History of a music video - Miss Georgiou

Ways in which you can view music videos:

• Youtube, Vevo
• Television (Music Channels)
• Ipod (Itunes)
• Social networking sites, Eg; Facebook, Twitter. 
• Computer
• Phones (Apps)

How music videos were viewed 5-10 years ago:

• Internet
• Television (Top of the Pops)

The ways in which music videos can be viewed within the past 5-10 years has vastly changed, as a wider range of technology has developed during this time period. As Internet has expanded and new websites have been created it is now easier to access music videos quickly whenever we desire to watch them. As they have become more incomplex to view they have become more and more popular, is anything compulsory for artists to create. Artists create them as part of there approach to expand marketing and advertisement for their self image to create more profit and contribute to goals such as globalisation.

MTV - Launched on August 1st 1981
Enhanced Music CD - Launched within 1995
Youtube - Launched on Feburary 14th 2005
Itunes - Launched on January 9th 2001
Average budget of a music video - $200,000-$500,000
Highest budgeted music video - Michael and Janet Jackson - Scream ($7,000,000)

Technogology has had a massive effect on the development of music videos because of the expansion of technology has created many different ways to access music videos therefore they have become more popular. Technology such as devices including; Ipads, Ipods, Smartphones, Laptops ect have made viewing music videos more frequent, and technology such as websites including; Youtube, Vevo, MTV, Itunes ect have made it easier for artists to disperse their music videos as they have somewhere to post them.

The worlds most viewed music video on youtube is Justin Biebers 'Baby' featuring Ludacris, which recieved 549 million views.
Rihanna, who is a pop and RnB artist, has over 4.8 billion views and 58 million views per video.
                       

Over time, music genres have changed and progressed to different styles and mixed with different genres. There are many sub genres off of the main genres, which creates a wider variety of styles of music to listen to for audiences, therefore everyone can be entertained.

This post will help me during my planning and production of my music video as it informs me of what genres were most popular within each decade therefore I know my target market and this will make it easier to attract my specific audience. 

What is a music video? - Miss Miller

There are many purposes of music videos these include;

• Promote artist or song
• Short narrative
• Represent artist
• Attract target audience
• Identify artist or group
• Buy into artists lifestyle
• Show different generic conventions of genre/music video
• For audience to remember video/artist/lyrics
• Wider audience
• Show more about audience
• Requested by audience
• Build relationship with artist
• Audience to understand more about song.

I chose to analyse Hips don't lie by Shakira, which the genre is pop, throughout the video there are many of the previous stated purposes used. Firstly the majority if not all of the video is performance based as Shakira appears in almost the whole video either singing or dancing. This showcases Shakira as a talented artist, as it highlights her abilities to sing and dance which conveys a positive representation to the audience. This also links in with promoting the artist, as viewers will watch the video and become fascinated and amazed by Shakira's skills to sing and dance extremely well, therefore will continue to view the video and will be more likely to become a loyal fan. Within the video Shakira is within camera view during all of her singing parts, she is also replicating dance moves involving her hips being moved fast paced in time with the music, this is relevant to the lyrics 'Hips don't lie' which therefore shows a relationship between the lyrics and visuals as well a relationship between the music and visuals. Using this technique is very effective as it captures the audiences attention as it builds a relationship between them and the artist. This also links in with the purpose of encouraging the audience to remember the lyrics and video as the dance moves are hard to forget as they are associated with all of the visuals and promote the song title very effectively.

Within the music video, Shakira uses props and extras such as; dragons, stilts and bright colours to create a carnival atmosphere, this builds a relationship with the audience as it emphasises her Colombian ethnicity to viewers. Shakira has an image of representing her Latina culture, having highlighted this within her video it allows the audience to make a connection through association of her existing image. This encourages the audience to become more intrigued by Shakira as an individual and not just an artist, as carnivals and vibrant personalities are a stereotypical association people have with Colombian people. Shakira bringing in her personal identity into the music video also assists the audience into buying into her lifestyle, culture and background which may help build a relationship or interest them into finding out more about her and her music. If the audience have more insight into her as not just an artist but an individual they can relate to her more as an ordinary person.

Shakiras 'Hips don't lie' video also follows many pop genre conventions, these include;

• Dancing/Dance routine
• Sexualisation of women
• Fast paced editing
• Several changes in outfits

There is a lot of dancing which is the main focus of the video, as all characters who are involved within the video participate in the choreography similar to Shakira's. However the main dancer is the artist, she partakes in a lot of solo dancing which involves her shaking her hips, however she performs in group routines as well so that the audience can relate to her desire to follow a crowd. The dancing follows the convention of the pop genre, as the music is upbeat and full of energy allowing people to dance along, which stereotypically young people do when listening to this genre, as they are the target audience. The sexualisation of women is a very important convention used within this music video, as over the years this is a convention which is becoming more and more popular within the genre due to the change in trends and society. Within the genre of pop and specifically this video, it is used to attract the attention of male viewers as well as idolising towards younger females who wish to be seen in the same light as Shakira. Therefore it is an effective method to use as it attracts a majority of the audience as well as representing Shakira in personal menor, the fast paced editing is used to keep in sync with the beat of the music, this also makes it more appealing to dance to and creates a positive association for the audience.

