Simon Frith Frith’s theory is based on the idea that music videos come in three different types: Performance (where the artist or band is singing/dancing/playing an instrument) Narrative (where a story is being told, perhaps by actors rather than the artists themselves and there is often no lip synchronisation) Conceptual (where a story is told in a more poetic and metaphorical form, with the intention of evoking different emotions and interpretations)
- Director of Music and Organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years Andrew Goodwin - Director of Music and Organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years
Analysing music videos… Andrew Goodwin states there are 5 key aspects of a music video that we as the audience look out for. Thought beats – Seeing the sound in your head Narrative and performance Star image Relation of visuals to the song Technical aspects of the music video
Thought beats – Seeing the sound in your head First step- you look into the music and interpret it looking at the chorus/verses. Second step- ‘Voice within the song 'The artists can unique and can be identified from the rest and can be extremely unique. Third step – the story a artist is telling within their songs. This can make the artist to be also known as a ‘storyteller’. The music video can be seen to aid the story that the artist is telling us through the vocals of the song.
Narrative and performance Goodwin says that we tend to make up our own idea of the messages being sent in a song from a basic understanding of what it may actually be about. Music videos should be of the same standard every time and narrative and performance work together in order to keep the audience interested and not bored of a music video. When the artist acts as the actor/singer as well as the participant in the music video, this makes the video more authentic and original. Goodwin believes that miming is still the most popular thing done in music videos today however it is in the artists best interest to make it look as real as possible to the audience.
Star image Star image is a vital aspect of music videos. Artists want to obviously look unique in order to stay current and for audiences to remember them. This star image develops overtime and plays a big role in the production process of music videos.
Relation of visuals to the song There are three ways in videos that are used to promote a song : Illustrate, Amplify, Disjuncture. Music videos set certain images to illustrate the meaning of their songs lyrics and the genre. This is where the meaning of the song is COMPLETLEY ignored. Repeatability-meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly reinforced and shown through video and drummed into our vision.
Technical aspects of the music video Technical aspects hold the music together.(camerawork , movement ,angle , mis-en-scene editing , sound and special effects). Speed, camera movement , editing, cutting and post production are all forms of ‘use of camera’. Lighting and colour ‘help set the mood’ and adds emphasis on key/dramatic moments adds extra effect. Mise-en-scene, the setting is vital! It needs to look realistic in order to look professional therefore appealing to a wider target audience. Beats - the cuts and beats go with the rhythm in order to make the video more entertaining. People like music that sounds good and not like it has just been thrown altogether.