If educational videos were shot like music videos (thanks to Meg for finding and sharing!)

Exemplar Music Videos: Inspiration, 'do this' and 'don't do this'!

The Letter – Strate Atom

Drop There – Yung Dank

The River – Folks

Call This Home – Jonny Cooper

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – Skrillex

The Pretender – Foo Fighters

Last Summer – The Lost Prophets

The Bird and the Worm – The Used

Kyoto - SBTRKT

Pressure Cooker – Pegboard Nerds

Initial Music Video Research

You will need to spend a decent amount of time selecting your artist and your track for the music video unit, so we will begin this process early. As per the brief, you must show that you are producing a music video for a band or artist that maintains their image and their style and that still attracts their target audience.

To do this, you will need to spend time watching music videos by the band / artist and identify commonalities. Once you have identified the similarities, you must then analyse these and explain why they are evident in the music videos (but we will do some theory as a class before you do this).

So, to begin, you must search for the band / artist that you will be making your music video for; this can be a popular / existing band / artist or it can be for your own / friend's. Either way, you will need to investigate them and the way they want an audience to perceive them.

Tasks:

• choose your band / artist and watch a range of their music videos and list similarities (print screens are helpful too). This can include:
• genre of music
• type of music video, e.g., performance, narrative, message, etc (we'll do this in more depth as a class)
• settings and locations
• costumes
• props
• make-up
• themes and tone
• narratives
• choreography
• choose your song and then analyse the track. To do this, print out / save the lyrics and give meaning to the music and the lyrics. Explore:
• the lyrics - meaning, use of similes and metaphors
• the music - genre, tone, key, shift in any of the aforementioned terms
• the lyrics - AFTER you have analysed the track yourself, see if you can find out the meaning behind the song. This could come from a Google search, the artist's website, a CD cover insert or another source such as a radio / TV interview.

Still from Michael Jackson's Thriller. Dir. John Landis, 1983

Assignment Brief: U29 Music Videos

Unit 29 Specification: Music Videos

Handbook 1: GC1 - The Purpose of the Music Video

Handbook 2: GC2

Music Video - the practical work

Music Video - the practical part

Research and Planning

Completing P3, M3 & D3 - notice that it is not just planning!
Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a specific music track


Step 1: Choose your track
The song that you choose should be no shorter than two minutes and no longer that four minutes. You do not have to pick a song that you know well, but you must be able to get hold of the track in a format that is high quality and compatible with Premiere Pro.

Step 2: Analysing your music track
As we have seen already, songs usually have a point; either a message or some meaning. It is important that you can demonstrate you have studied the song in order to uncover that meaning. To do this, simply print off the lyrics and annotate them, highlighting key phrases and explaining what they mean. Also, if you are lucky, you may be able to find an artists CD, DVD, website or Wikipedia page that details the meaning of the chosen track. Again, print this off and annotate if necessary.

 When analysing your track you are looking for:

· Meaning / concept / content
· Imagery
· Narrative
· Genre / style
· Pace
· Duration

Step 3: Researching the artist- image and representation
In order to demonstrate that you are aware of genre and representation in the music industry, you will need to demonstrate that you understand the band or artist. We need to know that you are going to deliver a video to that band (hypothetically) that conforms to their existing image and way they are presented. To do this, demonstrate your understanding of their style and ideologies by producing research e.g., print screens of the band / artist’s:

· Clothing / costumes
· Make-up
· Tone of existing videos
· Locations in existing videos
· Concepts / narratives

Step 4: Planning your video
You will be completing the usual paperwork for this unit.

You need to complete (and I recommend this order):

· Synopsis
· Recces
· Releases (talent and location)
· Storyboards and Timeline
· Budgeting
· Risk assessment
· Prop/costume list
· Production schedule

The History of the Music Video (according to Wikipedia!)

1. What is considered to be the first official music video and why is it different from what came before?

2. Before the ‘first music video’ television shows existed that showed bands and artists performing their songs; name a UK and a US one and say why they existed (for the audience)

3. David Bowie released a music video in 1980, it used ground-breaking

 special effects – what was the song and what, do you think, is the song and video about?

4. What massive event took place in 1981? Hint, it relates to the exhibition of music videos!

5. In 1984, a female artist released a song that a certain TV channel refused to play. What was the song and why, do you think, they refused to play it?

6. Also in 1984, Michael Jackson released, what would become, one of the most iconic music videos of all time; what was it, why was it so unusual for the time and what is so special about the VHS sales?

7. In 1985, aha released the song Take on Me but what animation effect is used and how is it achieved / created?

8. Who released the video for Sledgehammer in 1986 and why do you think it was so popular?

9. In 1995, two famous siblings released a duet which, at the time, was the most expensive MV to date. Who were they and what was the video?

10. Why is Missy Elliott’s 2008 single Ching-a-ling so important in the MV timeline?

11. Which female artist reached 1 billion views in 2010 and for which song?

12. Also in 2010, which artist released Coming to Get Me, in collaboration with Doritos and why was it such a ‘big deal’?

13. Whose 10 year anniversary was in 2015? Hint, over 300 hours of video content is uploaded to it every minute!

14. What is a ‘Panoram Soundie’ and why is it important to consider it when thinking about music videos?

15. What has happened since 2015? Find the big stories and note at least 3 record-breaking ones down.

Now, watch all of the videos mentioned – exposure to as many as possible should give you inspiration for your own.

Playlist link here!