Music Video Factsheet Notes

The Purpose of Music Videos

The main purpose of music videos in the digital age is to sell products, the most obvious product being the song features in the video itself. In a music video, other products are marketed too. An example would be the album the song is featured on. This being said, by people hearing one song from an album, it may influence them and make them want to hear more from the artist and in turn buy the artists album. Another example of a product that the music video can sell is a film that the song may feature in. This is also a type of cross media convergence. This is effective as it enhances sales for both the film and the song. Am example of this would be the song 'Let it go' which featured in the film frozen. This song also went on to become number 1 in the UK top 40. This shows hiw cross media convergence can help enhance sales for different media products.

Music videos have a very unique type of marketing, this is because when the music video is played, the audience can hear the song that the video is for and therefore can consume the product. This is very unique as if we consider other types of marketing such as an advert for Costa Coffee, they may suggest that there product is desirable, but the audience doesn't actually get to taste the coffee and make that decision for themselves. Therefore, music videos are very important and must be top quality in order for a song to be successful. 

Prior to the digital age, allowing audiences full access to the product was much harder than it is currently. In order to do so, record companies would have to approve media platforms where it could be shown such as shows like 'Top of the Pops'. However now, since e development of technology, it is easier for audiences to access music as they can stream it online on sites like Youtube and Spotify. 

The problem for record labels now is that there artists music came streamed very easily online for free. As a result meaning they don't benefit. To begin with record labels tried to stop there artists music from being put onto these sites, and would try to prosecute those who uploaded videos to Youtube etc. However, this was deemed to expensive and time consuming and meant that record labels have stopped this. To try and counteract this, record labels now allow music videos to be put onto these sites but under stricter conditions. An example of this is Sony BMG who have a Youtube channel which hosts there artists videos and they offer links to sites like iTunes where songs canbe downloaded legally and is beneficial to both the artists and record label. 

Due to the issue of uploading music videos to Youtube, before I chose a song that I wish to use for my music video, it is vital I ask for permission from the record label. This is so that they know what I plan on doing, and to ensure that they don't try and claim copyright against the piece.

Conventions of Music Videos

The aim of music videos is to encourage viewers to purchase a copy of the song features and other products associated with the artist. In order to do this most videos follow similar conventions that work effectively to attract audiences. Although music videos are all very unique and different to one another, they will all follow similar generic conventions (based on genre). 

Movement is essential to music videos and usually complements the rhythm of the song (the movement is often in time to the beat of the song). There are 3 main types of movement:

- The physical movement of the camera

- The movement of people or items within the video 

- Through the speed of editing 

An example of a good music video that relies heavily on the movement to create a sense of excitement to the audience is Justin Timberlake's 'Rock Your Body'. The rapid editing complements the variety of shots that the audience can see, many being less than one second long. 

Another example is Rihanna's 'Rude Boy' music video that uses special effects behind Rihanna when dancing and playing the drums which creates movement that matches the beat of the song. 

Many music videos will have narratives to them. The storyline may relate to the songs lyrics and illustrate what is being said or be independent from the song and tell a different story. Both can help engage the audience with the music video and help keep the audiences interest. 

Most music videos will feature the band or artist in it as they are also a product to be sold. The artist may feature performing their music, either lip syncing or playing instruments in the case of a band. Sometimes the artist may act rather than perform, or the video may feature both. An example would be Plan B's 'She Said' music video. It features a narrative linked to the songs lyrics that the artist acting out as well as performing the song.

Initial Ideas on My Music Video

Before getting our final idea for our music video I had some initial ideas, they are listed below:

1) An idea I had was to film the entire music video in a recording studio. By doing this it would allow us to use the lighting equipment that the studio has, this would then mean that the music video would look professional and bring a sense of realism to it. The main shots would all be quite dark, as this reflects the lyrics and helps match the moving images that the audience will be able to see with the lyrics, relating to Goodwin's theory. Once we had recorded it in the studio, that would be the basis of our music video, but then we would go and film in various other locations, all of which would have connotations of being dark and scary (for example in woods, fields, quiet roadsides). Once we have footage from these locations, I was then thinking we could have cuts from the main shots in the studio to these other locations, showing an array of locations, while also having a narrative, of the man thinking about past experiences, again linking to the lyrics and title of the song 'trials of the past'. By doing this it would make the music video seem spooky and strange, while having a strong narrative to it of which the audience can follow and understand.

