Script for News Report:

 

Section 1:

First let’s look at the forms of music videos starting with specific camera work. Close Ups are one of the most important and most used camera shots in a music video. There are often close ups of the instruments being played in the video for example, in the video for the Ed Sheeran song ‘One’ (start video) he is playing the guitar and there are various shots of the instrument as he is playing it. There are also close ups of the characters in the narrative or band members singing the lyrics to the song which is also shown in Ed Sheeran’s video. The lead singer will feature the most in the video and close ups will be consistently used as they sing the lyrics. The amount of close ups in a video can vary based on the popularity of a band. For example, for a well-known band like Arctic Monkeys, (insert video) the band members are all known and so they don’t need to be shown as regularly and this is shown in their video for the song ‘One for the road’ where as you can see, the narrative is prominent in the video. Upcoming bands however would have more close ups in their video than in this one because with an upcoming band people won’t know who the lead singer is and this is made obvious by close ups being used.

 

 

Tracking Shots are another commonly used camera shot used mainly when the music video is a narrative. In Calvin Harris’s song ‘Summer’(insert video) the opening of the video uses tracking shots as part of the narrative. Tracking shots often tell the narrative more effectively for example, a tracking shot will be used to follow someone walking through the woods. Tracking shots can also be used to show the setting and location to the audience which sets the scene and gives a better understanding of the story on the whole.

 

 

Panning shots are the third camera shot which is frequently used and this can be used in both a narrative music video as well as a band performance. In the narrative a panning shot is often used to set the scene such as in the music video for the song Blame by Calvin Harris (insert video) where a 10-15 second pan is used to show the location where the video is set at the beginning of the song. This is one long panning shot but the length of panning shots can often vary based on what is being filmed. Also in the narrative, a panning shot can be used on the main character or any character within the narrative. As well as in the narrative, band performance can also be filmed through panning shots and these are mainly to show the other band members playing instruments. This is evident in many rock bands videos such as The Kooks song ‘Forgive & Forget’ where panning shots are consistently used to film the band performing the song. (insert video separate to actual video)

 

 

Overall camera work is a key form for music videos because this is how the audience view the video and without the use of close ups, panning and tracking shots, the narrative wouldn’t be told as effectively as well as the band not being shown in the best possible way. Without good use of camera shots, the music video won’t be as appealing to the audience and so he more camera shot types used the more accomplished the video will be.

 

 

Section 2:

However, camera work is only effective if the editing compliments it. We will now pass over to…who will talk about the importance of editing in music videos as well as the importance of the style of video and relationship between the visuals, music and lyrics of the song.

 

 

Editing as a form for a music video is one of the most vital components. The use of transitions on the whole consists of fast and slow cuts. The pace of editing is often linked with the pace of the song e.g. a slow song is likely to have lengthy shots with less frequent cuts and transitions unlike a Chase & Status song which is fast paced and so the editing is characterised by this. Fades are a common editing technique used in music videos fading in and out of certain camera shots. Fades can also vary in pace based on the speed of the song and some can fade into black or white mainly at the end of the video. Cross dissolve is another feature of editing and this is a technique which is used more than you might think. Many cuts consist of this type of editing technique adding a more professional look to the transition between two shots.

 

 

There should be a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, whether that’s illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics. This is so that the video relates to the lyrics of the song, making it easier for the audience to understand the lyrics. However there can be examples of videos that just represent the band themselves, which is common in boy band music videos where often the video will be just the members of the band doing whatever they want.

 

There will always be a relationship between the music and the visuals, in a similar way to the lyrics. The beat of the music will help to pace the song, with either the visuals purposely cutting on the off beat, or following the beats to help the viewer get a better feel for the song. The song can also show the musicians playing the song, to highlight the music and get a better representation of the band.

 

 

The styles of the music videos will significantly change with the genre of the song. Based on the type of genre that the band are, the aspects within the video will be of that genre. Things like the setting, clothing and locations will all be chosen according to the type of genre of music that is being played. For example, a rock band are likely to be wearing black clothing and playing electric guitars as a typical rock band would do whilst a dance song would be more narrative and is likely to be more colourful and set in a hot country as this matches the style of music.

 

 

Voyeurism is another form within music videos and this is the act of watching someone who is performing sexual behaviours such as dancing, undressing or intercourse in order to gain pleasure. In terms of music videos it is usually a men’s controlling gaze towards women that have been sexually objectified. Goodwin states that female performers are sexually objectified by camera work and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the performer. Voyeurism is often used to help sell a product and create audience interest, there are many apparent uses of voyeurism in many music videos at present.

