Prep work 17/10/16

How to make a music video




Syncing multiple angles


Auto sync feature: selecting two clips and left clicking them, allows you to use the auto sync feature. This feature aligns the clips based on their waveforms. Auto sync can create a few problems. For example, sometimes the feature does not line up the clips well. Manuel syncing is the preferred option.


Manuel syncing:  Grab the master audio track and put it as the "main storyline". Choose the clips and arrange them (on top of the master audio) based on their audio. The "gain" slider can be used to change the gain setting on a selected clip. Use this setting to lower the gain for a clip, so that the master audio can be heard clearly. It is important to mark key points in the song, so that you know which clips go where. "snapping" automatically aligns the key points of a clip and audio. The snapping feature can be enabled by Choosing  View > Snapping (or press N). A checkmark will indicate that snapping is on. You can press N to turn snapping on or off while you're dragging a clip.

Once all the clips have been aligned, play the whole video through and look for parts that need to be edited. Hover over the clips, to see which ones you want to edit. Command + V can be used to split the clip at the play-head. Press N to turn on snapping for the clip. and press alt to isolate the clip for editing. Not selecting a clip you want to split, automatically splits the main story-line clip or audio by default. So it is important to choose a clip. The best way to sync clips correctly is to feel the music.Try to understand when a cut needs to be made.Get a general sense of when a clip needs to be altered to match the beat of the song. Show your edit to people to get an opinion. Watch your edit over and over again, and make changes until you are satisfied. Make sure the audio and clips are in-sync before cutting together the music video. 


Style 
Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques for example animation and documentaries from different genres and artists . Every genre has their own style in music videos. I will explain this through my example.
Cutting to the beat 
Narrative

Pop
Most pop music videos are the same but the style coming from the artist(s) are very different for example in Katy Perry's firework when you see fireworks bursting from some young people throughout the video, that means they overcome their fears and insecurites (you can also tell by their facial expressions and body language). At the end of the video Perry is dancing with every young person with fireworks bursting from them. Most pop music videos have a message for the audience (mostly for children). Every music video from this genre are the same but they have a different message from different artist's. 
Techniques
There are many techniques used in music videos today to help promote the artists music. By looking at the techniques in the artists music videos we can tell which techniques the artist is going to used in his/her future music videos.

-Some of the techniques that are used are:
-Effects
-Miming & Lip- Syncing
-Cutting to the beat

Animation style are also used in music videos. An example of an artist that uses animation in music videos is Kanye West's music video "Good morning". The video takes place within a futuristic city, whose inhabitants are creatures. The protagoinist of the video is a bear, the story shows the bear trying to reach his college campus in time for his graduation ceremony but to do that he must overcome various obstacles and avoid danger along the way. 

The animation style in the music video is based around children but the plot in it is aimed at teenagers/university students because the video is about graduation. 
Music videos have different conventions depending on the genres the song is in. Genre's such as Hip-Hop has a different convention compared to RnB for example RnB music videos show bright colours and a lot of choreography (It's almost like a party). Most RnB music videos are usually very sexual for example the male artist can be topless or the way the female artist moves her body (no matter what she wears, it connotes that sense of sexuality.

An example of a RnB video is Rihanna "Rude boy". To connote, in this music video the artist is shown wearing a variety of outfits throughout. With the use of green screen there a lot of colours throught the video. The props used in the video include a stuffed lion, motorcycle, a zebra and a extra male. The main instrument that was shown in the video are the drumn kit. What's differnece between this video and the other RnB music video is that rihanna is using the studio to record her music video by performing in front of the green screen to add the special effect in it. 

Effects

Lip-Syncing

Cutting the beat involves music and music video. In a music video you notice the scene cuts to a different scene on a certain beat. The scenes in a music video change depending on the production of a song. This techniques is commonly used in the music industry 
Most artists usually lip-synch to their songs in their music videos. If the artist's lips in a music video move's faster than their track slow-motion is highly recommended so the artist's lip-synching can look very accurate.
 
