EG14: NSYNC - Bye Bye Bye

single cover

ACT: NSYNC
TRACK: Bye Bye Bye
YEAR: 2000
GENRE: Pop
DIRECTOR: Wayne Isham
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-25
LYRICS

Influential Features

• This video appeals well to what the audience want, which is also something I will strive for in my own video. There is a strong narrative element, which keeps the video new and different to any previous videos they have done, yet still having dance sections which the band is recognisable for. 
• In the middle of the video there is a diegetic sound break for about ten seconds. This works really effectively and is something I would consider doing if it fitted well with the content of my video.

the puppet section

Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics

The video is based around them running away from a women who is the 'puppet master' and is chasing them throughout the video. This can be related to them saying 'bye bye bye' throughout the video and trying to get away from her control.

Genre Characteristics

Like a lot of boy band pop videos there is a lot of dancing especially in unison on the chorus section. They are also lip syncing into the camera lens which seems to be a very common convention with boy and girl bands. 

first chase scene

Performance and Narrative

There are very strong narrative and performance sections in the video. The Narrative section is a chase, with the band running away from the puppet master woman. It starts with them attached to her strings and each member gets cut off and then the narrative section of them being chased is shown. Most of the performance section is shown in the same room. The narrative section is also linear and at the end the audience are under the impression that they got away. However the narrative isn't completely closed which appeals to the idea of the audience viewing the video multiple times.

Star Treatment

Justin Timberlake

Throughout the video more attention seems to be put on Justin Timberlake than the other band members. This is anchored through his narrative section being quite long and on his own whereas the others are all in twos and it cuts away more often from their narrative sections. Justin is also shown lip syncing on the video a lot more than some of the other band members, but this may just be due to him singing more on the track. As Justin Timberlake was the most well known member of NSYNC it makes sense for him to be shown more in the video. 

rotated screen

Effects 

Throughout the video it is clear lots of effects and green screen was used. At the start green screen and effects must have been used to get the impression they were flying on the puppet strings and the theatre they were in looked quite cartoon like. When the band members were running across the top of the train some kind of green screen will have been used here also. In the room where a lot of the lip syncing was done effects and rotating the screen made that room more interesting and made them look like they were walking on the ceiling and walls.

Pace and Shot Variety

The pace of the video does increase as the video progresses and the chase continues. There is also a lot of shot variety and other than the puppet and performance locations, no other locations or shots are repeated.

car location

Locations

There are a number of locations used in the video to help the chase have more verisimilitude. The amount of locations used make the video more interesting and the audience can notice more aspects the more they watch it, increasing the appeal for viewing the video multiple times.  

EG16: Atomic Kitten - Whole Again

single cover

ACT: Atomic Kitten
TRACK: Whole Again
YEAR: 2001
GENRE: Pop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-25
LYRICS





Influential Features

• In this video, the girl groups image is something that will definitely influence the choices I will make. They all wear different clothes but they are all similar colours. This helps give them individuality, but also make them still look put together and in unison with each other. I would like to do this but may be more of an up to date version. 
• There is quite a variation of shot types in this video, this is also something that would work well in any genre of music video as it keeps the video interesting.

Relationship between visuals and lyrics

There is no relationship between the lyrics and the video as it is a pure performance video and has no narrative. 

Genre Characteristics

lip syncing

Like the majority of girl group videos, they are lip syncing directly into the lens of the camera. This video is just performance which is not like any of the other video I have looked at from this genre, as usually there is some kind of narrative structure to it also. The girls are dressed not the same but in similar colours just variations of outfits. This is a common convention of girl bands also, as it helps distinguish the characters of the group a bit more.

layering

Effects and transitions and Location

Throughout the video layering is used so the same member of the group is on the screen more than once at a time. This helps keep the video interesting, as the location doesn't change at all in the video and is just a white background. This is quite a boring choice, and I personally wouldn't do this when creating my music video as I think it makes it boring and people wouldn't want to watch the video multiple times. 

outifts matching

Star Treatment 

There doesn't seem to be any clear star treatment in the video and all the members have their own solo section in the video with just them on screen. This is often the case in girl groups, but often in boy bands there is more of a main singer, for example Justin Timberlake in NSYNC.

group shot

Pace and Shot Variation

The pace and shot variation stays at the same minimal level throughout the video. The effects used are in replacement for a lack of shot variety, but it doesn't help keep the audience engaged. The pace stays the same throughout also, not increasing nor decreasing at the choruses or building up at the end.