Shakira's target audience is aimed mainly towards females primarily young however can attract slightly elder women up to the ages of 40, she targets her music towards this audience because of her strong desire to influence their image. Shakira represents herself as someone who tries to inspire girls to be sexy like herself, this is also an advantage as it lures in the male audiences as they enjoy watching her promescuous body language and facial expressions. The video appeals to both the young women and male audiences because of the continuous use of voyeuristic treatment to the female body, Shakira exposes herself to the audiences while dancing explicitly, allowing them to mimic and analyse her boyd movements. 

Research into Goodwins theory - Miss Georgiou

Andrew Goodwin's Theory involved 7 points, in which he believed were included within all music videos. They consist of;

1) Music Videos demonstrate their genre characteristics. Eg; Girl band would include a dance routine as girl bands typically perform planned dances or moves throughout their videos.

2) There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Eg; A story involves characters and plots that associate with the lyrics of the video. 

3) There is a relationship between the music and the videos. Eg; The editing of the music matches the speed of the beat within the song.

4) The demand of the record label will include the need for lots of close up of the artists and the artists may develop motifs which may recur across their work. Eg; Close ups will used on the artist whether they are singing or just looking into the camera to make themselves noticeable and rememberable to the audience. (Visual style)

5) There is a frequent reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Eg; Screens within screens, as well as a emphasis on particular female body parts and how they are worshipped by males.

6) There is often intertextual reference. Eg; Inspiration or spin offs from films, other music videos and brands. 

7) Whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based. Eg; How elements of each base is used throughout the music video. 

The music video I chose to analyse was Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran, which is a genre of pop/acoustic. Throughout the video there is several of the seven points spoken about in Goodwins Theory, the very obvious point used is that there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The music video uses a narrative of a girl portrayed as cupid, going around helping people fall in love, this is relevant towards the lyrics 'Give Me Love' as if the singer was seeking love. This is used to help the audience remember the music video easier as they can associate the lyrics to what they have previously seen whenever they hear the song. It is also a very conventional theme to use within music videos from this genre as it helps emphasise true meanings of the lyrics as they could easily be misinterpreted.

Another point used within the music video I chose is that there is a relationship between the music and visuals which is the slow paced editing, this is used because of the slow pace of the song. Using the slow transitions between shots and scenes specifically the music beat in sync with what the audience can see. During the chorus the song begins to pick up in tempo, which is when the transitions between scenes pick up speed, this shows how there is a relationship between the music and video. This is used to make the video look more professional as using a editing pace which is not connected to the transitions could confuse the audience and look disordered.

The video is not performance based at all, as Ed Sheeran appeared within the video but only briefly,  there is approximately 90% narrative based and the remaining is concept based. The video is narrative based through the whole cupid storyline of the girl going round find love for people, however she becomes slightly psychotic and begins to make everybody fall in love because she is upset she cannot find it herself. This is used within the video to help encourage the audience to associate the song with the video. There is 10% concept base in my opinon as towards the end of the video the girl finally finds love and the image the video might be conveying is that you should never give up on love.

 The music video 'Give Me Love' fails to demonstrate conventions of a pop genre as they subvert from the stereotypical elements, this is because there is quite a depressing, melancholy vibe as the character is not in a positive state of mind. This subverts from the typical representation within pop music videos which is a upbeat, lively, bright atmosphere and setting, with dance routines and energetic characters. However the music video does demonstrate conventions from the acoustic genre, as it portrays a general desire the audience feel, by highlighting common, cynical problems, for example in this case the infactuation with finding love. This is used to play with the audiences feelings, toying with emotions, making the song meaningful and more real.

Within the music video the artist does not appear on screen, therefore throughout there are no closeups of he's identity, which means that the record label are not promoting the image of the artist in order to make them recognisable. This is a very unconventional approach within any music genre, as without closeups it is harder for the audience to be aware of what the artist actually looks like, therefore the chances that they will be recognised again is low. However this could work in Ed's favour because of he's existing high fame, therefore he has the option to not appear within he's videos because he already had a popular reputation.

There is frequent reference to notion throughout the music video, as the cupid arrows are edited into the video with extra lighting and smoke, this is added to create a visual effect for the audience so that they are more entertained and enticed. The added notion creates effect as it encourages the audience to believe that cupids arrows are realistic objects that are effecting the characters, if the audience believe the concept then they will be more likely to remember the music video which is what the aim of it is to do. The video also subverts from the conventional concept to use a voyeuristic approach to the female body, the main character within the music video is female and she is not represented in a promiscuous or sexual manor. Normally the females have their bodies on display to attract the attention of the male viewers, however within this video the character is wearing an average amount of clothing therefore does not follow the conventions.

There is no intertextual reference within the music video towards other music videos, films or brands. However they do use the concept of cupid, which is a well known mythologic God that represents desire, love and attraction, which is the message being told through the lyrics. This is used so that the audience can then associate the song with the concept of love, as he has used a famous character that everyone is aware represents love.

Having carried out this research and evaluated Goodwins theory for 'Give Me Love' I believe this will assist me in creating my own music video because it has allowed me to be aware of how to attract the target audience of my genre using the 7 points within the theory. I would include most of these in order to make my music video most successful, creating a relationship between the music and visuals as well as the lyrics and visuals is examples of simple approaches to use that create the most effect.