Research - Music Promo Research

Music Promos are short video clips used to aid the promoting of a single and band. These clips vary from an average of three minutes to five, but can be much, much longer, running on usually for as long as the song is. The video clip can even run on for a longer period of time compared to the music promo. Music videos follow many conventions which all depend on the genre the music entails. These conventions can relate to narrative, visuals, camera and lighting and the six stages of analysis.

The Indie genre of music all tend to follow the convention of having quite a bizarre or corny story within the promo. Bands like Panic at the Disco include a story that fits the lyrics to the song. The video for 'I write sins not tragedies' depicts a wedding where the bride cheats on the groom, just as the song explains. Also the video for 'Wolf like me' by Tv on the radio, has the story of a man that wakes up only to find he has been turned into a werewolf. Those are just two examples, but it is very common for Indie based music to follow this convention.
In terms of Mise-en-scene within the Indie culture music, it varies depending on the band. Panic at the disco, as mentioned above, like to where very circus-esque clothing, making them look old fashioned and traditional. Where as other bands may just dress in casual smart attire. Saying this, Mise-en-scene can also depend on the music promo. If a narrative is involved, it is more than likely that the band will dress according to their characters. On the other hand, if no story is included within the narrative then it is likely that the band will dress in a familiar attire that will be recognisable, or even a trademark costume for the band.

Instrumental music although less mainstream in today's society also has its own conventions that the genre tends to follow. Although no links can be made between lyrics and visuals, there are obvious links between music and visuals. Taking the band 'The Album Leaf' as an example, and their track 'Twenty two Fourteen', all though no narrative is included with the track, the visuals are slow and often remain on the screen for long periods of time, adding to the atmospheric fantasia the music gives off. No particular things are filmed, just cityscapes, the streets of a town and nature. The video gives a sense of freedom and escapism. But it's the emotions put across that are what make this video work. Although not all the songs are purely instrumental, the ones that are do follow the typical conventions.
Scores written for the Star Wars films are purely instrumental. Some of these scores have music promos which can be found on the classical music channels. They may be less mainstream, but nevertheless they still get promoted and they still follow conventions. During the promo there is a strong use of extreme long shots showing the entire orchestra playing together, and neatly arranged around a large fantastic Colosseum or in a great hall. All musicians are formally dressed and look at one with the music, and a feeling of true passion is given off. Clips from the Star Wars films are also added to show the relation to the films, and this helps promote the film as well as the orchestra.

Rock videos tend to follow many different conventions, and it normally depends on the style of the song at hand, for rock songs can be slow, fast, loud, meaningful or completely random. One convention that is always followed, is showing the band performing their song, whether it be in a live performance, within the story space or outside the story space but on location. This is typical in almost every rock video made. Also a heavy promotion of the artist is also apparent. There are always close ups on the artist, and long shots showing the band playing their instruments. Lighting is also used well within the rock genre of music. 'Signals Over The Air' by the band 'Thursday' uses lots of dark lighting to hide the faces of the band, but during the chorus flashes of light occur which reveals more details to the appearance of the band and they become more recognisable.
Another conventions used some times in rock videos or more hardcore music involving heavy guitar riffs, is a camera attached to the end of the neck of the guitar looking down at the guitarist playing. This technique can be seen in 'Over The Air' (mentioned above), and is also appears in Hadouken's 'Liquid Lives' promo.
Many rock videos also tend to include band members from other bands or random famous people, this could be done to promote the popularity of the band as they are able to grab a hold of anyone they want to be included in the band. Songs like 'Learn To Fly' by Foo Fighters, includes Jack Black and Kyle Gass from Tenacious D, before they became a more popular artist. 'The Plot To Bomb The Pan Handle' by A Day To Remember includes a famous porn star. One of the best examples of this would be Nickelbacks's 'Rockstar' promo. The video includes hundreds of celebrities and random people miming the lyrics to the song. Although the band themselves are not in the video, it is a good technique used to promoting just how popular the band are.

Singer songwriters are a genre all on their own. Because the style of songs they write can often change, the conventions of their music promos can often change and follow the conventions of the genre the song fits. Artists like James Blunt, James Morrison and Newton Faulkner all fall into this category. Generally the promos include lots of promotion of the artist, including the artist within any included story space, and normally involved in a love interest. James Blunts '1973' has him singing about his love interest while walking down the streets of a quiet town. As he walks the lighting changes depending on the tempo of the song and the visual. The angles of which the camera is aimed at the artist also change. Long shots, mid shots and close ups are all incorporated to promote him as a solo artist. The video for 'Dream catch me' by Newton Faulkner is the best example of promoting the artist within this genre. The opening of the song includes extreme close ups of his mouth singing the song, and his fingers working the frets on the guitar. There are also lots of shots from behind so you can see his trademark red dreadlocks, and the video really aims to show him for who he is. The video for the song has him included in almost every shot of the video and this works really well for promoting him as this was the first single he released.

Grime music videos can include a number of conventions and styles. The dark synths in the background of the music already help add a atmosphere to the video. Chipmunks 'Who are you?' video is typical of this. The synth in the background helps give the grime feel to the song and the dark lighting in the video enhances this dark atmosphere. Props are used to give the video that street edge. You can see the artist and friends sitting on BMX's and just slowly moving to the music as Chipmunk rhymes. The whole video is a shroud in darkness, and this will promote the darker more gangsta side to the artist, so he grows in popularity in the more underground end of the music world aswell as his promotion in the mainstream charts.

Underground hip hop music promos are the most varying of all the genres. Because the bands are usually independent, or signed to their ow label, the videos are usually very low budget and most include cheap animation probably because it can be done by almost anyone and in a way is quite effective. One advantage of these promos is that so many different bands are included in each others videos, this is most likely just to help get their name out, and to show, that even though they are not mainstream and don't have lots of money, they are a community in their own. There is always a strong use of promoting the artist and the visuals usually match the lyrics or at least genre.