Narrative of a music promo

Synaesthesia- A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization

·         In songs the narrative is rarely is complete and therefore often fragmentary

·         Fragmentary narratives may help the repeatability of promos

There a three different types of music promo videos which Andrew Goodwin created. These are:

Illustration

This is when the music promo basically illustrates the ideas/ narrative in the song lyrics. A good example of this is Avril Lavigne 'Girlfriend'.  In this the lyrics are 'Hey! Hey! You! You! I don’t like your girlfriend! No way! No way! I think you need a new one' and the narrative of this video is Avril disliking a her crushes girlfriend and Avril doing different things so they will break up.

Amplification

This uses a key idea/ image from the lyrics and develops it into a concept within the music promo. A link remains between the lyric and the promo. A good example of this is My Chemical Romance 'Welcome to the Black Parade'. At the beginning of the song the lyrics of the song are 'When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city, To see a marching band.' So, in the music promo the audience see the band playing on a parade float like a marching band.

Disjuncture

This is when the music video bears no resemblance to the lyric or its meaning; abstract; often seen as unconventional/’arty’ videos; creates a new range of meanings for the song. A good example of this is Ok Go 'Here it Goes Again'.  The song is actaully about not having control over life, but they did a music promo where the band members did a routine on a runnig machine.

History of music promos

1960s

The Beatles- 'A Hard Day's Night' 1964 

The Beatles had a massive influence on music and promo video throughout there whole career and in 1964 they help to create some typical conventions of a music promo through the trailer of the first feature length film 'A Hard Day's Night'. In this trailer the audience see the band in different seniors with each other- creating a type of narrative. Not only this we also see the band performing together, singing the songs that will feature in the film. Both of these things are something that is done in almost every music promo video, as it makes the artist look more real and down to earth, which appeals to the audience and makes music promos a lot more enjoyable to watch.

1970s

AC/DC-'Its a long way to the top (if you want to rock n roll)' 1976

This music promo video was one of the first videos to be created purposely for TV showing. AC/DC was one of the first bands that created music promo videos to suit a TV audience, meaning that more people would see and hear their music. Also this music promo was one of the first videos that uses footage of the band playing live, wit there performance being the main narrative. It a very simple idea, but it works really well as the audience get understand how the band works (hopeful in a positive way) which means that more people are likely to become fans of their music.


1980s

Michael Jackson- 'Thriller' 1983

'Thriller' is arguable the best music promo video ever created.  This was the first music promo video that was consider more as a short film than just a music video. It was the first of it kind to really spend a lot time and money on a music video with $800,000 spend on it. Previously not much effort was put into music promo videos, as it didn't seem worth while. It was the first shown on MTV and made African American artists better known on the music channel. This video push boundaries with the narrative- a horror themed music video had never been done before. The result of the this video was that artist went on to put as much effort and even more money into their music promo video to match the success of 'Thriller'.


1990s

Madonna- 'Justify My Love' 1990

In the 90s many of Madonna music video was banned by MTV, 'Justify My Love' was banned for its sadomasochism, homosexuality, cross-dressing and group sex. At the time it was extremely controversial but that worked in Madonna's favour as more people were talking about the music video which helped to make Madonna even more famous. It was one the first music video that started the theme of sexualisation, as it can really help to promo the artist and the profit gained through single sales.

2000s

Weezer - 'Pork And Beans' 2007

As a result of YouTube music videos have become extremely important when propping a song/album. So, music videos now try to create something unique and interesting to watch so that people are more likely to re-watch the videos again and again to help boost profit.  Also it means that the artist is more likely to be talked about which helps gains popularity. Weezers 'Pork and Beans' did this by including at least 20 YouTube celebrities, This made more people watch the videos to see their favourite YouTube celebrity and resulted in the song being the Weezers most successful.

Video Analysed-30 Seconds To Mars 'Kings and Queens'

Conventions of a music video

Conventions of a music video

To gain a better understanding of the typical conventions of a music video, I looked at Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe'. This video is very popular YouTube with more than 500 million views and as a result of this, it helped make the song one of the most popular and biggest selling single of 2012.

Camerawork

In a music video there a three commonly used camera angles that helps create a strong music video.

Long Shots- this is used to help establish the location of the music video and allows the other members of the band to be shown. In 'Call Me Maybe' this is long shot shows the audience that location is a garage and that there are in fact other members of the band other than the sing, Carly Rae Jepsen. .

