music video sample exam questions
- Explain how representations in music videos are chosen to promote the artist(s). Refer to one of the music videos you have studied to support your answer. [15]
- “Music videos reflect the cultural context in which they were made.” Discuss this statement through a comparison of the two music videos you have studied: one music video from List A and one music video from List B. [15]
- "Music videos create a mood rather than tell a story." To what extent is this true of the two music videos you have studied? [15]
- How important is location in the music videos you have studied? [15]
- How does the language (mise en scene, camerawork, VFX and editing) of the music videos you have studied help to communicate its message and mood? [15]
| music videos (MTV) background workbook.pdf |
| music video revision pdf version |
| music video revision.pptx |
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music video question bank - this should form the basis of all your independent work
| MUSIC VIDEO QUESTION BANK |
Here is a very basic starting point for music video analysis
Full URL:
http://www.understandmedia.com/topics/media-theory/143-how-to-analyze-a-music-video
Full URL:
http://www.understandmedia.com/topics/media-theory/143-how-to-analyze-a-music-video
The purpose of music videos is to:
- help to sell and promote the song, artist, band, brand, film, live tour
- make the lyrics more memorable
- give directors and cinematographers the chance to experiment and try out ideas (Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, David Fincher)
- provide content for global music channels such as MTV
- reinforce the traditional the link between music and visual imagery
- to help artists project a 'star persona' identity. Also helps artists to reinvent themselves and take on new media identities.
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Activity 1
Intro to music video- connotation - study the Dexter opening title sequence and write down the object and actions you see. Dexter is about a forensic detective who is also a serial killer. Then write down the connotations of each action/ object and how this secondary symbolic meaning is conveyed to the audience. In doing this task you are exploring some of the ideas of Roland Barthes on symbolic codes. The text is a partnership between audience and producer. Homework suggestion Choose a music video, make notes and be ready to present it showing how it illustrates some of the general concepts we have been learning about. |
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Activity 2
Watch these 3 TRC YouTubes about Music Videos and explain them with your own examples, using an MV of your choice. For OCR, you don't need to know the theorists mentioned in the Youtubes below. Just note down the general ideas. You are also welcome to challenge and question. TRC Media Studies video on Music Video codes and conventions TRC Media Studies video on representations in Music Videos WORKSHEET TRC Media Studies video on Textual Analysis of Music Videos WORKSHEET Activity 3 (apply what we have done so far) MUSIC VIDEO LIST A Watch ‘Stop Where Your Are’ by Corinne Bailey Rae 1) What is the song about? 2) Make careful notes on the grid sheet. 3) What theories could you apply in an A-Level essay? 4) Essay – about 350 words. What is the message of ‘Stop Where You Are? How do the forms language codes & conventions help to convey this message? Extra reading: Read the article below and make notes - how have past events shaped Corinne Bailey Rae's attitudes and creative output? www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/corinne-bailey-rae-i-didnt-want-to-do-anything-after-my-husband-died-1882248.html Activity 4
'Stop Where You Are' : Study the socio-political contexts sheet. Write at least 300 words on how the technical codes and conventions of the video, including mise en scene, help to highlight some of the issues around socio-economic and cultural contexts. Activity 5 Study David Guetta's 'Titanium' and fill in a video analysis grid. Activity 6 Discuss the roles of genre, narrative and intertextuality in 'Titanium' Activity 7
Music video: Do the following in groups make notes on how following apply to Titanium & Stop Where You Are. then write 100-120 words of continuous prose. Representations and Meanings Promotion of the artist/band; Contemporary Context ________________________________ MUSIC VIDEO EXTRA QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION POINTS
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EXTRAS & INDEPENDENT WORK
WRECKING BALL - Extra Music video task REMEMBER: THIS VIDEO IS NOT ON THE SET LIST
Study the Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking Ball' video and notes then do your own.
Analyze a music video of your choice – answer the following questions – do a Powerpoint. If it passes our 'peer & teacher review' quality test you can upload it to Slideshare. I or 2 slides per section + screenshots. Try to cover as many areas as you can in each section.
