Music Video Theories
andrew Goodwin
No1. Music Videos Demonstrate Genre Characteristics
The genre of the artist or the style of the song will determine what style of video is created.
For example, alternative rock music videos tend to have quite a bit of live performance.
No2. There is a Relationship Between Lyrics and Visuals. The Lyrics are Represented with Images
The second step focuses on how the lyrics match with the music video's visuals. When you hear a song, you feel the emotion and the message wanting to be put across by the artist which is usually what is seen in the music video.
For example, in Born to Die by Lana Del Rey, she relates her actions to the lyrics.
No4. The Demands of the Record Label will Include the Need for lots of Close Ups of the Artist and the Artist may Develop Motifs which Reoccur acoss their Work
Record labels will want the most promotion possible for their artist. This is why a lot of the time music video's have the solo artist or frontman as the protagonist in narrative videos. The camerawork is all positioned around the artist, featuring mainly close ups to set the artist in the audience's mind. The artist may form a visual motif making them more memorable when a new video is released. For example, Lana has a lot of close ups of her during her videos.
No3. There is a Relationship Between Music and Visuals. The Tone and Atmosphere of the Visual Reflects that of the Music
The tone of the music must match or contradict the visuals featured in the music video.
For example, in Born To Die by Lana Del Rey, the music is very sad which reflects the visuals of her being dead.
Dick Hebdige
Soft Grunge Subculture
The grunge culture has been around since the eighties, became mainstream in the nineties and has now branched out and modernized into soft grunge. The soft grunge culture is heavily based in using imagery (often black and white, featuring flowers) paired with meloncholy or masochistic quotes to highlight the perception of beauty in tragedy. This is the subculture that most applies to my target audience of alternative rock music.
Hebdige presented a model for analysing youth subcultures and outlines the individual style differences of specific subcultures. Music subcultures have continued to grow and evolve. Youth subcultures are often defined by things like fashion, beliefs, slang, behaviour and music. Subcultures can be distinctive because of age, race, ethnicity, class, location and gender of the members.
Subcultures
No6. There are often Intertextual References (to Films, TV Programmes, Other Music Videos Etc...)
This step isn't always applied but is mainly used when the artist is linked to other forms of media. Movie soundtracks or parodies of other media is used in few music videos as they are shown globally and may not be universally understood. It can also be used as a promotion technique. People who like the intertextual reference in the video, will like the video. Those who like the artist will then go on to like the intertextual reference. For example, Lana Del Rey sang Once Upon A Dream for the film Maleficent.
No5. There is Frequent Reference to Notion of Looking (Screens within Screens, Mirrors, Stages) and Particularly Voyeuristic Treatment of the Female Body
The reference to looking is a visual technique which involves stages and mirrors, all focusing on the artist. Most music video's use voyeurism, ie. women undressing, performing sexual acts but this is implied more than seen as there are restrictions on what you see. This is mainly used as a common interest for the audience and to promote and sell the artist using sexuality, a common marketing strategy in the media.
