What is a music promo?
A music promo has many purposes. One purpose is to advertise the song by using a short clip that would mainly consist of a verse and a chorus of the song. The reason music producers used this method of advertising was because it enticed the viewers into watching the rest of the video and ultimately buying the song. Another reason why producers make video promos is to promote the artists who are involved. People use promo videos as a way of expression and also for art. It can also be used as a short film or a catalogue of reference. Some videos can be used as a new form of theatre as the video promotes the artist and they get recognised through their videos, much like actors such as Charlie Chaplin who became famous from his stage work.
Advertising
They are mainly used to advertise the artist: example- Green Day- Minority
Most of the shots that are used in this promo are of the band and of the main singer which promotes the band and their performance. The promo doesn't have a specific narraitve which gives the viewers a more concert feel and like they are watching the actual band play.
Art/Expression
Green Day- 21st Century Breakdown
This promo has a more artistic approach which adds a more creative element to it. The promo has a coherant storyline and relates to the song as the song is about the lead singer's life and how he grew up and the events which occured whilst he was growing up. The first line "born into Nixon" referes to his birth and gives the audience a better understanding of the events that occured around that time making him more relatable to the audience. The promo is in black and white to give it a more vintage feeling which prevents it looking aged when time progresses. The spray-painted wall effect was inspired from the works of the artist Banksy who is ronouned for doing wall art. The band decided to use this as agin it gives it a more timeless feeling and insures that the video won't look dated. The camera work is very diverse and unconventional. The shots differ from tracking shots to show the progression of the narrative or mid shots to show the characters emotion.
This promo has a more artistic approach which adds a more creative element to it. The promo has a coherant storyline and relates to the song as the song is about the lead singer's life and how he grew up and the events which occured whilst he was growing up. The first line "born into Nixon" referes to his birth and gives the audience a better understanding of the events that occured around that time making him more relatable to the audience. The promo is in black and white to give it a more vintage feeling which prevents it looking aged when time progresses. The spray-painted wall effect was inspired from the works of the artist Banksy who is ronouned for doing wall art. The band decided to use this as agin it gives it a more timeless feeling and insures that the video won't look dated. The camera work is very diverse and unconventional. The shots differ from tracking shots to show the progression of the narrative or mid shots to show the characters emotion.
Short Film
Green Day Wake me up when September Ends
This promo has a more involved narrative which is more interesting for the audience as they can get more involved with the characters and realte more to the song. The promo has a mixture of performance and narritive which makes the audience more interested and more willing to watch the video. There are a range of shots from close ups to show the emotion on the characters faces and extream long shots to show the environment that the characters are in. The director has chosen to have a narrative that relates to the Iraq war and how it effects people and their relationships. The story builds as the song builds which gives the video natural progression and effects the audience on an emotional level. The editing is very fast paced when the music builds giving the promo more tension and more emotion because it could be seen as the characters emotions being very conflicting.
This promo has a more involved narrative which is more interesting for the audience as they can get more involved with the characters and realte more to the song. The promo has a mixture of performance and narritive which makes the audience more interested and more willing to watch the video. There are a range of shots from close ups to show the emotion on the characters faces and extream long shots to show the environment that the characters are in. The director has chosen to have a narrative that relates to the Iraq war and how it effects people and their relationships. The story builds as the song builds which gives the video natural progression and effects the audience on an emotional level. The editing is very fast paced when the music builds giving the promo more tension and more emotion because it could be seen as the characters emotions being very conflicting.
New form of theatre- Beyoncé Listen
This promo is a good example of a new form of theatre as the video is based in a theatrical environment as it includes a performance on a stage and a panning shot of the auditorium. The narrative of the video is from the film DreamGirls which is featured at the beginning of the promo and it is titled like a theatrical performance highlighting the newest form of theatre. There is a lot of tracking shots showing a change of Beyonce's character and also shows the change in her appearance as she was wearing quite casual clothing but then changes into elegant clothing making her appear more sophisticated. The close ups that are used show the emotion in the characters face making her more relatable to the audience.
What is the purpose of a music video?
The purpose of a music promo is to do a multitude of things. They are used to:
Entertain- videos that are comedic or have a storyline to them that audiences would find amusing.
Fly for a white guy- this video is purely to entertain a more immature audience because you can see from the clothing that he is wearing that he is quite a comical character and he is immature and very childlike.
Inform- a video that is generally serious and has a lot of meaning behind it. Wants to send out a serious message.
Michael Jackson- earth song- this video has a purpose to inform the audience of all the bad things that have happened around the world and how we can help prevent them. Some of the events that occur are natural occurrences which shows the contrast between man made problems and natural problems. There are a lot of cuts to and from the different situations and the promo is edited in such a way that the audience can see certain images that are leading up to horrific events but cuts away just before it happens leaving the audience with the mental image of what would happen. These leave strong messages as the events are disastrous and are quite disturbing leaving the audience with a more important message.
Advertise- videos that advertise the band or a product
U2- with or without you
This promo is designed to advertise the band performing resulting in it not having a specific narrative. This makes the video easier to film because it focuses around the group meaning it needs no additional photography of other characters. This also means that the audience can relate more to the band as they are constantly in shot throughout he promo. The slow pan at the beginning introduces the audience to he lead singer and the emphasis is out on him because he would be the front man that people would see at a gig and he is also the person singing the song making him more of an authorities figure. There is a lot of slow motion used throughout this promo which gives the audience longer to focus on the musicians and it also creates a calmer atmosphere because everything is slower and more relaxed.
This promo is designed to advertise the band performing resulting in it not having a specific narrative. This makes the video easier to film because it focuses around the group meaning it needs no additional photography of other characters. This also means that the audience can relate more to the band as they are constantly in shot throughout he promo. The slow pan at the beginning introduces the audience to he lead singer and the emphasis is out on him because he would be the front man that people would see at a gig and he is also the person singing the song making him more of an authorities figure. There is a lot of slow motion used throughout this promo which gives the audience longer to focus on the musicians and it also creates a calmer atmosphere because everything is slower and more relaxed.
Shock
Miley Cyrus- this promo is an example of using shock to make something memorable. Because the promo is so unconventional people remember it because of the content, not the actual song however due to the obscureness of the video people remember the song that is associated with it. The promo uses a lot of close ups which show the emotion of the singer and makes the audience relate more to the singer because that specific audience member could be experiencing something similar and could relate to the lyrics of the song. There are lots of long shots used which gives the audience a clear view of the environment that the singer is in and also shows the audience what is going on behind the singer whilst they are watching the promo. The visual aspects are an illustration of the lyrics as we clearly see the destruction of the wrecking ball, giving the promo a more literal narrative.
How to view videos:
Youtube
Computer
Phone
iPad
iPhone
iPod
TV
Cinema
Gaming Consoles
Adverts
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