Laura Mulvey’s ideas on representation.

Representation consists of many parts, gender, age, ethnicity, place. Gender is an important and controversial topic within the way its represented in the music industry. This is a quotation by Laura Mulvey: “ In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly.” The phrase ‘sexual imbalance’ suggests that males are seen as more dominant than women, like they have a higher status. Also suggests that women in this new generation are seen as objects, things for males to just look at.

The representation of women in music videos are mostly sexual attracting only the male point of view. An example of this is Dizzy Rascals ‘Holiday’ music video, were he has only striking beautiful women all around him in tiny bikinis. Mulvey also discuses the idea that women are ‘dismembered’ in all forms of media, that there is a focus, not on women as a whole, but a focus on parts of their bodies e.g. their body is dismembered. She argues that this is responsible for some women’s focus and obsession with specific parts of their bodies (bum, stomach, legs etc.) Men, she argues, are shown as a whole, as even though their body is on show, so is their face. Unlike in Dizzy’s music video ‘Holiday’ the camera is focused only on the girls tummy, then her legs, then her tattoo on her lower back, and bum.

On the other hand even though men have their bodies on show, they are never cut out of the shot completely and only focusing on their bodies, unlike women which only have bits of their limbs on show. For example Missy Elliot’s ‘All N My Grill’ music video includes shots of a ripped male, even though the camera pans down to show his physique, his head is in shot and never has an extreme close up of his body. Eye contact also equals power, so if only woman’s bodies were being shown and not their faces, then that further stereotypes the fact that women are seen as less significant and more something to just stare at.

The image of the artist in a music video will have been carefully planned; from the choice of clothes and style of hair to the situation or narrative that the artist is placed within. As an audience we will ‘read’ or deconstruct this representation and will interpret it based on our own cultural references and understanding. Through doing this, we also become accustomed to seeing familiar representations within the videos for particular artists/groups.

Carol Vernallis’s theory.

Carol Vernallis believes that music videos do not have a certain narrative to their videos. Music videos are more choppy and fast cut, they tend to have parts that do not always flow. For example this could be in a video if they just show the arm, then the head, then the legs. The pop music video editing aims to stop the audience from focusing on the image rather than the music itself, or music over image. An example of this would be the Lady Gaga music video for Bad Romance. In this video they cut from Lady Gaga in two different shots, however her hairstyle changes from one shot to another. This wouldn't normally flow as a story, however the audience can tell that their both Lady Gaga. This shows the present moment within the music video even though what’s happening in the music video is changing.

The main points of her observations are the usual rules of ‘continuity’ editing are broken in order to draw attention to what is on screen. Edits may be really obvious to draw attention to themselves such as wipes, and special effects added, jump cuts are often used. A master shot (base track) is frequently used to give the video a structure. Finally, the camera may not move in time with the music.

Andrew Goodwins theory.

There are three ways in videos that are used to promote a song : Illustrate, Amplify, Disjuncture.
Music videos set certain images to illustrate the meaning of their songs lyrics and the genre. Andrew Goodwin feels that traditional narrative analyses (using ideas such as Todorov) don’t really apply to pop videos. There are a number of reasons for this but it isn’t because pop videos are trying to be avant garde, it is just that they approach narrative from a different angle to novels and films. Pop videos are built around songs, and often songs do not pose traditional narrative structures (normality, problem, resolution.) The pop video uses the singer both as narrator and as a character. The singer often looks directly at the camera, this is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance.

Pop videos rely on repetition. Often the video repeats images in the way the song repeats choruses and lines. Also the repetition in songs of parts or rhythms of other songs, intertextuality, meaning that we become familiar with the genre and have certain expectation. The music video would be played on TV, the song would be played on the radio and there might be an advertising film or TV tie-in making the song very familiar through repetition. Pop songs and therefore videos have a form of closure and ending. The three minute single that a video is based on must end and this is often reflected in the structure of the music, it builds to a climax or to a constant repetition before fading away.

Music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, particularly to males, whilst intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos. Many of these features are present in all music videos, depending on the genre of the song and the aim of the record company/artist.