1) Institution – information about the director? The success of the video? Cost? Where was it filmed? Studio or real locations? Is the year/ period when it was released important? Does the video reflect the Zeitgeist ('spirit of the time' : cultural, economic, social political landscape in some way?) To what extent does the video promote the artist or the song in a unique or distinctive way?
2) Ideology – Themes? Is there a message in the song? Think about the lyrics. Is the message echoed is the visuals/representations/ genre/ narrative? How?
3) Narrative – does the video tell a story? What is the story? Or is it just about performance and style?
Todorov – 3 part structure? Propp's character archetypes? Can you find evidence of binary opposites (Claude Levi-Straus)?
4) Genre- do the visuals link to a particular genre? Sci-Fi, horror, cowboy western, film noir etc? Are there intertextual aspects?
5) Representation – think about the places, locations, mood/atmosphere & people – how are they constructed and why? make a connection with Berger and Mulvey. Are there links with Judith Butler and Lisbet Van Zoonen? Mise en scene – realistic or stylized? Real life or fantasy? Clothes & make-up what do they sat about the artist? Stereotypes? Iconography? Props & visual signifiers- denotation & connotation (Roland Barthes). Think about signification = the process of constructing meaning.
6) Language form codes and conventions – comment on camerawork, editing (pace/ rhythm), special effects and sound (diegetic/non diegetic; use of sound FX and ambient sound) . How do they work together? How do the visuals tie in with the song's lyrics?
7) Audience- who is the target audience? Male /female/ children teenagers young adults? – how is the audience engaged and encouraged to continue to keep watching? Use of enigma codes? (How) do the representations match audience tastes, fashions and character? Think about GEARS & MARS=Mainstreamers Aspirers reformers Succeeders – (This is part of the Y&R 4Cs Model)
Study the Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking Ball' video and notes then do your own.
Analyze a music video of your choice – answer the following questions – do a Powerpoint. If it passes our 'peer & teacher review' quality test you can upload it to Slideshare. I or 2 slides per section + screenshots. Try to cover as many areas as you can in each section.
1) Institution – information about the director? The success of the video? Cost? Where was it filmed? Studio or real locations? Is the year/ period when it was released important? Does the video reflect the Zeitgeist ('spirit of the time' : cultural, economic, social political landscape in some way?) To what extent does the video promote the artist or the song in a unique or distinctive way?
2) Ideology – Themes? Is there a message in the song? Think about the lyrics. Is the message echoed is the visuals/representations/ genre/ narrative? How?
3) Narrative – does the video tell a story? What is the story? Or is it just about performance and style?
Todorov – 3 part structure? Propp's character archetypes? Can you find evidence of binary opposites (Claude Levi-Straus)?
4) Genre- do the visuals link to a particular genre? Sci-Fi, horror, cowboy western, film noir etc? Are there intertextual aspects?
5) Representation – think about the places, locations, mood/atmosphere & people – how are they constructed and why? make a connection with Berger and Mulvey. Are there links with Judith Butler and Lisbet Van Zoonen? Mise en scene – realistic or stylized? Real life or fantasy? Clothes & make-up what do they sat about the artist? Stereotypes? Iconography? Props & visual signifiers- denotation & connotation (Roland Barthes). Think about signification = the process of constructing meaning.
6) Language form codes and conventions – comment on camerawork, editing (pace/ rhythm), special effects and sound (diegetic/non diegetic; use of sound FX and ambient sound) . How do they work together? How do the visuals tie in with the song's lyrics?
7) Audience- who is the target audience? Male /female/ children teenagers young adults? – how is the audience engaged and encouraged to continue to keep watching? Use of enigma codes? (How) do the representations match audience tastes, fashions and character? Think about GEARS & MARS=Mainstreamers Aspirers reformers Succeeders – (This is part of the Y&R 4Cs Model)
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ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSIC VIDEOS EVER MADE: | ||
VIDEOS CHOSEN BY YOU. ALL ARE WORTHY OF FURTHER STUDY & ANALYSIS
Stormzy: Blinded By Your Grace
Ariana Grande: God is a Woman
Sia: Cheap Thrills
Shaun Mendes: Treat You Better
Stormzy: Blinded By Your Grace
Ariana Grande: God is a Woman
Sia: Cheap Thrills
Shaun Mendes: Treat You Better
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