Research into Goodwins theory

Research into Goodwin's theory 

Andrew Goodwin discovered 7 conventions and steps to a music video that artists use to portray their songs when writing for 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' in 1992. Goodwin's is essential to consider when making a music video or analysing a music video as it gives a clear structure on things to consider if you want to make a successful video, with a number of conventions of music videos that can be made to suit any genre, including whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based and the relationships between music and visuals and lyrics and visuals. Goodwin's theory gives an indication of how music videos more often then not tend to include a demonstration of typical genre characteristics. 

The music video and artist I have chosen to analyse for Goodwin's theory is rap and R&B artist Drake and the song 'Started from the bottom'. Goodwin's theory suggests that lyrics will make constant references to the visuals on screen and the visuals will reinforce what the lyrics say in either a illustrative, amplifying or contradicting way. This is clear in drakes started from the bottom where he repeatedly raps 'started from the bottom now we're here' when showing glimpses and clips of him working in a supermarket to walking down the road in the snow wearing expensive clothing and with a white Bentley. This makes the lyrics used in the passage of the video illustrative and he is adopting the classic story of a rapper who 'started from the bottom' from as the video shows, working in a supermarket, and has made it against all the odds. It also has relevance to his actions and personality in the video where we constantly see him dancing around and preforming the song showing his happiness about making it in the industry. However this is also perceived as unconventional as rap artists don't usually express much happiness or emotion in there videos, especially when the lyrics or video tend to be quite deep and meaningful like 'started from the bottom'. He demonstrates the narrative of a young boy starting from the bottom to the top in his video as he likes to show off his wealth and present himself as a conventional rap artist by having a fancy, expensive car jewellery and clothes and as the lyrics show, he had none of that before.

Music videos will tend to demonstrate gender characteristics. These are depicted as there certain traits associated with the music genre, e.g stage performance in a rock/metal video, dance routine for boy/ girl band, is it conventional of the genre. There are many rap  conventions and characteristics to present Drake for the music video for started from the bottom, the main one being the party scene at the end where he is sitting amongst a load of girls, spraying champagne and flashing his money, a characteristic that Drake has often used and gathered over the years in his videos and that has been used in generations of rap videos. It is also displayed in a expensive room in a house, presumably Drake's and this demonstrates the vast wealth and popularity behind Drake and the rap genre that we would expect. Another defining characteristic of the video is where Drake is seen bowling with his friends and Drake being a successful rapper means making honest connections with people seem blurry and how everyone only seems to want his money and fame but not him. This makes Drake honest and humble as the video shows him staying loyal to his true friends who helped him get to where he is today. The audience see this as a good personality trait for rappers to have and are able to relate to him because of this as they feel he is ordinary and a down to earth rapper and person that is no different to them, in comparison to other rappers such as Kanye West who like to think they are different and better then others. This makes Drake more of a popular and successful artist and, bringing more attention and expectation to his videos. 

The demands of the record label will include the need for close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work. It is ultimately up to the record label to decide how they want to represent there artist and give them a visual style which helps to build a relationship with the artist, e.g the record label may decide to show a female artist as sexy and revealing in order to attract more of a male orientated audience. Drake is seen as the centre of attention throughout the whole video with every scene, concept or shot based around him. This is evident where we see a mid shot of Drake in the supermarket and him bowling with his friends and audiences crowding around him and treating him with respect and somewhat the leader of his 'team'. The whole visual image that the record label want to create for Drake is that he has earned his success and gone through bad times to get to the good. Therefore, they show visual images and close ups of his past through to him enjoying his success.

In music videos, there tend to be frequent references to notion of looking, screens within screens, telescopes etc and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. The audience look at the artist is a voyeuristic way, which the artist does not realise. This is clear when Drakes friends and former colleagues, who he refers to as part of his team, are fighting over serving a girl who is wearing revealing clothing. This shows drake and his friends were disrespectful and childish when speaking to women when they were younger and less successful however they have now matured and become a lot more respectful. However, they are seen as only having harmless fun and showing good personalities i order to relate to their audiences and have a friendly competition/bit of fun with their friends. Audiences will watch this and be able to relate to drake as it is a real life situation not just in the rap genre but in real life and will see the funny side to his videos in order to be more entertained. 
Music and the rap genre in particular often tends to include intertextual references to media platforms such as films, TV programmes and other music videos, however there is no intertextual references in this video and the only point of Goodwin's theory that is not included in the video as the video and song is focused around Drake and his development of a person rather then the media itself.

