Andrew Goodwin - Categorising music videos
We can categorise music videos into three different categories. These are 'Narrative', 'Concept' and lastly 'Performance'.
Narrative: A music promo with a storyline, generally mirroring the lyrics and type of genre.
Concept: The Concept within a music video is when the director focuses on portraying a unique style which engages the audience as for its quirkiness.
Performance: A performance based video will tend to have multiple shots of the singer and perhaps shots from a concert/festival. Having shots from previous performances is a way to promote the band.
An example of a Narrative based video:
Aerosmith's release of the song 'Crazy' in 1994, was accompanied with a music video featuring a narrative based storyline. The music video was created by film director 'Marty Callner' and was featured number 17 on the Billboards top 100. Singer/songwriter - 'Steven tyler' wrote the song based off a crush that he once had. The song lyrics are about a women who appears and disappears from his life and therefore drives him 'crazy'.
The visuals and song lyrics link and therefore make this video a 'Narrative' promo. The video features two American High School girls escaping from their school out one of the side windows. They drive away in a black Ford Mustang, laughing and feeling rebellious. The two girls stop off at a car station and use their good looks to fool the cashier into needing money. With the money the girls next head to a pole dancing competition. Therefore 'Voyeurism' is present to intrigue the male audience. The girls are announced winners of the dance competition, and choose to spend their night in a local motel. The next morning they continue with their travels where in which they encounter a young, attractive, shirtless farmer driving a tractor in the country side. They ask him to join them on their journey, where they drive to a nearby lake and all go skinny dipping. The girls take off his clothes and leave him naked in the lake. The guy runs from the lake towards the girls driving away, he finally catches up with them in their retro convertible. Throughout the entire video there are frequent snippets of Aerosmith performing live. The incorporation of the band performing increases the authenticity of the video and increases the fan base as the lead singer is featured.
An example of a 'Concept' based video:
Foo Fighters released one of their best singles 'My hero' in 1997. The song lyrics do not narrate the visuals, but instead they discuss the actor, as they sing 'there goes my hero'. This is clearly a concept based promo as it is formed from one singular idea which is unique and serves the purpose of informing the audience about the danger of a house/street fire. The video is located in what seems to be an American neighboured (presumably, as for the band are from America) . There has been some kind of fire incident which has spread down the row of houses. The locals are gathered outside their houses in distress pleading for help as they have left their loved ones and belongings inside. The director focuses on the 'hero' who takes the chance of risking his life to save others. This individual is made the focal point of the promo, however we never see his face. Instead we are shown his back, it is noticeable he is wearing a red polo top. Perhaps the stylists chose to dress the hero in red to enhance his presence, as the colour 'red' never goes un-noticed. Or perhaps the coloured top is purposeful to resemble connotations of danger as he is choosing to step into the scene of a fire. I feel as if the Director has chosen not to feature the actors face, as he wishes to create enigma and base the heroic figure of his actions rather than appearance. Throughout the video the hero manages to save a young baby, a puppy which is curled anxiously in a bathroom sink, and a photograph of the baby's mum. Every room which the actor manages to go through has a member of the band singing casually. Almost as if they're oblivious to the situation. The end of the promo follows the actor outside where he passes over the photograph he retrieved and unites with the neighboured, forming this sense of 'community'. This video proves that the band itself do not have be the focal point of the promo, as within this situation it is the 'performance' which delivers a far more powerful message.
An example of a 'performance' based video:
'Nothing but thieves' are an alternative/indie rock band, their release of the song 'Lover, please stay' in 2015 is a prime example of a 'performance' based music promo. The video is set in what seems to be an rundown old building. The location is hard to clearly make out as there is low-key lighting and the only source of synthetic lighting are the spotlights, directed towards the band. The song lyrics are thought provoking to perhaps those in a relationship or individuals which have feelings of love for another. The entirety of the video is performance based.
Although the band unite as a whole, the vocalist is made to be the focal point to the promo, as he is positioned front on to the camera and the director has chosen to film more shots of the vocalist in comparison to his fellow musicians. The duration of each individual clip mirrors the song lyrics the long lasting notes, as the Director rests the camera on each shot for quite a long period of time. This is to resemble the softness of the song, as fast paced shots would completely contradict the lyrics and styling of the romantic genre. The simplicity of the video allows the audience to appreciate the performance without the influence and distraction of back-up dancers, unnecessary props and lighting. It seems as if this is a clean cut of the bands 'live' performance as the vocals and instrumental sound diegetic, and do not sound as if they have been applied within a recording studio during post-production.
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