Effects can make music video look very creative. There are many way's to add effects in music videos for example. the green screen, you can change the background from the green screen you can either choose a colour or location. Another example of adding effects to a music video are video editing softwares e.g. final cut pro and iMovie.
By looking at all three of these things that are used in music videos they show me how these are used to make a music video successful. 

Techniques: The techniques are used to entertain the audience and to keep them fascinated to the music videos 

Styles: The styles that are used in music videos such as narrative are there to show the audience what the artist is like and what experience the person has as an artist
Conventions: The Conventions in a music video shows the audience what the artist want In his/her music video and for example camera shots, location and mise-en-scene



Lighting 

Back lights are often used in music videos. The lights should be set up behind the artist. 

Post modern styles

PASTICHE

A pastiche music video is a video that imitates or copies features such as techniques, themes and styles of another original music video. This music video is an example of a pastiche music video. This video is called "You Always find me". This video uses a 80s themed party, with retro clothing, in a modern environment. This video is made interesting as the two guys travel from kitchen to kitchen through cupboards, through fridges and using draws as a stairway up to the next kitchen. Also toward the end of the video the artists appear to be dancing on the kitchen ceiling. This also gives the video more appeal and makes it unique.

ANIMATION 


 Animated music videos are videos that are animated to tell a story. These types of videos can be CGI animated (Computer Generated Images) or 2D animated.  In most animated music videos,  footage is not used. The narrative for a animated music video can be linear or non- linear. The purpose of a animated music video  is to convey a special message. One example of an animated music video is "Rock Mafia- Fly or Die". This music video uses a combination of 2D and CGI animation to complement the song and tell a story. It does not use any actually real footage.

NARRATIVE

A narrative music video is a video that tells a story. The audience will often follow the story whilst listening to the song. The narrative can be linear or non- linear. The purpose of a narrative music video is to convey a message. Narrative music videos differ to interpretive music videos, in that the narrative does not need to follow the lyrics of the song. The music video below is an example of a narrative video.

(Calvin Harris- Bounce)

HYPER-REALITY (Surrealism)

 Videos that incorporate hyper- reality are videos that use unconventional images that the audience does not anticipate. These types of videos include the distortion and over exaggeration  of certain situations and notions. Hyper- realism is used in most music videos. The idea behind these videos is to immerse the viewers in a unrealistic world. Videos that use hyper- reality are often memorable to the audience. The video below is an example of a hyper-reality video.

PARODY

A parody music video is a video that is created with the intention to be humorous. This is often done by exaggerating features of the original video or changing features such as the lyrics. Parodies are often an imitative work and can be created to mock, comment on, or trivialize the original music video. The music video below,"DRAKE- HEADLINES parody" is an example of a parody music video. In this music video, the appearance of the original artist and the lyrics of the song are being mocked. in the video it clearly shows the lyrics at the bottom. The purpose of parody music videos is to create a comedic effect. Videos that include comedic and humorous aspects often go viral. This is one reason why some artists create parody music videos.

Performance 

A performance music video is a video that features the artist or group singing (lip syncing) The purpose of this kind of music video is to give the audience and fans a in-concert experience.Some artists use footage from their real live performance rather than a staged one. The Audience and fans  generally enjoy these music videos as they want to see the artist playing the song rather than just hearing it. One example of a performance music video is "The weeknd- losers".

Allusion 

An allusion is when references are used in a music video, such as when it refers to a person, place, an historic event that happened in the past or present. It could be fairly obvious or discreet but either way, many music videos feature allusions.


Homage 

Homage music videos are often created by artists, to pay respect to another artist, music video style or film and TV series that has influenced them. This reference can be noticed by the audience and can encourage them to engage with the original video. One music video that has homage elements is Michael Jackson's  Smooth Criminal. The music video pays homage to the costumes and scenery used in a scene in the film The Band Wagon  (Minnelli, 1953).


(Michael Jackson- Smooth Criminal)

(The Band Wagon film ,1953)

Another example, of a homage music video is logic- super Mario world. In this video, Logic pays tribute to Nintendo, Super Mario and Satoru Iwata, the creator of some of Nintendo's iconic video games. 

