Theories to apply to Advanced Production

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HARROW COLLEGE
Key Concepts & Theories
For A2 Media Studies
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS & CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES
snorton-taylor
1/1/2013
Key concepts and theories to apply to your media production

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KEY CONCEPTS
Media Language Media language refers to the ways in which media producers make
meaning in ways that are specific to the medium in which they are
working and how audiences come to be literate in 'reading' such
meaning within the medium. For example, the 'language of film/video',
print layout conventions, web design and navigation conventions.
These medium specific languages will often be closely connected to
other media concepts such as genre or narrative and candidates are at
liberty to make such connections to a greater or lesser extent in their
answers.
Denotation, connotation, mise-en-scene, use of camera, editing,
special effects, sound, composition, colour, font, style, meaning of
titles, mode of address, intertextuality etc
It is about the techniques and conventions of different media forms
(how shots are organised in film, how text is laid out on a page etc)
Genre
Codes and conventions, audience expectations, significance of genre
to producers and audiences, narrative conventions, subgenres
Mark Reid (2001) „How something is categorised is determined by who
does it, for whom, where, and when‟
Narrative Theories of narrative, storytelling techniques, how the audience
construct narrative/meaning in a text, cultural/social narratives (related
to representation & ideology)
Representation Realism, truth, violence, sex, gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, positive,
negative, radical, stereotypes, place, ideas, messages & values.

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Audience Mass/niche markets, target groups, demographic, social class, values
and lifestyles, psychographics, age, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, „effect‟ theories, readings, opinions, pleasures, how
audiences make sense of media texts.
Institution Issues of ownership and control, marketing, advertising, commercial
influence on products, regulatory bodies, gatekeeping etc
Ideology Beliefs, values and attitudes, individualism, consumerism, beauty,
implicit, explicit, ideas of good/bad, right/wrong, dominant/alternative,
aspirations, freedom of expression.

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Analytical vocabulary
This shot/scene/example (etc.)...
ANALYTICAL WORD MEANING
... establishes... sets up, creates
... signifies... Shows / acts as a sign for (e.g. red signifies
danger)
... denotes... provides a straightforward reading
... connotes... Suggests or offers a cultural or interpreted
meaning
... suggests... provides a possible interpretation
... implies... suggests
... illustrates... provides a clear example of
... foreshadows... hints at what is to come
...contrasts with... offers a very different image / interpretation to
(another example)
... is juxtaposed with... creates opposite feelings/readings (compared
with another e.g.
...demonstrates... Is an example
...identifies... Pinpoints, makes clear
...empahsies... Highlights/makes more obvious
Audience Readings
This shot/scene/example (etc.)...
PHRASE HOW TO CONTINUE THE PHRASE
... allows/invites the viewer to... ... deduce / infer / understand / realise
...creates and expection that ... X or Y will happen
... heightens the sensation of... ... fear / dread / excitement / passion etc.
... invites the audience to... ... sympathise / empathise / identify with (a character)

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MUSIC VIDEOS
Definition
“A music video is not primarily a commodity form, but a promotional one.”
Andrew Goodwin, Dancing in the Distraction Factory.
For our purposes, a music video means a short, moving image product, shot for the express purpose
of accompanying a pre-existing music track and usually in order to encourage sales of the music in
another format (generally CD).
It might additionally be variously seen as:
Part of the construction of the star image of a particular band or performer.
A creative artefact of interest in itself.
The chief raison d’être for music television channels.
A marketing tool for other media products such as films.

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ANDREW GOODWINS MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS
Key features, which distinguish the music video as a form
different from other media texts:
There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (with visuals either illustrating,
amplifying or contradicting the lyrics).
There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with visuals either
illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music).
Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography (such as live
stage performance in rock videos).
There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close-ups of the main
artist/vocalist.
The artist may develop their own star iconography.
There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particulary in the treatment of women.
There is likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV
texts.

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KEYTERMS – ANDREWGOODWIN
Illustration: Music videos can illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre, providing a sometimes
over literal set of images. Here, then, is the most straight forward technique and the classic example
of visualisation, with everything in the music video based in the source of the piece of music.
Amplification: news layers of meaning added to the song - what separates it from disjuncture,
is the fact that amplification music videos retain a link with the song and work to enhance or develop
ideas, rather than fundamentally changing them.
Disjuncture: contradiction between lyrics and image - seem to work by ignoring the original
song and creating a whole new set of meanings. This is quite a radical technique and used often by
bands/artists who want to assert their difference and originality. Usually, disjuncture videos of this
type don’t make a lot of sense and may be based on abstract imagery.

