How to study music videos - Steve Archer

Steve Archer has come up with 5 ways in which to study music videos.


1. 'Thought beats' or sounds in your head.

• He believes that synisthesia is central to understanding as they build on the soundtracks visual associations in order to connect with the audience and provide that additional pleasure.

• He says you must start with the music. Don't analyse the lyrics word for word but rather consider the way they introduce a general feeling or mood.

•  If songs are stories, then the singer is the storyteller, this makes music videos stand out on TV, this is because there is a first person mode of address rather than the 'fourth wall' of TV narration.

2. Narrative and performance.

•  Songs rarely tell complete narratives, we often get hints of a story, like some drama unfolding.

• Another reason music videos should avoid narrative is because of their role in advertising. They need to have repeatability built in. We need to be able to watch them repeatedly in a casual way, with a loose approach to storytelling.
• Music videos will often cut between narrative and performance from the artist, in addition there may be a choreographed dance from the artist also.
• At times, the artist may even be part of the narrative.

3. The star image.

• The music business relies on a few big name stars to fund its activities, it usually fails to connect with audiences though - only one out of ten acts put out by the industry actually makes money.
• Meta narratives play a key part in the music video process, its the term that describes the developement of a star image over time. 
• Meta-narratives of star image are not simply a matter of manipulation, but a dialogue or negotiation of what the music business asserts about their star, and what we accept.

4. Three ways in which music videos relate visuals to the song.

• Music videos can illustrate the meaning of the lyrics and genre.
• With all advertising, the most persistent type of video adds to the value of a song. Amplification is seen as the true mark of the music video auteur, the director as an artist, and an increasingly common way to view music video creatives.
• Disjuncture is the term used to describe music videos that are not related to the true meaning of the song in any way (usually intentionally).

5. Technical aspects of music video.

• The last aspect to study is technical. This include camerawork, movement and angle, mise-en-scene, editing, and sound.
•  Speed. Speed is visualised by camera movement, fast editing (montage) and digital effects, camera, editing and post-production digital effects 
• Meat! The meat of most music videos is the cut to the close-up of the singer's face. -3. Beats! Often, the video will try and represent the music through the use of the cut to go with the beat or key rhythm.  
• Lighting and colour may also be used to emphasise key moments in the song, using methods from lighting live performances for dramatic effect. 
• Mise-en-scene - obviously the setting for music videos is important, often to guarantee the authenticity of the clip rather than anything else.