–Noun
A commercial videotape featuring a performance of a popular song, often through a stylized dramatization by the performers with lip-syncing and special effects. Also called video, video record.
Source: Dictionary.com Unabridged. Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
The Codes and Conventions of Music Videos
What are codes and conventions?
Codes and Conventions are what makes a media product different to others i.e. Magazines and Newspapers to Film and Television.In Music Videos they can be either Technical or Symbolic.
Technical (How equipment and technology are used to construct meaning) Codes and Conventions can include:
- Camera (angles, composition, movement)
- Editing (pace, style, cuts between)
- Sound (diagetic, non-diagetic, music (obviously))
- Mise-En-Scene
- Possibly positioning of the subject of the music video i.e. the actor or artist.
Music videos can be categorized into different styles. These are:
- Performance (just the artist singing) e.g. Snow Patrol- Chasing Cars
- Narrative (A story run piece) e.g. Ooberman- Shorley Wall
- Mixture (both of performance and narrative) e.g. Justin Timberlake- Cry Me a River
- Cameo (Artist feature in the video but don’t perform) e.g.Nelly Furtardo ft Timberland- Promiscuous (Justin Timberlake is featured in the video)
- Animation (Digitally Made) e.g. Gorillaz- Clint Eastwood
Definitions of the music video conventions.
- Camera:
- Pans are a movement where it goes up, down, left, right (basically around the scene)
- Tracking is also a movement but it is a continuous movment that follows the action. Keane- Is it any Wonder has the camera moving for the whole video on a track.
- With the fact your music is already sorted (the song) you don’t really have much for sound unless you are doing a narrative video to which you can have a variety of Diagetic (natural, organic sounds such as dialogue) or Non- Diagetic (Sounds which has been added in later). Some of these can be added in during the editing process. During editing, you can cut from a song to a scene that has dialogue. You can also increase or decrease the levels of sound in the video. A majority of the cuts between shots is jump cuts. During editing you can put special effects such as CGI and changing the shots effects like reversing or adding colour tints.
- Mise-en-Scene is basically ‘what is in the scene’. They include props, lighting, setting and costume The props are the objects that used that can be just in the background or what may be used that can change the feel of the scene. Performance videos tend to use instruments as props. The lighting can change the mood of a scene just as much as the music. Setting can be either on a stage or anywhere else i.e. a park. Costume can make or break a character in the video if it is narrative as a costume is a fabric of some one's personality. For example, if one character was a supposed to be a plain sort of person, it would be daft letting them wear a leather skirt with stilettos, because it wouldn't make sense and confuse the viewer as to who the character is.
Music Intuitions
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Walt Disney Company focused on pop, rock, and film soundtracks Hollywood Records was created in 1989. In 2003, Hollywood Records had its first major hit with Hilary Duff's debut album Metamorphosis, which was certified triple platinum in just one year. It was the beginning of a series of artists who followed the business model of the Disney Channel, which works with artists such as Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato. Hollywood Records also released many film soundtracks from films made by Disney or Disney-owned film studios. These days, its roster tends to be heavily made up of young stars and performers prominently featured on the Disney Channel. However established artists such as Duran Duran and Queen,also recorded for the label.
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (or Sony Music) is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America. Sony renamed the record company. Sony Music Entertainment is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America. Sony renamed the record company Sony Music Entertainment (SME) in 1991,
Jive Records
Jive Records is a record label based in New York City, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Jive is primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. Recently, they included RnB stars such as Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.
RCA
RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. RCA Records is the pop music, rock music and country music label. RCA Victor is the blues music, world music, jazz, musicals and other musical genres which do not fit the pop music mold label.
Blue Note
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. Blue Note Records is currently owned by the EMI Group. Historically, Blue Note has principally been associated with the "hard bop" style of jazz (mixing bebop with other forms of music including soul, blues, rhythm and blues and gospel).
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations. Universal Music" was once the music company attached to film studio Universal Pictures. Its origins go back to the formation of the American branch of Decca Records in 1934. They have released some of the works of artists like The Cardigans, 50 Cent and Aerosmith.
EMI
The EMI Group is a British music company. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. It was formed in 1931. The groups and solo artists signed to EMI and its subsidiary labels- including Parlophone- made EMI the best-known and most successful recording company in the world at that time, with a roster that included scores of major pop/rock acts of the period including Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Pink Floyd. However it is not just music intuitions that can create videos. People can create videos on there own computer and upload them onto sites such as YouTube.