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Critical Perspectives for Music Video Analysis
This will help when applying the concepts of: NARRATIVE, GENRE, AUDIENCE,
REPRESENTATION & MEDIA LANGUAGE (there will always be some cross-over between these
concepts)
Genre style
While some music videos transcend genres, others can be more easily categorised. Some, but not all,
music channels concentrate on particular music genres. If you watch these channels over a period of
time, you will be able to identify a range of distinct features which characterise the videos of
different genres. These features might be reflected in types of mise en scene, themes, performance,
camera and editing styles.
Camerawork
As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how images are sequenced will have a
significant impact upon meaning.
Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed.
Camera movement may accompany movement of performers (walking, dancing, etc) but it may also
be used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance, by for instance constantly circling the
band as they perform on stage.
The close up does predominate, as in most TV, partly because of the size of the screen and partly
because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer, and thus developing
‘relationship’ between ‘fan’ and artist.
It also emphasises half of the commodity on sale (not just the song, but the artist, and particularly
the voice).
The music video as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups and
lighting being used most prominently for the star’s face.

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Sound track
Often, music videos do not use a sound track other than the music and lyrics. However, many include
brief opening / closing sequences with some dialogue and sound fx (eg a band setting up on stage
before a performance), making the product a little different from the singles track.
Editing
Though the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage,
rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing.
There are, of course, videos which use slow pace and gentler transitions to establish mood. This is
particularly apparent for the work of many female solo artists with a broad audience appeal.
What editing techniques did you use? And to what effect?
Often enhancing the editing are digital effects which play with the original images to offer different
kinds of pleasure for the audience. What have you used, and for what effect?
Mise-en-scène
Mise-en-scène varies greatly in music videos, according to genre – eg urban settings for Rap tracks
and live mega-stadium performances for rock bands. The bigger the star, the bigger the budget, the
more exotic / impressive the locations / settings / props / costumes & dance routines. The mise-en-
scène can be very effectively used:
As a guarantee of 'authenticity' of a band's musical virtuosity by showing them in a stage
performance or a rehearsal room.
To emphasise an aspirational lifestyle, as in the current emphasis on the latest gadgetry.
As part of the voyeuristic context by suggesting a setting associated with sexual allure, such
as a sleazy nightclub or boudoir.

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Star Image & Star Construction/Branding
As Richard Dyer has noted:
“ a star is an image constructed from a range of materials” (Richard Dyer 1979).
For pop music, these materials include
The songs (their lyrical themes and musical structures/genres).
The record covers (singles and albums and the image of the star they present).
Media coverage (from interviews about career and private life through to tabloid gossip).
Live performance (the image through the stage show).
And, arguably most significantly, the music videos, which may draw upon the image
presented in the other materials.
A star’s image is all about how they are perceived by the audience and the characteristics ascribed to
them may be a combination of conscious construction by the media industry for which they work and
of extratextual publicity in other media.
The music promo has a significant role to play in the construction of star image or brand, by creating
an associated iconography (visual features which regularly accompany performance by the star, such
as costumes, jewellery or settings) and even a video 'biography' of the star. For example, collections
of music videos can encourage a biographical reading of a star's career and image, while DVDs may
include special features with stars and directors commenting on their work, as in Jennifer Lopez's The
Real Me (2003). This construction can be reinforced through the notion of authenticity of
performance where the audience takes the songs' lyrics as a direct reflection of the star's inner or
outer life, which may be enhanced by the projection of the star through their music videos.
Each star’s current video may draw upon its predecessors to reinforce their existing image as well as
taking it further, or even subverting it to create a new one. This is particularly necessary in the case
of a lengthy career. For example, as a star ages they are often represented as shifting from an angry
young rebel to ageing respectable establishment figure (eg Sir Mick Jagger).

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An artist’s power over their careers, ie their star power, takes several forms:
o Economic power, through the size of earnings generated by the sales of associated products (CD
sales, downloads, cinema tickets etc);
o Artistic power, ie creative control of their own image and how it is used by/appears in the media;
o Ideological power, in terms of their influence upon the audience, which may take the form of style
(influence on fashion) or attitude (influence on audience opinions). Madonna would be a good
example of the former, while U2's Bono is an example of the latter.
Looking at an artist's retrospective collection of music videos is a useful way to analyse the
development of a star's image. For example, retrospective collections of female stars such as Kylie
Minogue or Madonna show evidence of quite frequent 're-invention' to help maintain their careers.
Similar evidence can be found in collections of the work of male stars such as David Bowie and
George Michael.

