Innovative Music Videos + Sven E Carlsson Music Theory

Innovative Music Videos is the opportunity to experiment with technology visuals, narrative and audience - artist image (i.e. videos which deliberately break with conventions). This means:

• Audiences are open to risk as they don't need to pay for it.
• It targets the 'underground audience'.
• The videos are usually short so it is easier to take risks.

Top three intelligent Music Video conventions (if for some reason the arrows in the presentation don't look right click here)

Top three intelligent music video conventions on Prezi

Here are examples for each:       
 

Commercial Exhibitionist

Nicki Minaj - Starships is an example of a Commercial Exhibitionist as she is selling herself by wearing swimwear throughout the video. (Sorry for big space but I can't seem to fix it).
   

Televised Bard

  

Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends is an great example of a Televised Bard as during this video we have the artist telling a love story during the video.

Electronic Shaman  

 

Katy Perry - California Gurls ft. Snoop Dogg is an Electronic Shaman because the worls is seen as magical.

All of these examples relate to Sven E Carlsson Music Theory. In his theory he also believed that binary opposites drive the narration of the video forward, for example a black and white theme. Music videos, fall into two main groups this is what Carlsson believed. The two main groups are:

• Performance Clips - This is when the music video mainly shows either the artist (or artists) either singing or/and dancing. The performance can be of three types - Song performance, Dance performance and Instrumental performance. An example of this is Rihanna - Rude Boy this is because the audience can see her dancing and singing in the music video.
• Conceptual Clips - This is when the music video shows something else during it's duration it is usually with artistic ambitions. Kids - MGMT is an example of this as there is monsters created and a lot of artistic ambitions when the child in the video watches the TV screen.

This then follows onto the three pure forms of visual tradition in music videos. These are the top three intelligent music video conventions seen at the beginning of this post.

There are many other interesting facts about music videos such as:

Voyeurism - Is pleasure from looking at other people often in state of undress or sexual activity. An example of this would be Uniting Nations - Out Of Touch because there are girls who are in a state of undress. Also, they are playing strip poker with a guy.

Archetype - Is the original copy which is then copied.



Deborah Holdstein - Music Theorist

Deborah Holdstein is a music theorist; here is what she has to say.

Three striking qualities of a star in music videos:

·         The seer/prophet

·         Political commentator/narrator

·         Mediator of social conflict.

Videos seem to divide into two categories: those with allegedly explicit political themes and those which revive the traditional U.S. film musical.

Videos are used to bring fans closer to the performer. Holdstein says performers can sometimes wear outfits on stage which are the same as in their videos, so the fans feel like they are familiar with them. 

Celebrities such as Lady Gaga do this to familiarise with the audience. 

The audience like this as it makes them feel like they know the performer better, as they look the same as they looked in the music video.

Fantasy themes are based entirely on performance. Holdstein states that this format puts ‘the group or star in a mythical, medieval, exotic or surrealistic series of images or locations’

An example of this is would be from Katy Perry - California gurls. This is because it is in a place where it is not real life. 

The audience appreciate this because they are more likely to be interested as it takes them away from real life.

Music videos give fans a chance to see what the artist is like, whereas before they only got an idea about the artist by going to see them, or from album covers and pictures.

The audience like this because it gives them a chance to get to know the artist without having to see them in real life or having to spend lots of money.

Holdstein says that nowadays ‘The video image is quicker and more powerful.’

Michael Jackson - Beat It

 

Holdstein: “Is Jackson portrayed as a fantasy” a political commentator or as a mediator of social conflict?

During the song it addresses racism and social class. “They told him don’t you ever come around here, don’t wanna see your face, you better disappear”.

It doesn’t need words, it had faces, gestures, emphasis and a narrative one could easily follow without “beat it” on the soundtrack.

Jackson the mediator has become a surreal “fantasy” figure involved yet detached from the action he seems to resolve.