Technical aspects hold the music together. Camerawork, movement, angle, mise en scene, editing, sound and special effects. Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post production are all forms of ‘use of camera’. Lighting and colour ‘help set the mood’ and adds emphasis on key & dramatic moments adds extra effect. Mise en scene, the setting is vital as it needs to look realistic in order to look professional therefore appealing to a wider target audience. The cuts and beats go with the rhythm in order to make the video more entertaining. People like music that sounds good and not like it has just been thrown altogether.

Illistration- where the video clearly tells the story of the lyrics, e.g. Ed Sheeran 'The A team'

Amplification-mthe video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add new layers of meaning e.g.  Katy Perry 'Firework'


Disjuncture- where there is little connection between the lyrics and video or where the video contradicts the lyrics e.g. Eminem 'Love the way you lie'

Extra Research - Favourite Videos

Analysis of a music video- best example of the music video form.

One example is the music video for ‘She will be loved’ by Maroon 5. This is a story about a guy who has a girl friend but he likes her more than a friend, so that’s why he calls her “beauty queen” at the beginning. The trouble she had with herself was that she had a boyfriend (thus the line “she always belonged to someone else”) that always hurt her, whether physically, emotionally, verbally, or by cheating with someone, whatever the reason, he always would hurt her. So this guy friend of hers would always be there for her when her boyfriend would hurt her. I feel this is a great example because it is narrative with a strong meaning of separation, abuse, love and passion related to many different kinds of people. It has a variation of slow and fast edits, the participant is the narrator as well, and a good performance overall.

What is the function of a music video?

A music video is a short film mixing a song with imagery, produced for promotional orartistic purposes. Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action. Many music videos do not interpret images from the song's lyrics, making it less literal than expected. Most music videos have themes, repeated images, repetition of the chorus, edits are cut to the beat, for example in Florence and the Machine ‘Dogs Days Are Over’ jump shots are used sharply when there’s a hard beat, the shot changes.

The main functions of a music video is the promote the artist, as well as the song. As an up and coming artist in the 20 century you need to be known, recognized and attract a certain type of audience. In addition, another function is to sell the album in which the song is in, get more views and draw more people into their music. Also to put across the genre of the song through the music video, so for example, if the genre is hip hop stereotypically the video would include attractive females with bikinis, expensive cars, money and big houses, or on the other hand if the genre was rock, the video would include head banging, guitars and flashing lights. It is important to know what type of audience will appeal to the song so that the video is appropriate.

A music video gives a visual image, dimension to the song, creating a connection with the artist. Once hearing the song and knowing the music video, if effective and memorable, you can imagine the video in your head without even thinking about it. Making it unforgettable is essential because that’s how people will remember the artist, through the music video. For example, Lady GaGa is so popular due to the fact that she’s so out there and unique, she has her own style, her own voice which is something people will either love or hate, but it’s a risk she has taken, making her always memorable. Another example would be Michael Jackson, he created his own dance style, his own original voice and lyrics, his remarkable 7 minute long ‘Thriller’ music video which went down in history.

Moreover  music video is made purely for entertainment. If all songs didn’t have music videos then it would be boring for us as audiences, and boring for the artists as they wouldn’t be able to present and express themselves. It creates a visual image that the artist chooses to project, for example, Beyonce uses her outstanding dance talent and her physique to create an amazing video. (‘single ladies’ being one of most well known videos of hers.) When thinking of a song you automatically think of a narrative or picture in your head which matches the song, or sometimes doesn’t, which is what a music video helps to do.

A music video differs from conventional narratives such as Eastenders or Friends because its shorter, has much quicker editing, for example in music videos shots change every 3 seconds or so, but in conventional narratives a shot could go on for minutes. Also, a music video isn’t in chronological order, it could go from a dance scene, to the artist singing the lyrics, to a completely different scene, contrasting to these other narratives which have set series and set scenes.

Copies of copyright clearance.

During our 2 weeks of A2, we had to contact record labels, asking permission to use their songs for our a2 music video project. Below is evidence of emails i have sent to XL record label and one other. This is important because in order to use an artists song, copyright is a big part of it, so you need to ask for permission.