Introduction: Looking At Music Videos

As a class, we chose a variety of music videos to look at in order to attain an idea of the differences in music videos out there and also to see what kind of videos are produced for difference genres. When viewing these videos, we tried to look for the use of camera, pace and rhythm of editing, genre ingredients, what kind of relationship the video has to its audience, the type of videos they were and how the videos worked with the lyrics and tone of the song.

McFly - Love Is On The Radio

Use of camera: lots of focus on the band members, stationary camera, characters move around and closer to camera but the camera stays in the same place throughout the video, does not distract from all the things happening in the frame

Pace and rhythm of editing: pace of editing paralleled the pace of the song, started steady, sped up during climax of song, slowed down in slower parts, cuts on the beat of the song

Genre ingredients: pop-rock, showed band members playing instruments, equal camera time on each member of the band (reflects the band's following), lots of happy imagery and bright colours

Relationship to audience: happy, bright, gives the impression that the band are nice guys, friendly, equal camera time on each member reflects the band's following as it allows fans to see their 'favourite.'

Type of video: performance video, with clips of lots of different people doing different things, montage, no story accompanying the song, amplifying (Goodwin)

How the video and lyrics work together: video reflects the happy, upbeat tone of the song and shows images of love between friends and other characters instead of a typical 'couple'

Biffy Clyro - Mountains

Use of camera: variety of shots including two shots, long shots, close ups, also a variety of movement - at one point appearing to sway like the sea

Pace and rhythm of editing: pace speeds up throughout the video, much like the song itself, edits also get faster as the song does, often cuts on the beat of the song

Genre ingredients: alternative, rock, instruments clearly shown, plain clothing, tattoos, black vs white, edge, video is quite strange visually

Relationship to audience: clear to see that the band have alternative views and are a little edgy, band plays energetically, common with rock bands, appeals to fans as they enjoy the music and appreciate the high energy

Type of video: performance and conceptual

How the video and lyrics work together: "mountain" and "sea" link to the idea of opposites through the chess theme of the video and the black and white

John Legend - All Of Me

Use of camera: lots of slow camera movements (e.g. pans and zooms), variety of shots, many shots of the couple in the frame together - establishes relationship, black and white

Pace and rhythm of editing: many straight cuts, connotes realism, simple, steady pace, relates well to mood and pace of the song, slow and piano, soulful

Genre ingredients: black and white, appears more romantic, see the singer playing piano and singing to his wife (establishes relationship, tells audience that the song is for her)

Relationship to audience: not direct (like the One Direction one) as he is shown singing directly to the female in the video, suggesting that the song is about her and that the story in the video is about their relationship

Type of video: black and white, performance, narrative, love story, amplifying (Goodwin)

How the video and lyrics work together: includes a couple, relates to the romantic and love theme to the song, follows a love story, fits with mood of the song as well

Chris Brown - Loyal (ft. Lil Wayne)

Use of camera: a lot of focus on the artist,  pans, close ups, long shots, variety of movement and shot, focus on artist establishes connection between artist and audience

Pace and rhythm of editing: there were frequent edits parallel to the pace of the song to show all of the many things that were going on

Genre ingredients: lots of women dancing around the men, synchronised dancing, clothing reflects the rap genre with caps and baggy jeans etc.

Relationship to audience: artists mimes to the lyrics, looks at the camera, connects with audience, lots of groups in the frame whether it is men or women, rarely show a character on their own unless it is the main artist, shows a community-type relationship that links to partying and 'hanging out,' relating to the typical audience of the rap genre

Type of video: performance, amplifying? (Goodwin)

How the video and lyrics work together: lyrics refer to women as "hoes" and the women are presented wearing little clothing and dancing provocatively, reflecting the artist's view of them, the dancing works with the beat and sound of the song

One Direction - Little Things

Use of camera: a lot of focus on the artists - reflecting their popularity and allowing equal screen time on each member to appease the fans as they are a popular group, variety of shots to reveal their surroundings (long shots) as well as all of the artists individually (close ups), also lots of slow camera movement that revolves around the group members

Pace and rhythm of editing:  simple, straight cuts connoting realism, with a steady pace that parallels the pace of the song and works with the black and white visual well

Genre ingredients:  Even though One Direction are a pop group, the song is quite acoustic, so one of the members is shown playing the guitar and the video is set in a studio, amplifying the musical aspect of the song, as well as just the popularity of the artists.

Relationship to audience:  the artists look directly at the camera a lot as they sing to establish a connection with their audience, gives the impression that they are singing to their fans, makes fans feel included

Type of video: performance, a little bit of story (in a studio, may tell the story of them recording the song?) could be classed as a disjuncture as it does not include a love story/ love interest- which is a main theme in the song

How the video and lyrics work together: the black and white visual works well with the mood of the song and is quite romantic, a lot like the song itself

Beyonce - Countdown

Use of camera:  a large variety of shots, always showed several different things going on at the same time in several frames on the screen at once, also lots of fast movement, focus on the artist throughout the entire video in many different ways

Pace and rhythm of editing: pace was very speedy, much like the beat of the song, edits were mostly on the beat of the song

Genre ingredients: vibrant colours, lots of dancing, especially from the artist, synchronised dancing, fast pace, a lot going on in the video at once, lots of costume changes (common in female pop artists as it allows them to use their roles as fashion icons and also used to flaunt their bodies) and lots of make up

Relationship to audience: artist sings to the camera, acts as an interaction with the audience, makes audience feel included

Type of video: performance, disjuncture (Goodwin) - does not relate to the meaning of the song, no story either

How the video and lyrics work together: as the video is a disjuncture video, the visual does not relate to the song directly but it reflects the genre and mood of the song well through the use of colour and dancing etc.

Disclosure - Latch (ft. Sam Smith)

Use of camera: variety of basic shots, follows several separate characters with various camera movements (e.g. pans) and shots (e.g. close ups, long shots)

Pace and rhythm of editing: very slow and steady, even though the music is close to dance music, reflects the romantic nature of the video, follows separate couples, gives the impression of slow dancing

Genre ingredients: romance, couples, dancing, common setting of a club or hangout, use of young characters (teenagers, young adults)

Relationship to audience: artist is not shown in the video so there is not really a connection established between the artist and the audience, and their is no performance, so i think this video connects with the audience through the romantic theme and allows entertainment and identification for the audience

Type of video: narrative, illustrative (Goodwin)

How the video and lyrics work together: emphasises themes of love, romance and lust, lots of focus on relationships, couples are always central and the main focus in the frame.