Music Video Director

For this task we had to find and research a music video director. I chose to do Joseph Kahn, a famous director in the industry who has done work for artists ranging from Taylor Swifts recent songs 'Wildest Dreams' and 'Bad Blood', to old rock classics like Muse's 'Knights of Cydonia'.

I really enjoy Joseph Kahn's recent Taylor Swift music video for 'Bad Blood'. His style of music videos focuses on the performer singing within the narrative of the song. So rather than the artist play themselves in the music video, they are portraying another character who has gone through an experience that the song is describing. This makes the music video feel more like a short film. In this example, Taylor Swift is portraying a strong female agent who has been betrayed by her old partner, and is now seeking revenge by grouping up with other female agents.There is less stage performance with actual instruments being shown, or a roaring audience in front of them, but rather more fragmented narrative with the main performer placed in the middle of the story. This is shown in quite a few of his works, for example Maroon 5's Misery. 

Here we can see Adam Levine acting in this music video. Like 'Bad Blood' he is playing a character and not himself. This character is a man who is dominated by a woman in his life. Joseph Kahn focuses on illustrating the words of the song through a great use of mise-en-scene. Here it is being taken to the extreme as the woman in the music video is assualting and attacking adam levines character. He also has a very good grip on the dynamic camera aspect of a music video. Most of his videos include lots of movement to express emotion. For example in 'Misery' the camera is constantly on the move, attempting to show Adam's desperation to escape, but halts as soon as the woman enters, showing she has control over him. He also lip syncs to the song in the music video. This makes it appear as though he is singing the song to this woman. I like this style of music video as it keeps the audience entertained and in wonder of where the music video is going to take them next. I also like this because as a generation we are people who feed of narrative and want to know every detail of the plot, so creating a music video to give an interpretation of the song visually keeps us engaged, whilst giving us a sense of intimacy with the artist.

Most of Joseph Kahn's music videos seem to be quite realistic. He tends to not use obvious symbolic imagery to represent another thought or theme. The words of the song are painted out clearly in the music video. He also uses lots of close ups on the artists face to sell them as a brand. Allowing us as an audience to feel close with the artist, giving us the opportunity to relate to them and the words they have written in the song. It almost seems as if they are a friend because the close ups extend the performers personality through the screen.

Pop Music Videos

Here are a few more music videos which I find inspiring. These music videos are also in the genre of Pop and House which is the genre that my group are going to be focusing on for our music video project. 

Disclosure's music video for You and Me is a very inspiring video as it has an extremely strong narrative throughout the 3 minutes. It tells a short story of a couple and their journey in a new town. Although the music video has no lip sync, the fast paced editing and mass amounts of locations make up for it. This is because of the video's dynamic nature, the element of movement makes the audience feel as if we are actually there with them in the music video. This could also link into voyeurism as we feel like an observer on this couples life together. This gives off a sense of intimacy and a certain amount of privacy which is shared with us. I would like to take away that editing style as it fits with that style of music which would be pop/house. I also like the idea of subversion of voyeurism as the female is not attempting to be sexual or seductive, but innocent and fun. The subversion of the female is a bold move as it eliminates the male viewer gaze but builds up a star image of someone who is not afraid to be themselves. Typically when a female artist is not playing with their sexuality, we find them more of a role model because there are shown to be strong and independent.

In Far East Movement's, The Illest. I really enjoyed watching the video as it has quite a funny narrative from start to finish. The music video isn't taken seriously which fits the sound of the song as it's an upbeat; fun, party song. The artists 'Far East Movement' have chosen to incorporate themselves within the narrative of the music video, showing them to be light hearted and fun. This also allows us to see a side of them which we would not be able to see at a live performance. The editing is also very manic to match the beat of the song which is something I would hope to incorporate in my work. Finally the costumes and mise-en-scene is also fun and interesting as it is set in an office and the 'characters' played by the group are people that would be typically found in an office, causing anarchy.

Lip Sync Exercise

As an initial task to learn the basics of lip sync, we had to find a song which we enjoyed and create a short clip of the music video. The video had to show off the lip sync aspect of a music video. We also chose to take some of the narrative from our chosen music video. 

For our first lip sync exercise we chose the song Miss Independent by Ne-Yo. We agreed on this song because it has a clear upbeat pop sound to it which would make it easier to edit to. We also chose this song because the song is catchy and well liked, giving us the joy of listening to it over and over again.

