- Narrative (a video based on a storyline)
- Abstract/Artistic (a video that doesn't necessarily have to represent anything in particular but can express something in colour, shapes or pattern. A non-narrative approach)
- Performance (a video of a live performance recording)
- Hybrid (a video that can incorporate two different styles, such as narrative and performance)
Most commonly, the motive behind a music video is simply for promotional purposes; so that the artist/band can put their music out there for people to hear and also to boost sales. Other times it can be to promote a tour, a film or for charity. A music video can be particularly important for a new, up and coming band, as it gives them a chance to draw attention to their song and most musicians rely heavily on music videos for promotion. Although there are other ways to promote their music, for example having fan pages on social networking sites; the music video has been around since the 1930's proving it's significance.
I have analysed the main styles of music video; performance, narrative, abstract/artistic and hybrid. This is so I was able to gather many different ideas and analyse whether each type of style had its own set codes and conventions. I was also able to see how each style is different to the other.
Beyonce - If I Were A Boy
Video link: http://www.mtv.co.uk/artists/beyonce/video/if-i-were-a-boy
Narrative:
The video begins with Beyonce and a male actor in separate shots, saying the words "intimacy", "honesty", "commitment", "you", "me" and "us", this connotes marriage, so we assume that they are both married. The video provides the narrative of an ordinary, everyday couple. The song starts as her husband prepares breakfast, which the wife (Beyonce) doesn't eat showing the husbands care and effort to go unnoticed and unappreciated. The wife sets off for her job as a police officer, with a male police partner and it is evident that there is a chemistry between the two of them. We know that she is a police officer as the uniform she is wearing portrays this. Meanwhile, her husband is shown in his office at work being approached by an attractive female colleague, who he 'brushes off', and continues looking at a pair of earring to buy for his wife online. He then calls his wife, only to be ignored as we see that she is out "with the guys". Later on, the husband presents the earrings to his wife and they both leave for a party, where he is hurt to find his wife and her male colleague dancing intimately. As the two arrive home, the huband confronts his wife, this is a significant part in the video as the twist in the plot is revealed and the viewer sees the roles reversed. The audience learn that it is in fact the husband who is the police officer, with an attractive female partner and his wife is the office worker whose care and efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated.
Mise en scene:
In terms of mise en scene, the costume of the police officer has been used to portray the job role, whilst the smart dress portrays the office job. A significant prop used in the video are the earrings given as a gift to his wife, as they show his love. There is a shot of the wifes male colleague checking her out, as she is arresting someone, this is in opposition of the husbands female colleague as she is interested but he tends to ignore her, the characters used in video show the differences in gender, which is important as it is a theme in relation to the song. The entire video is shot in black and white, which gives it a very sophisticated feel and gives it a dramatic effect. This works in theme with the song as the artist is addressing an issue of importance regarding gender differences, because the black and white gives it a more dramatic feel, it engages the viewer and it makes them notice the video more.
Camera shots, angle, movement and composition:
There is a lot of use of close up shots in this video, mainly used to show the expression on the characters faces. At the start of the video when the husband has made breakfast, the camera is moving to mimick the actions of the characters, and in the car when the wife arrests someone, the male colleague is sitting in the car looking out through the front screen, we can see the windscreen wipers on the car moving; these point of view shots give a realistic portrayal of what each character sees, so we are able to see each characters point of view and understand it and also understand how it relates to the theme of gender difference within the song. There is also use of a long shot when the husband confronts his wife, this has been used to show the distance between them, as he has been hurt by her actions and he doesn't feel close to her emotionally, the long shot captures this space between them. Shot reverse shot has also been used to show the viewer what is going on with both parties, this is where her husband calls her and we see a shot reverse shot between the two; the first of him calling her, the second of her ignoring him and the third of him with a hurt expression on his face.
Editing:
Seamless editing has been used mostly throughout the video, the cuts between the shots are very smooth and therefore are not very noticable, giving a more 'polished' feel to the video. There is use of superimpose when the couple are both driving home, the front windscreen of the car has been superimposed with the top of the tunnel they are going through, this has been used to show the weather, as it is raining and the windscreen wipers are moving on the car, making the front screen slightly blurry. Here, both of these images have been layered on top of each other to create this effect. Towards the end of the video there is a a fade to black followed by a fade up from black, which has been used to signify that time has passed and the place has changed; this is when they switch roles, so in this video, fade has been used to show the change in their roles.
Joss Stone - Fell In Love With A Boy
The video begins with Beyonce and a male actor in separate shots, saying the words "intimacy", "honesty", "commitment", "you", "me" and "us", this connotes marriage, so we assume that they are both married. The video provides the narrative of an ordinary, everyday couple. The song starts as her husband prepares breakfast, which the wife (Beyonce) doesn't eat showing the husbands care and effort to go unnoticed and unappreciated. The wife sets off for her job as a police officer, with a male police partner and it is evident that there is a chemistry between the two of them. We know that she is a police officer as the uniform she is wearing portrays this. Meanwhile, her husband is shown in his office at work being approached by an attractive female colleague, who he 'brushes off', and continues looking at a pair of earring to buy for his wife online. He then calls his wife, only to be ignored as we see that she is out "with the guys". Later on, the husband presents the earrings to his wife and they both leave for a party, where he is hurt to find his wife and her male colleague dancing intimately. As the two arrive home, the huband confronts his wife, this is a significant part in the video as the twist in the plot is revealed and the viewer sees the roles reversed. The audience learn that it is in fact the husband who is the police officer, with an attractive female partner and his wife is the office worker whose care and efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated.
