You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX music videos that will inform your production work. The music videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below).
Music videos
Music Video 1: Narrative
How is narrative used in the music video and what impact does this have on the audience? Can you apply any narrative theories to the story in the music video?
Michael Jackson - Thriller
The music video for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is based around its narrative that heavily borrows from conventions of the horror movie genre. Initially, it begins with a young couple seeming to be on a date, when suddenly the man turns into a werewolf and attacks his girlfriend. Soon after, it is revealed that it was merely a film playing in the cinema where Jackson and his girlfriend are for Halloween. Todorov's theory of equilibrium can be applied to this, as there is an initial equilibrium of the date at the start, disequilibrium caused by the man's transformation into a werewolf, and a new equilibrium established when it zooms out to reveal it was a movie. As the music video progresses, Michael Jackson and his girlfriend walk home, where he starts to sing while zombies are shown to be rising out of their graves. These are both action codes as they signify to the audience that something important is about to happen and take place before the climax of the music video. They could also be seen as enigma codes, as the audience does not know what will happen next, until the titular moment where Michael Jackson turns into a zombie.
Music Video 2: Camerawork (shots, angles, movement)
Look for particular camera shots and movement - remember that movement is a critical convention of most music videos and camerawork can contribute to this.
Fiona Apple - Fast As You Can
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the music video for "Fast As You Can" has eye-catching cinematography, with the first black-and-white 30 seconds filmed with a vintage hand-cranked camera, causing Fiona Apple's mouth to not match the lyrics she sings. Close-ups and extreme close-ups, especially of her face and eye, are prominent in the video, yet most of these shots are not centred in the frame apart from the last one, providing an uneasy atmosphere to the video that ties in with the panicked tempo of the music. Handheld movement is key to this video, with the authentic jitters of the camera getting closer to Apple during the chorus emphasising the agitated tone of the song. While Apple herself does not move frequently during the video, there is an illusion of fast movement created both through the changes of full screen aspect ratio to wide-screen and the visual of the camera switching between lenses, with each shot it switches to - a medium long shot, medium shot, to a medium close-up - until it finally ends on a close-up of Apple's face, mimicking the way Apple describes her relationships through the lyrics to end as her partner learns of her tumultuous nature.
Music Video 3: Mise-en-scene
What do you notice about the use of mise-en-scene to create meanings for the audience? Use CLAMPS to help you here and think in particular about how mise-en-scene is used to communicate the genre of music and the personality or brand identity of the band/artist.
Beyoncé & Jay Z - APESH*T
The mise-en-scene for Beyoncé and Jay Z's "APESH*T" is fundamental to creating meanings within the music video. Filmed in the Louvre, the video features multiple Renaissance-era artworks with various paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Coronation of Napoleon. Having these paintings displayed as background dancers perform in front of them in nude-toned costumes seeks to emphasise the racial disparity between the Black performers and the Western works of art that are considered symbolic of opulence and class. By having Beyoncé, Jay Z and their dancers in the midst of the work at display at the Louvre, the video depicts them as having reached the heights of high-end luxury and success that were historically denied to Black people. This is further emphasised through the designer clothing that both Beyoncé and Jay Z wear which connote their wealth and power. High-key lighting and top lighting are used to make their faces appear more glamourous, with some shots using red and blue lighting which is symbolic of the flags of many Western nations, notably the American flag. Both Beyoncé and Jay Z lip sync to the lyrics while sitting or standing between the displays as if they are works of art as well, with Beyoncé dancing with the Venus de Milo statue behind her.
Music Video 4: Editing
For editing, analyse pace, transitions, the number of shots and juxtaposition. How does the music video create pace and excitement - or does it create a different effect for the audience?
Radiohead - Man Of War
Radiohead's "Man Of War" is a shot-for-shot remake of itself, using multiple match cuts throughout the music video to achieve a seamless narrative of juxtaposition, switching between a man walking through the city by day and running from a crowd of stalkers chasing him by night. There are a large amount of shots, filmed identical to each other through day and night, that when interwoven together with rapid match cuts with no transitions, effortlessly establish a sense of paranoia to the music video. The fast pacing of the editing, combined with the man's desperation as he runs through the streets for safety, as the stalkers begin to chase after him during the day as well as the night, create an unsettling effect for the audience. Overall, the editing in "Man Of War" steadily builds tension through meticulously planned match on action cuts and erratic camera movement.
Music Video 5: Conventions
Think back to our Introduction to Music Video and our work on Andrew Goodwin's theory on music video conventions as part of the Ghost Town CSP. How many key conventions of music video can you find in your fifth music video example?
Tyler The Creator - A BOY IS A GUN*
Multiple music video conventions that are discussed by Andrew Goodwin are present in this video. There are many links between the lyrics and the visuals, with the video beginning with a gun being shot as Tyler The Creator sings "Don't shoot me down". The luxurious mansion setting of the video and designer suits evoke imagery of wealth and success, typical of the genre conventions of rap. Furthermore, there are notions of looking throughout the music video, with Tyler looking at the camera while lip-syncing to the lyrics, another conventional aspect of the video. Overall, this music video is narrative-based while featuring elements of performance, depicting the story of a relationship which leaves him heartbroken, due to him being "shot down" by his lover that still meets his ex.
Music Video 6: Visual effects, intertextuality or product placement
Choose a video that has interesting visual effects or intertextuality and analyse the effect this creates and how it is constructed. Alternatively, you could look at product placement here and see how a band or artist has incorporated a brand or product into their video.
