My Favourite Music Video

One of my favourite music videos is Coldplay's 'The Scientist'. In the video, the lead singer, Chris Martin relives the death of a car crash in which his girlfriend dies, and the aftermath of the event, but he relives it backwards. This means the audience doesnt see the accident until the end. This is good because it builds suspense, and keeps the audience watching. The video is very clever, and the making of it gives people something to talk about, promoting it. Perhaps the most clever part of the video is that Chris is moving backwards, yet he sings forwards. In the months before the shooting of the video, he had to learn all the words backwards, pushing himself to make an effective and extremely clever video. The video is an emotional story, and keeps the audience guessing as to what its all about.

Can Pop Videos be Considered a Genre?

Today we discussed whether or not pop videos can be considered to be their own genre. I believe that it is a genre, and can be divided into sub genre's, such as comedy, romance, dance etc. If pop video is to be considered a genre, then we decided that the conventions that are always included, to make it recognisable as a music video includes;
- Music
- Lip synching
- Dancing
- Instruments/Instrumentals
- Artist/Band
- Artist/Band name shown at the beginning and end of the video
- Extravagant costumes
- Mise en scene produces a particular image
- Fast editing

Theory Work: A Model of the Media

Factors to Consider when Making a Music Video

A number of factors will have to be considered when we make our music video, as there are certain qualities that each music video has, that make it a music video, some more obvious than others. We will have to think about the relevance of the video to the song and its lyrics, the location of our video, the ethics and the actors we use. We must include lip synching and be aware of creating continuity when editing. We also have to think about the weather when filming, and the mise en scene we use, to create the right image and atmosphere.

How can a Video be Judged to be Successful?

Today in class we discussed how a video is supposedly successful. There are a number of different ways. Some which were suggested include what TV channel it features on, or the number of sales or downloads the song has. Also, we established that a music video is more popular if the song is good, and if parts of it are used in other videos. This is demonstrated in the video below; 'Rock this Party' by Bob Sinclar. It uses a big range of other famous popular videos recreated by three children, such as Michael Jackson's 'Thriller', Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me a River' and 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' by Nivarna, and other artists including the Beatles, Bob Marley and Sean Paul. This video is also an example of post-modernism, which we will also be learning about this year.




A video is also considered to be successful (or unsuccessful) based on the coverage it receives by the media, and the way it is discussed and portrayed. In class it was suggested that a video is also successful if it has a high number of views on Youtube, however i do not believe this to be the case. For example, Cher Llyods new song 'Swagger Jagger' may appear to be popular with over two million hits, but in actual fact it has nearly three times as many dislikes than it does likes (as shown below).

Purposes of a Music Video

In lesson we have been looking at the reasons for creating a music video. Each video has different purposes, some of which are listed below;
- To express an interpretation of the songs lyrics
- To show the songs meaning and express emotion
- To show the song in a alternative way, or in more depth
- To tell a story
- To promote the artist or band
- To spark debate or some sort of controversy
- To target a particular audience
- To appeal to a visual audience
- To raise awareness and profile

What Makes a Music Video Popular?

Here is a wordle that shows the different reasons as to why a music may be popular and do well.

Task Brief

This year, our task is to create a music 'promo' video, up to 5 minutes long, for an artist or band, likely to be unsigned. We will also in our groups create the cover of a 'digipak' for our songs release on CD, as well as a magazine advisement for the digipak. I will be documenting my progress on my blog, as I did last year, and it will include all my research and planning, as well as a critical evaluation at the end of the task.