MOST GOOD COOKS HAVE HAD some training, perhaps from a culinary school in New York or Paris. Sure, there are exceptions, such as the talented people who can put together an incredible meal without using as much as a measuring cup, let alone a recipe book. But for the most part, being armed with knowledge is a good thing, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience yet. Creating a music video by understanding the elements that go into it can result in a tasty audio-visual treat, and that includes studying many of the music videos that already exist.
As I mention in Chapter 1, “The Process,” one important point you will need to determine is whether to use an existing song as the basis for your music video or record a new one.
But before you decide whether to use an existing track or record a new one, ask yourself if the song you have in mind is the best candidate for a music video. Here are some of the things to consider:
It’s not the genre of music that counts (such as rock, pop, country, and so on); rather, it’s whether the music and lyrics can be a foundation for creating visual imagery to go with the song.
It doesn’t matter whether you think the song is a “single” or an album cut. (Are there really such things as singles and albums anymore?) What matters is that it’s good music that stands on its own merits and works well with video.
Whatever song you have in mind must be capable of sparking ideas for the video. If it’s a real stretch to think that the track will work as a music video, it’s not the right song. Will it tell a story? Or will it evoke emotional reactions? If it does neither, you may be picking the wrong track.
The song you use should be three or four minutes long. If it’s any longer, you are going to have a difficult time keeping your attention deficit disordered viewers dialed in (not to mention the viewers who don’t have ADD).
Not every song tells the most powerful story ever imagined. But, just as in films, a strong story moves things along and gives viewers a sense of satisfaction. Does that mean a music video can’t consist of a cool track and a bunch of visual effects? Well, if you were to ask Roland Emmerich, the man behind Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, he would probably be a strong advocate of a special effects-based experience. But with heavy visual effects come much higher budgets, something for you to keep in mind.
The story is your plot. The story is the essence of your song. The story is the inspiration for your music video.
One thing I’ve learned from experience is that all the special effects in the world cannot help a visual experience unless it is built upon a strong story. The teachers of this fact have been Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, and many other filmmakers—both good and bad. You may know the feeling of leaving a theater feeling empty, in spite of the fact that there were a great deal of explosions, car chases, and CGI (computer-generated images) creatures to last anyone for a lifetime. What is sometimes missing is a story—a narrative—something that draws you into the plot. Beyond that is the need for character development—do you have a sense of who the characters are, what makes them tick, and what motives are driving them to do what they do? Do you care about them?
A filmmaker should be able to tell a good story in a timeframe of two hours or more. You might argue that a short-form music video is a different animal and that telling a story in three or four minutes is a lot more difficult. And you would be right—it is more difficult. But is it necessary?
The answer is yes—and no. Many music videos are story-driven. The lyrics of the song provide the roadmap for the visuals. In most of these cases, the original song and its lyrics are the story. The visuals illustrate this story. The illustration can be literal or figurative, or both. But combined, the music, lyrics, and video work together to convey a story, an idea, and a three-minute vignette on some aspect of life.
If your music video does not communicate a story, at the very least, it should stir emotion.
Try watching a video sometime without the soundtrack. Suppose, for argument’s sake, that you could still hear the dialogue but not the music. You will likely find that the film drags and drags and drags along. You might find that you lose interest in the plot and the characters. Even if you don’t, you may discover that the movie leaves you flat. You understand what it is trying to communicate, but you don’t feel moved by it.
A music video, whether story-driven or not, should evoke some sort of emotion from your audience. There may be an overarching emotion that you want to communicate, and the video may have more than one emotion contained within it. A video that doesn’t rely on story may instead be based on a situation. Still, a situational piece will convey certain emotions—fear, love, hate, suspense, regret, elation, and of course the list goes on. If your song is constructed in such a way that the emotional content is obvious, then congratulations —your job is somewhat easier. But if what the video is trying to communicate is not obvious, lyrically, you will need to dig deeper and ask yourself some questions that will lead you to the emotional context of your piece. As is the case with the need for story, the need for emotion is vital. Is it absolutely necessary? Perhaps not. But at the very least, your video should stir the imagination.
If you haven’t already seen it, rent and enjoy 2001: A Space Odyssey (It’s available on Netflix, as seen in Figure 3.1). Although it does have a story and it does convey emotion, the strongest suit of this film is the way it stirs the imagination. When it was first released, nothing like it had ever been seen. Much of the story must be filled in by your imagination and is subject to your own interpretation. The emotional context can also vary widely based upon your particular interpretation. There is a part in the film that relies on visual effects that, when compared to those of today, are somewhat primitive but that still stir your imagination—immensely. The motion picture relies heavily on the viewer’s imagination in order to make it a satisfying movie experience.
