performance music videos
Kiesza - Hideaway
The most effective thing about this music video is that it was all shot in one take and in one location. It is lead by Kiesza dancing in the street to the song with other dancers in the background.
With regards to the typical pop music video conventions, there is evident use of bright lighting and colours which are used to draw the audience in and to highlight the vibrancy that the artist wishes to portray.
The whole of the video is of the artist lip-syncing to the music and the artist is the lead character of the video. This is very stereotypical of what you would expect to see in a performance style music video. The hair and clothing that Kiesza wears are unique to her style and individuality that she successfully brings across throughout the video. Also, the whole of the video is a choreographed dance routine with mainly long shots to show the full character of the performer.
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All of these techniques added together shows that the music video very effectively engages the audience because they all conform to the pop genre and most audience members would enjoy this type of music video.
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With regards to the editing techniques used in the video, the video is shot in what looks like one shot with a gimble to stabilise the shot and scene. This is quite unusual because many music videos are shot in at least two or three different locations with multiple camera angles, however for this music video I think it is a great way of showcasing the performance of the song by Kiesza.
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In terms of cinematography, the video is shot in one take and therefore there is only one shot which is a long shot of Kiesza performing choreography to the song with the aid of other dancers in the background. At the beginning with the opening shot, where we see a Yellow NYC style taxi pull over to the side of the road to drop Kiesza off, this is an example of a medium shot which is framed well to be centre frame.
Calvin Harris, Sam Smith - Promises
Firstly, the video starts off with showing multiple members of the LGBTQIA+ community and showing how they are able to express themselves however they like in a free society. This immediately captures the attention of the audience as they are instantly drawn into the video and would want to watch more to find out what goes on in the video.
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The whole video is interspersed with both filmed footage with a camera and found footage (the type of footage you would film with a smartphone). This is a great way of keeping the audience's attention and a great use of cinematography because its use by the director is very creative.
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There are multiple close up shots of Sam Smith when he is lip syncing to the song and performing to the song. This is to make the audience feel more involved and more immersed in the flow of the video. There is also an extreme close up shot that really puts emphasis on the lip syncing by Sam Smith.
abstract music videos
Tame Impala - Feels Like We Only Go Backwards
Firstly, the whole video is an abstract piece of art that is constantly moving throughout the video and this is to express the creativity of the director and the actual artist of the song as well. This concept of having no performance or general story line helps to make the video seem more abstract and creative.
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The constantly moving image throughout the video is going backwards all the time and this links very well with the title of the song.
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With regards to the editing of the video, it is very cinematic and the image continually moves to the beat of the music. Every shape is different and this overall helps to capture the audience's attention because they would be intrigued to find out the outcome of the video due to the video being abstract.
OK Go - The Writing's On The Wall
This music video is an abstract video and was directed by Aaron Duffy, Damian Kulash Jr. and Bob Partington released in 2014.
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The whole video was shot in one take using a hand-held Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera which was mounted in a stabilising Fig Rig frame. The video is also full of optical illusions and mind trickery.
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The decision to include optical illusions in the video attracts the audience's attention because it is aesthetically pleasing due to the fact that it tricks our minds into thinking something is there when, in reality, it isn't.
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With regards to cinematography, the combination of medium shots and tracking shots between each different optical illusion was really effective because it eases continuity and also from a creative point of view, it is a great use of a director's creativity. This type of visuals are not typical of what you would normally expect to see in a traditional music video which is why it makes this music video great and very compelling to watch and listen to.
narrative music videos
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Firstly, at the beginning of the music video, there are opening titles as if it were an opening to a film. This suggests the director/editor intentionally wanted to create the video in the style of a film, hence the narrative style of the video.
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There is a tracking, establishing shot of the local neighbourhood which shows a young boy riding a bicycle delivering newspapers early in the morning. The purpose of the establishing shot is to set the scene of where the film/music video will take place, in this case, it is set on a suburban street in the USA.
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With regards to the conventions of a pop music video, this music video conforms to most of them. For example, Katy Perry who is the artist and songwriter of Last Friday Night is the lead character in the video which is a classic trope used in pop music videos.
The whole idea of the video revolves around a house party set in a large house in a suburban area of the United States and a typical convention that is highlighted here is that the narrative will typically revolve around relationships or friends which is the exact sentiment portrayed in this music video.