Shot Types
Throughout the video the angle of shots isn't greatly variated. However, there is a lot of variation when it comes to distance of shot as there are close ups and long shots of the band members. With the layering, often there is a close up in the foreground and the same person in the background at a more zoomed out shot like a medium shot or a long shot. 

EG15: Take That - Never Forget

album cover

ACT: Take That
TRACK: Never Forget
YEAR: 1995
GENRE: Pop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 15-40
LYRICS





Influential Features

• In this video, there are a lot of shots of the band members 'messing about', which is a common convention with a lot of boy group videos. This is something I would like to do if I chose to do a boy band video as it works effectively and helps the audience relate with the band. 
• There are a lot of locations in this video and this is also something I will strive for in my music video as it keeps the video interesting and so the audience will want to view it multiple times.

old effect footage

Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics

There is no direct connection between the visuals and the lyrics as the video is just a montage of shows and the bands past. There are different filters on the different times to help anchor the era. This may also be because the old photos used will be in black and white anyway.

messing about

Genre Characteristics

It is quite typical when looking at pop boy bands videos to see a lot of footage of the group 'messing about'. This helps the fans relate better to them and to know more about their individual personalities.

performance

Performance

There are some performance footage included in the montage. Mainly of the band on tour on big arena stages. This is the only lip syncing shown and as it is directed to the audience. The lip syncing isn't to this song in particular it will be to other songs in the performance they are doing, as it is not synced to the track. In these small performance sections they are often dancing on stage also.

Concept
Being a montage video it is more of a concept video. The only section of the montage that seems linear is at the beginning where there are pictures of them gradually getting older. Other than that section it isn't linear and the order of pictures and footage seems to be random. The sections also don't relate to certain parts of the track or build at any point.

audience

Star Treatment and Audience
Unlike a lot of boy bands, in this video one member of the band doesn't seem to be singled out. There seem to be equal shots of all the band members. The audience are mainly shown in the video when performing. But fans are often shown in the montage also. The age of the fans in the video anchor who they want there target audience to be. Throughout the video mainly 18-34 year olds seem to be shown.

location

Shot Variety and Locations

There are a lot of shot variety as it isn't a narrative video so they aren't as limited as the footage doesn't have to be relevant to the lyrics. There are also a lot of locations shown in the video, this helps the video not get boring and will keep the audience interested and want to view it multiple times.

EG17-21: Pop Group Vid Examples

single cover

ACT: Spice Girls
TRACK: Spice Up Your Life
YEAR: 1997
GENRE: Pop
DIRECTOR: Marcus Nispel
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-25
LYRICS

MUSIC VIDEO

• The video is in a futuristic setting and a lot of effects and green screens have clearly been used to get this effect, for example the hover boards they are on. 
• They are wearing outfits very appropriate to the futuristic setting and make up, yet they still keep their individuality and well known traits about each of them.

     

furustic - hover boards

• There is a large amount of shot variety, which can be quite hard to follow. When singing individually they lip sync into the camera but when singing in a group they don't look directly into the lens because they are more involved in the narrative.

DNA album cover

ACT: Little Mix
TRACK: DNA
YEAR: 2012
GENRE: Pop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-18
LYRICS
MUSIC VIDEO

• This video also has futuristic elements to it, maybe inspired by the spice girls video, as they were such an iconic girl band.
• In the video the girls in the band are portrayed to look very powerful giving it quite a feminist approach. They are in control of the man they kidnap and are plotting against. 

       

chorus

• Their performance footage also has basic dancing in it. Mainly shown on the chorus. 

single cover

ACT: Big Time Rush
TRACK: Music Sounds better
YEAR: 2011
GENRE: Pop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-18
LYRICS
MUSIC VIDEO

• Has quite a lot of dancing from the band members and others in the video. 
• Urban setting throughout, everyone in the video looks in the 18-25 age bracket, clearly expressing what they want their target audience to be. May be wanting the teen audience to be the secondary audience.



performance

• They lip synced in the performance and narrative sections of the video, but the performance sections were aimed down the camera lens in contrast to the narrative sections when they seemed to be singing it to a girl.

single cover

ACT: Busted
TRACK: Year 3000
YEAR: 2003
GENRE: Pop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-25
LYRICS

MUSIC VIDEO

• There is a very strong link between the visuals and the lyrics. The lyrics are telling a story which is the whole narrative, ending in a performance.