There is often a relationship between the music and visuals of the music video, much like the music and lyrics. They tend to be either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting, the visuals match the music beat through the micro-elements. The video and song adopts a steady tone and beat throughout the video in order for the audience to focus on the message in the lyrics and concept of the video, however on very hook and chorus the beat becomes a bit more up beat with the introduction of more instrumental music to play in time with Drake swaying and bowling down the road preforming his song to make it look like he is true to the image he gives himself and the lyrics. At the end of the video, the same beat is used on the chorus and this time it shows the start of a party setting with everyone sitting around enjoying there selves in honour of drake. This beat is used at the beginning of every chorus to show more upbeat, party like scene with more conventions of the R&B genre, showing Drakes wealthy and successful side to show a different personality towards him.

Lastly, the artist and record label company make the decision on whether the video will be primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based and how elements of each is used in it. There are elements of each in the video, with performance narrative and concept all having the same importance as each other. The early stages of the video show Drake have more of an performance aspect towards the video as he raps in between scenes and maintains this throughout the video. However, each scene and new visual image marks a part of a narrative of drakes life and where he has come, hence the name of the song 'started from the bottom'. The concept of the video is also to show that he is humble and remembers where he comes from however he knows how to enjoy himself and its a wealthy and powerful R&B artist who isn't to be taken lightly. Rap artists often tend to use the concept element in their videos in order to tell the story of where they come from or life experiences that relate to the song or video such as where they came from, how they become an artist or the troubles they faced along the way and how they are recognised in the industry as one of the best and the biggest, something that Drake often includes in his videos and in started from the bottom where he talks about his rise to the top.  

I have taken inspiration from this video and in particular Goodwin's Theory as it gives me a clear understanding on what needs to be included in my music video in order for it to be successful and conventional to my particular genre. This video makes use of all 7 points very thoroughly and clearly and is a good platform to take inspiration from and show aspects of performance, narrative and concept.

Research into television music channels

Research into television music channels

The purpose of music television channels is to give fans and audiences a different and unique way of experiencing music to enjoy their favourite artists and songs. They are easily accessible for audiences and are available for all different genres and platforms of music. Music television channels such as MTV are also used as a way for artists to promote their music and sell themselves how they like as an artist by giving an insight to their characters and music through these videos. Music television channels also host a variety of different programmes for their audiences such as Worldwide top 40,R&B classics, 90's pop hits, etc so fans can enjoy a wide range of music videos. 

MTV

The target audience for MTV's television channels are teenagers and young adults, specifically 13-21 year olds as they have a particular interest in most of the artists and genres that MTV tend to play. This is clear as MTV's television channel, MTV Base, has scheduled programmes such as 'Super base beats' for 6:00, 'Chris Brown: Official top 10' for 4:00 and 'Sean Paul: Official top 10' for 7:00, all artists and genres that apply to 13-21 year olds. Super base beats attracts and sells to its audiences with the 'hottest base beats from todays biggest art its', with artists such as Chris Brown and Sean Paul flying in the charts lately because of their popularity with this specific target audience.

This enables more popularity for MTV as more people will be attracted to tune in and it will get attract its target audience. MTV is known for playing popular chart music as it allows them to play the current days biggest and most popular tunes that audiences wants to listen to.This also allows avid music fans and record labels to keep up to date with who is the hottest artists to date and the videos they are producing to become so successful. Some of the popular artists amongst MTV's current charts include Chris Brown, part of the R&B genre, Jason Derulo, part of the pop and R&B genre, Taylor Swift, part of the pop genre, 

MTV are owned my media conglomerate company, Viacom Media Networks, who are also home to television channels such as Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. This allows MTV to become more successful and popular as they are able to broaden their television horizons with a variety of different programmes that serve different purposes such as comedies and kids programmes that have made a name for themselves at nickelodeon and comedy central. Being owned by Viacom Media Networks also means that they have a high influence of wealth and reputation behind them to move forward in the right direction and create globalisation and more popularity. The MTV logo is displayed as a large 'M' to represent music and a 'TV' to represent television, Music Television. This logo appeals to its target audience as it includes three different representations of media platforms that teenagers and younger adults are attracted to. It also is perceived as quite simple and does not require much thought. It is also displayed in graffiti form, something that is perceived to be popular with adolescents.