The ideal field location, closely situated near is the dark woods, which means we could easily move from one location to another during filming.

The dark wood location would look similar to this.

 

2) Another idea I had was to have the music video very surreal and unusual. By doing this it would make the audience interested and intrigued by the music video as it is unique and therefore would get there attention. In order to achieve this, my idea was that we could film in a field, with a large tree in the background. The tree would need to be an old looking tree (such as an old willow). The character would be sitting on the floor, looking messy, with a camp fire and broken, old looking sleeping bag next to him. My idea would be filming it at dusk, then some shots during the night followed by shots at early morning when the sun rises, with the man asleep in his sleeping bag. The background would consist of mist rising off the filed with the sunrise in the background. The narrative would be that the man is homeless and thinking about past memories regarding how he got homeless, and in contrast we could now see the sad life he lives out in the cold everyday.

Overall, the majority of my initial ideas are all very reflective of the song. This is because I feel it is the only way to portray the lyrics and emotion of these to the audience. To make this evident, I think all the locations would have to be dark and mysterious. This will help connote the idea to the audience. This is why the ideas above are all set in dark locations, as I personally think this will set the scene and make the music video very obvious to the audience in regards to what we are trying to portray and connote to the audience.

As the music video is a group task, it is important that everyone has an equal say in the sort of thing they want to include. This means that I can put forward my ideas and hopefully incorporate them, along with the other group members ideas which should allow us to have plenty of ideas and produce a good quality music video.

By thinking about my initial ideas, it means that I can think creatively and consider a various range of ideas, all of which could be used at a later date in the music video. Short term this task is good because it will mean that it will get me considering different ideas and ways of portraying ideas to the audience, however long term will be beneficial as I can use some of these initial ideas in the actual music video we create. Therefore, overall this task is beneficial in many different ways and will be of good use and a good post to look at when planning and storyboarding our actual music video.

Audience

When an audience watches a music video, they want certain things from it. Usually this is what would attracts an audience to watch a music video.

Entertainment is usually a key reason that people watch a music video. Also it may interest them. Every music video will usually attract different audiences however based on what is in the music video.

Therefore when creating a music video it is important that you understand what target audience you are aiming your music video at, so that you can include key things that will attract this particular audience.

When we produce our music video we have to consider our demographic as well, by doing this it will ensure that we know what target audience we are aiming our music video at. This is very important as without doing this, we won't know our exact specific audience, resulting in a music video that isn't well targeted. This could mean a poorer uptake of our music video.

Music videos will often include things in them too that will entice an audience to watch the music video. This may be by including key features that entice an audience due to it being fresh in the media or because it was once in the media and caused a lot of attention. Other things that may entice an audience could be the use of cross media convergence, using things from other films or media texts that will all help to attract audiences and engage them. Another popular way is to include celebrities in a music video (celebrity endorsement) as this will be a big pulling factor in getting mass audiences to watch a music video.

Analysis of Digipack by Artist in my Genre- Bon Iver (Indie Pop Genre)

The digipack that I am analysing is the digipack from a Bon Iver CD called 'Blood Bank' which was released in 2009.  The images below are the actual digipack that came with the CD.



This shows the front cover of the digipack.

As you can see from the first image, there is an image on the front cover. The image is a very simple shot of a car with snow on it. We can't make out the whole car, only a section showing the car door open, as well as the window. We can make out the back seats and that's about it. It doesn't tell the audience much and leaves it open to imagination of what you think it is supposed to be implying. The framing of the shot is quite specific, it is aimed towards the seats. By having the window open it means the audiences eyes are attracted to the open window, and we feel as though we are looking through the window and then as previously stated, leaves it open to the imagination what the rest of the photo is about.
There is lots of the colour white on the front cover. This stereotypically connotes purity and 'angel-like'. This could maybe be a hint and be suggestive of something later on when we hear the music from the CD.




This is the inside of the digipack.

The inside of the digipack consists of gold and white colour scheme. The white writing stands out against the gold background, making it very eye catching to the audience. Also on the furthest left image, we can see another image. This image is showing footprints in the snow. This is very clever as the footprints are the same colour as the background. When first looking at the image, it took me a while to work out and understand what it was showing, however that helps engage the audience and make them concentrate on the digipack. The writing is in very small text and is hard to read. However, when studied, the writing is from the artist and is him thanking many people who helped him produce the CD. Other than the points I've made above, there isn't much else to look at, as it is on the whole very simple. Therefore the simplicity of the album is what makes it effective and is what engages the audience in the digipack.