Charli XCX ft. Troye Sivan - 1999
As a call-back to the era, the music video for "1999" is abundant with intertextual references, especially to other music videos. It begins with Charli XCX being taken back to the year in question, with her iPhone messaging turning into AOL Instant Messenger. Throughout the music video, both Charli XCX and Troye Sivan are depicted as famous celebrities in 90s pop culture, such as the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and Eminem. It also borrows from other music videos, for example, Aqua's music video for Barbie Girl, and movies such as The Matrix and Titanic.
Planning: music video treatment
A treatment is like a script for a music video - it tells the band or artist exactly what will happen in the video and the kind of style or effect the video will have. You'll need choose what song you are going to use at this point - remember, you can use an existing artist's work but it needs to be appropriate for the brief.
For this aspect of your summer project, write a basic treatment that gives your reader a good idea of what your three-minute video will look like. The most important thing is to keep in mind the brief - the music video must feature the artist or band (likely to be a performance element) plus a focus on footwear for the sponsorship deal specified in the brief.
Start your treatment with the following key details:
1) Artist/band and song you will use for your video
Artist: Charli XCX
Song: Everything is romantic
2) Original name for artist/band you have created - MUST be completely original
Artist: Nuclear Seasons
Treatment
Scene 1: The date beginning by the lake in the park. The music video begins with a close up of the sun on the lake followed by an establishing shot of the park with the two people centred in the frame facing each other.
Scene 2: The date then goes to Chinatown. There are multiple close-ups and fast camera pans to different shops, signs, locations and people walking around the streets.
Scene 3: The video starts to cut between identical scenes of the date that happen both at the park setting and at Chinatown, with more close-ups and shot-reverse-shot.
Scene 4: When there is a close up of the eyes of the first person, a succession of quick shots of moments with family will play. When there is a close up of the eyes of the second person, a succession of quick shots of moments with their friends will play.
Scene 5: Near the end of the song, the music video will play backwards in reverse with the lines "fall in love again and again" being repeated, with the lyrics being displayed, and the music video will end back at the original scene.
Statement of Intent
Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available.
This is just your first draft of the statement so try and keep it under 500 words if you can. That will leave a bit of room to add later when you do your next draft.
For my coursework, I will be making a music video for the song "Everything is romantic" by artist Charli XCX, under the original band name Nuclear Seasons. The footwear brand featured in the video for product placement will be Vans. I will also be creating an original music magazine titled Amplify.
For the concept of my music video, I wanted to explore the idea of love being present in multiple facets of life, beginning with romantic love, following music video genre conventions, but also featuring familial and platonic love. The three-minute music video will mainly feature 2 people on a date, with the setting of the date changing between 2 locations, Northala Fields and the streets of Chinatown, to create juxtaposition between the urban and natural settings. For the mise-en-scene I would have both people in casual clothing to go with the concept of the video, romanticising average or regular moments in life. I would like to utilise mostly natural lighting, specifically high-key lighting, and focus on natural highlights created by the sun. For cinematography, I would like to have establishing shots of the separate locations with the couple centred in them, including eye-level shots to create notions of looking. I would also like to incorporate handheld camera in the music video to create a sense of authenticity.
To follow genre conventions I have decided to make this a concept-based music video, with a looser narrative and not much performance. Through eye-level shots and close-ups I want to create notions of looking to include the viewer. I would also like to edit the video to the tempo of the music, creating a link between the music and visuals.
For the editing I will focus on creating juxtaposition, by intertwining the shots at both locations through many match cuts with no transitions. Most of the editing will be conventional by matching the pace of the cuts to the tempo of the music, which varies throughout the song. I would also like to incorporate visual effects by displaying the lyrics of the chorus on screen and creating the appearance of some sections being on a reel of film.
For my original music magazine, I have chosen the title “Amplify”. For this magazine, I was inspired by Billboard and i-D magazine, choosing to focus my magazine around modern music and upcoming artists. The front cover will have a cover photo of the artistic duo that make up Nuclear Seasons, with minimalist design to include 5 cover lines to both achieve the coursework brief and create a modern house style. The original pages will consist of an interview and a photoshoot featuring portraits of the artists and an interview with both of them about the creation of the song and music video.
For media representations in my music video, I will challenge stereotypes by showing familial and platonic relationships as valuable as romantic ones. However, some stereotypes will be reinforced through the use of love song conventions and costuming including hair and makeup, following Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity. While gender will be conventionally signified through costume, the video will not objectify or focus on women’s appearance, challenging Liesbet van Zoonen’s theory of women as spectacle in the media.
The audience for my music video will be mainstream as part of the coursework brief, however, due to the use of the hyperpop genre, there will be a crossover between the mainstream pop music audience and the more underground audience of listeners that enjoy experimental and dance music. The demographics of the audience will mainly focus around younger listeners from the ages of 18 to 25, who will most likely be in the ABC1 social class grade. The psychographics of the target audience will be a mix between mainstreamers and explorers. Other artists that our target audience may also be interested in are people such as Lorde, SOPHIE, Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan, Caroline Polachek and Chappell Roan. The audience pleasures of this music video as part of Blumler and Katz’ Uses and Gratifications theory will be diversion and personal identification, as it will provide emotional enjoyment and release while also encouraging the audience to reflect on their own experiences with love in their lives.
For my footwear sponsorship I will collaborate with Vans, using the shoe as product placement in the music video through a few close-up shots. I chose Vans for this music video due to their mission statement being focused around creativity and the self-expression of youth, with their background in skateboarding. The record label that my artist Nuclear Seasons will be signed with is PC Music, a new hyperpop record label created by A.G. Cook. Through YouTube and Spotify, audiences will have digital access to the music video. Using TikTok and Instagram, the music video will also reach a wider audience through social media trends and the opportunity for audience interactions and collaborations, allowing for the audience to create their own content based around the music video concept, following Clay Shirky’s theory of the end of audience.
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