GROUP POST: iTunes

Youtube

The use of Youtube in the distribution and consumption of music videos has greatly increased over recent years. Due to it being so accessible and easy to use, as well as it having a wide range of choice and being free, it has quickly become the most popular way for an audience to view a music video. It also attracts an audience as it provides a way to give feedback on the video and inform the artist as to whether they like or dislike the music or video through the comments and likes/dislikes. This entices people as they can provide their own opinion and debate with others about their ideas.

An example of this is on DNCE's 'Cake by the Ocean'.

The video has a mix of good and bad reviews in the comments section, however the overall view is that it is a good song and music video, which can be seen from the likes/ dislikes, with the likes being 1,250,000+ compared to the dislikes being 40,000+. These views are reflected in the chart rating, with the song once being in the top 5.

The use of the comments section helps Youtube as it shows they are providing a platform to which an audience can communicate with other audience members and the artists themselves, however it can make or break an individual video as bad comments will discourage people from enjoying the music video, or point out mistakes that may have been created in the production by highlighting certain times during the video that other audience members should specifically look out for errors in.

As an institution Youtube is very successful, with over a billion users accessing the site daily. This then reflects into the huge amount of people that subscribe to music channels, such as Vevo. Vevo is one of the most popular music channels that release official music videos for all types of music, although it is predominantly pop music on their channel. They boast an impressive 1,059,700,000+ subscriber count and over 523,754,380,000+ views, showing that Youtube is now one of the most successful places for a music video.

GROUP POST: Music Channels

Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin had a theory that there are many different types of music video, the main three being performance, narrative and concept. Other styles include animation and combined styles. His theory said that all music videos fit into one of these styles.

A performance music video is where the video shows the artist or band performing their music to an audience, as if they were at a concert. This can be sourced from an actual concert. An artist may use this type of music video as it is the cheapest and easiest to produce, with no money being spent on multiple locations or costumes, or even actors/dancers. An example of this is Bon Jovi's 'You Give Love', where the video is taken at a gig, and singing is then occasionally directed into camera which helps keep the audiences attention.



A narrative music video is where a story is created that weaves around the lyrics of the song. These are more expensive due to having to pay for costumes, props and set. Typically there are also a number of actors involved, and occasionally the artists themselves are featured in the video. An example of this is The All American Rejects's 'Gives You Hell', where the video is centered around the members of the band arguing with their neighbor due to the two houses having people with different personalities.



A concept music video is created to show an idea or a concept that is quite often obscure and not true to real life, rather being relatable to real life. Due these videos being slightly odd in a sense, it interests the audience and draws them in. An example of this is Fall Out Boy's 'Sugar, We're Going Down'. In the video, the boy it s centered around is presented as different from the use of antlers, which he is shown to be resentful of as people treat him badly because of them. No-one actually has antlers which shows that this is concept instead of narrative as it is addressing an issue instead of just portraying a story.

GROUP POST: History of the Music Video

Music video from 1960 2016 from Morganbullock

GROUP POST: History/Inspiration of the song 'Gravity'

The history of the music video gravity from Morganbullock

GROUP POST: Mise en Scene (Costume)

To analyse the costume of a music video I decided Taylor Swift would be the perfect music video with her 'Shake It Off'. This being due to in the music video her exploring all the different styles of dance and there costumes.

 The music video first starts with Taylor in a ballet class at a ballet bar, as all the other ladies are bending over she appears a few people back and starts to sing. Her costume her at the stat is ballet tights, a leotard and a sweatshirt over the top. The costume is typical clothing to wear to a ballet rehearsal.

 The scene then changes to another ballet section but this time the group is preforming a dance routine. There is no props used in this scene like in the previous but still obviously ballet due to the outfits and the pointe shoes. The costume here shares links with the popular ballet 'Swan lake' due to the white feathered tutu's and the feathered head dresses. And again the stereotypical ballet tights and shoes.

 The song then changes to a different style of dance. Now it is contemporary dancing. This is clear to dancers due to the costumes worn. The costumes shown above are typical of this genre of dance. Also it is noticeable how the costumes differ on gender and there was no males in the previous two shots but in this contemporary one males are present. Another feature about this shot that is interesting is the use of the positioning of people. In this shot they are spread out around the stage but looks a lot more naturally spaced whereas in the previous two shots for the ballet the positioning has been neat and accurate reflecting the genre.

The fourth change we get is into gymnastic attire. The gymnastic/ribbon twirling genre is apparent due to the use of the prop that Taylor is using. This costume is completely different to the other two also due to being of a different style and a lot more colourful.

 The song then continues and Taylor changes into the disco genre. This genre appeals to older fans of Taylor due to disco music not being a popular genre nowadays. Blumler and Katz in their theory talk about personal identity and about people own identity. Especially in this music video of Taylor Swift it is evident that even if people have a clear identity can vary greater. For example people have Taylor's identity as being a pop star, but here in this video she demonstrates her doing numerous others skill in the form of dance and being a performer. So it's evident that people's identity's are varied and flexible.

This costume is different to all the others which are worn throughout the music video. For this section of the video there is no exact music style due to the dancers in the back ground just 'twerking' and Taylor at the front just moving her arms about. I feel this section of the video is targeted at a large target audience due to 'twerking' nowadays being seen all over the television and everywhere so it covers a large target audience. However the costume I feel is targeted at a teenage audience due to it being to revealing for a younger and adult audience so I feel its targeted at a teenage audience.

This section in the video is unusual due to being unlike any of the other sections in the video. For example all of the other shots used in the video are relevant to dance and the different genres of dance, whereas here the shot is of Taylor singer with a band which is how the stage would be positioned if she was doing a concert for example. Also the costume here is all black which is a feature that is unusual for the video due to the rest of the costumes being bright and out going. However this is adhering to conventions due to being the artist shown singing with the band.

The last costume we see Taylor wearing is a cheerleading outfit where we see her attempting to do a cheerleading routine. The costumes that are worn her are very obviously female and are targeted at the teenage audience due to the difficulty of the routine they are performing.  This is a contrasting outfit to others that are so in the video for example compared to the denim short and leopard print jacket. This are contrasting due to the cheerleading outfits being very feminine and girly whereas the other being clearly feminine but not very girly to the chains and excessive jewellery. After this costume the shots change between all of the previous costumes where Taylor is seen performing that genre dance but in her own style, so it doesn't look strictly correct but is in the music video to make it entertaining to the viewer which this music video certainly is.