 

 

Section 3:

Now let’s move onto some of the basic conventions of music videos where … will take it from here.

The lyrics of a song affect the music video on the whole. The lyrics of the song will establish a sense of story to a song, while setting the general mood of the video, with it being, aggressive or soft etc. The lyrics may also be represented in the video, in a literal sense, however it is rare to see a music video represent the lyrics like this for the entire video.

 

The music sets the tempo for the cuts and edits, however the lyrics can also set the lengths of shots. The music will often be represented in the video through the band themselves with performance shots, timed to match the backing track. The music in a music video can either be diegetic or non-diegetic. Most commonly music in music video's are non-diegetic, however typically in the rock music genre the song will be a mix, being diegetic for performance shots or non-diegetic. It is common for rock videos to add sections of dialogue between paused sections of the song too.

 

 

With there being different genres of music, the music videos in each genre gain certain characteristics. Music channels will be specific on the genre of the music played, and after watching a certain music channel for long enough traits of the individual genres will become obvious. For example the music channel MTV dance will consist of all dance music and videos for these songs are often narrative or set in hot countries to match the upbeat nature of the song itself. Also MTV rocks will consist of all rock music as to which band performance will be a key feature of the videos.

 

 

Now, Taking form in music videos as more than just cuts and transitions editing is possibly the most important part of creating an effective music video, as it can either enhance a shots mood, or set a sense of pace and mood with the music video. The most common form of editing in music videos is the use of fast cut transitions in a sequence. These will make shots difficult for the audience to appreciate on first viewing and will ensure repeat viewings of the video. However slower shots are used to better establish a mood for the music video, slower shots are more prominently used with female artists. Other effects used are split screen, colourisation, colour balance, CGI and green-screen.

 

 

Section 4:

Now moving onto some more of the advanced conventions of music videos.

Intertextuality, is a link between the music video and another existent product, if its a poem, a speech, a logo, a quote, a sequence from a movie, a copy of a set or previous music video, or even fashion. This link is done to establish a sense of familiarity or nostalgia, as when seeing these links people who recognise the reference will get a sense of pleasure of noticing the reference. The most common of the intertextual links is cinema, with music videos showing promotion sequences from the films they are featured in, meaning that when a person views this music video there is the promotional aspect that would make the person desire to go out and see the film if the visuals and song are edited successfully enough, whereas vice versa happens when someone sees the film and hears the song, they will then familiarise the song with the film and may go out and buy the song as they enjoyed the sequence it was used in.

 

 

The narrative and performance of the video are key to a successful music video. The narrative shows how the visuals depict the lyrics, either giving them literal meaning or representing them in context. The narrative often includes a number of close ups of the main character used to show emotion during the scene, with the singer used normally either as a main character or narrator, singing while in the setting of the narrative plot. The narrative plot often leads to repeat viewing depending on the effectiveness of the visuals to draw in the viewer, either making an emotional connection or being a memorable and enjoyable viewing. The narrative story will normally be split up with performance shots of the band often to show the band in a performance environment, giving a sense of success to show the band in a setting where they are surrounded by fans, or performing in large or secluded locations.

 

 

Storyboarding is vital to producing a music video, as it allows you to gain a concept of how the sequence of videos will be shown on screen, and allows for directors and developers to plan the shots and cuts in time with the music. A storyboard will often include an image of the character in relation to the background, the shot types and camera movements used, the shot length, any editing used like transitions and possibly a lyrical que for the shot, to show the shots in relation to the lyrics. Story boarding just allows you to have a perfect idea of what is needed to produce the perfect music video.

 

Continuity is more of a concept rather than a convention, however it is vital within all moving image texts, as continuity allows for an easier flow of the image, whether or not continuity rules are followed or purposely broken will be up to the director. However continuity allows for a flow of the plot to be quicker, as a lapse of time can be shown through a few shots. The main principles of continuity are match on action which is when a shot cuts to another, showing the same action, but from a different angle to create a visual bridge, as well as shot reverse shot and the 180 rule.

 

 

Finally, Mise-en-Scene is important within the music video as the mise-en-scene of every shot will help the music video fit into it's desired music genre. The mise-en-scene of the shots also strongly helps to build a sense of reality for the moving image product.