In a typical music video, these are the main factors that you will expect to see:
- The artist
- Non diegetic sound (the music track)
- The visual image reflecting the music
- The story line
- Image of the artist
- Shots edited to the beat
- Variety of angles
The artist:
In most music videos, the artist is continuously shown throughout the duration of the song. This is to help promote their singles and and persuade their audience to listen to the track.
In Miley Cyrus' music video for 'Wrecking Ball', she is featured in every single shot. By including her through the video encourages big fans of hers to view it and eventually buy the song. For her, her star image helps her sell her records.
However, this rule does not apply for every single artist. For singer/song writer Ed Sheeran, he appears very little in most of his music videos. In 'Give Me Love' Ed only appears in a cafe drinking coffee and the main focus stays on the actress playing cupid. This signifies that he sells his music without the need of his image being involved in the music videos.
The visual image reflecting the music:
In the majority of videos, most artist create a direct link between the music, lyrics and actions. This is called amplifying. In 5 Seconds of Summer's music video for 'She Looks So Perfect', the directer has included this technique to bring the lyrics to life and to visually help the audience to create a link.
In my American Apparel underwear."
Story line:
Some music videos even create story lines to go along with their track. This helps create a visual scenario for the viewers and makes them understand the lyrics more clearer. If the music video has a strong story line, then it is more likely to attract the audience's attention and persuades them to watch the whole video, even if they are not too keen on the track itself. Wheatus' music video for 'Teenage Dirtbag' is based around a story line between a boy and girl inside a high school and has a similar resemblance to movies in America, making it enjoyable to watch.
Star Image:
In every music video, the artist has a strong star image, whether that's musically or physically. The star image allows an artist to express their creative flare to their target audience and make them appealing. Michael Jackson's star image is still memorable in today's music industry. As the creator of the moon walk and the white glove, Jackson's legacy still influences artists and directors around the world and has had an impact of individuals creativity. It was his star image that separated him from other male singers and enabled him to sell as many singles as he did.
Shots edited to beat:
Music videos are usually filmed around the beat of a song. The clips are cut and edited as soon as the music slow downs or speeds up, which makes it more natural to watch.
Variety of camera shots and angles:
Most music videos have a variety of angles and shots. This helps set emotion and creates the a certain effect on the audience. A pop music video usually has lots of close ups to show off the artists whereas dance videos have lots of long shots to show off everyone dancing and having fun.
Good overview of the key features as applied to a range of examples. Develop this understanding by focussing on one artist and how they have used these features in their own videos.
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