What is a Music Video? - Miss Miller

A music video is a moving image/short film that accompanies the song in which an artist is releasing. A music video has various purposes, for example, to express the artist's lifestyle is one, and possibly influencing others as a result of it. Most music videos are to either tell a story, reflect the meaning of the song or used for promotion of not only the song, but also the artist releasing it. Moreover, a music video ensures for a relationship to be built between the audience and the artist, especially if they can relate to the content of the video in any way. A further purpose of a music video is also to portray/create an artist's identity for example, Michael Jackson has an iconic white glove in which is featured in most of his music videos and so creates a symbol for him to be remembered/identified by. Music videos are also created in order to be memorable, so that the audience can remember the music video, then associate it with the song, meaning more people downloading the artist's song and also exploring the artist's previous/other work. 

There are three different styles of music video - the particular presentation of the content determines which style the video it will fall under, however, a music video can have more than one style within it, for example, Pink's 'Stupid Girl's' music video has all three. The first style of music video is 'Performance' - this style is demonstrated through the singing and dancing of the artist or someone relevant to the song/video. Secondly, the next style is 'Narrative' which is where a music displays the telling of a story within it whether that be with the artist acting in it or others. Finally, the third and last style is 'Concept' where the video sets an idea/theme or ideology to the audience, usually there is a meaning behind the video.

Taylor Swift is a world-known, successful music artist that has released a large number of songs and written over 600 tracks (some being for her own release and for other artists' use). In past years, she was more known for releasing songs from the country genre, however, she has more commonly become a releaser of pop singles - a very popular genre in the present day. I have chosen to analyse the music video for 'Blank Space' by Taylor Swift, one of her more recent singles, which belongs to the genre of pop. The main purpose of the video is to reflect the meaning of the song and tell a story about how a relationship has blossomed only to come to a sour end filled with arguments and torture due to the discovery of adultery committed by the partner. Taylor Swift has a reputation of having a lot of past broken relationships that are the basis of the majority of her songs. In the video, this is displayed and so, shows a purpose of feeding the audience what they want and living up to the expectation and reputation in which she has. It gives the audience an insight into her life and her personality, however, some parts may seem quite humorous, so on the other-hand, it could mean that the reputation of her is ridiculous and she has decided to portray it in more of this way than a serious one. It also has a purpose to allow audiences to relate. Cheating on partners, even though immoral, is fairly common and a lot of people have had to go through a breakup or difficulties in their relationship caused by a partner cheating. Taylor's reaction shows that you should not allow this and allows the audience to relate to the narrative and to Taylor more as an artist.

The style of the music video is performance and narrative. Both styles interweave between each other throughout the video, but do still relate as Taylor still acts in character during both the different scenes.

The screenshots located to the left are examples of shots of Taylor during the performance shots. The first is a mid shot but also a shallow focus shot, where Taylor is singing directly to the camera. The makeup as part of mise-en-scene clearly illustrates her character and the destruct in which the character feels due to the situation in which she is in. Her makeup is exaggeratedly running, creating more of an emphasised, hyperbolic nature of the emotion put across to the audience. Taylor acts in character still, so even though she is performing to the camera, the facial expressions and way she moves is still expressing the emotion of her character. She is shown in different ways throughout the video and this particular shot outlines this. The way that she is shown in this way where her makeup is not flawless and she is not happy portrays how people can have different sides to them. It also displays her negative thoughts on love and the negative way in which it has influenced her from the clearly saddening effect it has had on her. The second screenshot is another mid shot which is more of a purely performance style. This change in setting, costume and makeup reflects the change in the section of the song as this comes in at the bridge. The change creates variation within the video and creates a build up to the ending of the song. Taylor again is singing directly to the camera, creating a direct connection between her and the audience and allows the emotion she is trying to illustrate to be delivered successfully. 

These next screenshots to the left demonstrate the narrative side to the music video. The first screenshot is a mid shot of the couple cycling in a house of theirs. The expressions they portray are happy and positive, reflecting the good part of the relationship. This is found near the start of the video, so, it leaves for the narrative to grow throughout. The second screenshot is another narrative shot and is approaching half way through the video. It is a shallow focus shot of Taylor spotting her partner texting/on the phone to someone else (another potential lover). This develops the narrative as it is the part where it begins to go downhill for the relationship, the arguments and confrontation begin shortly after this discovery. The way in which this is acted at this part of the video demonstrates how it has affected Taylor (her character). It is clear from the facial expression shown in this shot that the reaction is a negative one and Taylor is not impressed with her discovery.