This is the back of the digipack.

The back of the digipack in the majority is white. This is opposite to the inside of the digipack as we can see from the previous image. In the previous image the main colour was gold, now it is white with the text being gold. This is a complete reverse of previously and shows there is no consistent house style throughout. The back of the digipack has 6 words in gold. This could connote they are the important ones and the ones that the artist wants people to see most. This could be the names of the songs or just important words. Also found on the back is a bar code. This is important as allows it to be scanned in shops and therefore sold to the consumer, helping the audience make money. On the spine of the digipack we can also see the words 'Bon Iver Blood Bath'. The words 'Bon Iver' is in all capitals and gold, whereas the words 'Blood Bank' is in capitals but is in black writing, meaning it doesn't stand out quite as much. This could mean they are more interested in people knowing the name of there band rather than the album name.


This is the CD itself.

The font used is very simple and easy to read. This is important as the audience won't expect to have to strain to read the text, else they won't read it, meaning the digipack wasn't worth producing. The font is the same throughout and doesn't change, although the size of the text does change. On the exterior of the digipack the text is a lot larger, however as we can see from images above, the interior text is a lot smaller font, this is because of two main reasons, the first is that it has to be smaller in order to fit all the writing in that they wanted without making the digipack any bigger. The second reason is because it isn't as important as the exterior text as by the time the user is reading the inside they have already bought the CD meaning the exterior writing and overall front and back cover did its job.

The visual imagery on this digipack and CD itself could help to attract an audience as both imaged are quite intriguing and can take a moment to look at in order to work out what they are. Therefore it attracts the audiences eye, meaning they will take interest in the CD and digipack, therefore this could be a good idea to take from this digipack, that adding an interesting and slightly ironic image can help attract people to look at the CD and potentially influence them to then buy the CD.

Overall from looking at this digipack I feel that there are many positives of it, and also many things that could be improved. However the main benefits that I am going to take from the product is:

- The use of visual imagery to attract audience to purchase the CD can be used to our advantage.
- The size of the text is important, it must be easy to read without being ridiculously large.
- Consider colour schemes, a common house style throughout can be good. Even extending out to other media products that are helping to sell the CD could be colour themed.

By analysing the positives and negatives of the digipack, it will allow me to take the good things and include them in my own digipack, whilst ensuring that the lesser ideas I don't include, meaning I shouldn't have to many problems or issues when creating my digipack. Also by looking at this digipack (and multiple other digipack's) I can start to see trends in the way digipack's include certain things and do certain things in order to catch the attention of the audience, which again is beneficial as I can include these trends and generic conventions in my own digipack.

Analysis of Digipack from a Different Genre: Ed Sheeran '+' Album

This is the front cover for Ed Sheeran's album +. Also there is an image of the CD as well. The first thing that I notice when about the digipack is its brightly coloured. This means it catches peoples eyes and helps grab there attention, in the hope that they will then buy it. It could also be a way of including light comedy; maybe referring to Sheeran's hair colour.

On the left hand side we can see that he has his name on the spine. This is clearly visible and means that people are instantly aware who's CD it is. Also the use of the image of himself on the front of the CD case means that it is another way of making the audience aware of who's CD it is. Also this is a USP of the album cover that could make people want to buy it. This image was actually a drawing by a person called 'Phillip Butah'. By having the image, it uses artist endorsement to help support the sales of his CD and also can be a marketing technique by attracting female audiences. Also the image is drawn to make it look like Ed is looking at the audience, or giving direct eye contact, making it seem like he is looking at you, which can help to grab the audiences attention.

The album name is in the bottom right hand corner. This is actually quite small and in an unusual place. Usually the album name is clearly visible and the main things on the cover, however in this instance it isn't. The simplicity of this album name reflect the type of music Sheeran produces and gives an expectation to what the audience can expect. Ed Sheeran has released his newest album which is called 'X' meaning maybe there is a link between the previous album and this one, meaning could  expect a very simple album name for his next album.