4Music

4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and some digital television providers in the Republic of Ireland. 4Music is targeted at all ages, particularly younger adults and middle aged adults as it plays a variety of genres and has a number of different music television programmes which are broadcasted daily. 4music is primarily  known for focusing on POP music, however because it is part of a chain of popular music broadcasters such as Kerrang, Kiss and Magic, they have a number of different genre programmes such as 'Official top 40's', 'The versus chart' and 'Six steps'; each including a number of different genres. 

Official chart programmes are where a chart is compiled of songs from particular artists from different genres make up the best 20 songs in the charts to date. 4Music viewers vote for their favourite songs online and the results are based from this, allowing more engagement from its audience and popularity as the songs they are playing are those most popular with their target audience, a major factor in its popularity and chosen target audience. Other programmes such as Six steps and the versus charts compare the development of artists music videos and songs and compare genres to each other to find out which is the most popular with its audience. By broadcasting these sort of programmes and music videos, 4Music are able to maintain their vast popularity and reputation for playing different types of genres, allowing them to have a large target audience that want to keep listening to them.This also allows avid music fans and record labels to keep up to date with who is the hottest artists to date and the videos they are producing to become so successful. Some of these artists that are involved in these types of programmes vary from the like of rap and R&B artists such as Snoop Dog, Chris Brown and Rhianna to pop and band artists such as Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Mcfly. These artists use 4music to promote their music and feature on these programmes with interviews to give audiences a better insight to their thinking behind the songs, videos and why they have planned for the future, to keep fans excited and tuned in to 4Music. 

4Music are owned by 'The box plus network' who also have their own music television channel 'The Box'. They are also home to and in charge of 4Musics sister channels, Kerrang, Smashhits, KissTV, Channel 4, Magic and Heat, who all have on air television music channels in the UK. 4Music and the box plus network have the slogan 'music and then some' insinuating that they are more then a music channel and have a variety of music related programmes and entertainment available. This is a benefit for 4Music and a major factor in being owned by the box plus network as they able to increase their popularity and the music networks reputation. They can also prove to be successful from this as The Box own a number of different channels showing they are highly powerful and knowledgable in what they are doing. This means that 4Music have a high influence of wealth and reputation behind them to move forwarding the right direction, creating globalisation and popularity. 4Musics new logo displays a bold 4 sign in pink with 'music' labelled across it to represent its on screen of all of there different genres and has taken inspiration from their exciting, broadcast image. 

Kerrang!

Kerrang! is a UK based magazine and music television channel that is devoted to rock music. In 2001, EMPAP TV launched Kerrang TV! and is it shown across music channels in the UK. Much like the radio station and magazine, they cover the more mainstream and classic rock artists and bands such as Aerosmith and ACDC, and classic heavy metal bands such as Guns 'N' Roses and Metallica. Kerrang TV is now a joint venture between EMPAP TV and Channel 4. 

The target audience for Kerrang TV! is predominately males, aged 20-40 who have a interest in the rock and heavy metal genre. The TV stations playlist also plays sub genres of music that their audiences would like and are similar to Rock and Heavy Metal such as pop punk and skate punk, although with some unusual expectations. Unlike most music channels, they have requested video system in place where their audience can pick their music for them and they pick their most popular videos from this. It shares much of the ethos as the namesake magazine and radio station and tends not to play unassigned acts like magazine features because it is one of Kerrangs biggest platforms and in order to meet its audiences demands and preferences. Mostly American and British artists are played as they are more mainstream and they rarely play European acts, however with the exception that they are featured on some of their music related programmes such as A-Z of punk and rock, Rock 100. These are two of the biggest and most popular features of Kerrang! TV and are scheduled daily or weekly to keep audiences up to date and happy as they are requested a lot and to maintain their views and popularity. Many of these videos and programmes are heavily censored due to Kerrangs strict polices and genre of music they play. They remove sings of profanity, violence and references to god as they are a multi cultural music channel that has a globalised audience, on many platforms. 

