Why is lip-syncing important?

Lip-syncing is when an actor or singer moves their lips silently in synchronization with a pre-recorded soundtrack. It is used more often than not in the production of music videos but sometimes it is also used, "controversially", in live performances.

It is used to give a more polished effect in the music video as it makes the audio sound smother as it has been pre-recorded. It also is used to reduce the risk of background noise in the soundtrack as all audio that is picked up on set isn't used in the video itself.

It is also used for visual improvements. This is because if an artist is not singing then there is no need for them to wear a microphone pack. Furthermore it is also used so that a dance routine can be performed without the artist having to focus so hard on their breathing, as a result this creates a better spectacle.

Analysis of magazine adverts

Intitial ideas on our music video

Student music video analysis - Better Together

Student music video – Better Together
Mise-en-scene	There is a variey of moving shots and still images in this music video. The still images start 45 seconds in and end 62 seconds in and are shown as a slide show of the 2 gnomes who have travelled all over the world together.
Sound	The song is playing throughout the music video from start to finish.
Camera Angles	A variety of camera angles ranging from extreme close-ups to extreme long shots (not quite establishing shots). The majority of shots used when both gnomes are on screen are long shots. Whereas when just the male gnome is on screen the camera angles used are primarily mid shots.
Editing	Crossfades and Stop motion editing are use to emphasise the passing of time. A blue/greyish colour filters are used to show how the male gnome’s world is dull and grey when the female gnome is not around. Black and white tones are used to show flashbacks where the male gnome is reflecting on past times he has spent with the female gnome.
Narrative	The narrative of this music video is a love story between 2 gnomes.
Titling	There are no titles used in this video.

Student music video analysis – Come Together cover

Student music video – Come Together cover
Mise-en-scene	There are several situations in this video where the band are copying an action from a famous photograph or image of The Beatles
Sound	The song is playing throughout the music video from start to finish. The song itself is a cover of Come Together by The Beatles. However this group has used original sound.
Camera Angles	There is a variety of camera angles used ranging all of the way from extreme close-ups to extreme long shots (not quite establishing shots).
Editing	There is the use of cut through black for every cut between shots in the first 15 seconds of the video. When the split screens are in progress there is a frequent use of the wipe transition when bringing shots in and out and the use of crossfades and cut through blacks when changing between shots in the split screens. There is the use of stop motion editing every time the iconic line from the song “come together right now over me” is sung. There are several situations in this video where the band are copying an action from a famous photograph or image of The Beatles, every time this happens the image is shown faded on top of the music video footage. Footage is split between being shown in black and white as well as in colour.
Narrative	There is no story telling narrative in this video. This is because the majority of footage we see is the band practising, hanging out and relaxing.
Titling	At the start of the video we see the only titles used. These read the song “Come Together Cover” and the artist “Guys In White Dresses”. These titles are located in the bottom left corner like they would be on some music channels alongside titles for the director and record company.

Textual analysis of a music video: Waiting All Night – Rudimental feat. Ella Eyre

Waiting All Night – Rudimental feat. Ella Eyre
Mise-en-scene	We see shits of the main character in the hospital, rehabilitation centre and a skate park. These are all key locations as they show the beginning, middle and end of the guys recovery, which is what this music video is all about.
Sound	The song doesn’t start playing in this music video until 33 seconds in. All of the sound up until then is the diegetic sound
Camera Angles	Most of the camera angles used in this music video are POV shots or hand held shots. These denote that this is based on a real story as these camera angles put us in the shoes of those close to the man who had the accident making it all feel more real
Transitions	There is the use of a cut through black transition between the BMX riders accident and the shot of his friend looking worried for him. This transition denotes a clear change in scene but also connotes the unconsciousness of the BMX rider who had the accident
Narrative	This music video is based on the inspirational true life-story of San Francisco born BMX champion and actor - Kurt Yaeger, who became an amputee after an accident in 2006.
Titling	There are no titles in this music video