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Representation
Voyeurism
This idea comes from Freud, and has been much used in Media Studies, particularly in explaining the
gendered pleasures of cinema.
Broadly it refers to the idea of looking in order to gain sexual pleasure.
It has been argued that the male viewer’s gaze at the screen is geared to notions of voyeurism in that
it is a powerful controlling gaze at the objectified female on display.
In music promos, as we have seen, the female on display has been a staple element from Britney
Spears and beyond.
Goodwin argues that the female performer will frequently be objectied in this fashion, often through
a combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised
treatment of the star.
In male performance videos too the idea of voyeuristic treatment of the female body is often
apparent with the use of dancers as adornments flattering the male star ego.
The idea becomes more complex when we see the male body on display and we might raise
questions about how the female viewer is invited to respond.
Equally, the apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years, from Madonna
onwards, have added to the complexity of the gaze by being at once sexually provocative and
apparently in control (Madonna’s Justify My Love is a prime example of this) This offers interesting
questions for discussion of the range of audience experiences of music video and the contradictory
meanings they may evoke.
The idea of voyeurism is also frequently evident in music video through a system of screens within
screens- characters shown watching performers or others on television, via webcams, as images on a
video camera screen or CCTV within the world of the narrative. Indeed the proliferation of such
motifs has reached a point where it has become almost an obsession in music promos.

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Exhibitionism
The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years, from Madonna on, have
added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender / cultural debates, by being at once
sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze - in what could be
termed the opposite of voyeurism: exhibitionism. Indeed, much has been written about the
representation of women and race, for example, in rap music videos and the recent trend for
sexually explicit Jamaican dance-hall moves which have influenced some mainstream performance
styles.
Debate is increasingly polarised, as it is on pornography - who is exploiting whom?
Is the female flesh on display simply a cynical exploitation of the female body to increase
(predominantly) male profit margins, or a life-enhancing assertion of female self-confidence and
sexual independence? All of these areas, together with the notion of a 'queer gaze' (where the
representation of a male or female artist may covertly address a homosexual audience as well as a
heterosexual one), pose interesting questions on the diversity of audience experiences of music
video and the contradictory messages and values its representations may evoke.

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KEY THEORISTS COLLECTED
Narrative and Performance – Andrew Goodwin
Narrative in songs is rarely complete, more often fragmentary, as in poetry.
The same is true of music promos, which more often suggest storylines or offer complex
fragments of them in non-linear order.
In doing this the music video leaves the viewer with the desire to see it again if only to catch
the bits missed on first viewing.
Narrative and Performance – Steve Archer
“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the
band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist‟s
performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the
‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story,
acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-synch close-up and the
miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to
assure us that the band really can kick it.”
Narrative and Performance – Simon Frith
The mise-en-scene may be used as a guarantee of what Simon Frith terms ‘authenticity’
as in the stage performance/use of a rehearsal room by a band whose musical virtuosity is
their main selling point.
Narrative and Performance – John Stewart
John Stewart suggests, it may be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle for the
audience,
Simon Frith: Music videos can be characterised by 3 broad typologies
Performance: to convey a sense of in-concert experience, ‘authenticity’

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Narrative: linear stories- love stories are the most popular
Conceptual: metaphors to create a mood, offer multiple meanings
Richard Dyer - Star Image
“a star is an image constructed from a range of materials” (Dyer 1979).
Music videos work in reinforcing the star’s existing image and in taking the image on further,
perhaps in new directions. Thus even more than Hollywood films may be seen as vehicles for their
stars, music videos will act as a showcase for their talents and a significant part in the construction
and maintenance of their image.
Andrew Goodwin - Voyeurism
This idea comes from Freud, and has been much used in Media Studies, particularly in explaining the
gendered pleasures of cinema.
Broadly it refers to the idea of looking in order to gain sexual pleasure.
It has been argued that the male viewer’s gaze at the screen is geared to notions of voyeurism in that
it is a powerful controlling gaze at the objectified female on display.
John Stewart – Intertextuality
His description of the music video “incorporating, raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the
essence of intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar to generate
both potentially nostalgic associations and new meanings. It is perhaps more explicitly evident in the
music video than in any other media form, with the possible exception of advertising