We managed to create a good narrative to the music video using a range of different shots to create meaning without giving away too much, as that is the songs job to do. Our narrative reflected the lyrics of the song which made for a good video. What we struggled on was the lip sync aspect of the music video as it was difficult to have the actor sing exactly as Ne-Yo does. Leading to some off moments which will be improved in our final project. We also felt we may have needed more lip sync scenes to show off our ability to create a believable lip sync. Finally editing the music video was quite difficult until we learned to use markers on the song. Placing markers on the beat of the song allowed us to edit the clips to the beat much easier.

From this lip sync exercise I now understand the different types of shots used in a music video and why they are used. Such as a close up on the face to show intimacy and a connection with the audience. I also have a better understanding of how to pull off a lip sync effectively.

Music Video Inspiration

For this task we had to choose three music videos that inspire us, and bring something that we can take away to use in our own pieces of work. The three music videos i have chosen are similar in style and genre as they all include some kind of pop.

In this video, Paramore use a lot of bright, warm colours contrasted with a monotone black and white. The video is also very fast paced and includes lots of cuts to fit the fast pace of the song. These montages make the video extremely dynamic which fits with the genre of the song, punk/rock. The fast editing also keeps the viewers engaged and having to rewind to take in every detail of the narrative. The story is also very manic and enjoyable to watch. I love the fact that Hayley Williams is part of the narrative itself whilst also cutting to performance scenes of the band. It makes it seems as though this is something that may have happened to Hayley in the past so we are kind of getting an insight into her personal life, creating intimacy and trust with the performer. Cutting to the band performing also brings pleasure to the audience as we get to the see the band performing up close. We could see the artists live but that doesn't allow us to see the emotion on their face.

During the beginning of Break Free with see some intertextuality as the exposition flying from top to bottom is reminiscent of star wars which is also a sci-fi, adventure text. I also love the costume design and the fun narrative as its outer space. Its isn't what we would usually see so it brings an element of wacky, 'avant garde' media to the music video. This out of the norm music video concept perfectly represents the fantasies that some people have, of wanting to be in outer space, partying and fighting evil aliens. The music video keeps viewers entertained as there are no overly long shots that have nothing interesting happen. Its artistic in an abstract way which is always enjoyable to watch. She also includes the male viewer gaze as there are several camera angles and pans that show of parts of her body. There is also a scene where she removes items of clothing in a zero gravity space. It brings pleasure to the viewers due to its 'out of this world' imagery. The colour choices and special effects also contrast but go well with the theme as we would expect space to be dark and scary, but Ariana shows it as colourful and bright.

In Tori Kelly’s video I really enjoy the narrative that she has behind the song. It only emphasises the meaning to her words and sets the tone for the song. Her clear shots and range of cutting from different angles make it interesting to watch. The locations chosen also reflect upon the lyrics and the emotions being drawn upon. She switches from a large crowd of people in public to an empty and cold room. This could symbolise how shes feels alienated in a large group and tries not to stand out, to make herself a ghost among the public. Her being secluded in a room also illustrates her love for keeping to herself but her pain of wanting to have someone there with her. The colour choices used in the music video is a simple pallet that mimics real life and the dull colours of the city. There aren't that many shots with bright, vibrant colours as that wouldn't be representational of the lyrics to the song. The lack of colour emphasises the lack of love and passion in her life, something that she believes will come to her when she's ready.

Voyeurism in Music Videos: Anaconda

Voyeurism in music videos is typically the act of performing in a sexual or sexualized manner in order for the audience to gain pleasure. The viewers who benefit from this are typically male as most examples of voyeurism are shown through female performance artists either in their own videos or actors/dancers within a male artists music video. This does not exclude male voyeurism as there are many examples of the male body being shown, generally for the female viewing pleasure.

This Nicki Minaj music video is a perfect example of what voyeurism in the industry looks like. The scenes within the video show off the female body in such a way which is appealing to the male viewer gaze. The song Anaconda contains several lyrics which is reflected in the video itself, as the song describes parts of the female body. Nicki Minaj is very well known for using mass amounts of voyeurism in her music videos as a means to either play with the conceptions of gender or subvert them.

Here shows off a mid-close up of a woman's body. This shot is used to accentuate the woman's figure and behind, which is a topic of the song. This is a classic example of voyeurism in music video as it shows the female in a light which would be pleasing to the male viewers. The close up on the body invokes a sense of intimacy with the audience and really sells the song. This shot could also be used as a more promotional strategy for the artist as this sense of intimacy makes the audience more likely to become involved and buy the artists produce.