Research-What is the function of a music video?

What is the function of a music video?

The purpose and function of a music video is to promote the artist and to persuade the target audience to go out and purchase albums instead of illegally downloading songs online.

Analysis of a music videos watched in class

One of the two music videos I watched in class was Rizzle Kicks "Lost Generation". This music video has obvious edits to it such as titles at the very beginning, social networking sites such as Instagram and Youtube added into the music video and the glass being smashed into pieces at the end. Jump cuts are also used throughout this music video. Additionally slow motion is used about 5 times throughout the video, examples of when slow motion is used is the chase and the dancing scene. There are about 7 repeated shots of the artist and the artist also makes eye contact with the camera 25 times. This is done to keep the audience stay engaged with the music video. Base track is also used when the camera goes back to when the artists' were in the red big brother chair, when the camera goes back to the sofas in the living room and when the camera goes back to the dancers in the park. The camera uses motion and tracking in this video and makes it look more appealing. Furthermore the editing is done well as it is in time with the beat of the song. The target audience for this music video would be older teenagers. This is due to a number of reasons such as; the artists are young, the beat of the song is listened to more by younger people, they advertise brands such as "Nike" which are worn by teenagers.

Another music video I watched and analysed in class was Adele "Someone Like You". This music video also has obvious edits throughout such as the artists' face and the location of the video being merged together, and the video being black and white throughout. The reason the video was black and white throughout is because it links well with the lyrics, however there were no jump cuts used. The whole video was done with slow motion and this was obviously done as the song itself is slow. The camera was well focused on the artist and moved slowly in time with the slow music. Whilst the camera was moving with the artist, the artist also makes eye contact with the camera, this may have been used to keep the audience engaged. This music video also uses base track and is used whilst the artist is walking along the river. In addition the editing is in fact in time with the song which makes the whole music video look more appealing. The target audience for this music video would be adults. This is because it seems realistic for this music video to link and relate to their lives.