How to study Music Videos

Movement
Movement is important in terms of a music video as this is want complements the songs rhythm. Doing things like the physical movement of the camera, or just having the artists and dancers in the video move adds to the movement of a music video and the editing speed. For example, Nicki Minaj ft. Cassie // The Boy. They use bright colours and fast movement when walking and dancing/jumping around to add to their excitement therefore creating the audience to become excited also. The dancing also is in time with the beat again, adding the excitement.

Narrative
Not all music videos have narrative, however some do. Narrative is usually a storyline which relates to a songs lyrics and can link the lyrics to visual. Sometimes, the narrative is very different from the song and instead it tells a story. For example, Stacy's Mom by Fountain of Wayne features narrative in which it links the lyrics with the visual. It features a young boy sitting by the pool with a girl whilst the lyrics says at this part "We can hang around by the pool".

Band/Artist
Most videos will feature the bang/artist who are singing the song or are part of the band playing in the song. This is because they are also part of the product that is being sold. They will most likely either be featuring in the video through the use of lip syncing or playing instruments. Some videos contain the artists doing some acting, to add to the storyline of the song. Some songs may even use both. Other videos may contain someone acting as the artist. For example, The Killers in Miss Atomic Bomb, who are represented as cartoons.

 

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is when producers are able to play around with the conventions of a well established genre of a music video. This is done by making references to other music videos but also to the genre in general. References can be obvious, whilst others are harder to find. An example of this is One Direction // One Way or Another and Justin Bieber // Beauty and a Beat, One Direction had copied the idea of using handheld cameras to capture the background and scene of whats going on.