Unit 29 - Good and bad music video techniques

Lip syncing 


This is known as movement of the lips as the he people in the music video are simply moving their lips to mimic the lyrics to create the illusion that they are singing the song when they actually aren't. A good example of this is 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams.Using lip syncing in a song can make the artist look more professional while at the same time not moving their lips. In this song lip syncing is used get the audience watching excited and sing along with this song. This is because happy is such a cheery song and throughout the music video we see celebrities and even normal people as this allows better connection with their viewers. The song is fast paced and shows a variety of people lip syncing and not focusing too much on one person to make the viewer bored.  The natural lighting also goes well with the video as it sunny out making the video realistic but also bringing the happiness to live because it's a sunny day.



A bad example of lip syncing is Nickelback 'Rockstar'. Unlike Pharrell Williams happy with the people singing the song correctly and look enthusiastic about it this song doesn't really have that. Some of the people that are lip syncing along do not look like they much effort into their singing. It also sometimes looks like a jumbled mess which would make the music video look sloppy and not that good. Usually when lip syncing the people that are being filmed should be energetic and into the song. However most people singing are slow and aren't that excited taking away the excitement of the song as they don't look that bothered. 





Cutting to the beat


Cutting to the beat is when a shot is when the music video is done in time to the beat of the music video. A good example of this is a song by Calvin Harris and Example called 'We'll be coming back'. The music video is telling a story,and it cuts to the beat it makes the music video more effective because if the song is going fast and the editing is fast then people will know that something important is going on in the music video and because of this it will appeal to more people just because it has been cut to the beat. This is good as it shows each scene cutting to the beat so its in time with the music video making it roll smoothly and look good. This also helps to create an energized mood as it would get people watching the music video more into the song. In electro songs cutting to the beat is very important because this is what will get the audience pumped but will also make the video look good as its always on time. Cutting the shots in a music video to this beat makes it more impactful on the audience and helps the video come off as being more dramatic and exciting. A shot occurs when the beat drops to create impact. 

A bad example of cutting to the beat is 'Rock that body' by the black eyed peas. While the music video is very entertaining and would get the audience into it the cutting to the beat is not shown. Using cutting to the beat in this music video would make the song look more good and professional. Cutting to the beat for this music video could make it better as it can people into the music video as it makes it more exciting when watching the video. This brings down the video as it could have been more tidy also which doesn't really give the video a good impact therefore letting it down. 

Green screen/ chroma key 


This is the use of a green or blue screen and is often used to create effects. These effects can be anything an artist wants it to be as they can do anything they want to do. Using a green screen or chroma key allows the artist to do anything with their imagination as they can bring anything to life. This is often done as it can save the artist a lot of money as they wouldn't be needing much props or pay for locations. This is because they can set the music video anywhere and have whatever background they desire to make a music video unique and original. An example, of a chroma key is 'Opposites attract' by Paula Abdul. The artist brought a cartoon cat character to life which is used at 1:40 when the artist is taken into the animated world. The song is about opposites attracting and Paula Abdul brings the cartoon cat to life by also making him sing with her. Having this cartoon character makes it enjoyable for adults and kids as it has such a fun theme towards it as during 2:36 she starts to tap dance with the cartoon character. 




A bad example of green screen is 'Bound 2' By Kayne West. You can clearly see that everything you are watching in this music video is fake. The first 30 seconds of the opening of the music video is very good which would interest people however as the music video progresses it starts to become dull and boring. The motorbike Kayne is on at 0:40 we can hardly see but can already tell is fake, along with the background. This does not look professional and just looks sloppy which is very surprising as Kayne West is a well known rapper and has a lot of more to do what he wants with a music video but went for something that looks like no effort was made. Also the music video is very slow paced and boring making people who watched this music video come off instantly or even fast forward. There isn't much happening in music video as it just goes from Kayne to and his wife Kim on the bike making the audience become easily bored. 




Camera language 

Camera language is when different camera positions can help tell your story. They are shot from above or below, as well as from eye level and are filmed from different positions around the subject as well. An example of good camera language Pans, tilts, crabs and tracking shots can add excitement to a music video. Various shot types could also create a meaning or tone for the audience. An example for camera movements shot types is Nelly's 'Hey Porsche'. This video contains a lot of helicopter shots high angle of the car driving down the road. This creates a tone of excitement for the audience. This gets them more into the music video as its just not focusing on one camera angle and is just doing different ones. 






A bad example of camera language is 'Never gonna give you up' by Rick Astley's. The camera is all over the place and it makes the music video looks messy.It also looks like not much thought has been put into the video. There are unnecessary shots as at 0:52 there's a shot of the bartender dancing which is not relevant to the song. Also the woman dancing at 0:19 is also not relevant as she doesn't do much but look back at the camera. While the song is catchy and good the music video is the opposite as its just different shots of him dancing side to side which after a while will make the audience bored of what they are watching. 



Special effects 

An example of good special effects is Taylor Swift 'Bad blood'. Throughout the song we see various special effects such as when Taylor dents the car at 0:41. From the first 30 seconds of watching the music video you would already be hooked. A guy is thrown onto the table and we see Taylor doing all these good fighting moves.  It's entertaining and we also want to know what Taylor and Selena Gomez are fighting about. When Taylor gets pushed of it would also make the audience surprised as the start of the music video would make people think that they were on the same side. The at 1:27 a girl puts a dent into the locker which also makes the scene look realistic as if she was that strong. All these special effects give the music video a cinematic feel. The special effects used were done well as it was made out like it was believable which would keep the audience entertained throughout the music video.








An example of bad special effects is 'Jigga what, Jigga who' by Jay-Z. This is because the use of the special effects being used in the song are unnecessary and rather than making the song look good it just looks rubbish and not very entertaining to watch. The special effects do not go with the song and are also are also repeated a lot which would make people watching the music video boring.The special effects are also repeated a lot  Most of the time its just flashing strobe lights. At 0:38 the effect on Jay-Z does not look good either. You would expect much more from Jay-Z as he was a very popular rapper and you would think that he would put much effort into his videos. Most of the time Jay-Z is also standing around not doing much. This shows people not much creativity has been put into the video. 


Number of cuts 

This is when an abrupt, but usually trivial film transition from one sequence to another. A good example of number of cuts is 'Ni**as in Paris' by Jay-Z and Kayne West. This music video uses a lot of cuts in the video and makes the video exciting for people to watch. By watching this video we very into the song as it's very fast pace and getting them crazy like the audience we are seeing. The atmosphere of the video is also energetic as from the start we see the audience dancing and having fun at the concert. This video as because it makes it moire fun to watch rather than a video that's slow as the people watching it the video are also having a good time. 



An example of bad cuts is 'Love don't live here no more' by Modanna. This music video does not have any cuts which would make the video boring for the people watching it. There's not much to see as all we see is Modanna sitting and singing most of time.The camera language for this video is very slow paced through out the whole video such as at 0:20 it makes the audience wanting the video to pick up the pace and tempo more. The video is also very slow pace and which after a while would make people watching this stop. The music video is also not very lively and is slow pace with not much too see causing the audience to become bored.