Mise en scene:
In terms of mise en scene, the costume of the police officer has been used to portray the job role, whilst the smart dress portrays the office job. A significant prop used in the video are the earrings given as a gift to his wife, as they show his love. There is a shot of the wifes male colleague checking her out, as she is arresting someone, this is in opposition of the husbands female colleague as she is interested but he tends to ignore her, the characters used in video show the differences in gender, which is important as it is a theme in relation to the song. The entire video is shot in black and white, which gives it a very sophisticated feel and gives it a dramatic effect. This works in theme with the song as the artist is addressing an issue of importance regarding gender differences, because the black and white gives it a more dramatic feel, it engages the viewer and it makes them notice the video more.
Camera shots, angle, movement and composition:
There is a lot of use of close up shots in this video, mainly used to show the expression on the characters faces. At the start of the video when the husband has made breakfast, the camera is moving to mimick the actions of the characters, and in the car when the wife arrests someone, the male colleague is sitting in the car looking out through the front screen, we can see the windscreen wipers on the car moving; these point of view shots give a realistic portrayal of what each character sees, so we are able to see each characters point of view and understand it and also understand how it relates to the theme of gender difference within the song. There is also use of a long shot when the husband confronts his wife, this has been used to show the distance between them, as he has been hurt by her actions and he doesn't feel close to her emotionally, the long shot captures this space between them. Shot reverse shot has also been used to show the viewer what is going on with both parties, this is where her husband calls her and we see a shot reverse shot between the two; the first of him calling her, the second of her ignoring him and the third of him with a hurt expression on his face.
Editing:
Seamless editing has been used mostly throughout the video, the cuts between the shots are very smooth and therefore are not very noticable, giving a more 'polished' feel to the video. There is use of superimpose when the couple are both driving home, the front windscreen of the car has been superimposed with the top of the tunnel they are going through, this has been used to show the weather, as it is raining and the windscreen wipers are moving on the car, making the front screen slightly blurry. Here, both of these images have been layered on top of each other to create this effect. Towards the end of the video there is a a fade to black followed by a fade up from black, which has been used to signify that time has passed and the place has changed; this is when they switch roles, so in this video, fade has been used to show the change in their roles.
Joss Stone - Fell In Love With A Boy
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DwcPqjCW3Y
Mise en scene:
The clothes worn by the people in the video and Joss Stone are very relaxed and casual, she herself is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, this shows she is comfortable in her element on stage. It is evident that the audience and Stone are having a good time, as they are all smiling and dancing, clearly enjoying the performance given by Stone. The lighting used in the video is that typical of a low-key gig, the room she is performing in is very simple as well as the rest of the video, this is also another key feature of a performance based music video, as it allows the viewer to focus more on the song and the music. The song is of the soul/rnb genre and is very relaxed, so the video reflects this.
Camera shots, angle, movement and compostition:
The video starts off with a close up shot of a record being played on a record player and then cuts to a member of a backup musician playing the drums. Shots of the audience are also shown throughout. There is frequent use of fast close up zooms and pans, as well as tracking shots. The angles range from high to low and are varied throughout - this is possibly to show things from the audience's perspective. Most of the shots in the video are close-up shots, there is also medium and long shots.
Editing:
Everytime there is a zoom in the video there is also use of blur; this is just an effect added in editing to make the video more interesting visually.
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
The clothes worn by the people in the video and Joss Stone are very relaxed and casual, she herself is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, this shows she is comfortable in her element on stage. It is evident that the audience and Stone are having a good time, as they are all smiling and dancing, clearly enjoying the performance given by Stone. The lighting used in the video is that typical of a low-key gig, the room she is performing in is very simple as well as the rest of the video, this is also another key feature of a performance based music video, as it allows the viewer to focus more on the song and the music. The song is of the soul/rnb genre and is very relaxed, so the video reflects this.
Camera shots, angle, movement and compostition:
The video starts off with a close up shot of a record being played on a record player and then cuts to a member of a backup musician playing the drums. Shots of the audience are also shown throughout. There is frequent use of fast close up zooms and pans, as well as tracking shots. The angles range from high to low and are varied throughout - this is possibly to show things from the audience's perspective. Most of the shots in the video are close-up shots, there is also medium and long shots.
Editing:
Everytime there is a zoom in the video there is also use of blur; this is just an effect added in editing to make the video more interesting visually.
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
The concept of this video was highly inspired by The Rosarch Test (also known as the Inkblot test) carried out by the Swiss Psychologist Hermann Rorschach, which was a psychological analysis method. In relation to the title of the song 'Crazy', the video goes along with the psychiatric undertone of the song by way of the song's lyrics; "I remember when I lost my mind...", whilst the inkblots take form of various shapes and animals and we are able to see both band members, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse animated, morphing into the shapes. As this video is abstract, it is therefore a non-narrative approach, although it doesn't represent anything in particular, the viewer is still engaged in the video as it is visually interesting and hence captures the interest of the viewer.