Style and Conventions of Music Videos and Post Modern Styles Task 2B

Style and Conventions of Music Videos and Post Modern Styles

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

 Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. Performance in rock videos, Choreography in Indie and Pop music videos)



 Andrew Goodwin's theory suggests that music videos within a specific genre will  demonstrate certain characteristics, most modern music videos typically demonstrate genre characteristics. This can be done to amplify and convey meaning within the video. However, the main reason why it is done is to sell the image of the artist and promote the music, which sells more to the audience.


This is an example of a music video that demonstrates it's genre conventions. Hip Hop music videos tend to have the artist performing. They also tend to include low angles. These are particularly used in Hip Hop videos to make audience believe that the artist has a high status. , Hip Hop music videos also include the artist wearing designer clothing or mainstream brands. This is clearly highlighted in this music video as the clothing of the artists are modern and mainstream. Because of this, it is easy for the audience to identify it as a hip hop video which is a way of promotion for the artist.

 A Relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting).

Goodwin's theory also suggests that some music videos create a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The purpose of this is to amplify the music video. The video below is an example of this. In this video, Jessie J is talking about money, this is later visualized  and showed in the video at (1:00) where dollar notes can be seen growing on a tree. The purpose of this is that it gives a sense of hyper reality.

 Relationship between the music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting).

This is when there is a relationship between the music and the visuals. This is particularly done to emphasize the concept of the music video or to visualize a deeper/hidden meaning.  Conceptual videos tend to use this method. The video below is an example of this.

Frequency reference to notions of looking and voyeuristic 

Notions of looking is a way of looking through something or something that is related to the idea of looking. The video below is an example of a music video that includes voyeurism because women are sexualised in this music video as they are wearing provocative clothing. Because of this it appeals to the nature and theme of the song.

Demands of record labels for close-ups

Most artists that are signed with major labels demand close ups. The reason why they do this is because they want the audience to know that the artist has that star image. The purpose of this is so that the audience can identify them more which appeals more and 'sells'.

0.  In-concert music video
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2. The purpose of in-concert music videos  is to sell concert tickets. These types of music videos tend to encourage fans to buy tickets as they will want to have the full experience that is shown in the video. This is an example of in concert and as-live footage. As you can see it consists of the artist preforming on stage just as if it was a live performance. The people who watch this video and be encouraged to by concert ticket as they will want to watch it live.

0. (Arctic Monkey- do i wanna know)

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0. B) interpretive 
   
   
   A music video may also be interpretive which describes a relationship between the lyrics and the on screen visuals. There are two types of interpretive music videos.  illustrative is one. This is when the on screen visuals demonstrate the actual lyrics of the song. Interpretive is the other.This means something that looks like something else, but has a different meaning. Interpretive music videos are normally ambiguous and encourage the audience to make their own interpretation of what they think the music video is about. This video is a example of an interpretive music video as the video does not have a clear meaning  This means that the audience has to interpret their own meaning on the video as it isn’t made clear where she is or why she is there.

(Foster the people- call it what you want)

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   D) Impressionist (Conceptual)
   
   Another type of music video is known as impressionist or conceptual. This is basically when the purpose of the music video is to create meaning. This meaning doesn't tend to relate to the song and a lot of the time it consists of montage used to create meaning. An example of a music video that does this is Sia's elastic heart, which despite being about her relationships, consists of a little girl being pursued by a older man. Both of these characters are suppose to represent the two different sides of the singer and she tends to use this approach in most of her music videos.
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   E) Referencing (Intextuality)
   
   Intextuality or referencing, in terms of a music vide, is when the music video referencing to another piece of media as a base for the video. An example of a music video that uses this is Robbie Williams' 'You know me.' This makes constant reference to the book and film, 'Alice in Wonderland.' This is by the fact that the entire video is a dream and he is dressed up as the rabbit from the film. This is a good way of selling another product. People will see the video and wonder about the original product which will allure them into watching it.
   