Textual analysis of a music video: Goodbye Mr A – The Hoosiers

Goodbye Mr A – The Hoosiers
Mise-en-scene	At least one of the band members are in the majority of the shots in this video. There is one primary location for this video which is the Heroes (The Hoosiers) hideout. It is a rather comical music video, we see a pun, ‘Hoosier Gunna Call?’, which refers to the Ghostbusters tagline ‘Who you gunna call?’. The whole video based around The Hoosiers being superheroes and we see lots of superhero connotations on screen such as costumes, flying, front pages of newspapers and ‘the key to the city’.
Sound	Almost all of the sound in the music video is the song only 12 seconds of dialog at the end of the video is sound which doesn’t feature in the song.
Camera Angles	There are lots of close-ups and long shots of the band members singing and playing their instruments. Whereas shots regarding the narrative are primarily close-ups and mid shots
Transitions	A wipe transition is used at the beginning after the comic book sequence, this wipe transition moves from bottom right to top left and symbolises a page turning.
Narrative	In this rather comical music video the narrative shown in this music video is a group of superheroes overthrowing a solo ‘perfect’ superhero (Mr. A), becoming the new great heroes and gaining the trust and key to the city and then disposing of Mr. A on a giant firework.
Titling	The opening 23 seconds is styled like a comic book and in this sequence we see titles showing the band’s name, the name of the song and the band members (using their superhero names).

Textual analysis of a music video: Club Tropicana - Wham!

Club Tropicana – Wham!
Mise-en-scene	The video features the main characters of the music video in nearly every shot in the video.
Sound	There is 30 seconds of ambience at the start of the video this is done to show how secluded and exclusive the resort where this music video is set is. The rest of the sound is the song which plays for the next/remaining 4 minutes of the song
Camera Angles	The majority of the camera angles which are used when the artists are singing in this video are close ups and long shots (which show the full bodies of the artists). Mid-shots are used on artists, when they are not singing, and the other main characters in the video. An establishing shot is at the start of the video just like it would be in a film, setting the  scene.
Transitions	There is a frequent use of cross-fades in this music video. They are used to emphasise the passing of time and changes of scene.
Narrative	This music video really just follows 2 groups of people, 2 guys (who we later discover are pilots) and 2 girls (who we later discover are air hostesses), on their holiday. Despite occasionally trading glances this video doesn’t follow the traditional pop cliché of a guy chasing after a girl, even though if you were to look at the list of characters for this video you could get that impression.
Titling	The titling of this music video is similar to that of a film. This is because it has titles at the beginning for the name of the song (the equivalent of a film in this sense) and the main stars of the video. There are also credits at the end which list the cast, cameraman , editor, producer, director and record label (which would be the equivalent of the production company)

What is the purpose of a music video

A music video is used to:

Promote the song, as a music video is another way of getting a song out there and into the eyes and ears of the public. This is something that cannot be applied to a particular music video because it is something that all music videos do.

Promote the artist, just like promoting the song,  a music video is another way of getting an artist and their work out there and into the eyes and ears of the public.

A good example of this is Gangnam Style by PSY. Before this video was released PSY was probably barely known out side of South Korea. But thanks to the unbelievable success of the music video for Gangnam Style on YouTube, which has now topped 1.7 billion views, PSY has become an international sensation!


Entertain the audience, this is when the video tells a story along side the song to keep the audience entertained so they don't switch off the music video even if they don't like the song.

A good example of this is Needing/Getting by OK Go. The video has no link to the video what so ever but it is enchanting in the way that it is fascinating to watch. This guaranties that the viewer is not going to switch it off.


Help with the songs narrative, this is where the on-screen visuals support the lyrics in the song by giving them a visual interpretation which give the viewer a better understanding of the song.

A good example of this is What I Go To School For by Busted. It features several links where the lyrics match the on screen visuals such as, "I dropped my pencil on the floor" and he drops his pencil on the floor.


Make an impression, the video invokes a reaction that plants the song in your mind as the videos so memorable.

An example of this is Rock DJ by Robbie Williams's which features Robbie stripping down to beyond the bare flesh... Thanks to award-winning special effects. The image of Robbie Williams tearing off his own flesh left a stamp on the minds of many. So much so in the Dominican Republic that the National Commission of Broadcasting and Radio banned the video, accusing it of being Satanic!

