Music Video Theory and other Research

Production Diary #4

Today I have been looking into media theorists different perspectives towards music videos. Key theorists that I came across were Andrew Goodwin, Stuart Hall and Laura Mulvey who all had varying perspectives towards the creation and conventions within a music video. All of these theorists play a big role in the way in which music videos can be analysed and interpreted. I found it really interesting looking a the five key aspects that Andrew Goodwin discusses because I believe that this will also benefit me when it comes to planning my music video. The five aspects were:

1. Thought through Beat
2. Relationship between the song and visuals 
3. Narrative and performance of the song
4. Technical aspect of a video
5. Star image

Another task that I was looking over today was previous students' work which I believe is beneficial when it comes to researching and planning my work as it is good to see what has been successful and allows you to take ideas and make them your own. I looked at Katie's work from last year and I liked the various platforms in which she has produced her work on such as the use of videos which I find very effective. I also enjoyed how her video seemed quite simple in terms of costume, however I believe that this allows the audience to relate to the video. 

Finally, even though I have done the analysis of various digipaks, artist websites and magazine adverts. Today I did some further research into what a digipak actually is. I found that they have become quite popular since the beginning of the 2000s.

Music Video Theorists

Research of Music Video Directors

What is a Digipak?

A Digipak typically consists of a gate fold paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD and/or DVD attached to the inside. Digipak style packaging is often used for single CD releases or special editions of an album. Digipak packaging is useful due to its resilience unlike the jewel cases which can be very brittle and smash quite easily. However, a Digipak can wear down quite easily unlike the jewel cases as it is less resistant to abrasion. Since the beginning of the 2000's, Digipaks have become quite popular with record labels and recording artists.


Looking into Digipak's is beneficial to me whilst creating my coursework as it is one of the ancillary tasks that I will have to make as a part of my final product so by doing this research allows me to see what typical conventions are used by artists, but also what makes a digipak successful compared to a normal CD, also the negative sides to them though too.

Here is a video that I found on youtube when carrying out some research about Digipaks which explains how they are economically beneficial and how they are made.

Carrying out Research

Production Diary #3

Currently I have been carrying out research on music videos and more precisely, this week I have been looking into the history of them. Through always showing an interest in watching music videos by various artists it is quite interesting to see the historical development of how they have got to the point they are at today. With the music industry starting with 'talkies' 'soundies' and 'shorties' there has been a consistent evolution over the years which has been benefited through the increase in technological advances and also through media convergence which has helped with the promotion of these music videos. An example of this is with YouTube where daily, thousands of music videos will be uploaded and shared across the internet.

By researching the history of music videos, it will help me consider what style of music video I wish to produce. Whether I might go for a narrative based video, a performance based video, a lyric video or one filmed against a green screen. It has also opened my eyes to the idea of basing it on a film or another theme for example.

Another aspect of music videos that I have been looking at is the conventions of music videos and have linked research that I have carried out from the other half of my course (G325) with the work I have been doing on this half (G324). Specifically I have looked at representation, genre, media language, audience and narrative. Even though this research is not specific to my coursework, it is interesting to look at how music videos that are shown on the internet and also television can adhere to these conventions. Furthermore, when specifically looking at the representational issues to consider within a music video, I picked up on a few key points when analysing the music video 'If I Were A Boy' by the artist Beyonce through the means of mis en scene.

Representational Analysis within a Music Video - Music Video Theorists

Research into Conventions of Music Videos - Music Video Theorists

Question 1b from ramsz001

History of Music Videos