Detailed music video analysis

Video I will be analysing: of the night - bastille

Director: Megaforce
Producer: Kathleen Hefferman
Company: Iconoclast

genre: alternative

This video fits with the genre of alternative as it is narrative and does not feature the artist at all it also has a hand filmed element something that many people into alternative music have a interest in

Many of the footage takes place in the night referencing to the title it also has a sepia effect with a old film style referring to the original songs that this song is taken from:

Corona - Rhythm of the night

and

Rhythm is a dancer

it also features text mirroring the words appearing in beat with the lyrics:

this emphasises the key lyrics of the song and makes them stand out to the audience.

a lot of footage also takes place at night:

referring to the "of the night" aspect of the lyrics

as stated before most of the video cuts to the beat of the song this gets the viewer to take notice of the beat and get more engrossed in the song.

the video changes from long panning shots of venice scenery for the more dragged out notes

to short snappy strobe light like images and text for the shorter notes.

as this video is concept based and by a alternative indie band it does not feature the artist or band members this could be for two reasons:

ONE: It is not one of the bands main songs and has not done particularly well compared to others therefore a simpler smaller budget video was all that was needed.

TWO: It fits with other video themes from the indie and alternative genre that tend not to include the artist as they would like to fans to focus more on the music not them they are also usually concept or narrative based (other examples of videos not featuring the artist from this genre are alt-j breeze blocks and Diane young vampire weekend ).

This video is along the lines of Bastilles other videos in the fact that it doesn't feature the band prominently however some of there videos do feature the band members but only for a short amount of time and not usually linked to the narrative.

There is no sexualised display in this music video but there is a aspect of personal handheld footage that gives it a intimate explorative feel

Controversial music videos

Another way music videos can make the song or artist more popular is through controversy this often works in the artists favour after all all press is good press in many artists views.

Some music videos set out to be controversial such as the never shy of controversy: Madonna - like a prayer featuring burning crosses and a black Jesus obviously causing a stir within the religious community something which Madonna and I'm sure Madonna's record label had no problem with as her record sales and popularity went through the roof.

noteworthy music videos

This is a open post in which I will return to with music videos I come across that I find interesting and helpful

My first kiss - 3OH3 ft kesha

 Despite being quite a generic video In the first few seconds (0:01 to 0:14) there is a close up montage of lip syncing and switching to the beat I think this is a fun aspect that I could easily play around with with different close ups and angles ect.

this video is also interesting as it combines both performance and concept

What are music videos for?

The functions of a music video

.to appeal to audience

.gives music channels (such as mtv 4music and viva) something to show

.can often make a song/band more popular

.allows artists to express there image and personality

.to create a bond between the fans and the artist

.promotion of the artist/film/product

here are some good examples of different functions present in music videos

Lyric video: Lyric videos can either be a product of a very small budget production or for 'pre' video for music channels to show whilst the official video is finalised an example of the latter is: Rihanna - Diamonds lyric video.

Film tie-in: Many films have official soundtracks with a key song exclusively available to them some songs are even composed particularly for the film (e.g. back to black - Beyonce ft andre 300 for the Great gatsby soundtrack) this means extracts from the film can be used in the official video promoting both the artist and the film an example of this is: A thousand years - Christina perri.

Product promotion/placement: as in movies artists particularly those at the hight of there popularity receive money from companies to promote products in the artists music videos a good example of this is: Circus - Britney Spears featuring product placement from her own perfume range and Bulgari a luxury jewellery range.

Viral music video: Since the launch of Youtube in 2005 it has become a lot easier for lesser known artists to become known to the rest of the world and perhaps the most popular viral video of last year was: gangam style - psy becoming world renowned for its catchy tune and equally infectious video... With over 1,000,000,000 views on youtube alone

First Instruction

Andy Froud

AS media studies

Centre number 51213

Candidate number 7236

My task is to advertise direct and produce a music video using a song of my choice

I feel a lot more confident about this music video task over the previous slasher trailer task the reasons being I feel I have a much wider knowledge of music videos and the music industry however there is still a lot to learn. The prospect of making a music video although slightly daunting will be a welcome challenge I feel one of my strongest points in the production of the video will be the design aspect after vastly enjoying the previous music magazine task. However my weaker points may include the decision making aspect when it comes to choosing the song and song genre ect.

My short term plan is to firstly investigate the different types of music videos and to find a video of each type concept narrative and performance that interests me.

After some research these are the videos that I find inspiring.

Concept: Facemelt - Rita Ora ft Cara Delevinge

This video is particularly interesting as it was shot as a feature for hunger magazine (a predominantly fashion magazine) this means it has some particular fashion aspects making it different from generic music videos although featuring the main artist predominantly I believe this still qualifies as concept over performance due to the unique quality of this video.

Performance: Don't you worry child - Swedish house mafia

This video makes itself unique from other performance based music videos as although it features the band performing live it also uses cuts of supposedly hand filmed 'private' videos giving it a personal aspect something that loyal fans would appreciate whilst still appealing to the general market with the large festival-like footage.

Narrative: Laura palmer - Bastille

This video fits the constraints of a traditional narrative based music video however it would be welcomed by fans as it fits perfectly with the lyrics and style of the band but also be intriguing enough for the public to maintain interest and discover the style of the band simply by watching the video