THEORISTS OF MUSIC

VIDEOS (SVEN E
CARLSON)
Zakaria Kadri
Sven E Carlson

• Sven E Carlson stated "One of the most common methods of analysis is to break up
the music video into black and white boxes. Almost everything is then perceived as
opposites- trash or art, commerce or creativity, male and female, naturalism or anti-
realism, etc".This would suggest that the normal approach to music videos is a
comparison between binary opposites which drives the narration forward.
•
Sven E Carlson believes that the two main categories which music videoscan be divided
into are:
• 1. performance
• 2. conceptual

• I will be breaking the two types of videos stated by Carlson and analysising
what conventions make it part of its category
Performance videos
• Performance videos are usually when the artist or band performs in
the video in a casual setting with the back drop having a direct
correlation to the lyrics of the video. The setting may be on a stage or
even a more casual setting such as at a party. Carlson stresses the
relation the artists have with the audience this is usually built through
the artists or band members creating eye contact or lip syncing song
lyrics with the fans. This type of category is predominately used within
the indie genre as it fits the star persona (Richard Dyer) this method
is also useful if the producer is on a budget or need to complete the
music video in a short amount of time as this method is not as time
consuming as a narrative music video. It is particularly common within
this genre as it gives the video a raw feeling which represents the the
stereotypical ‘band’ image.
• Often with performance music video certain theatrical
aspects are emphasised this can been seen in the 5
Seconds of Summer music video ‘She looks so perfect’.
The producers emphasis the mis-en-scene, making the
band perform in an ally highlighting the ‘bad boy’ image
which feeds into there star persona.
Conceptual Videos
• Conceptual music video are often set around an particular image or
idea which usually follows a unique or abstract idea. Editors may
include editing techniques to enhance this feeling of obscurity, as it
would create a emotive and engaging video for the audience.
Moreover concept videos often incorporates with one or two other
styles of videos this is done to widen the audience and prevents the
video from being a niche. Conceptual videos are deployed in many
different genres and so aren’t bound by a specific genre. It is
important to note producers often attempt to add metaphoric meaning
behind what the audience see as obscure videos. A example of such
a video would be Katy Perry's ‘California girls’