  

  male gaze

• A lot of effects are used and the majority of the video is cartoon so would be computer simulated.
• The male gaze is used in this video as there are girls wearing minimal clothing. This is to bring more male audience to the video instead of just teenage girls. 

single cover

ACT: McFly
TRACK: 5 Colours in her Hair
YEAR: 2004
GENRE: Pop rock
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-25
LYRICS

MUSIC VIDEO

• At the start of the video the boys cross a zebra crossing. This is an intertextual reference with the beatles. This may be to help break the American audience as that would very recognisable as the beatles were such an iconic British group.
• A black and white filter is put on the majority of the narrative about the girl with 5 colours in her hair. There is a very strong link between the visuals and lyrics. 



performance

• In the performance footage all the instruments and microphones are shown. At the end of the video the narrative and performance sections combine.

Codes and Conventions (further examples)

TITLES
Titles are used in a variety of genres. They aren't commonly used but a number of videos do have them. They are often used to make the videos come across more cinematic. 'Nero - Reaching Out' titles are used at the beginning, used to create a sense of realism of convincing production values. Intertextual reference to television programme (televisual intertextuality) here it is referencing Miami Vice. Dj Fresh Earthquake titles are shown at the beginning and the end of the video. The font of the titles help emphasise the genre.

STAR TREATMENT
Focuses on the lead singer, especially in Bastille. Only member of the band to be shown in Pompeii is the lead singer. The lead singer of the 1975 is also the only band member shown in the video. There is much more scope to include discontinuity techniques such as a non linear narrative, or cutting to something surprising or breaking the 180 degrees rule. 'Arctic Monkeys - Why'd you only call me when you're high?' most famous Arctic Monkey so would the best to be recognised in the video.

EFFECTS AND TRANSITIONS
The White Stripes Seven Nations Army uses a lot of effects and the whole video is one continuous shot but these effects make it look like transitions and still make the video able to be viewed multiple times. It is referencing 1960s and is very psychedelic. There style of music would be classed as garage rock which is also referencing the 1960.

LOCATIONS
Bastille song shot in lithuania. This helps keep the video interesting as it is an unfamiliar and an eerie setting. The beach paradise in Avicci helps us relate to the character. 'Blue - One Love' use grimy, urban background. They do this to brand their band. The outfits they are wearing also anchor them being more 'street wise' and wanting the audience to give them credibility because of this. By doing this they are also trying to change their primary audience from just a teen audience.

CROSS PROMOTION: where you promote the video and something else as well e.g. a film.
PRODUCT PLACEMENT: paid money to feature a product.
TIE-IN: e.g. a company may feature a campaign involving another company. Companies like McDonalds often do this.

CONCEPT VIDEOS
No strong link between the lyrics and music. This often happens in dance music as there may be no lyrics, or very few lyrics which may be repeated multiple times.

CAMERA MOVEMENT
'Deep Sea Arcade - Granite City' The use of shaky camera movement is to give the video more realism. This is done intentionally. 'Coldplay-Paradise' also does this.

DIRECT GAZE (MODE OF ADRESS)
Blue look right into the camera lens to the audience connect to the band member who is lip syncing.

DIGETIC INTRODUCTION
When the actual track doesn't start straight away in the music video. For example Arctic Monkeys. This also has a interruption during the video of digetic sound.

AUDIENCE
having the audience in the video anchors the age of the audience they want to watch the video.
Ellie Goulding Burn the audience are early 20s, which are the target audience for this video. Music videos may also the secondary target audience in the video.

LIP SYNCHING
David Guetta - Titanium doesn't have any lip syncing in it. Lead singer lip syncing a long with an ongoing narrative.

MALE GAZE
male gaze is applied in Ellie Goulding, Burn. By having girls bodies shown in the video you are attracting a more male audience.

