Representation of music videos

Voyeurism 
Voyeurism is when erotic pleasure can be gained by looking at a sexual object. An example of this would be the music video for 'Drunk in love' by Beyoncé because Beyoncé is frequently shown in a provocative manner which would attract and pleasure the audience watching. They could also see her as a sexual object due to have behaviour.


Male Gaze
Laura Mulvey proposed that filmmakers predominately use women to display a music video rather than the narrative of the song. An example of this would be 'Work' by Rihanna as the girls shown in the video are wearing small amounts of clothing and we see various men enjoying themselves in the company of the seductive behaving women. This supports the male gaze theory.



Exhibition
Exhibition is when female performers are behaving in a sexually provocative way and are apparently in control of and inviting a sexualised gaze. An example of this would be 'Adore you' by Miley Cyrus because Miley is frequently looking at the camera in a provocative way and inviting the sexualised gaze because of her lack of clothing and body movements.



Ranch Culture- This means that women are encouraged to see themselves as sex objects. A good example of this would be 'Work from home' by Fifth Harmony because they are using the lyrics in the song to present the same behaviour. Which is encouraged to attract a larger audience.

Miley Star Profile

No rest- Dry the river

In today's lesson we listened to 'No rest' by Dry the River without seeing the visuals of the music video or seeing the lyrics and came up with ideas as to what we think the music video would look like.
These were the ideas we came up with:

• My idea was an indie, sad love song with the male artist following a girl he is in love with and feeling hurt that she doesn't feel the same or doesn't realise. The band is also performing on a stage in front of a large crowd and the video switches between the band performing and the man following his loved one.
• Love story set in a field
• Break ups and the man stalking the woman wanting to be with her
• Weddings
• Couple in a big old house going through a tough time
• Busking
• Flashbacks

I like the idea of a couple in a big old house going through a tough time because after seeing the lyrics I thought this idea matches the lyrics. However I am unsure how this will include the band itself. The lyrics could represent this idea as they state 'the algebra and symmetry'. This could mean that the couple used to be so close, symmetrical. But now its so complicated and difficult, possible like algebra to some people. 

The actual video is very basic but a brave idea to do. The music video for this song consists of just the band members laying on the ground with stones around their bodies. It looks as though royal outfits are walking over them. This could represent the lyrics in the first verse which state 'I used to be a king alone, Like Solomon and or Rehoboam.

The process of listening to a piece of music, looking at the lyrics and then trying to come up with ideas as to what the music video would be is a really good idea. As it got me to think outside the box, and of other ideas using the rhythm of the music and lyrics of the song.

Through this experience I learnt how music means different things to different people. Also that music can be interpreted in many different ways to create an atmosphere. I also learnt that creativity is key when creating a music video to keep the audience interested, and that you should have a wide range of ideas before deciding what you want to include in your music video.

Carol Vernallis' theory

Carol Vernallis' theory

The ideas are based on four concepts:

• Camera
• Editing
• Narrative
• Diegesis

Camera:

Carol stated that establishing shots are key, as well as close ups of artists. Also it is good for the camera to move in time with the lyrics. 

Editing

Continuity editing is not required in a music video, it is better to include jump cuts, cuts to the beats and various other transitions to make the visuals interesting for the audiences to watch. There are no rule in editing and it is better if a large amount of editing takes place. 

Narrative:

Carol suggested that the video is a visual response to the narrative, the narrative may not always be completed and can be partial with the video appearing disjointed and fragmented. It may be displayed in a montage style, rather than in one clear focus. 

Diegesis 

The diegesis is the setting of the music video, and will be revealed quite slowly. The actions in the video are not always completed and may be disrupted in some way. Repetition is key throughout. For example California girls by Kate Perry and Price tag by Jessie J. 

The music video of 'How deep is your love' by Calvin Harris and Disciples below is highly edited. This music video has over 150 shots to show the vast range of camera work and location. The special effects over the girl are interesting and used frequently in bright colours to make this video unique.