Kerrang TV is owned by EMPAP TV and Channel 4, although Kerrang! as a franchise is part owned by media conglomerate, the box plus network. Much like 4Music, is part of a chain of sister music channels that are owned by the box plus network, including Heat, Kiss TV, Smash hits and The Box itself. This is a benefit for Kerrang! in being owned by the box plus network as they able to increase their popularity and the music networks reputation. They can also prove to be successful from this as The Box own a number of different channels showing they are highly powerful and knowledgeable in what they are doing. This means that Kerrang! have a high influence of wealth and reputation behind them to move forwarding the right direction, creating globalisation and popularity. The logo for Kerrang! is has a dark colour scheme of red and black towards it in order to appeal to its target audience and match its genre of rock and punk. It is also displayed as bold and edgy, such as some of the conventions of rock music's songs and videos.

Clubland

Clubland is a televised music channel that broadcast on all television networks in the United Kingdom. It is known for its upbeat, dubstep and house music with remixes of popular pop and R&B songs and artists. It features upbeat pop music in the morning and dance music videos and is based from Clublands compilation albums. It is the most popular dance music channel in terms of ratings and history and as of 2014, it had alomost double the views and ratings then its rival MTV dance.

Clubland has 6 different music television programmes that they broadcast throughout the day. They start off their programming with 'Wake up' in which they play dance music to start the day, followed by Am2Pm, a mixture of non stop house, techno and endurance music to get their audiences feeling lively and happy as they play their favourite genres and songs. In order to maintain their popularity and keep audiences entertained and involved with the music channels, they play the programme 'Clubland' for name sake of the music channel. This is because it is their most popular programme and they want to advertise the name of their brand and enhance its popularity. Along with the programme 'Mania', they play a mixture of music requested by viewers and a selection of commercial dance music. They are also up top date with the latest and most popular new dance songs and are partial to viewers nostalgia by playing new and upcoming tracks and some of the classics. This benefits Clubland TV as they are able to give their viewers a wide variety of music to suit all different kinds of viewers.

The channel launched in July 2008 as part of sky's broadcast music channels, until in August 2008 when it moved up the EPG along with other music channels as part of Sky's EPG Re-shuffle. The channel was initially run in partnership with Mushroom LTD, former operator of Stars TV and Channel AKA, therefore it had good experience of running a music channel and an established reputation of running music broadcast company's, programmes and channels. The channel is now owned by the team behind the highly successful Clubland compilation album series, where viewers text in and control the viewing with clublands highly beneficial and important, be spoke facility. The Clubland logo features its writing and colour format to represent a disco ball and is given in bold, stand out writing that we would often associate with clubs and discos to match its theme and genre of music.

AKA

Channel AKA is a British music broadcasting channel that is known for playing rap, R&B and grime artist across Great Britain and the states. Despite this, it is a music channel that helps to play upcoming grime/hip hop/urban artists and has been a benchmark and platform for some of the biggest artists in the genre today, including Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, Dizzie Rascal, Chipmunk, Wretch 32, Devlin and N Dubz. Channel AKA is not only a significant outlet for upcoming artists but it plays many established artists and is known for its particular. Its material includes crude productions shot with handheld digital cameras and helps artists build a reputation and fan base. Some of Channel AKAs programming includes British bass and beats, Hip hop and rap rhymes, UK gold and street stories, urban throwbacks. Each of these playing a significant part in Channel AKAs popularity and upbringing of artists. The main target audience for Channel AKA is teenagers aged 16-19 and young adults aged 20-25 all with an interest in the rap genre.

Channel AKA is owned by all around the world productions, who are known for specializing in dance and R&B music and artists. It is also a subsidiary of universal, therefore bringing Channel AKA wide success and popularity due to the reputation, knowledge and wealth of universal and its subsidiary's. It is also a sister channel to popular British music channels such as Clubland TV, Now Music and Pop Planet. Channel AKAs logo shows a man in a traditional gangsters outfit that classic rap and R&B artists tend to wear leaning by the letters 'AKA' in a bold suitable colour scheme that matches the music channels genre and reputation.