YouTube
YouTube is a website, which is powered by Google, dedicated to the sharing of video's. This is a type of social networking website. YouTube is in parthership with CBS, Channel 4 and BBC and many other media companies. BBC tends to upload clips from their television programmes before and after it is broadcast whist Channel 4 have a channel on the website called Four On Demand or 4OD which shows entire episodes of previously broadcast shows such as for example in the Drama section they have classic episodes of the soap opera Brookside and teen soap Hollyoaks.
Some users can make their own music videos to a released song however in a differnet format to the origanal An example that I will show you is an animated music video by a YouTube User of the Counting Crows- Accidentally in Love
Other video's include people using a camera and uploading the video of them singing a song. Normally these aren't that good. But they seem to be popular as they tend to get over 2 million views on the site.
Vevo is a part of YouTube that is in parthership with Sony Music, Universal and EMI. Vevo tend to have more official artist's music video and has advertising before each video. Vevo is rather controversial among YouTube members as it is blocking many video's that were created by the members due to copyright issues. Also members are not fans of the advertising before the music video.
Music Tribes
Plastic Pop
What is Plastic Pop?
Plastic pop is where you have an artist who is created or manufactured by a company (i.e. Disney) or a reality or talent show ( i.e. The X Factor). With talent shows such as Britain Got Talent, the audience votes for their favourite act to stay in the contest or in the final, to win. Disney, who have seen a boom of pop artists (such as Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez and the Jonas Brothers) in recent years due to the popularity among tweens and young teenagers because of the DCOMs (Disney Channel Original Movies) or DCOSs (Disney Channel Original Shows) they appear in.
Why is it successful?
There are many beliefs of why Plastic Pop is popular. One maybe that we love to vote on the Talent shows because it is so addictive to watch the rivalries between the contestants. Another one is because of a popular fan base, Disney Channel aims their shows to children between 8 and 14 and mainly girls. Another because of consumerism. If The X Factor, which is broadcast on ITV, has adverts marketing other products then we click into the adverts that are trying to convince us to buy their product and they can market their own products such as there game. They also have a sponsor such as TalkTalk or Nokia. Disney have a whole bunch of merchandise from films to dolls however they can also market through their music. Disney own Hollywood Records and have put a lot of their young stars, such as Demi Lovato, on there label.
X Factor
X factor is a British Reality Talent show. The show looks for singers from across the UK. The Judges current line-up is Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole. Former Judges include Sharon Osborne and Brian Freedman - he later became the creative director and choreographer. Paula Abdul (who is also a judge on American Idol) made a guest judge in 2006 for the London Auditions. The Categories that the contestants are in are:
- Boys 16-24
- Girls 16-24
- Over 25
- Groups
Disney is a excellent example of over commercialising their artists. With work such as High School Musical they can educe money from the merchandise like bags, jumpers and dolls. Whilst 3 of the main cast (Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and Corbin Bleu) got record deals the other 3 (Zac Efron, Lucas Gabreel and Monique Coleman) kept to acting. They also tend to over advertise their new films especially when it is near premier date. Another example is The Cheetah Girls. Whilst the first 2 movies contained four girls, the third and actual band only contains 3 members as Raven-Symoné was working on her own series for Disney. Some actors who are in a DCOM such as Demi Lovato with Camp Rock got their own show on Disney such as in this case Sonny with a Chance.
Lady Gaga- Bad Romance Video Analysis
The Ladies and The Guyguys quiz. Answers to Questions
1. Finish the lyric: “I want your ugly, I want your...."
Disease
2. How many costumes does Gaga wear throughout this video?
12
3. What is the basic concept of the video?
The main idea behind the video is that of Gaga being kidnapped by a group of supermodels who drug her,and sell her off to the Russian Mafia as a sex slave. It takes place in a fluorescent white bathhouse.
4. What other language does she speak during the song?
French
5. What are her glasses made of in the first shot?
Razor blades
6. Who composed the classical music played at the beginning?
Johann Sebastian Bach
7. What does the big red writing say at the beginning?
Bath Haus of Gaga
8. How much do the laptops say she is worth in dollars?
$1,000,000(This was a mistake)
9. What creature is at the end of her coat?
Polar Bear
10. What is written on of the pods at the beginning?
Monster
11. (Tie Break/Additional) How many sunglasses does she wear throughout the video?
5