5 music video analyses EG8-13

ACT: NSYNC
TRACK: Dirty Pop
Year: 2001
Genre: Dance-pop
Main Audience: 12-18 
Lyrics
Music Video

location and lead singer

The video is a very typical boy band group with a lot of dancing. The band are aware of the camera the whole song and look directly down the lense. The location is a futuristic set that is very cheesy and colourful. Focuses on Justin Timberlake throughout the video.

ACT: Katy Perry

TRACK: Roar

Year: 2013

Genre: Power Pop

Main Audience: 12-24

Lyrics

Music Video

setting

Very strong narrative throughout the video. Cuts away to lip syncing but still with the narrative continuing. The singer is playing the main character. Quite comedic for an older audience, but would appeal to younger audiences. Special effects used to create the lion roaring. The location looks very fake but I think it is meant too, to add slight comedy and not make the video so serious as it is unrealistic. Some close ups of her lip syncing. There is quite a strong link between the music video and the lyrics as the song is describing lions etc and she is in a jungle setting.

ACT: Guns N' Roses

TRACK: Sweet Child O' Mine

Year: 1988

Genre: rock

Main Audience: 18-36

Lyrics
Music Video

grainy black and white 

The majority of the video is performance footage of them lip syncing. It does sometimes cut to the band backstage or spending time with girls. Other than some of the girls shown in the video there is no relation between the lyrics and the music video. Close ups on the instruments, which are all shown in the performance sections.There is a black and white filter on the whole video.

ACT: Red Hot Chili Peppers

TRACK: Can't Stop

Year: 2002

Director: Mark Romanek

Genre: alternative rock

Main Audience: 16-25

Lyrics
Music Video

opening shot of singer

Unusual video that has quite abstract and random ideas. Doesn't seem to fit the song. Not knowing the band very well they may however be some intertextuality I am unaware of. A lot of lip syncing and props involved. Seems to be no clear story line, just a lot of shot variety. Some performance footage, including full band and instruments, the rest of the video focuses on the lead singer.

ACT: Passenger

TRACK: Let her Go

Year: 2012

Genre: folk rock/indie pop

Main Audience: 12-24

Lyrics
Music Video

performance

The video is based around a performance. The footage is a mixture of the actual performance and preparations for the performance. The setting seems a very small and intimate performance with a small audience. There are some shots of the audience. No fast pace editing.

EG7: 5 Seconds of Summer - Heartbreak Girl

single cover

ACT: 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS)
TRACK: Heartbreak Girl
YEAR: 2013
GENRE: Pop/Pop rock
DIRECTOR: Charlie Miller
MAIN AUDIENCE: 12-25
LYRICS

Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics

There seems to be no relation as you don't see the girls being referred to in the lyrics or any kind of relationship.

Performance and Narrative

performance

There is a mixture of performance and narrative aspects. At the start of the video it cuts between them lip syncing and what seems to be recording the original track and a journey with their instruments to some kind of venue. They then perform at the venue, but still constantly cutting back to the recording footage. The recording footage is taking in turns the different members of the band to sing. In the performance all their instruments are included with the logo on the drums.The narrative section seems quite linear during the journey part, but from then onwards the narrative section seems to be the band messing about and it doesn't seem very progressive. 

Audience

Even though there is a performance section, no audience appears to be shown. This may be done so they aren't limiting the kind of people they want to listen to them. 

the band

Representations

The only people shown in the video mainly are the band members which are all boys. They are all quite stereotypical teenage boys and there is no representations such as age or sexuality. Because they are all boys this may be an example of the female gaze, and equivalent to Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. They aren't ever shown as 'eye candy' but the band does seem to be primarily targeted at a female audience. 

recording

Pace and Shots

The pace in the video is pretty constant, increasing a little bit at the chorus as it cuts between the different band members in the recording section of the video. There is a variety of different shots, including some shots with the boys that look like a POV shot from a fan or another band members perspective, mainly when they are messing about. 

travelling

Locations

There are a number of locations in the video. The recording ones have a black and white filter on them. There is also the performance locations and the majority of the other locations are them travelling in a tour bus or running around on the streets. As they aren't a very well known band and presumably had a low budget I presume this video was shot in Australia, where the band originate.

