Forms and Conventions - Text from Teaching Music Video

by Pete Fraser BFI Publication

Andrew Goodwin in his book on the Rise of MTV (1992) identifies a number of
key features (Conventions) which distinguishes the music video as a form:
There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visulas (with visuals
either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics).
There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with
visuals either illustrating amplifying or contradicting the lyrics).
Particular music genres may have their own music video style and
iconography (such as live stage performance for Heavy Rock music).
There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close up
shots of the main artist/vocalist.
The artist may develop ther own star iconography, in and out of their
videos, which, over time, become part of their star image.
There is likely to be voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women,
but also in terms of systems of looking (screen within screens, binoculars,
cameras etc)
There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos
or to films and TV.
In addition Steve Archer in Media Magazine (series 8 we have this monthly
magazine in the school library) has drawn attentionto the need to consider the
relationship between narrative and performance in music videos.
When textually analysing a music video you would need to consider each of the
following:

Lyrics
Lyrics tend to help to establish a general feeling, or mood, or sense of subject
matter rather than offering a coherent meaning. Key lines may play a part in the
visuals associated with the song, but very rarely will a music video simply
replicate the lyrics wholesale.
Music
A music video tends to make the use of the tempo of the track to the drive of the
editing and may emphasise particular sounds from the track by foregrounding
instruments such as guitar, keyboard or drum solo.
Genre
While some music videos transcend genres, others can be more easily
categorised. Some, but not all, music channels concentrate on particular music
genres. If you watch these channels then over a period of time, you will be able to
identify a range of distinct features which characterise the videos of different
genres. These features might be reflected in types of mise en scene, themes (see
post students did for summer), performance, camera and editing styles.
Camerawork
As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how the images are
sequenced has a significant impact on meaning. Camera movement, angle and
shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany
movement of performers (walking, dancing etc) but it may also be used to create
a more dynamic feel to stage performance, for instance by constantly circling the
band as they perform on stage. The close up camera shot predominates, as in
most TV, partly because of the size of the screen and partly because of the desire
to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises hlf of the
commodity on sale the artist, and particularly the voice. John Stewart of the
mucic video production company Oil Factory said, that he sees the music video
as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups
and lighting to focus on the stars face (aka the product for some commercials).
Editing
Although the most common form form of editing associated with the music
promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on
first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing, some videos use slow pace and
gentler shot transitions to create a mood. This is particularly apparent in promos
for many female solo artists with a mass appeal such as Dido. Often enhancing
the editing are digital effects, which play with the original images to offer
different kinds of pleasure to the audience. This might take the form of split
screens, colourisation and blockbuster film style CGI.
Intertextuality
The msic video is often described as a Post-Modern form, a slippery term which
is often used to describe intertextuality., one of post-modernisms more easily
definable features. Broadly, if we see music promos as frequently drawing upon
existing texts in order to spark recognition in the audience, we have a working
definitions of intertextuality. Not all audiences will necessarily spot a reference
and this need not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but
greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference and feel
flattered by this. Arguably, it also increases the audiences engagement with, and
attentiveness to the product, an important facility in a culture where so many
images and narratives compete for our attention.
It is perhaps not surprising that so many music videos draw upon cinema as a
starting point, since their directors are often film school graduates intending to
move on into the film industry itself. From Madonnas Material Girl (Mary
Lambert, 1985), which drew on the song sequence, Diamonds Are a Girls Best
Friend in Howard Hawks film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (USA, 1953) to 2Pac
and Dr Dres California Love (Hype Williams, 1996), which referenced George
Millers film Mad Max (AU, 1979). There are obviously many more points of
reference. TV is often a point of reference a swell, as in the Beastie Boys spoof
cop show title sequence for Sabotage (Spike Jonze, 1994) or REMs news-show
parody Bad Day (Tim Hope, 2003). Which videos can you refer to more recently
that use intertextuality?
Visual referencing in video tends to come most frequently from cinema, fashion
and art photography. Fashion sometimes takes the form of catwalk references
and even sometimes uses supermodels, for example, Freedom (David Fincher,
1990). Probably one of the most famous references to fashion and fashion
photography (more specifically the fashion photographer Terence Donovan,
1986) is Robert Palmers music video Addicted to Love (Terence Donovan,
1986), parodied many times (e.g Shania Twain Man I Fell Like a Woman) for
its band of mannequin-style females.
John Stewart from the music video production company Oil Factory said of
promos The music video incorporates, raids and reconstructs which is
essentially the definition of intertextuality. In essence, they use something in
which the audience are familiar with to generate both nostalgic associations and
new meanings. Stewart suspects that the influence of videogames on music
videos, particularly for younger audiences, has generated more plasticised
looking characters, for example, in Robbie Williams Let Love Be Your Energy
and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Californication.
Narrative and Performance
Narrative in songs, as in poetry, is rarely complete and often fragmentary (David
Bowie is renowned for writing words and then jumbling them up sporadically to
create his lyrics). The same is true for music promos , which tend to suggest
storylines or offer complex fragments in a non-linear order, leaving the viewer
with the desire to see them again.
Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song
by the band. Additionally, a crefeul choreographed dance might be a part of the
artists performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation
and the repeatability factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be
a part of the story, acting as a narrator and participant at the same time. But it is
the lyp sync close-up shots and the miming of playing instruments that remains
at the heart of music videos.
The video allows the audience more varied access to the performer than a live
stage performance can. The close-up, allowing the eye contact and close
observation of facial gestures, and role play, within a narrative framework,
present the artist in a number of ways not possible in a live performance. The
mise en scene in particular can be used:
As a guarantee of Authenticity of a bands musical virtuosity by showing
them in a stage performance or a rehersal room
To establish a relationship to familiar film or TV genre in a narrative
based video.
As part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting a setting associated with
sexual allure, such a s a sleazy night club or boudoir.
Or as John Stewart from the Oil Factory suggests, to emphasise an
aspirational lifestyle.