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With regards to the editing techniques used, the pace of the music video is quite slow and tends to be portrayed more like a opening scene from a film rather than what you would usually expect in a music video, being fast cuts and multiple locations. Although a slow paced edit is not what you would usually expect to see in a music video, for this particular example of Last Friday Night, I think it is quite effective because the video has more characteristics that tend to be in a short film than in a usual music video. Furthermore, the music is interspersed with performance parts where Katy Perry lip syncs to the lyrics and the story narrative sections which resemble an opening scene from a film.
Coldplay - Paradise
Firstly, by looking at the amount of views that this music video has had on YouTube, being just over 1.2 billion as of 10th January 2020, it is clearly evident that Coldplay have managed to engage their audience effectively and successfully too. The video appeals to anybody of all ages because there is no explicit content so this would further enhance their reach to their audience and improve their overall audience satisfaction levels.
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The whole narrative is based upon an elephant wanting to escape his captivity enclosure, which is detailed with a medium shot of the elephant in front of a cage holding the bars as if he is unable to abscond from "prison", and his desire is to travel to "Paradise" which is apparent when we see in the final few minutes, the band of Coldplay performing the song on stage in front of a live crowd.
other relevant narrative music videos
Childish Gambino - This is America - It's a very powerful political statement about the current state of America with references to populist culture, fatal mass shootings and the Book of Revelations from the Bible.
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Avicii - Addicted to You - The video clearly references the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. The main female lead is dressed exactly like Faye Dunaway in the film and looks exactly like her. Part of the video re-enacts a scene from the film.
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a-ha - Take on Me - Draws on 80's populist references from filmmakers such as John Hughes. The main female character is a ringer for Molly Ringwald from The Breakfast Club.
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Beastie Boys - Sabotage - Draws on references from 70's cop shows and films such as Chips, Starsky and Hutch, Freebie and the Bean, The Dukes of Hazzard etc.
research review
As part of my research review, I was tasked with creating a mind map of all the information I have learnt about one of three music video styles depending on which style I wish to choose for my music video. For my music video, I have chosen the "Abstract" style. Above, you will see the scanned version of my mindmap on paper.
I have learnt a lot about all the different styles of music video production (abstract, performance and narrative) over the course of the last week whilst researching about the different music video styles.
With regards to performance, I have learnt that the song artist is the main prevalent character in the video which includes them lip syncing their song, featuring a variety of locations and a lot of dancers/extras to populate the background of the video. I also learnt that a performance based music video is one of the cheapest videos to make financially which is why a lot of artists nowadays prefer this style as they can then use any leftover funds to put towards marketing and distribution of their music video and music track.
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Narrative music videos typically depict a story which is made quite clear to the audience in the first few seconds of the music video, for example in Katy Perry's music video for "Last Friday Night", there are opening credits which makes it seem more like a short film than a stereotypical music video. Also, narrative music videos, as they tell a story throughout, tend to have a classic story srtucture of a beginning, middle and end.
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Overall, I have decided to create a music video in the "Abstract" style because I feel that I can much more creative with this style and I am not as limited to how I can shoot or edit the video. With an abstract music video, I am able to include lots of different locations and be creative with my shots.
professional practise
Role chosen: Cinematographer
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Roles and responsibilities of a cinematographer:
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Works alongside the director to give films, TV shows, music videos and TV adverts their own unique aesthetic style
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In charge of framing shots and making sure the camera operator knows what they're filming and where
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Manages camera crews and lighting crews
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Oversees the selection and manipulation of technical equipment to create striking images on screen
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Directs the technical production crew whilst on set filming
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Whilst in post production, they would work alongside directors and editors to ensure the colour grading of the film or TV show is spot on
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Music video cinematographer chosen: Chris Cunningham
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Chris Cunningham Wikipedia page
An article describing Chris Cunningham's style
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Chris Cunningham's style is very abstract and his dark portrayal of everything in nature or supernatural is usually carried out with perfect precision and cybernetic imagery.
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Example of Chris Cunningham's cinematography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ827lkktYs
I have experimented with filming the opening shot in the style of Chris Cunningham from a music video he directed called "Come to Daddy". I tried to replicate the shot with the tall buildings which I managed to do with the side of a building on the College.
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In comparison to the original video, the tall buildings are similar but obviously not exactly the same as the building in the video is shot on a housing estate in London whereas what I filmed was on campus at Colchester Institute.
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If I was to improve it next time, I would probably adjust the speed of the footage, that's to say I could add an effect that slows down the visuals meaning that it would feel more cinematic and dramatic as well.