Relevant Links
Wikipedia
Website
Twitter

EG6: Bruno Mars - Locked out of Heaven

album art

ACT: Bruno Mars
TRACK: Locked Out Of Heaven
YEAR: 2012
DIRECTOR: Cameron Duddy
GENRE: New wave, funk and reggae rock
MAIN AUDIENCE: 15-25
LYRICS

performance

Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics

There isn't much relation between the lyrics and visuals as the majority of the video is performance footage. The singer is the main character throughout, but in the performance he seems to be playing himself.

narrative section

Performance and Narrative

The first minute and a half of the video is all performance footage, and after that some narrative is cut in but constantly returning back to the performance. The performance and narrative sections don't seem related as he seems to be in a gang situation. In the performance the full band is there with all instruments and microphones. There isn't dancing but there is a lot of movement on stage. There are a lot of shots of the audience who are dancing. But nothing seems set. The narrative doesn't seem linear as there isn't a clear storyline it just looks like different situations. However, with multiple viewings the story and concept of the narrative may be more apparent. 

audience

Audience 

The audience are shown a lot in the video in the performance sections. They are shown dancing and enjoying the music. There are a lot of girls shown which shows a clear indication of the male gaze being used. The video will become more appealing to men because there are a lot of girls dancing and things in the video. 

male gaze

Representations

Everyone seen in the video looks below the age of 30 which shows the target audience for the video. For young people it would be unrelateable if the video only had older people in it. There are mixed representations of race and sexuality. This also widens the target audience and who the video will appeal too. 

Pace and Shots

effects

The pace of the video is quite fast throughout as it is a very upbeat song. The editing is fast also, especially in the performance sections. There is also a lot of slow motion in the video when people are jumping around which works effectively and makes shots look very different.

The video also experiments a lot with different effects. There seems to be a dark coloured filter in the performance and the camera work is very jittery. The picture is edited to move about the screen and look like it is being shown on a bad quality screen.

Locations

There are a number of locations in the narrative sections. The performance location looks like a dark club or bar and doesn't look very upmarket or posh. They may have chosen to do this to look more down to earth and relateable with fans when in reality they may never gig somewhere like this. 

Relevant Links
Wikipedia
Website (UK)
Song Wikipedia

EG5: Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

single cover

ACT: Wheatus
TRACK: Teenage Dirtbag
YEAR: 1999-2000
DIRECTOR:
GENRE: Alternative Rock
MAIN AUDIENCE:
LYRICS

teenagers and school setting

Relationship between Visuals and Lyrics

The connection in the video is quite strong due to it being about teenagers, and the narrative in the video roughly follows the lyrics. The relationship is especially strong towards the end as one of the characters starts lip syncing the words when previously in the song the band and actors never completely connected.

male 'geek' character

Intertextuality

When researching the video it became apparent that there had been a lot of confusion whether this song was featured on the film 'American Pie' (it wasn't). This was due to the 2 actors in the video both being in the film also. 

band, performance

Performance and Narrative

The video is pretty much equal amount of performance and narrative. The video constantly cuts between the band performing and the actors and the linear narrative that is also happening. The performance side is always with microphones and all the instruments. The two settings only cross at the end when the female character lip syncs the higher section of the band mimicking a girl, 'I got 2 tickets to iron maiden baby'.

jocks

Representations

There are quite a lot of stereotypes in the video in the acting narrative side. There are jocks which are bullies and have the girl that the lead boy and typical nerd likes. The jocks bully the geekier character. These stereotypes start to change when the girl sees the jocks being bullies and walk away from then. In the end section of the song the girl then walks up to the geek and they dance together at the prom.

prom location

Pace and Locations

The pace of the video and editing is pretty constant but increases slightly as the video builds. It then decreases again at the end on the end shot when you realise the whole video was a dream as the boy wakes up on the stairs. There are a number of locations in the video, all typical school locations such as the gym, prom, corridors and cafeteria. 

Shots

There is a large shot variation, and angles to help show the power/vulnerability different characters have. On the performance sections of the video there is variation of close ups and medium shots mostly. 

Relevant Links
Wikipedia of the band
Website
Teenage Dirtbag Wiki