Textual Analysis: Writing's on the Wall - Plan B

Writing's on the Wall - Plan B
What is the genre of the music video?	Pop
What are the genres of the artist?	Soul, jazz, pop and rap
Is there a typical narrative?	Boy and girl happy and he leaves her for a one night stand
What is expected in the video?	Issues in the relationship, lots of artist shots and shots of the narrative
What is unexpected in the video?	No attempt to fix the relationship amd the one night stand
Are there any intertextual references?	No. However there is the use of some lyrics from a Stevie Wonder song; There is superstitions, writings on the wall
What is the storyline of the video?	Cheats on girlfriend for a one night stand
Are there any themes?	Love, trust and love
Is there a reconisable structure?	The first three of Todorov's Equlibirum (1st equlibrium, disruption and reconigtion) feature in the video
Are there any reconisable characters?	False hero, villian, hero, antagonist and protagonist
How does the video reflect the lyrics?	Reflects the lyrics in that their relationship isn't over but he is having an affair
What issues of representation are evident?	Age and gender
How have these been represented?	The stereotype of the woman being in the kitchen is used. The woman is in a more modern setting whereas the man is in what looks to be quite an old fashioned setting, this could be being used to represent the divide in their relationship
How has the artist been constructed/portrayed in the music video	Plan B has been portrayed as the villian in this video
Do they have an anomynus role in the video or are they a celebrity	Plan B is shown as a celebrity in this video as he is shown as the star at a concert/gig
Who is the target audience for the video	Plan B fans, people in their early 20's to mid 30's
Demographic group of target audience	E/D
What role does the record company play in the music video	They have their client to be presented as the star in this video with the use of the sold out sign in the video
How is the brand image of the star sold?	He performs to the camera in a suit as his alter-go Strickland Banks

Independent learning - Music video factsheet

What is the purpose of a music video in the digital age?
The purpose of a music video is to sell products such as the song, album and related merchandise. However they are a strange way of advertising as they give the song and the video, two of the main products, to the audience for free when played in public. This was too problematic before the digital age.

VEVO
The content of VEVO is syndicated to YouTube in the UK with YouTube and Google receiving a share of the advertising revenue for official versions of videos uploaded by a third party.

Convections
Movement - the video compliments the rhythm of the song.
Narrative - a storyline which may be linked to the lyrics of the song.
Band or Artist - footage of the band or artist performing or lip-syncing.
Intertextuality - references to another media product such as a film or another music video.

Genre
Music videos often uses generic convections such as certain styles of clothing to illustrate what genre the song is. For example bling in a rap video.

Real media texts - Music video

Naughty Boy - La La La, Goodwin Theory Analysis

Naughty Boy – La La La, Goodwin Theory Analysis

Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel, Goodwin Theory Analysis

Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel, Goodwin Theory Analysis

Goodwins Theory

1. Genre Characteristics

This is where we see things that are related to the which we expect to see in a music video. A good example example of this is Wiz Khalifa's 'Black and Yellow'. It is a rap video so we expect to see things such a bling and the hood, which we do.

2. Relationship between lyrics and visuals

This is where we see links between the lyrics of the song and the on screen visuals and despite being a terrible song. Rebbeca Black's 'Friday' features many links between its lyrics and the on screen visuals. For example when she says "sitting in the front seat" we see a shot of the front seats of a car.


3. Relationship between music and visuals

This is where there is a visual link between the video and the music, such as dancers moving in time to the music. A good example of this is Daft Punk's 'Around the World' where all of the dancers are moving in time with the music
4. The demands of the record label demand lots of close-ups of the artist

A good example of this is Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. It features lot of close-ups despite being mostly made up of a dance routine.


5. The artist has a motif or iconography that reoccurs across their work

A good example of this is Michael Jackson. He is well known for his dance routines but the most iconic thing which features in nearly of his songs and videos is his frequent use of the expresions "Hee-Hee" and "Awao"


6. There is a frequent reference to the notion of 'looking' and partially voyeuristic treatment of the female body

This is when there are lots of shots which give reference to Sarah Mulvey's 'Male Gaze Theory'. It is when there are lots of shots of a woman... but not necessarily of her face, used to attract a male audience. A good example of this happening in a music video is in Enrique Iglesias's 'Do You Know' (which is alternitvly known as 'The Ping Pong Song' as its beat is set by the sound of a game of table tennis).


7. There is the use of intertextual references.

Intertextualty is when a reference is made to another media text. These references can be anything from extremely obvious to very suttle. They can be used ti make the audience feel a small pleasure when they recognise the reference. An example of a music video which uses intertextual references if Blink 182's 'All The Small Things' which makes references to the Back Street Boys 'I Want It That Way' and Christina Aguileras 'Genie in a Bottle'.

Further knowledge of music videos

Knowledge of music videos

Candidate Number and Name

7404 Reece Field