The first music video which was produced was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. In 1975 when Queen's music video was produced there was older groups/people performing but they weren't for the same purposes that music videos are made for currently. The way music videos are made currently have changed hugely this is due to the fact that technology has become more advanced. This advance in technology allows us to use animation to create non-realistic scenes which makes it more interesting for the audience watching the music video if animation is used. The artist can be more creative with what they want to be conveyed to the audience rather than just having the song and just a boring video to accompany it.
There is many purposes to why music videos are produced, below I will list and explain into detail what the purposes are.
Firstly music videos are made to promote the band without a music video it would just be a song. When a video accompanies a song, the whole exposure of the single increases automatically. The band can also make their music video viewable on many forms of media such as mobile phones, television and the internet.
All bands use music videos to promote themselves but they also try to promote other artists. This is the term called 'Featured Artists'. By having other artists included in the track helps to promote the other artists and show what they are capable of doing. This will then maybe encourage the audience to check their music out or buy the single itself.
Disclosure included featured artists in their tracks as well as so many other artists. For example in the Latch music video by Disclosure it features Sam Smith. Because Sam Smith is the main voice in the video the audience may inspire people to go check out Sam Smith's music. At the time of when the music video was released Sam Smith was a fairly new artist so it worked in his favor as he is very successful now. Disclosure have worked with Eliza Dolittle, Sinead Harnett and more.
A second purpose is to make money, I would say myself that this is the main purpose because without money the band cannot promote themselves. They also have to make themselves known, by doing this the band will then be noticed and they will more than likely sell their singles and albums.
A third purpose is to convey a story, message or opinion. Music videos are generally made to give us as an audience an illustration to the lyrics of a song. An example of a video that tells a story is Justin Timberlake- Mirrors. It is about a couple who have grown up together and now the husband has died, the woman is remembering him as if he is still there. Personally I think for the audience it has an effect on them as it is a very emotional video. Through this video you actually feel yourself how the woman's feeling.
Music videos can also be used to help spread the message of a charity group or organisation. For example, Chases And Status's track Time used their reputation to help spread awareness of domestic violence. They did this by creating a music video that was based on a family which looked fairly happy but throughout we learn that the father is beating the mother. These videos can help individuals struggling in these situations.
A fourth purpose is to promote the album. Some music videos are created to draw attention to their newest album or single. Music videos can help bring the audiences attention to an album. If the music video stood out to the audience and was a good video it would be remembered.
A fifth purpose is to entertain. Obviously one of the main reasons for making a music video is to entertain the public and this is either shown through the artist dancing, singing or playing a musical instrument. Someone such as Micheal Jackson was entertaining to the public because of his dancing.
Conventions of music videos
The camera shots used within music videos tend to be a mixture usually there are many long shots,close ups and mid shots. These shots are used to create emphasis and focus on the artist, surroundings and emotions. Close ups are also used to show the emotions more effectively and the lip syncing of the artist. Lip syncing is conventional within music videos.
Camera movement within music videos usually follows the band or artist. Camera movements include tilts,pans, tracking and crane shots.
Mise-en-scene is used commonly in performance music videos, 'Mise-en-scene refers to the arrangement and props on a stage. It refers to the importance when something is being represented.
Within editing jump cuts are the main techniques which are used. Jump cuts allow a sudden change from one scene to another and it also looks good. Fade and dissolve are commonly used in music videos as they give a different style to the jump cuts.
The lighting plays a big role in music videos depending on what genre it is the lighting can differ. Black and white music videos help emphasise a mood. Some artists decide to have artifical lighting which can give their video a more enhanced look/feel.
The sound within music videos is mainly the vocals but obviously the backing track as well. In some cases music videos can be made into short films so there can be talking involved in them. An example of this would be Micheal Jackson- Thriller.
The colors within music videos depend on the genre really. For example if it was a rock video there would be more dull colors used. Bright colors are more commonly used in hip hop and pop videos.
Music Videos - Styles
Performance
Performance videos mainly focus on the artists or band that is just performing on their own or in front of an audience. Performance videos never have a narrative to them, they contain a range of camera angles which are repeated throughout the music video. An example of a performance music video would be Bon Jovi- Livin' On A Prayer.
