What is a music video - Miss Miller

A music video is integrating the audio of a song and placing it alongside imagery. This is done to many affects, for both artistic purposes and for promotion.

For institutions, the main benefit for such being for promotional purposes, an example of which being how when a song is first released, often a music video is released at the same time. To which this is done to advertise both the song and video itself. This helps promote a song due to the shear number of ways in which a video can be watched, the most frequently used way being YouTube. Due to this, the release of a music video enables for a large amount of exposure on multiple different platforms, at very little cost, which can also be consumed by a very wide audience

Music videos can often go viral on social media sites such as you tube for an example, to which from the free additional exposure saves money for the production as well as making it more accessible by a wider audience.

A music video can also be used to promote the artist themselves, as fans of a particular genre of song may of heard of a particular song, to which when going to view the video will discover the artist themselves by being able to experience the song and the artists performance.

Another purpose potentially being to show a short narrative to the viewer alongside the song. This can be done to either put across a message to the public, by doing so using the media attention which the production gets to use it for a beneficial purpose. An example of this could be a song ending with a death of someone throughout and the message being to avoid whatever theme is shown throughout, like drink driving or smoking.

Another purpose can be to represent/ portray the artist in a particular way; an example of which being a pop artist who is portrayed by the media as being uptight and serious about there work and then creating a music video in which they are messing about on screen and showing there "fun" side. By doing this fans of the artist may feel as if they cam relate more to the artist themselves as they are shown as being down to earth, therefore making them for accessible and like able to the public.

Another purpose of such being to attract a particular target audience, to which trying to cater the nature of the video and what is present throughout so that it is accessible for the target audience and is what they would expect for a video within that genre of music as well as fitting with what they would want for a music video as they can be requested upon also by fans of a song if they were not originally intended to be made or released.

Another reason being able to identify with an artist group, an example of which being similar to that of the portrayal of an artist in regards to them being accessible to people and making the fans and viewers of the music video to be able to identify themselves with the artist group, from having the video it enables to viewer to feel as if they have more of an insight into the individuals and groups as a whole.

Another purpose of a music video is for the audience to remember the music video, to which can have a number of benefits to which, as they will remember the video itself and when remembering it, it will remind them of the song and artist. From doing such it will enable the artist to gain more exposure and to be a better known name within the music industry. Another way in which making the video memorable is that on social media sites, the public can talk and joke about the video itself, once again providing with some addition exposure towards a wider audience. If a abstract or offbeat music video which is memorable gets spread via word of mouth and social media sites such as YouTube, they can go viral and be seen by an even wider audience.

For music videos, there are three different types which can be found; performance, narrative and concept. An example of performance would be the music video containing an element of the artist and/or back dancers singing and/ or dancing. Narrative within a music video is telling a story through the additional visuals seen throughout. Concept within a music video is selling the audience an idea or theme which is portrayed throughout. When it comes to the three different types, some music videos may only contain a select number or only one, or they may try to incorporate all three into one singular video production.


Music video analyse


The video I shall be analyzing is by Maroon 5, "Sugar". The song and artist group fall under the pop genre, to which the video itself follows the principals present for both pop videos and the interior components to a common music video itself.

There are multiple purposes behind this music video:


In the very beginning of the music video, a shot of Adam Levine can be seen (check above) in which straight from the off he is looking directly at a handheld camera which features the record icon, as well as the date and battery icon kept in the shot. This could be done to a number of affects. The camera being used to film the segment is not going to be a common hand held camera as shown here, more likely going to be a high quality HD camera as the visuals throughout are of a high quality. Through keeping such things on the screen and implying its such a camera relates towards the concept of a music video being to relate more towards the artist and the song itself. This is as the use of a camera which is commonly seen through home videos (such as the battery icon, recording sign and date of filming) which makes it seem as if the artist is more down to earth and like an "ordinary" person, and not just a big star. Through doing such this makes the artist easier to identify with as they are portrayed in such a way.

Also, through the use of the beginning segment appearing to be unedited through what can be seen above, it could connote that fans of Maroon 5 and the song may of requested a music video which was not originally created at the beginning of the songs release, therefore to please there fans they rushed together a video. Although most probably not the case, if this was true it would make the viewers and fans of the group be seen as being dedicated towards the fans by following there request of creating a video. This is connoted by the creates of the production through the use of the mid shot in which Levine can be seen speaking directly at the camera (see above), in which this continues throughout as a lot of the music video seems to have very little editing done to it, and showing this at the beginning could imply such. An example of segments which do appeal to be edited are the wedding segments, although the majority of the other shots appear not to be as much.