Music timeline

Features of a music video

A music video consists of the following things:

• Scenery
• Costumes
• Dancing/movement and choreography
• Quick cuts/multiple cuts and transitions
• Repeated locations
• Unusual locations
• Lyrics matching the visuals
• Artist or band lip singing
• Mise en scene- styled to a genre

They are either a concept, narrative or performance music video. A concept music video is when the visuals in the video have no relation to the music (lyrics). A narrative music video follows a story line where the lyrics match the visuals. A performance music video involves acting by the artist or band, tends to be a live performance in a studio. 

Analysis of music videos

'Mockingbird' by Eminem is a performance rap music video, involving footage of him and his wife and children. the song addresses Eminem's relationship with his daughter Hailie, his adopted daughter Alaina and his relationship with his wife Kim. The lyrics are a personal and vulnerable account of his relationship with his family. The song is also about his famous life and how it caused problems with his family. The music video involves many images of
of him and his family which he is describing in the lyrics. Rap music videos are commonly performance based because it is all about the composers feelings. They also typically have some reference to drugs and violence. Rap artists tell stories through their lyrics. Therefore the narrative for this video is performance.





'Runnin' by Naughty Boy featuring Beyonce is a concept video. Concept videos are normally more creative and based around an idea rather than the artist, the music video 'Runnin' follows approach to music videos as it is focused on the idea of being underwater which is unusual for a music video. Beyoncé can afford to do concept videos that don't include footage of her as she is famous enough that people recognise her voice. Therefore she doesn't have to feature in the video for the song to be popular and viewers are interested in the song due to her voice and to see what will happen in the video.  The lyrics in the video portray the message that she is running from her problems and is struggling to deal with it all.




'Shake it off' by Taylor Swift is a typical pop song that follows a narrative. Taylor Swift is featured in the video even though she is famous enough for people to recognise her voice. The music video follows a story stating that we can only control our reactions to what people say or how they behave. Taylor Swift wanted her fans to use the lyrics of this video to not feel judged and to not let criticism break you. Narrative videos are about the way the story is told so that the elements are structured and organised in a way that the audience understand. In the music video Shake it off the narrative is clear and easy to follow.

What music means to me

Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Goodwin's theory states that it is common for music videos to ignore common narrative as they are essentially advertisements.

1. Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, which illustrate, amplifies or contradicts the lyrics.
2. Thought beats  (seeing the sounds). Goodwin identified that the visuals within a music video may be edited in time to the lyrics and or change in pace of the song.
3. Genre-related style and iconography present, mise en scene (costumes, backgrounds), repetition of certain actions.
4. Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist; the creation of a star image to promote a recognizable brand image.
5. Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
6. Inter-textual references to other media texts may be present, specially in humorous videos. he recognized that it was not uncommon to recognize either the visuals or lyrics of a song to be a direct reference to another media text. 

• The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals which illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics. Music videos either match the song or contradict it. For example- Close by Nick Jonas illustrates the lyrics and visuals which match each other. In 'Counting stars' by One republic the visuals contradict the lyrics. In the music video 'Rude' by Magic the visuals amplify the lyrics. 

• Goodwin identified that the visuals within a music video may be edited in time to the lyrics/change in pace of the song. For example the song 'Bounce' by Calvin Harris uses visuals to illustrate the lyrics. 

• Genre-related style and iconography present, mise en scene (costumes, backgrounds), repetition of certain actions. For example 'Can't hold us' by Macklemore contradicts the lyrics, because the visuals and backgrounds are irrelevant to the lyrics. 

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• Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist; the creation of a star image to promote a recognizable brand image. 'Dangerous woman' by Ariana Grande illustrates this as the visuals in the video mostly consist of close-ups of her.

• Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females. An example of this is 'Work' by Rihanna as she is presenting herself in a seductive way due to the small amount of clothing that she is wearing. This increases the sales and interests men more. 

• Inter-textual references to other media texts may be present, especially in humorous videos. He recognized that it was not uncommon to recognize either the visuals or lyrics of a song to be a direct reference to another media text. An example of this is the music video for 'Last Friday night' by Katy Perry as it is a humorous video and you can easily visualize the video after hearing the lyrics.