Narrative
Narrative music videos usually contain a story that is linked with the lyrics to create an effect. Narrative music videos use imagery as a main base to tell a story to the audience. Most narrative videos are based on mixed emotions even sometimes what the artist has been through themselves in life. With narrative videos the track which accompanied by the video tends to be slow paced rather than fast paced as this focuses the audiences attention on the imagery and the emotions within the song rather than the track itself. They can sometimes promote a film, for example Celine Dion- My Heart Will Go On promotes the film Titanic. Although it does have Celine Dion singing in some shots but the music video is mainly clips from the film Titanic.
Concept
Concept music videos are based on one idea or scenario. Concept videos allow an artist/band to be creative and original in their own way in what they would like to convey to the audience. Cyndi Lauper- Girls Just Want To Have Fun.
Genres
Rock
Rock music videos contain close up and mid/long shots. Close up shots are used mainly to focus on the emotions of the artist,other members in the band etc. Including close ups in a music video can cause an atmosphere for when the audience are watching it. Within this video you can instantly tell that its a rock video because of the dullness of it and the fact that most of the shots are black and white. Most rock videos tend to be black and white. Throughout the band is shown which is also conventional. The costumes tend to be very dull most of the clothing Kings Of Leon wear are black. Although there isn't any heavy makeup in this video, some artists/bands within the rock genre wear heavy makeup. The instruments normally used in rock bands are normally always drums, bass guitar/s and vocals. These instruments used are emphasised in the music videos, normally we see them close up. It also shows us that the rock band itself have talent if they are playing instruments.
Pop
The pop genre itself stands for popular music. Pop music videos consist of bright colours this corresponds with the mood happy . Pop music within itself is very eclectic. Elements from other styles are used sometimes this includes urban, dance,rock, latin and country. Pop music is usually catchy and instantly gets into your head after you've listened to the song a few times. Pop music videos normally consist of the band performing and singing. This then shows the audience that there is a positive atmosphere and makes them feel positive themselves when watching the video.
A good example of a pop music video would be Gangam Style by PSY.
This video is conventional of the pop genre as the dancing is crazy. In my opinion the song is annoying but you remember it because of the dancing, the atmosphere which is created whilst watching it and the bright colours and weird things that happen in the video. Artists within pop music videos tend to wear bizarre or outrageous colours of clothing this is so that audience focus on the artist within the video and to keep the viewer entertained. Within this music video there are a lot of close up shots used this is conventional within the pop genre as this shows emotion. There is a lot of shots where the camera is close up on PSY's face and then pans out to medium close up shot, from the medium close up shot we see PSY sitting on a toilet singing. These shots are used to create
humour for the audience. The lighting within pop videos is normally vibrant and high level, this is to create a more positive feel about the video. Normally the editing seems to contain mostly jump cuts, within this video there is a lot of varied shots.
Drum and Bass
Drum and bass music videos normally consist of dark colours and imagery. Drum and bass music video locations are normally staged as a performance or in a club. Some artists within editing tend to use the ripple effect to show us as an audience how powerful the bass is. Also within editing fast cuts are used within the video to give the song a bit more energy.Wind fans are sometimes used to create the effect of showing how powerful the bass is. This would be shown through either the artists/band's hair flowing in the wind and so on. Loud speakers are normally in performance videos within the genre of drum and bass. Drum and bass artists sometimes but not always have other artists featured in their songs. A good example would be Chase And Status as they have had various featured artists on their songs. Clothing within this genre is very casual, there isn't a dress code what you'd associate with the genre drum and bass, where as for the genre rock you could easily define the dress code for that as mostly black. Depending on what the artist is like, for example Nero wear futuristic outfits, which wouldn't be conventional but some artists tend to break the conventions. To this day drum and bass makes frequent appearances in mainstream media and popular culture including in television, as well as being a major reference point for subsequent genres such as grime and dubstep and successful artists including Chase & Status and Australia's Pendulum.
Dance
Within dance music videos the main convention is dancing obviously. The lighting tends to be very strong and bright and the scenes tend to be also very colourful. The clothing within dance videos is sometimes very revealing, not always. Depending on what message or image the artist themselves want to convey. They normally tend to have a happy vibe about them as dance music is very upbeat. A good example of a music video where all these conventions I've stated fit is Call On Me by Eric Prydz.
