Music Video Research

We researched into popular artists from different genres of music and viewed videos from each:

Rock – Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA

This video includes live footage taken from a gig he played. Therefore the audience are able to see every aspect of the stage and from different angles with the use of zoom to see the artist clearer. There is no storyline to this video.

Hip Hop – Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby

In this video dance sequences are used which match the style of the music. Also there is a lot of 'to camera' action as the singer performs straight into the camera, as if talking to the viewer. The lyrics depict what is shown, for example when in the song girls are mentioned we see a group of girls. There is no storyline, it is more a sequence of events.

R 'n' B – Rhianna – Take a Bow

There is a mixture of performance and narrative in this song as we cut between each. The performance element is kept simple with just a black background and only her. The storyline explains what the lyrics are saying, it is based on someone cheating. Overall this video is simple but effective as jump cuts are used between the two main features used. Also the cut rate matches the tempo of the song.

Blues – Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven

This video is mainly based around focusing on just a man and his guitar, as the camera pans around showing different angles. We have close ups of the guitar strings also from different angles. Within this music video there is other footage, possibly taken from a film.

Country – Johnny Cash – I got stripes

Due to the age of this music the video is in black and white and is of a live performance. Again there is a wide use of different angles to help keep the viewer interested, there is also some handheld footage.

Acoustic – Jack Johnson – Breakdown

Black and White technique is used at the beginning of this video when footage from different aspects of life is used. This is then interspersed with performance elements from a live gig. The shots here are not always centralised on Jack Johnson, he may sometimes be at the edge, this therefore using the rule of thirds.

Metal – Iron Maiden – Holy Smoke

This video consists of all performance elements, as we start off with them in the studio and then as the singer moves into other locations. There is no narrative.

Indie – Jack Penate – Second, Minute or Hour

This video just consists of one long tracking and panning shot as we follow him running the length of a sea front. He performs whilst running. There is not storyline, just one simple shot.

Easy Listening – Jason Mraz – Im Yours

There is a narrative in this video which we follow as he moves from one place to another. The element of performance is included in the narrative as every now and again he will begin to sing.

From watching all of these different music videos there are some things that are carried through all genres like narratives but then there is also the live performance element which seems to appear mostly in the more upbeat rocky songs.