In the bottom left we can see some well known single names that are on the album, this gives the audience an example of some of the songs included on the album and can make them want to buy the CD in anticipation of more good music like these songs. Also it informs the audience of bonus materials that they can look forward to by putting the CD into the computer, making them want to buy the album rather than using other sources to listen to the music, for example spotify, sound cloud or YouTube. The reason for this is that the artist makes more money from people buying the album than they would from people streaming there music on other platforms.

The CD itself is black. This is a contrast to the bright orange. Also it means that the album name that is in orange on the top of the CD stands out. This informs the user the album title instantly.

It also has writing on the edge of it, this tells the audience about the record label, publishers and warns the user that the CD is copyrighted and is not allowed to be illegally copied or broadcasted.

The back of the album cover has the track list on it, giving the audience information of all songs on the CD. It also includes record dealer information along with website. The back cover follows stereotypical conventions and is as we would expect it to be with numbers and track lists next to each other. It is very basic which makes it very easy to read and understand, therefore making it effective and ensures it does the job its supposed to do which is helping the audience know which song is where on the CD.

 

I will use this research along with the other digipack's that I have analysed to help me design my own digipack. This is ideal as it will allow me to ensure I use similar conventions on my digipack that will allow me to produce the best possible digipack. Also by looking at previous digipack's, I can use some of the other artists ideas and incorporate these, along with my own ideas into my digipack that I will produce.

Analysis of Past Student Music Video- Mac Miller: Frick Place Market

Positives:

This particular video is very good. Throughout there are a range of shots and shot types, helping to engage the audience as it keeps it different and interesting to watch. Also this helps show that it is well planned and very well thought out. This will also show off skills and talents to the examiner which will help to gain marks. Also from a professional aspect of things, it helps make it look realistic and like a proper music video. Some examples of the various shot angles are high angle shots, low angle shots, mid shots and fish eye shots. Also we have a range of shot types such as long shots and establishing shots.

There is a good use of lip sync throughout. This helps make it look good, and adds to the professionalism of the piece. This is because it is hard to edit in time to the music in order to make the lip synch look realistic therefore, this is a good thing about this music video.

Also there are lots of costume changes. This is a key convention of most music videos. Nowadays artists have a tendency to wear lots of different outfits in there music videos. By the students using lots of different costumes, it again helps the realism of the student music video and adds to the verisimilitude of the piece.

As well as lots of costume changes, there are also lots of different locations. This is a good thing because it means they have went out and planned different locations, helping it to be unique and interesting to watch. Also it shows they have considered location and the effects this would have on the audience. It also helps portray different lyrics as the scene sometimes matched the lyrics, helping the realism. It also shows the examiner that they have went out and filmed in lots of different places, which will help them get marks.

This location is on the streets somewhere, and the background shows some graffiti.

This location is against a green screen.

 

Another  different location, in the car.

Another location on a train track. In these 4 screenshots, the audience can see 4 different locations which makes it interesting to watch for the audience.

Negatives:

To improve on the music video it needs more narrative to it. This is because although there are lots of different scenes and lots of different locations, it is hard to pick out a common narrative or to understand what the actual story is. Therefore, to improve it, they need to make it more obvious to the audience what the actual narrative is. This will help to engage the audience and keep them engaged throughout.

Also, although very minor, at times there were some framing problems.

The music video that I am analysing is below.

The Purpose of a Music Video

The main purpose of a music video is too

• To help the artist’s and band’s tracks be heard globally, on a mass scale.
•  To help promote the band, providing a visual representation of the band.
• To ensure people remember the song and video ( A very good example of this would be the song 'Thriller ' by Michael Jackson. This is because everyone remembers the song and the dance.

• Music Videos are a platform for film makers – film makers associated with artist
• To invoke a reaction ( A prime example would be Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking Ball'. The video to this song has been in the media and lead to controversy regarding the singer.

• To provide the audience with an incentive to see the band live
• To lead to more sales
• They’re used for an extension of income, keeping the artist or band in the public eye, after the album release. Ideally increasing sales of their album.
• To link a song to a Film/TV series (An example of this would be the Friends theme tune, 'I'll Be There For You' which everyone now tends to put with the TV series 'Friends'.

• Entertainment purposes

By carrying out this research it will help me to understand why I am making a music video, which in turn will help me to ensure that I can progress and make a music video that is doing what it should be and meeting all the aims of which I should aim to hit based on what a music video is expected to do.