Andrew Goodwin
1. Certain music genres have their own music video style and iconography. For example dance routines for pop artists or bands and stage performances in concerts are common in rock/ metal groups. As we are planning to use a pop song we may incorporate certain dance routines to mimic the appropriate style.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. Where the visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics. We intend to convey a story in our music video and really relate the images to the lyrics.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. Where the visuals either illustrate amplif or contradict the music. We intend the style of the shots anbd mise- en- scene to suit the style of song we choose.
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs or star iconography which recur across their work and over time becomes part of their star image. (We will include close-ups of the artist singing as this is a typical shot of a music video and will create a unique style and image through costumes and the other areas of mise-en-scene)
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. (Although it is tricky we shall try and include some sex appeal within our music video as we are looking to find a track by a female artist in the pop genre)
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc). (We will not be including any particualar intertextuality as all of our ideas will be our own and original however we are taking inspiration from some music videos and there particular styles and conventions).
This theory (although not strictly applied specifically to music videos) suggests that long-term exposure to repeated media messages makes audiences "immune" to them. For example, prolonged exposure to media violence would desensitise the audience so that they would no longer be shocked by it and therefore might be more likely to commit a violent act. (We believe this theory may be true however certain depictions of topical issues such as violence can educate an audience and may fit in with particular lyrics in a song and create a powerful message or morral. In the song we are looking at using certain lyrics or ideas could be interpreted and used in a way that goes against this model however we will keep the idea of unhappiness in a relationship and arguements 'light' and not show any violence)
Making a Music Video
Stars and Stardom
In order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars . The term ‘star’ refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. Some common values of stars in the music industry:
- Youthfulness
- Rebellion
- Sexual Magnetism
- An anti-authoritarian attitude
- Originality
- Creativity/talent
- Aggression/anger
- A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
- Conspicuous consumption, of sex, drugs and material goods
- Success against the odds
Richard Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music. No matter the medium, stars have some key features in common:
- A star is an image and a created persona, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is out of a range of materials (advertising, magazines as well as films and music)
- Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings
- Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media – magazines, TV, radio, the internet – in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences.
- The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences
Relating Visuals to the Song
We can identify three ways in which music videos work to support or promote the song. These are illustration, amplification and disjuncture and I find them extremely useful in attempting to generalise the effects of individual music videos.
• Music videos can illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre, providing a sometimes over literal set of images. Here, then, is the most straightforward technique and the classic example of visualisation, with everything in the music video based on the source of the pop song.
• However, as with all advertising, the most persistent type of video adds to the value of the song. Amplification is seen as the mark of the true music video Auteur, the director as artist, and an increasingly common way to view music video creatives (VH-1’s Best 100 Videos clearly placed Spike Jonze in the Auteur category with his work always amplifying the original song’s meaning and effect, usually through surreal humour). Crucially, though, and what separates it from disjuncture, is the fact that amplification music videos retain a link with the song and work to enhance or develop ideas, rather than fundamentally changing them.
• Disjuncture is a term used to describe those music videos that (normally intentionally) seem to work by ignoring the original song and creating a whole new set of meanings. This is quite a radical technique and used by arty bands in order to assert their difference and originality. Usually, disjuncture videos of this type don’t make a lot of sense and may be based on abstract imagery. For example in Spike Jonze’s video for Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ we see a man with a dog’s head and his arm in a cast walking round New York, ignored by all, with dialogue completely unrelated to the song itself. Sometimes though, disjuncture videos are just bad, ill-conceived and self-indulgent mistakes.
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