Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How Has Digital Technology Opened Up the Oppurtinity for more people to make their own music promo?

Digital technology has opened up the opportunity for more people to make their own music videos because of the features that are now available on pieces of equipment that can be bought by the public, in the form of cameras and new video cameras. Both these products come with the ability to record whats in front of them at any time in any place, making it much easier for people to film their own music video. The equipment is also very cheap in comparison to the cameras used to film a professional video for a top artist. as a result, they are of a higher quality. However, technology is improving all the time, which means that within a few years, more people will be able to film a top quality music video.

Effects

Improved editing software has also contributed to allowing more people to make their own music video. This is down to software like Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Avidemux along with countless others, which are almost as good as the professional equipment that are used for official videos. As a result peoples music videos look very impressive and to a high quality, thanks to improved editing software that is now available to people, even for free in some cases, giving people great access to great software to edit their video on, alowing them to make a great music promo.

Relavence Of Promo Directors - What Makes Their Promos Good?

A music video director is responsible for the drama and art that are present in a music video, in the form of a dance or conversation between two characters before the song actually starts. The directors are also used to instruct the models, dancers and technical crews, which all play a vital role in the way in which a music videos quality and the way it is run.

A music video director can ensure that any ideas that do not portray the artists message are not put into the video, which can allow the artist to make a more meaningful message, and potentially make more sales, due to more views on video websites like YouTube and MTV.

Without a music director involved in the music video, it would not be able to portray the artists message in the video as effectively as if the director was involved. Also, a director can ensure that the video looks professional, so therefore without one, the video could deter people from buying the single, as they are not impressed with the video that they watched.

Why Use Promo's?

Genre

Music Video Styles

There are four different syles of music videos, narrative, cameo, notion of looking and performance. Each of the four show music videos in a different way, and it depends on the song as to what style of video is used.

MTV vs Viral

MTV (Music Television), launched on 1st August 1981,  is a TV channel that specializes in showing music videos from the past and brand new songs that have only been released from a range of artists all over the world. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys,". In its early years, MTV's main target demographic were young adults, but today, MTV's programming is primarily targeted at adolescent and teenagers in addition to young adults.

Meanwhile viral is used to describe a music video or any video that becomes popular often through internet sharing, social media and email, along with word of mouth. This allows the artist and director of the video to become more recognized, and successful as a result of their video becoming viral, leaving the fans wanting more. Websites like Youtube and social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are key ti making a video become viral, however TV shows that promote music videos also contribute to a video becoming viral.

Adavntages Of Promos For Sales

The main benefit of a music video to the artist and record company is of promoting their music. When a video accompanies a song, the exposure of the single will automatically double. This is because while the song can only be played on the radio and audio only Internet services, such as iTunes, having an accompanying video means the song will also be played on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo, as well as music television channels like 4music, The Box, Viva and MTV. Also, companies are aware that many consumers are more likely to share a video than an audio file, to talk about a video, and spread the song’s influence by word of mouth. For an artist this could mean more recognition, as a visual medium widens the possible scope of their creative ‘vision’, allowing them to get their message or self image across with more power. This benefits the sales of the song, as more people will be aware of the record through websites like Youtube and on TV, which will make them want to buy the song generating more sales and money. For a record company, the music video gives them the opportunity to include product placements and earn more revenue in the form of sponsorship through company's paying to have their product in a video with a popular artist.

Analysis Of Music Videos

I would grade this music video a very high grade because it has been edited to a high level. This is clear from the speed of the cuts, which vary in pace in order to match the speed of the music. For example, at the beginning the pace of the cuts were very slow, to match the slow start to the song, but by 3:21, the length of each clip was around half a second. This is a very difficult thing to implement into a music video, and the fact that they did this so well, further enhances the high grade that I would give this video. There are also a range of editing transitions throughout the video, such as fades, hard cuts and dissolve effects, which prove to be effective, in making the video flow and not look jaggered, which would make the video stand out from the music, which defies the point of a music video.

The video is also shot in black and white, which makes the video look really clear, and puts emphasis on the characters in the video. This is crucial to this type of video as it aims to tell a story through the characters, and if the audience can not relate to the characters, then the music video does not really work. However, I feel that the main reason that the video has be filmed in black and white is because it sets the emotions that are felt through the song, which are sad and depressing. These emotions are portrayed through the use of black and white as it represents that there is no happiness (colour) left in the world, which makes it the ideal way of filming the video.

The video is also filmed in a range of locations such as a forest, town center and several rooms of a house. This is enough locations to stop the audience getting bored of the same location, but also not too many, that the audience does not get overwhelmed, with the amount of locations used that it becomes confusing. this therefore makes the video of a high quality, as most people can be tempted to film in either too many or too few locations, which can ruin the video.

The lip synch is also very good throughout the video, which is key to ensuring that the video looks believable that she is singing the song. If the lip synch was bad, then the video would not look that appealing, and it will make the audience feel that the video is not related to the song.

Grading Of A Music Video

I would grade this music video a very high grade because it has been edited to a high level. This is clear from the speed of the cuts, which vary in pace in order to match the speed of the music. For example, at the beginning the pace of the cuts were very slow, to match the slow start to the song, but by 3:21, the length of each clip was around half a second. This is a very difficult thing to implement into a music video, and the fact that they did this so well, further enhances the high grade that I would give this video.