I think that MTV is broken down into 5 different genre based channels (dance, rock, classic, base, hits) as it allows audiences the chance and freedom to listen to whatever music they want when they want rather then listening to one music channel that plays all different styles of genres that some people won't be interested in or want to listen to. By having an series of different music channels, this makes MTV more diverse and gives them variety making them more popular amongst audiences and the average fan as they can listen to there favourite music, genres and artists without listening to music they aren't interested in. Music channels are important in appealing to target audiences as they are a huge and easily accessible platform to listen to music on and watch music videos and therefore you have more and more people tuning in and watching them. They are therefore highly important and influential in appealing to target audiences, as the more they give audiences and the more opportunities and variety they present, audiences will be able to engage with them more and watch them more regularly. I also believe that there is a variety of music channels so there is more competition amongst the industry and amongst all the different music channels and genres and the main purpose for them is so they can separate the types of music and give audiences more. Also, there is a variety of music channels as it also give them there own identity and allows them to make an image and reputation for themselves to grow and to help publish there music genre and give it more recognition and popularity. I have learnt from analysing different music channels many more styles of music and the purpose of music channels and how they deliver music to their audiences and the styles of music they aim for and the image they want to achieve from the general fan and audiences. This has also helped me with planning my own production as it has helped me choose which genre i want to go with and the conventions and sort of music and artists that go with it to help include into my own video. 

History of a music video- Mrs Georgiou

History of a music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies an artists song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device to promote the sales of music recordings and created a bigger profile for the artist. Music videos are witnessed by viewers and audiences on artists websites or the record labels companies websites, on music video television channels such as MTV and the most popular channel of all, YouTube; Since the introduction of Youtube, music videos are a vital part in music and are in high demand from audiences. 

Music Television, better known as MTV, was launched back in August 1981and it is an american cable based television channel that previews and shows artists music videos and programmes promoting artists and their short media work. It was the first ever music channel to be broadcasted to homes across the world and was significant in the launch of music videos and responsible for the vast popularity of some of the biggest and best music videos in the world today, that all show performance, narratives and a theme; Some even naming it the home of music. Its original purpose was by video jockeys to promote bands and their music videos and since then it has vastly expanded over the years to include music based and music video based award shows, reality shows and top music video countdowns to increase the popularity and reputation of pop culture and music videos. Early on, MTV concentrated on rock music and tended to play classical artists videos such as The Police, Journey and The Beatles. When MTV began to grow and become more popular, they broke the racial barrier and played Michael Jacksons video for 'Billie Jean'. This paved the way for the development of music videos and in particular black artists. Music television channels such as MTV are also used as a way for artists to promote their music and sell themselves how they like as an artist by giving an insight to their characters and music through these videos. Music television channels also host a variety of different programmes for their audiences such as Worldwide top 40, R&B classics, 90's pop hits, etc so fans can enjoy a wide range of music videos. Many people noticed this trend and so the music video as we know it today was born and MTV had become so popular, by 2015, MTV had their channel in 93,240,000 american households which just shows how far music videos have come. There have now been countless other programmes trying to implement what MTV had done but they still remain one of the most dominant ones on this genre of television. 

YouTube is arguably the most popular way of accessing a music video and the platform that gets the most viewers and higher audiences, with over 1 billion people a day tuning onto YouTube to watch and listen to their favourite artists. Not only is YouTube the most popular online tool for music discovery, because of its easy to use and free servers, but amongst the younger demographic particularly, it is the preferred platform to listen to music on. This is because of the high involvement with social media websites such as twitter and Facebook that promote music videos that are shown on YouTube and artists giving links to their own music videos through YouTube. Not only that but YouTube has many social aspects towards its functionality of music videos such as comments pages, easy sharing and embedding, video quality, other recommended music videos and much more, so fans can have a more immediate and active role in sharing music with others and enjoying music videos on a wider scale. YouTube is also used by artists as a way of promoting their own music and is a big money maker in the music video industry. As a result of this, YouTube has paid out over $1billion to music rights holder, artists and industry's, putting the California technology company amongst the top sources of digital revenue for the embattled music industry outside of download sales

