Music Video Production

Music Terms & studying music videos

1.) What use do you think the lyrics are put to when making a video?

For meaning and/or a message to the audience, to illustrate the scene allowing the artist to emphasise the meaning/message that they are trying to get across or to tell the story in a more dramatic way. Lyrics can be catchy, so to allow the audience to catch on with the song, sing a long and to get a certain line insiden audiences head so that it they cant stop listening to it, or they can't stop singing that part of the song.

2.) Narrative & Performance: How important is the narrative to the pop video? What relevance is the performance aspect of the pop video?

To engage an audience, to keep them watching. Allows the artist to show off their talent and/or the talent of other people on the screen making it more engaging, interesting and entertaining. Allows the audience to see their favourite artist/band. 

3.) Star Image: How important do you think the star image is in respect to a pop video's success? 

We watch the videos to see the star, we want to seem them in different styles of videos, allow us to see the development of an artist, to see their dress code, get ideas/inspiration, to see different things from that artist, new and different styles of videos to their new material. We want to see what they are capable of and see what new tricks, stunts and dance moves they can do.

4.) Visuals to Songs:

A.) What is Illustration in terms of a pop video?

To tell a story/message to the audience, which can allow an audience to relate to or to allow the message to make an audience think and make them have an emotional response.

B.) And what is Amplification in terms of a pop video?

To exaggerate the lyrics, e.g. taking gigantic steps, this is applied through the editing process, where sections of a take are taken out to show a person for example walking down a corridor at different times, without it taking up all of the time it took to walk down the corridor, speeding up the process to move on with the narrative. As well as this you can fade into the next piece or scene.

C.) What is disjuncture and is it a good idea to use it in a pop video?

It is where part of the visual/narrative as no relation to the video/lyrics but makes for a fun/quirky video, which can catch an audience out as well as keeping them interested.

5.) Technical Aspects

A.) What is meant by the term "Speed!" in relation to pop videos? Give Examples of their use.

It is the cutting rate within the video, within the editing process how long one piece of footage is to another. Usually pop videos are fast paced, with their up beat sound. So the cutting rate is important to keep the audience watching as you don't want to keep on the same camera angle and the same scene/narrative/performance for too long, as this will become boring and less engaging.

B.) What is Meat! in relation to a video?

These are close ups on the face, mainly on the artist/band members, to see emotion and to give variety of camera angles as well as to engage an audience through narrative and performance. 

C.) How are Beats! used in a video?

These are used when actions are cut to a beat, for example, where an action that the artist/actor does within the video goes with the beat of the song, or with to cut each frame to the beat to the song. Overall actions through editing or visual on screen to the beat of the song.

D.) How are colour & lighting used in pop videos?

To create effect or to create a certain mood/atmosphere. Spotlights on the artist allow them to be centre stage or the main star/performer of the video the one the audience look more at. Lights will indicate mood. Usually the videos are well lit, bright, flashing lights and/or strobes. Lights tend to keep with the genre and/or style of the video/song or artist style.

E.) What elements are common in terms of mise-en-scene in pop videos?

They place the narrative scene in a place that relates to the story, usually a couple at home or out in town, doing in activities, or usually out on a street, preferably an American town. Artist and costumes usually link to their style they have taken for a long time and resemble the modern day mise-en-scene with big labels e.g. Apple and PlayStation/Xbox. The lighting is usually a bright colour theme.

R'N'B usually consists of - a swimming pool, sport cars, rich people, big houses