Figure 3.1. 2001: A Space Odyssey was a game-changing film in 1968 that is available for rent and is guaranteed to stir your imagination.
Stirring the imagination can also be the primary goal of a music video. While a story-driven video will lean toward a literal representation of the music, an imagination-driven video will be primarily a figurative, abstract representation of an idea. Naturally, these lines can be blurred, in that some videos have content that falls into both of these categories.
If imagination turns out to be your primary vehicle or goal, make sure that it’s not so abstract that viewers will be scratching their heads, wondering what they just saw. There needs to be an even balance of abstract ideas on one hand and easy-to-understand concepts on the other to achieve a satisfying viewing experience. Again, 2001: A Space Odyssey serves as an excellent example of this balance.
There are lots of “old sayings” I could write here, such as “Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it,” and many others along that line. But if I did, I would sound preachy, and I don’t want to go down that path. The study of music videos is not like the study of history, however, and that might make you a little more eager to take a look at some of the music videos that are on television and the Internet.
After watching a lot of music videos on television, be careful not to copy something directly from someone else. Your goal should be to grasp the ideas and the general concepts behind the videos. As the saying goes, “Don’t reinvent the wheel.” By watching music videos—lots of music videos—you can discover what spokes make up the music video wheel.
Once you start watching music videos, it doesn’t take long to realize how different they can be from one another. When you think of a music video, the tendency may be to think in terms of how music videos were constructed when they first appeared on channels such as MTV or VH1. The common formula was to show different camera angles of the artist or band while it lip synced to the song. There may have been a few cut-aways and some sort of video special effects here and there. The title of the song, artist, and record label appeared in the lower-left corner at the beginning of the song and sometimes at the end as well. And that was it—that’s what comprised a music video.
While you may still find music videos that fit this particular formula, they have come a long way since then and now have a variety of forms. This topic is covered in more detail in Chapters 6, “Choosing a Video Style,” and 7, “Shooting Options,” but suffice it to say that there is no singular formula for a successful music video. You can find a good example of a video that breaks the mold with “Here It Goes Again” by OK Go. Check it out on YouTube at www.youtube.com. (Type here it goes again into the Search box.)
Because people are no longer limited to television as their single source of entertainment, and because the subject at hand involves posting music videos on the Internet, it makes a lot of sense to watch some of the music videos you can find online. What’s that? You say you can’t afford to sign up for a music video service? No problemo.
There are tons of videos you can watch for free at sites such as these:
If you want to find more sites, use a search engine such as Google and enter the phrase: music videos online free. That will keep you busy for hours on end. Some sites will keep videos rotating automatically, just in case you’re tired of clicking the mouse button.
Make sure you make variety a goal when you are searching through music videos. It is very easy to pick your favorite genre, such as the one in which your particular music fits, at the expense of missing out on other forms of music videos that might inspire your creativity. Remember, this is homework, and you are studying for your exam. Your exam is the video you will be producing, so do your research now while you can. Expose yourself to as much variety as possible because this is where you will get ideas and inspiration, regardless of your particular genre of music.
Don’t forget that there are thousands of never-seen-before music videos that are not on the “mainstream” channels. So part of your homework assignment should be to check out what music videos other people—many of them in a similar situation such as you—have posted on sites such as Vimeo.com (see Figure 3.2), veoh.com, and many others. (See Chapter 11, “Evaluating Popular Online Sites,” for more of these sites.) You can even include sites such as youtube.com that, although they aren’t singularly devoted to music videos, still have many music videos that are more of the homegrown variety.
Figure 3.2. Vimeo is one of many sites you can use for uploading your music videos. Check it out at vimeo.com.
In fact, some of the lines get blurred when you look at a site such as myspace.com. Are the videos on myspace.com coming from professionals, aspiring artists, or complete newcomers? The answer is, all of the above. The lines that have historically divided music artists into “signed” and “unsigned” are not as relevant as they used to be. The record industry as a whole—meaning the major labels—is still undergoing dramatic changes.
The good news about these changes is that newcomers have more vehicles for exposure than ever before. So, when you do your homework assignment, don’t just look at higher budget, “professional” music videos. There is plenty to learn from those who produce no-budget or low-budget music videos, yet have found creative means to compete at a higher level.