Throughout the music video, the main member of the group Adam Levine can be seen being the man focus of the screen; often looking directly at the artist and being centered directly in the middle. This stays consistent throughout the video, being seen from the beginning all the way to the end. The purpose of this could be to show the viewer a bigger insight towards the artist themselves. Through doing such, the viewer can may feel as if they can understand the group and individual artist better. Another reason as to why this is done could possibly be linked towards Adam Levine and his popularity with both Maroon 5 and a solo artist. As he has a large following regardless and is the most well known out of the group, through having him as the main focus fans of his music may be more inclined to continue watching and may enjoy the music video experience more so due to the additional attention drawn towards him.

The music video has a number of styles within. Out of the three styles (concept, narrative and performance) I found all of them with the exception being concept, to which I could not find a message or idea behind the video itself, more so just being a collaboration of multiple different events occurring throughout.

It could be argued that the style of 'narrative' is present throughout, although with this particular video it is portrayed in a more unorthodox way to other popular songs. This is as the narrative of the song and music video is not one continuation of a narrative, more so lots of mini stories. This is evident through the whole idea of the video itself and the band visiting weddings. The individual weddings which are shown throughout the duration of the video could be said to be a set of smaller narratives molded into one continuous segment.

Throughout the music video at hand, a number of micro elements can be seen throughout the duration of the production, in which common conventions of the pop music genre can be seen within.

The first convention which I have identified is actually the main theme which can be seen throughout the music video. This is that of pop videos often being centered around the idea and theme of love and/ or relationships. This can be seen through the use of cinematography, specifically a two shot of both the bride and groom. The music video for "sugar" consists of Adam Levine and the other members of Maroon 5 surprising newly weds. This links towards the idea of both love and relationships very clearly through the use of the wedding settings. Alongside this, the lyrics themselves are centered around love also, an example of a line in which this can be heard is in fact in the very opening of the song, in which the lead Adam Levine goes "I'm hurting, baby, I'm broken down I need your loving, loving I need it now". This further enforcing the convention of love throughout, which can be clearly seen to follow a established convention.

The second convention of music pop videos which can be seen throughout the video is that of everyone in the video (more so the artists) seeming happy and content with things; the nature of the video often being very upbeat which is evident within this video. This can be seen also throughout the video as the shots which are done in exterior places (such as when they are in the convertible car) the weather is also very sunny and clear. This connotes that everyone is happy, which adds towards the upbeat nature of the video. This could be done to go in reverse to the nature of the lyrics, as if a darker themed video was used for a video about a breakup would more likely to be depressing, whereas with what they have produced they have followed the well known conventions which fall into the pop genre, without it turning into a sob story almost. Having there video as being more joyous and happy, which is assisted with the weddings which is often associated with a feeling of celebration, it makes the video itself more appealing to watch and listen to. From doing so following the trends of other pop songs and making it more accessible to a wider audience.


On the contrary, one common convention which is featured throughout modern day pop songs is that the clothes which are featured are often quite trendy and popular to those of the target audience, as well as often being mainstream clothing. Throughout the video, the main lead Adam Levine is wearing a suit, which his fellow band members are also wearing. This challenges the convention as a song of this nature you would assume they would be wearing more casual clothing, which it is evident they are not. Although, this could possibly be due to what is within the music video, and that the band are making surprise visits to weddings, so the clothes which they are wearing are most probably down to this reason. Regardless of this, it still challenges the convention mentioned, although it seems to work with the video as they are still portrayed in a down to earth way to an extent; later segments of the music video the band (more so Adam Levine) can also be shown as being more of a celebrity status and demonstrating this, an example of which can be from the cookers reaction to the band walking through the kitchen before going on stage, which occurs near the later end of the video.


Another purpose behind the song can be identified nearing the end of the song. This can be seen through the use of cinematography, specifically a mid shot. This is of the lead member of the group Adam Levine, in which he can be seen in a solo shot with a black background in which he is the main focus. He is also centered directly in the middle of the shot. Also linking towards the style of music video performance, this segment is also an example of performance as he can be seen partaking in a solo within the song, being pictured with just him and a microphone. This particular instance also links towards the purpose of a video being to create a relationship between both the viewer an artist on screen. This is evident in other instances also, as from the start Levine is shown to be the member with the most amount of screen time, and the times in which he is one screen he is in the middle of the shot. The viewer would be able to create a relationship through this segment in particular as not only does it focus on him for a good 10-15 second duration, the nature of the song slows down and the feeling portrayed seems to become more personal. This could be said to be both giving a bigger insight into the artist themselves, as well as creating a relationship between the lead due to multiple moments like this throughout in which he is the most significant visual shown.