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GLOSSARY for Music Video Analysis & Production
Amplification
In this context, to add to the meaning of the lyrics through a visual interpretation which may be quite
removed from them.
Animatic
An animated storyboard, often used in advertising, as well as in music video, to give a better idea of
the planned project.
AOR
Adult-Oriented Rock, the dominant, white, mid-America music form in the early 1980s.
BARB
Broadcasters‟ Audience Research Board, which researches UK audience data for TV, producing
reports for subscribers, with basic statistics available on its website.
Brief
The original requirement from the client given to the creative team, via the commissioning editor.
Capture
The act of transferring footage from camera to computer.
Chromakey
A feature allowing material to be shot against a plain blue or green background which at the edit stage
can be replaced with a pictorial background (eg to show a character in an impossible environment).
Also referred to as blue-screen technology.
Client
The record company and artist who want to produce a music video.
Commissioning editor
The person employed by the record company who offers contracts for music videos.
Continuity editing
The dominant editing system in film and TV, in which spatial and temporal continuity is maintained for
the comprehension of the audience.
Cutaway
A shot of an object, person or detail, which can be inserted at any time in a sequence (usually to give
extra narrative information to the audience) without breaking the continuity of a sequence.
Demographic
Particular socio-economic or geographical features of the audience, eg working-class males, aged 16
to 25, in the north of England.
Director
The main creative interpreter and organiser in charge of the production process.
Distribution
The means by which a media product reaches its audience, including all promotional and marketing
activity.

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DP
Director of photography, also known as lighting cameraperson, in charge of camera and lighting
teams.
Exhibition
The point at which audiences view media products.
Exhibitionism
The emphasis on an artist‟s performance and self-display, while dancing or posing, to show off their
status, skills or image.
Form
The structuring conventions of a media text, such as generic, narrative or ideological framework.
Genre
The categories into which media texts may be divided according to similarities of form and content.
Hybrid
A combination of different genres or styles.
Iconography
Specific visual features associated with an artist or genre, such as a costume or style of dress,
particular jewellery or other objects such as cars, guns, etc.
Ideology
Systems of ideas, values and beliefs we hold as individuals or share as groups, which inform the way
we interpret and construct representations of the world. In Media and Film Studies, this concept is
sometimes referred to as Messages and Values.
Intertextuality
The process of creating meaning through reference to other media texts.
Lip-synch
The process by which mimed performances of songs are matched up to the original soundtracks in
editing.
Mise en scène
The combined effect of a series of visual elements within the frame of a visual text, such as costume,
props, decor, figure placement.
Montage editing
A style of editing in which the juxtaposition of different elements creates impact and meaning.
Niche marketing
Where a small specific audience is targeted, not a mass one.
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, the UK organisation now charged, under the 2003 Communications
Act, with responsibility to oversee issues of regulation in all electronic media. Its predecessors for TV
were the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Broadcasting Standards Council (BSC).
Offline edit
The basic edit to be viewed by the artist and record company prior to any effects being added.
Online edit

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The final edit where effects are added and the tape produced to broadcast standard.
Overages
Costs which were not in the original project budget but which have been agreed by the client while the
video was in production.
Panarom
Early American video jukebox.
Pitch
To present ideas for a creative project to producers in order to secure funding.
Post-modern
An aesthetic category, often applied to MTV, which can mean a mixture of an abandonment of linear
ways of telling stories and the eclectic „stealing‟ of ideas and images from other sources.
Post-production
The stage where effects are added.
Pre-production
The planning stage of a project, prior to shooting.
Producer
The person who looks after all the logistics for the project, including personnel and the financial
balance sheet. Executive producers have less direct input in day-to-day management of a project but
may control initial and subsequent funding decisions.
Production
The main shooting and editing stage of a project.
Production designer
Also known as the art director, responsible for the mise en scène, including set design.
Production manager
Responsible for the daily organisation of talent, crew, locations, etc.
Representation
The processes by which aspects of the real world are reconstructed in media texts. Most commonly
applied to the construction of particular individuals or social groups.
Scopitone
French version of the video jukebox from the 1960s.
Sell-through
The practice of releasing videos either as a single or compilation album to sell in the shops.
Single bid
The awarding of the contract for a video where only one video maker is approached and no
competition is sought.
Storyboard
A planning sheet on which shots can be drawn prior to shooting.

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Style
The combination of visual, and other production elements, which gives the text a distinct image and
mode of address.
Synergy
The process by which one media product may be used to help sell another, often from the same
company.
Telecine
A stage between shooting and offline editing whereby all footage is transferred from film to video to
allow editing on a computer.
Transition
Editing components, such as fades, dissolves, wipes, etc which overlap between shots to move the
video from one shot to another.
Treatment
An initial outline of a project, which indicates the main features of the finished product.
Voyeurism
The obsessive desire to look at a subject who is unaware of the looker, usually accompanied by erotic
pleasure; different from sexual display, where the subject is inviting our attention.
Zeitgeist
The spirit of the times. Used to identify a particular creative trend (eg Bollywood style) or popular
political preoccupation (eg ecology or anti-globalism).

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