Budgets for music videos have increased significantly over the years due to the drastic change in the production value, props and artist value and technology/special effects value of the video. Music video production budgets typically cover the cost of concept development, storyboards, pre-production, on camera talent, casting, chorography, location fees, rehearsals, production equipment, " crew, editing and depending on the scale of the video, technology and special effects costs. The total cost of producing a music video can range from $20,000 to $500,000, whereas if you rewind to over 30 years ago, the first music videos cost about $1000 to make. Now a days, there are a handful of music videos that reach the seven figure range, but those are exceptions in the overall market. If your budget is a low range one then special effects tend to be more developed and used frequently, whereas a lot of technology is used in high end music videos with large budgets. Technology has also transformed the music industry and its videos with large development. One of the most popular and expensive music videos to date which is still regarded as one of the greatest music videos of all time is Michael Jacksons 'Scream' which is a video all about the future and space time travel. It is also considered as an obscure and strange video by critics therefore the audiences interpretation of the video is vital in its success and popularity. Another well known video when it comes to budgets and music video history is MTVs debut music video shown on their channel 'Video killed the radio star' by the buggles which only had a budget of $60,000 in contrast to the substantial amount of money Michael Jackson had to work with, $7,000,000, for the 'Scream' video. Because of The Buggles being less well known then MJ and having a lower budget, they were under less pressure to create a successful and historic music video and it went on to outlast its expectations in that aspect, however with that being said it was the first music video to appear on MTV and with the name 'Video killed the radio star' discouraging music videos, people were under some expectation as to whether it will be successful and set the boundary for videos in the future. The budgets for both videos becomes evident today as you can tell apart the special effects of both videos, the standard of VKTRS looked quite primitive in its effects however it was a well created video during it's time and peak, whereas the video for Scream is impressive for its visuals being flexible and energetic in order to give the audience a sense of illusion for the video. This would make the audience remember scream as a influential video and one they first think off when on topic due to it being abstract. VKTRS also shares this sense as it was groundbreaking at the time and set the benchmark for what artists and record labels could do in their music videos in order to make them more technologically advanced and successful. Scream however is a clear demonstration of how special effects and technology has developed over the years with moving sets, stylistic camera shots and well as edits to make it have a futuristic sense. Viewings on these videos were both very high on YouTube and have constantly gone up since their release dates in 1979 and and 1995. VKRTS has a youtube viewing rate of 9,000,000, a high figure considering the date, however Mj's Scream reached a total of 42,000,000 views making it clear it cost more money, was more successful and the effect youtube has had on there music industry and its popularity to date.
The technology and special effects for VKTRS at the time were groundbreaking in terms of music videos and really upped the boundaries of what artists were allowed to do with their videos, also for this video, lots of technology was created for the purpose of getting the songs message across like the tv's scattered throughout the video. Scream on the other hand is a clear demonstration of how special effects and technology had gotten better over the years as said earlier the fact that they had moving sets to make it look as if they were on walls walking around it also had stylistic camera shots as well as other edits on the big tv screens, both music videos try and portray the future in a sense and both had pushed the boundaries set previously, like the music videos becoming so enormously popular or becoming extremely expensive. Viewings of these music videos have increased as time went on for youtube as VKTRS has nearly 9,000,000 views which is impressive as it is quite old and less know today, but compared to screams 42,000,000, it's easy to see why there have been dramatic changes in the music video genre in terms of views on youtube, this could be partly to the artists' reputation as the boggles aren't well known today, but Michael Jackson is still as popular as he was a few years back and was regarded the king of pop for a while as he had some massive hits in his time. The most viewed music video on YouTube of all time is PSY's gingham style which has over 2 billion views, topping the views charts over Justin Biebers Baby by over a billion views. Although PSY is not as big or popular an artist as Justin Bieber, his video received a lot more views on YouTube due its unique style and narrative that has never been seen before in the music industry. The video for gingham style is a very subversive video and follows a number of different genre conventions that adds to its vast popularity and success on YouTube. Some of the elements that make the video conventional and successful are its wacky, unusual narrative of PSY's performance and the concept of him being ladies man and a successful god amongst men that he portrays himself as being in the video. Overall, the music video is the most popular on Youtube of all time because it received a lot of promotion and praise through word from mouth advertising its ability to go viral and top mainstream artists, which music fans loved as respected as it had never been done before. 



