Music Video Analysis
For the next few days you are going to spend time analyzing various types of music videos. You will need to think deeply and examine directors’ thought processes used in designing unique videos. My hope is that you’ll become more focused on the various ways that you can be creative, yet still relevant to the song, and this will inspire you to be as innovative as possible in designing your own music video. There are several ways that I want you to begin thinking about categorizing music videos. Use the following criteria to analyze the videos I assign you, and decide which you think are most effective and which you’d like to use when designing your own video:
« EDITING
o Pacing – are shots very quickly edited or are shots intentionally long and drawn out? How does this reflect the mood of the song?
o Rhythm—are cuts / edits synched to beats or chords, etc.? Is a pattern being created with edits?
« RELEVANCE to the MUSIC
o Lip-synching—the audio matches the singer’s lips for most of the video; often just a band playing their song start to finish with other shots thrown in.
o Beat-synching – if you know even a decent amount about music you’ll be able to tell when shots are edited to beats: snare drum, cymbals, bass drums, chord changes, etc.
o Literal – do the clips in the video follow what the singing is about? Sometimes video directors and designers do this to a fault. Some of the cheesiest videos are sometimes considered to be those that reflect the lyrics line by line in the video (think: 80’s music!).
o Mood / tone – the overall look and feel of the video reflects the feel of the lyrics. Some obvious examples might be:
§ Happy – might feature bright colors, hazy filters, lots of moving shots / actors
§ Sad – dark colors, low light, slow shots, high angles of people, high contrast
§ Scary – high contrast, low light, flashes, extreme close-ups
§ Mysterious – blurs, flashes, indistinguishable figures, shadows, silhouettes, etc.
§
« CONCEPT / DESIGN
o Abstract concept? – Is the goal of the video to be different and impressionable? (remember, music videos have a lot more freedom to be bizarre, abstract, and nonsensical). For example:
§ A single, complicated shot for the whole song.
§ Shots with highly complex choreography (people moving in interesting ways)
§ Unique uses of technology, projected video, animation, lights, lasers, etc.
§ Reflections, blurs, cheap props, choreography, projected video
o Animation—Is 3-D, stop-motion, or cartoon animation used? Why?
o Cheap aesthetic—Is it “intentionally bad” or cheap looking for some reason? (think: South Park)
« CINEMATOGRAPHY (FILMING)
o What kinds of shots are used? Why are they used? Some examples:
§ Are there lots of wide shots of people to reflect the loneliness of the lyrics?
§ Are there close ups to show what a singer or character is thinking?
§ Are there quick, complex motion shots to reflect the fast rhythm of the song?
o How are light, shadows, colors, reflections, movement used?
§ Is it dark and dreary to reflect sadness and isolation?
§ Is it bright, colorful, oversaturated, high contrast?
« MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS CHART
Please fill out this chart to track various different music video production techniques for at least 3 videos. Be as descriptive as possible. (remember: you do not have to like a song to appreciate the video).
VIDEO(if you don’t know the title or artist, be sure to describe it well) / DESIGN ELEMENTS
(describe the editing, concept, acting, lighting, camera angles
/ movements, animation, etc.) / RELEVANCE
to the MUSIC
(How does the video match
the song? Think about the singing, lyrics, editing, pacing, mood, shots, themes, etc.) / What items do you appreciate most
about this video
(please be specific!)?
EXAMPLE.
Depeche mode – Enjoy the Silence / long, wide shots of stark landscapes with a man dressed up as king walking through, sitting by himself and enjoying silence, slow pacing, low saturation, some black & white shots of singing / Song is about enjoying silence and man is by himself walking around in nature. Some singing is shown, and a few shots of the band are synced to the drum beats / I really like the simplistic story and the beautiful mountains that are shown. It is peaceful. The shots of the band break it up and make it interesting.
1.
2.
VIDEO / DESIGN ELEMENTS / RELEVANCE
to the MUSIC / What items do you appreciate most
about this video?
3.
4.