    
   
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10. Post modern styles
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14. PASTICHE
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16. A pastiche music video is a video that imitates or copies features such as techniques, themes and styles of another original music video. This music video is an example of a pastiche music video. This video is called "You Always find me". This video uses a 80s themed party, with retro clothing, in a modern environment. This video is made interesting as the two guys travel from kitchen to kitchen through cupboards, through fridges and using draws as a stairway up to the next kitchen. Also toward the end of the video the artists appear to be dancing on the kitchen ceiling. This also gives the video more appeal and makes it unique.
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8. ANIMATION 
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13.  Animated music videos are videos that are animated to tell a story. These types of videos can be CGI animated (Computer Generated Images) or 2D animated.  In most animated music videos,  footage is not used. The narrative for a animated music video can be linear or non- linear. The purpose of a animated music video  is to convey a special message. One example of an animated music video is "Rock Mafia- Fly or Die". This music video uses a combination of 2D and CGI animation to complement the song and tell a story. It does not use any actually real footage.This video can also be seen as a conceptual music video. Conceptual music videos can include both performance and narrative aspects. Usually, conceptual videos are based around a surreal, poetic idea. This idea usually grabs the audience’s attention and draws them in. Songs within the indie genre tend to use a mixture of bright and dark colours in their music videos. The fact that both bright and dark colours such as black, red, orange and blue are used in the video, shows that this is a convention of indie music videos. The lyrics of the song relate to the visuals in the video. The video and song are telling the same story. The story is that a village has been attacked and raided by an evil Dictator/tyrant. The dictator and his army have taken control and destroyed most of the village.

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6. NARRATIVE
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8. A narrative music video is a video that tells a story. The audience will often follow the story whilst listening to the song. The narrative can be linear or non- linear. The purpose of a narrative music video is to convey a message. Narrative music videos differ to interpretive music videos, in that the narrative does not need to follow the lyrics of the song. The music video below is an example of a narrative video. As you can see the video is telling a story about a young couple that are going through a breakup. 
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0. (Calvin Harris- Bounce)

1. HYPER-REALITY (Surrealism)
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3.  Videos that incorporate hyper- reality are videos that use unconventional images that the audience does not anticipate. These types of videos include the distortion and over exaggeration of certain situations and notions. Hyper- realism is used in most music videos. The idea behind these videos is to immerse the viewers in a unrealistic world. Videos that use hyper- reality are often memorable to the audience. The video above is an example of a hyper-reality video.
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11. PARODY
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13. A parody music video is a video that is created with the intention to be humorous. This is often done by exaggerating features of the original video or changing features such as the lyrics. Parodies are often an imitative work and can be created to mock, comment on, or trivialize the original music video. The music video below,"DRAKE- HEADLINES parody" is an example of a parody music video. In this music video, the appearance of the original artist and the lyrics of the song are being mocked. in the video it clearly shows the lyrics at the bottom. The purpose of parody music videos is to create a comedic effect. Videos that include comedic and humorous aspects often go viral. This is one reason why some artists create parody music videos.
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8. Performance 
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10. A performance music video is a video that features the artist or group singing (lip syncing) The purpose of this kind of music video is to give the audience and fans a in-concert experience.Some artists use footage from their real live performance rather than a staged one. The Audience and fans  generally enjoy these music videos as they want to see the artist playing the song rather than just hearing it. One example of a performance music video is "The weeknd- losers".
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9. Homage and Allusion 
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11. Homage music videos are often created by artists, to pay respect to another artist, music video style or film and TV series that has influenced them. This reference can be noticed by the audience and can encourage them to engage with the original video. One music video that has homage elements is Michael Jackson's  Smooth Criminal. The music video pays homage to the costumes and scenery used in a scene in the film The Band Wagon  (Minnelli, 1953).
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14. (Michael Jackson- Smooth Criminal)
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0. (The Band Wagon film ,1953)

Another example, of a homage music video is logic- super Mario world. In this video, Logic pays tribute to Nintendo, Super Mario and Satoru Iwata, the creator of some of Nintendo's iconic video games. An allusion is when references are used in a music video, such as when it refers to a person, place, an historic event that happened in the past or present. It could be fairly obvious or discreet but either way, many music videos feature allusions.