This next screenshot to the left demonstrates the following reaction to the previous narrative screenshot. This mid shot displays the anger in which Taylor feels and this shot demonstrates the style of both performance and narrative. The lyrics also reflect the anger in which she feels and so she sings as she is acting out and expressing the emotions in which, when complimenting with the lyrics, is very effective. Because of Taylor's reputation, the audience were half expecting there to be some sort of problem or obstacle that faces the relationship in the video. The lighting used in this shot shows the light coming from outside, whereas the lighting inside the house is fairly dim. This reflects that the negativity is present inside the house where they are supposedly arguing. The lighting also causes the main focus to be made onto the two individuals - which is appropriate for this scene.

There are many generic conventions for music videos of the pop genre. The genre has grown more popular as the history of music videos (and music in general) has developed. The following are just a few of many conventions featured in pop genre music videos:

In the majority of pop genre music videos, there is at least one love interest. The screenshots (close up and shallow focus) clearly demonstrate the man that is the love interest in this video. Not only is there always a love interest but they always happen to be attractive. His hair, makeup and costume makes him appear immaculate and smart, further making him more attractive on camera. This more likely attracts the audience more and further allows them to want to buy into the artist's lifestyle. Taylor's love interest is featured in most of the video as we see the development of the relationship between the two. The narrative concerning the love interest in a pop music video normally has some sort of problem, or overcomes a problem or ends happily. This music video has a slight twist at the end, as a new face arrives and an inferred next potential love interest since the last one failed. This feeds Taylor's reputation of having a number of partners in a short space of time, making it appeal to the audience. 

Another typical convention of a music video from the pop genre is a large/expensive setting. As distinctively demonstrated in the screenshot, the setting looks pristine and the large area of land of which it is on gives the impression that the character owns a lot of money. From seeing the impressive views of the setting captured so vividly from the high angle shot screenshotted to the left, it makes the audience want to live the lifestyle of the artist. It gives them something to aspire to be like and demonstrates what success can give you in return. It also could reflect however, that money cannot buy everything. The narrative portrays Taylor in an unhappy relationship in the video and so even though she displays wealth, happiness is a lacking feature as the relationship develops. 

Titles of songs with the artist name appearing at the beginning are most commonly found in music videos from the pop genre. This is part of the editing within the film and gives a clear indication of the artist before they appear onscreen, creating an identity before the video has even properly started. Moreover, it also could be inferred that it emphasises the recognition the artist should get for the track. Audiences straight away know the music video's title of the song that compliments it, the artist and also usually the director of the video as-well (which also appears in this video just before 'Taylor Swift Blank Space'. When there is writing in a music video, it somehow attracts the audience's attention more as it is more effort to read what is on screen as opposed to purely just watching. Editing this in after the video has been filmed, ensures professionally and accuracy, as well as a chance to develop the font into something conventional/ The artist having a different style font to the song name makes them very distinct from one another, outlining the difference between the two. This appeals to the target audience as they can clearly acknowledge and associate themselves with the artist and the song.

This music video is likely to have the target audience of girls/women. The situation in which the character (Taylor) gets into is relatable to more women as statistically, more men cheat on women than the other way around. Taylor is shown in various costumes throughout the video that would be more appealing to girls/women as they generally care more about appearance and attention to detail - this is one of the elements they are more likely to spot. The same way that they would notice the immaculate nature of her makeup and the way in which she is displayed as a successful, powerful woman. The way in which she acts in the narrative could be satisfying for a girl/woman who has been in the character's situation from the way Taylor seeks revenge for what the partner has done. The video displays Taylor as someone to look up to for girls/women for her success, money and for the way she deals with the situation of her partner cheating. 

From analysing this video i have learnt that target audience is very important. If the video doesn't appeal to the target audience, it can determine how successful the song will be. The target audience are supposed to be the guaranteed viewers for the video which makes it crucial for the correct conventions and features within to appeal to them. Conventions need to be generic and consistent throughout not only to appeal to the target audience, but also to make sure that the correct genre of music is identified. Music videos are very effective in the way that they allow audiences to create a relationship with the artist when otherwise the only way of seeing them perform would be live or on television performing. A narrative, concept or performance music video allows the personality of the artist to come across which I don't think is important just for the audience but also for the artist and the way in which they promote themselves. Music videos also allow the audience to connect with the song as they are more likely to understand the lyrics/meaning of the song, giving a more likely possibility that the audience can relate. I really liked the way the narrative and performance style of music video interweaved each other in the music video in which I analysed. I think it creates entertainment for the audience as they can witness the artist performing, but also follow a narrative which compliments it as well. The pop genre also offers a lot of options for a narrative because the pop genre is so varied with the content of each pop song being quite different but mostly upbeat. As a result of this analysis I will consider incorporating these features ideas into my own music video.