely on a Hyperlapse. In the video we see the cameraman travelling around a city. All the footage is hyperlapsed as otherwise it would be too slow and this would bore the viewer. Also not as much footage would be shown as you wouldn't be able to fit it all in time. At the end we see someone spray painting on a wall. It is important that this is hyperlapsed as otherwise the viewer would be watching him spray paint for a while as it is a long process.
Styles
There is a set style to every music video. Different styles are used in music videos to make them more interseting and entertaining for the viewer.
One take
One of the styles for a music video is a one take video. This is when there are no cuts or change of shots throughout the video. There is simply one camera filming the entire music video on it's own with no stops. This is usually used on fast paced songs as the camera men will be trying to fit in everything on one shot so everything on film will be running to quickly get on and off the shot.
This video is 'Taylor Swift's, We Are Never Getting Back Together'. This video is all using one shot. In the video we see her moving from one set to another which in turn tells a story. The story shows her relationship with her boyfriend. This video uses the One shot style effectively as the camera follows Taylor Swift whilst around her, what the camera doesn't see, the sets are changing and the actors change costumes. The camera moves at a fast paced to fit with the upbeat song.
Found Footage
Another technique used in music video's is Found Footage videos.This is a less common form of music video however it is still effective. Found footage is video clips that are available for everyone to use. They are in the Public Domain. A found Footage music video would be useful to someone as it would save them a lot of money. Money would not be needed to spend on sets, actors or props as they will not be shown on the video. The only money needed will be to pay for the editor. A lot of music videos that use found footage also show the singer or band as well as they still want to get the band/singer's image across. This means there will be some extra expenses yet there may not need to be as much.
This video is 'Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson'. This video is made up of found footage. The found footage shows a lot of bad things in the world and clips of people trying to make a change. For example we see a clip of the KKK who represent the bad things in the world and we also see a clip of Martin Luther King which represent the change. The found footage clips also help to get messages across as they show people reality. This video shows what is really happening or has happened in the world in the hope to get them to make a change.
Animation
Some music videos are made using animation. There are some music videos that appear to be cartoons or other animations like 3D animation. This way you will also be saving money as you only need to pay for someone to create an animation and the animating technology and nothing else. Not many music videos are animated as it is harder to get a message across using cartoons however it would interest a younger audience and increase the likely hood of them watching it.
This video is 'Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz' This video is made using 2D animation. The video shows a group of people who have been animated to act as the singers of the song. The animation uses an Anime style which shows the band showing their image. It is telling people who are interested in anime that they may be interested in this kind of music or will at least like the video, which in turn would get the 'Gorillaz' more fans.
Lip Syncing
Another technique used is lip syncing. This is used instead of the artist having to sing again when recording the video. This is helpful as if the sound is pre-recorded then it will sound better than trying to use the sound picked up from the cameras. The cameras sound will pick up a lot of background noise as well as the singing which means that the song won't come across. Also in some music videos the singers who are lip syncing may be involved in other activities which may distract them from singing. A lot of Music videos have dance routines which would put the singer out of breath for when they need to sing. Also a song would be recorded in a studio where there is no back ground sound which would make the music sound at its best.
In this video 'It's Time' by 'Imagine Dragons' the band is lip syncing the song. This is useful because in the video the band are in a wasteland and the weather conditions look bad therefore meaning there would be a lot of background noise that would interrupt the song. Also the band do not stay close to the camera for the whole video so in some parts it will be hard to pick up what they are saying.
Hyperlapse
Another technique which is proving popular in music videos is Hyperlapse. A hyperlapse is when a video recording is sped up. This is used to show that time is passing or simply to speed up a process that is taking a while. An example of a good time to use a hyperlapse would be to speed up things like grass growing or something cooking. These would generally not be used in music videos.
This song is 'Centuries by Fall Out Boy'. This video relies completely on a Hyperlapse. In the video we see the cameraman travelling around a city. All the footage is hyperlapsed as otherwise it would be too slow and this would bore the viewer. Also not as much footage would be shown as you wouldn't be able to fit it all in time. At the end we see someone spray painting on a wall. It is important that this is hyperlapsed as otherwise the viewer would be watching him spray paint for a while as it is a long process.
Styles
There is a set style to every music video. Different styles are used in music videos to make them more interseting and entertaining for the viewer.
One take
One of the styles for a music video is a one take video. This is when there are no cuts or change of shots throughout the video. There is simply one camera filming the entire music video on it's own with no stops. This is usually used on fast paced songs as the camera men will be trying to fit in everything on one shot so everything on film will be running to quickly get on and off the shot.
This video is 'Taylor Swift's, We Are Never Getting Back Together'. This video is all using one shot. In the video we see her moving from one set to another which in turn tells a story. The story shows her relationship with her boyfriend. This video uses the One shot style effectively as the camera follows Taylor Swift whilst around her, what the camera doesn't see, the sets are changing and the actors change costumes. The camera moves at a fast paced to fit with the upbeat song.
Found Footage
Another technique used in music video's is Found Footage videos.This is a less common form of music video however it is still effective. Found footage is video clips that are available for everyone to use. They are in the Public Domain. A found Footage music video would be useful to someone as it would save them a lot of money. Money would not be needed to spend on sets, actors or props as they will not be shown on the video. The only money needed will be to pay for the editor. A lot of music videos that use found footage also show the singer or band as well as they still want to get the band/singer's image across. This means there will be some extra expenses yet there may not need to be as much.
This video is 'Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson'. This video is made up of found footage. The found footage shows a lot of bad things in the world and clips of people trying to make a change. For example we see a clip of the KKK who represent the bad things in the world and we also see a clip of Martin Luther King which represent the change. The found footage clips also help to get messages across as they show people reality. This video shows what is really happening or has happened in the world in the hope to get them to make a change.
Animation
Some music videos are made using animation. There are some music videos that appear to be cartoons or other animations like 3D animation. This way you will also be saving money as you only need to pay for someone to create an animation and the animating technology and nothing else. Not many music videos are animated as it is harder to get a message across using cartoons however it would interest a younger audience and increase the likely hood of them watching it.
This video is 'Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz' This video is made using 2D animation. The video shows a group of people who have been animated to act as the singers of the song. The animation uses an Anime style which shows the band showing their image. It is telling people who are interested in anime that they may be interested in this kind of music or will at least like the video, which in turn would get the 'Gorillaz' more fans.
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