Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions on music videos from ellymellish

I will take note of this slideshow as it gives details on what are commonly unknown questions and answers them in detail.

Who makes pop promos.

The Videographers Guide Ep. 1 - The Music Video from HYPEBEAST on Vimeo.

After watching this video I have realised that anybody can shoot music videos nowadays with the correct equipment. Independent directors shoot the videos as the budget is so little now that big bands and teams are not as essential for the production of the video.
However, there are big directors who work have been listed with MTV such as Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze and F.Gary Gray

Jake Nava. An English music director who directed videos for beyonce, Adele, Mariah Carey and Kanye West. 'Single ladies' being awarded the video of the year by MTV America, MTV Europe and also the BET awards.
The oil factory is a big promo producer, here is a link to their site http://oilfactory.com/

Why do we use promos?

Music videos were originally designed to sell albums. A lot of money went into the creation of music videos so that albums would sell and this gave music videos a great importance when trying to sell music. However, now we are very singles driven and the music industry has shifted, making music videos less important and therefore less money is invested into making them.

"its the only compassing medium that takes in every arts form and crafts it into this Ultrium reality"


Although we as an audience don't see pop promos as being that important, they are still used to express and create a story behind the song itself. As we can see in this particular quote, the passion and excitement which the directors put into the music video creates a different way of feeling the music by taking in every arts form and producing it into something artistically visual. There are many different ways of creating a pop promo so that it suits the particular song, here are some examples of the types of music videos used in pop promos. However, not all music videos match the genre of the music, for example, R.E.M - 'man on the moon' is a rick genre song, but has a western/pop music video.

Beyoncé - if I were a boy.
This music video is narrative based.
It focuses on the lyrics and creates a corresponding video or story which works together with the song itself to help create a deeper meaning.
I personally find this particular music video very inspiring, and I think that the way which the director has chosen colour to help distinguish between reality and imagination is very creative.

30 seconds to mars - Closer to the edge
This music video is performance based.
Being an alternative group, the focus is on the band and their members themselves. Having their video shot on stage infront of an audience gives a more realistic feel and also gives off a high energy buzz which would appeal to their usual listeners.
Personally this particular video doesn't appeal to me as I find that its more about the atmosphere and energy and doesn't link as well to the lyrics in the song. However, different genres of music create different types of music video to signature the band of artist with a particular taste.

 

 Oren Lavie - "Her Morning Elegance" A Quarter Past Wonderful  
This is an example of a concept based music video. Although these are a bit harder to spot and are not used as much as narrative or performance based videos, they can create a very different feel which relates to the style of music a lot better. Concept based music videos are based around one idea and usually involve the concentration of one specific editing technique. In this example we can see the same editing technique has been used throughout the music video, therefore all based around one idea and one technique.