The video itself could be argued to appeal to a very large audience. Maroon 5 have a number of popular songs, an example of which being the one at hand, and the nature of them varies depending on the nature of the song and the lyrics. Due to this, the different songs can have different appeals towards different groups, however this particular song could potentially be aimed to a unspecific audience, although if aiming towards a specified audience the video would lean more towards a teenage audience of young people, possibly ageing from 13 - 35. This would be more so because of the happy nature of the music video and the upbeat feel which is created through such. This is therefore catered more towards young people due to the people which are present within the video, as the newly weds which can be seen throughout are predominantly young, therefore viewers of the video may be able to relate to the visuals on screen. Also, staying on the idea of the viewer being able to relate to the context, the elderly people at the weddings are also shown as being very happy and upbeat, an example of which can be seen with the Asian bride and grooms. This assists in the video being both accessible to there main target audience of younger people, but not being restricted on such and enabling it to be accessed by a wide audience, which is fitting for a song within the pop genre as it is likely to be present within the top charts around the release of the song.

Conclusion

This particular video has enabled me to have a better understanding towards music videos, in regards to following, challenging and adapting well known conventions. The music video at hand for the most part does follow the conventions of music videos which fall into the pop genre. This is most probably beneficial as pop videos are often aimed to be accessible to many, and to be mainstream in nature and to not defy what is expected of them, so that they can be accessed by a larger audience of people, with the aim of being more popular to a larger amount of people, rather than being unorthodox and appearing towards a niche target audience, which is present throughout different genres of music. Although on one instance the video does challenge and adapt the convention of commonly featured clothing within pop videos, although this is not completely challenged as the concept itself is more subjected in nature as different clothing is considered to be mainstream or popular, although the use of suits does not seem to hinder the purpose or type of music video created, rather it just adapts the convention to fit the nature of the video itself. From analyzing such, I have identified that for songs that fall under the pop genre, when it comes to creating a music video it could be a better idea to simply follow the conventions which have been established throughout the years of the genre and to go with what would be commonly expected to be present throughout, rather than challenges or going against the norms. This is as they are popular videos therefore the aim of such would be to please the consumers of the music video and to increase the overall popularity and accessibility. Going against the norms would defy this and would result in a final production that the public may not see as being particularity appealing and would therefore jeopardize the popularity and accessibility of it.

Overall, I think music videos can be very effective in a number of ways and for multiple reasons. They are a extension of the song itself and they enable the person watching the video an experience which cant be done just listening to the song. As mentioned prior this enables the watcher to have a better in sight in to the song and artist themselves, as well as possible being able to follow the narrative behind the song on screen. The promotional purposes behind videos can be endless due to the rising popularity in the videos themselves and the increasing ways in which music can be consumed. It is clear that music videos are effective due to there increasingly popularity, which in turn results in exposure which can have a number of positive affects, for both the artist and song and enabling it to get more popular. Essentially music videos have an endless number of possibilities and benefits for both parties, artists and those consuming there work.

I am still undecided as to what genre and type of video I wish to create when it comes to creating my own music video production. This is as I am well aware that this is going to be heavily influenced also by the input of my fellow group members. Although, if I do opt to create a video which falls under the pop genre, I have a greater idea as to what styles to use and to what affect, as well as what I would wish to include in regards to conventions. For this music video in particular, through my analyse I have identified what I believe should and should not be included within a music video which falls into the pop genre. Within this video, for the most part it follows the common conventions of that of pop videos, to which is most probably done to follow what is expected of them so that the artist group can appeal towards a larger audience. Although, there is one instance in which they can be seen altering the convention of clothing which is associated with such videos, also saying this it is subjective as to what is popular in what area in which the video is being watched, as well as the subjective nature of what is considered to be mainstream or not. But in the end altering the convention to fit the nature of the music video which is centered around weddings does seem to work so altering conventions to fit the context of the video is acceptable within pop videos. Through this analyzing, if I do opt to create a pop video, I am going to most probably stress the need to follow the conventions quite strictly and to not defy them, with the intent of enabling the video to be more popular and accessible to a wider target audience. Also, hoping to please the target audience so that the final production is of what they have come to expect of videos of this genre. Essentially following the mainstream concepts and conventions established throughout the years, but with adding a twist which relates back to either the nature of the song or the video being created, to create a sense of authenticity and originality, but while doing so avoiding the production from becoming too abstract in nature.