In conclusion, these music videos i have analysed for MTV and Youtube have enabled me to understand the platforms for music videos and how they set the bar high for current day music videos and the popularity they can reach. It has also allowed me on what i need to focus on in order to create a successful music video of my own and an insight as to what makes a music video so popular and how to get it trending amongst audiences. It also gives me a thorough understanding as to what codes and conventions I can include in my own music video and what is required of certain genres. For example, a indie music video would use particular micro elements such as advanced editing and camera techniques to add dramatic effect and emphasis on the shots and videos. These micro elements also give a true representation on the artist and their characters. 

What is a music video?- Mrs Miller

What is a music video?

A music video is a short narrative or performance that is brought out with a song for artists to share a story or portray a particular theme. Each music video has different generic conventions of its genre for the audience to remember the song, to build a relationship with the artist. The main purpose of a music video is to sell the song and invoke a reaction so it leaves the audience remembering the song. It is also used to entertain audiences and give a narrative in order to sell CDs and DVDs to viewers to create a visual impact, increasing its chances of selling. Music videos are also used as promotional tools for the artist and it serves as a conduit to attention from a label, but more often it it is the main reason for CD sales or artist song downloads. 

There are three main styles of a music video that artists use to get across their songs to viewers, performance, narrative and concept. Performance based videos are music videos that feature the artist or band preforming and miming the song throughout the majority of the video. It is usually the easiest video to film given the setting, the shots involved in the video and it best used on a small budget as it doesn't require expensive props and conventions, depending on the genre. Performance based videos are best suited to the pop genre and for bands. 

A narrative based music video contains mostly footage of artists telling a story through a music video. It usually involves actors to tell the narrative and moving image that tends to suit the lyrics. Some songs that are used in movies tend to be narrative based videos and use necessary clips from the film in the video. Narrative videos are best used to describe the artist and relate with them as they send messages in their lyrics and videos that often they can associate with or their audience can. 

Concept videos are based around a single concept or idea and tend to portray a theme in the videos. These types of videos tend to be fairly unusual and directed and produced specifically to portray its genre and utilise a particular editing and filming technique. Concept videos now a days tend to be less popular as viewers prefer something more accessible and relatable. 

The artist I have chosen to analyse is Ne-Yo and the video for his song, Miss Independent. Produced in 2009, the video for Miss Independent was brought out for many purposes and is a performance based video with a narrative throughout. The genre of this music video is Pop/R&B and was produced and directed by Def Jam and Stargate. The music video itself get the audience to follow the artist himself Ne-Yo and watch him attempt to Impress a girl and sing to her. This is also primarily the main focus of the video, with every camera shot and clip witnessed focusing on him trying to win over the girl whilst dancing and singing in a performance to his song; It is therefore a performance and narrative based video. Some of the micro elements that support this are Mise-En-Scene and Ne-Yo's costume and props as we see him wearing a classy suit, expensive watch and earrings. This is used to support the genre conventions as it shows him as showing of his money and having an sense of classiness an elegance about him throughout the video. This also helps to support his narrative based video as he is attempting to impress the girl. Another micro element used in the video to support the R&B genre conventions is the cinematography and close ups of the girl who is portrayed as 'Miss Independent'. This shows her as being hard to impress, fit and takes care of herself which although is conventional to the R&B genre, it also challenges the genres conventions as we expect men to be dominating and more powerful an the tendency to objectify women in their R&B videos and lyrics. The R&B genre and in particular this music videos attracts to teenagers and younger adults as they have particular interests in the conventions of wealth, girls, classiness and because of this, are able to relate to the lyrics and narrative of the story.

From analysing this music video, I have learnt that R&B music videos despite three types of music videos that the genre can fall under, tend to have two different styles towards them, based on the artist himself and how they portray their music. One can be an show off, yet one cam be respectful and classy and both styles still portray R&B conventions and themes no matter what. The importance and effectiveness of music videos prove to be a successful factor in the song as it allows the artist to evidently show what he means by his lyrics and create an image for himself, the song and the genre of the music so it proves highly effective. It has influenced my decision in making my own music video as making an R&B video will prove difficult due to the high number of conventions and themes of the songs and most R&B videos, including Ne-Yo 'Miss Independent' use two different styles of videos. It would also mean a lot of performance elements in the video, something I feel I would benefit from using little off and more of a narrative or concept.