Mid Shots- this is used to help make the music video seem more real, as it is common for these shots to evolve the main artist singing the song. This help to make it more interesting and enjoyable for the audience to watch. In ‘Call Me Maybe’ most of the mid shots show Carly Rae Jepsen using a microphone and singing the song.

 

Close-ups-  this type of shot is mainly used to show the emotion of the ain artist in the band. These shot help the audience get a feel for a song/narrative. In ‘Call Me Maybe’ the song is upbeat and involves the narrative of a fancying her neighbour, so the close ups of Carly Rae Jepsen she always looks happy.  

In a music video the only type of camera movement commonly used is a panning shot. This is used to make the music video seem more real and makes the audience feel that they are more a part of the narrative. In ‘Call Me Maybe’ a panning shot is used as Carly Rae Jepsen cleans her car and looks at her neighbour.

Editing

In a music video the main editing technique used is a straight-cut, if fact it is unusual for any other type of editing used. This is done simply because there is no need for it. A music video only care about the artist and their song, so technically the video can be very straight forward to help keep the focuses on the song and nothing else. Unlike films, people don’t care about amazing editing in music videos so it is pointless for people to waste time on something which isn’t that important. In ‘Call Me Maybe’ there is a lot of jump cuts used. For example there tends to be quick shots of the band followed by a shot showing Carly Rae Jepsen singing the song.

Lighting

 

 

In a music video the lighting is used to represent the feeling and mood of the song. This is done so the audience can fully understand the meaning of a song and it makes much more entertaining to watch. ‘Call Me Maybe’ is an upbeat, pop song about having a crush so the lighting is very bright and happy feeling.  

Costume

 

 

 

The costumes used in a music video are always used to match the genre and narrative of the video. This is done to represent the artist in a certain way. ‘Call Me Maybe’ is a pop song, so Carly Rae Jepsen wears very fashionable, normal clothing showing her audience that she is very up to date and is therefore cool.

Props

 

The most common props used in a music video are the instruments guitar, drums and bass. These props are used because they help to make music videos realistic, as when the artist performs live there would be instruments.  It also allows the other members of the band a chance to show who they are and it not just focus on the lead singer. In ‘Call Me Maybe’ there are a couple of shots of the band when the Carly Rae Jepsen is performing to her boy crush, this has been done to make the narrative more believable.

 

Location

The location of a music video very much depends on the type of genre the song is and what the songs meaning is. If the song is a apart of pop genre than it is likely the music video is going to be filmed in  ‘normal’ location. Where as if it was a part of the rock genre it likely the location is going to be somewhere dark. This is done so the audience can fully understand what the song is about song is about and what type of artist created it. ‘Call Me Maybe’ is a song about having a crush on someone and is a part of the pop genre, so the location is a typical American house to make the video seem more real. 

Narrative

 

The narrative of a music promo video is very depend on how the song is interpreted, what the artist wants to do and what genre of music the song fits into. ‘Call Me Maybe’ is all about having crush on someone and wanted to go out with them. O the narrative in this video is all about Carly Rae Jepsen trying to get the attention of her neighbour so they can go out. But there is a plot twist that the neighbour is gay. This has been done because it relates well with the lyrics of the song- ‘It's hard to look right, At you baby, But here's my number, So call me, maybe!’ and by having a little plot twist at the end keeps the audience interested.

 

 

 

What is a music promo?

A music promo is a video released by an artist to promo a new album coming out.  It is the best form of promoting a new album because it allows the target audience to get an understanding of the type of music that will be on the album and makes them interested and excited about the new release.  If a music promo is successfully, I t can really help to boost sales of album which generates more profit for the artist.

Music promos can be viewed on many different platforms than ever before as a result of the world wide web becoming bigger and more significant everyday. The following is  a list of the main platforms used to view music promos:

•     YouTube
•     Music Channels (for example; MTV)
•     Facebook
•     Websites of the artist 
•     Blogs
•     Vimeo

Digital technology has had a huge impact on the way in which people view music promos as people are now able to watch videos online whenever they want. In previous years, music promos where only available to watch on music channels (like MTV) meaning less people where able to see it. However now we are able to watch things instantly from where ever we want, thanks to popular sites like YouTube. This means that more people see the video, creating more interested and makes people more likely to buy the song/Album.