Concepts for creating music videos

By Siriö on October 14, 2008

Other articles by
Siriöhttp://www.cristalab.com/usuario/64818-sirio.

In this article I will comment on the concept of creating audiovisual content

focused on the transmission of images and video through music, the "Music Video
Clip".

The note relates the theory of an idea embodied in a project that includes Theatre,
Body Expression, Scenography, Artists and Repertoires, Singing and Sound, creating a
homogeneous conception of the artist, a graphic and visual presentation that is
exposed in a way that is assimilable both to the eye and to the ear.

This article, created by Audioestudio (of which I am the owner) during 2007, was made
with the aim of producing, step by step, a true, real and acceptable short film of a song
by the artist, from the idea to the budget, from the storyboard to the filming, from the
production to the shooting and from the editing to the final recording.

The Music Video Clip

The music video is an audiovisual genre, a differentiated way of managing the

expressive materials of image and sound, with a coherent global intention through a set
of stable and uniform resources of a thematic, enunciative and rhetorical nature. In the
video clip, this strategy of general regularity is replaced by a set of irregularities of all
kinds that start from all genres and put them in crisis (transform them and cite them),
so that it would be more appropriate to speak of macrogenre (all capricious mixtures
between genres are possible), intergenre (a kind of multimedia genre, where music,
image and text form a kind of multimedia conduit) is developed on the mixture and
combination of formal and rhetorical resources of indistinct origin.

It is a dynamic art form in which the visual and musical are combined, through which an
interaction between the two parts occurs. This creates a unique effect that would be
impossible without the interaction between both parties. The ideal form is visual music,
it is a fascinating combination of disciplines that complement each other, this
combination of shapes, colors and music creates unlimited possibilities for artistic
expression.

The Seduction Mechanism

Audiovisual advertising and music videos have one thing in common: they constitute
two seduction mechanisms aimed at persuading the viewer/consumer to make a
purchase.

But there is still one aspect that defines both formats with this seductive status. Music
videos are consumed regardless of whether a subsequent purchase of the music or
group they advertise occurs. This is possible thanks to one fact: the music video (and
to a lesser extent the advertising spot) is, for the majority of young urban audiences,
the genre or space they like most on television.
Proof of this is that there are television channels all over the world dedicated to the
exclusive broadcast of these audiovisual formats, and that there are monographic
programs where they are broadcast and commented on while reporting on current
musical events.

If the video clip and the commercial are capable of becoming objects of consumption
themselves, it is because they carry out seductive operations. And at this point it is
necessary to make a differentiation between rhetorical operation (merely narrative) and
seduction.

According to Jesús González Requena, rhetoric consists of the construction of an

informative and persuasive discourse that has the advertised object as its reference.
This speech is performative (it presupposes a subsequent action) and transitive
(because it differentiates the announcer from the addressee and refers to a third
person Him, the referring product).

Seduction, on the other hand, is intransitive; the consumer relationship is immediate,

without the need for a subsequent act, and is exhausted in the permanent interpellation
of the recipient, in the relationship between enunciator/enunciatee that is sublimely
materialized in the video clip through the gaze of the musician(s) towards the spectator.

In rhetorical discourse, the image of the object is a sign: the object is only a referent, it
is not present in the discourse. On the contrary, as González Requena and Ortiz de
Zárate believe, seduction “hallucinates the object of desire, it imposes itself as a
presence” (González Requena and Ortiz de Zárate, 1995, p. 20).

In rhetorical discourse, the enunciator deploys an argument before the addressee to

convince him of the benefit or goodness of an object (which is a referent): that is, a
third party is introduced, a HE (apart from the I –enunciator- and the you –enunciatee-).
However,

if we speak of a seductive enunciation, it must be added immediately that it is an

enunciation that does not essentially respond to an informative function (transmitting
information) or a rhetorical function (arguing, convincing), but rather a phatic one,
which accentuates to the point of paroxysm the communicative contact between the “I”
and the “You” not as differential figures, but, on the contrary, as properly fusional
figures… the dual-phatic structuring of the spot, the absolute predominance of the pair
“I-you”, excludes all “he” and in doing so makes the articulation of the discourse difficult
on the narrative level. (González Requena and Ortiz de Zárate, 1995, p. 23).

This is why the vast majority of music videos are descriptive: if that third term, which
makes narration possible, is taken away from us, and our attention cannot be captured
in this way, what makes a music video seductive: what does it offer us? This is: a
fascinating image that captures us from the beginning, exhibits its forms, its multiple
faces (throughout the development of the clip) and ends by presenting itself as a
coherent, unique and everlasting whole that invites us to review it.

What Requena says about the spot is perfectly applicable to the video clip: it presents
a visually absolute object (the relationship between the group and the song is that
object) with the help of a hyper-realistic staging and extremely defined photography,
of high quality, which achieves great chromatic density (thanks to high investments).
However, the object undergoes a process of unrealization; it becomes implausible
since it is not inserted into a real context, but rather an imaginary one. Every music
video constructs a staging and a situation that the viewer knows is unreal and
incredible.

The object advertised by every clip is superficially the music of a particular group.
However, it is really the union of that music with that group and with its image. A clip
attempts to naturalize or make inevitable the relationship between a singer or group
(and their image or look) and their music: it attempts to sell music by showing it linked
to conventionally articulated images.
This conventionality is always hidden by creating points of synchronization between the
image and the music (cuts to the rhythm of the music; transitions, etc.) and by having
the singer and other members of the group appear in the image singing the song
synchronously.

The seduction that a video clip displays is very palpable, direct and explicit (like in a
commercial) and is materialized, above all, through visual connotative codes (lighting,
editing, camera angle...) and a special relationship between these and the musical
component.

In contrast to this, and as can be seen, narration, the mechanism contrary to seduction,
is explicitly relegated.

Typology of the Video Clip

From this point of view, three types of music videos can be classified, depending on
their greater or lesser interest in the development of narrative programs:

Narrative

In which a narrative program can be glimpsed. Some have very conventional

developments: sometimes the singer is the protagonist of the story, while singing or
dancing. This already occurred in a clear precedent of the clip: the musical film "A Hard
Days Night" (Richard Lester, 1964) by The Beatles. These micro-stories usually
have the characteristics of a film: marked ellipses, continuous flow and
transparent transition between images; raccord; fade to black as an element of
space-time punctuation or block separator. But all without forgetting the debt of the
video clip to the artistic avant-garde: along with these elements, the traditional space-
time parameters are broken, in an attempt to deny the conventionality of the narrative.

Descriptive

They do not host any narrative programme in their images, but rather base their visual
discourse on codes of musical-visual production and reiteration in the form of
seduction. This materializes in a situation of acting or performance by the group/singer
who fixes his gaze on the camera to determine that dual-phatic relationship typical of
this mechanism.
Descriptive narrative

It is a mix of the two previous ones. In them there is usually a diegetic level, of the
story, and another level in which the singer or musical group is represented in a
performance situation, in various types of scenery. This is the type of video clip that is
usually chosen when you want to represent some type of temporal argument with a
reduced narrative development.

This classification can be completed with the following, much more common in the
terminology and critical tradition –not only semiotic- on the music video:

Dramatic or narrative

Those in which a sequence of events is presented where a story is told under the
classic dramatic structure, in which the relationship between the image and the music
can be linear (the image repeats the lyrics of the song point by point), adaptation (a
parallel plot is structured from a song) and superposition (a story is told that can work
independently of the song even when together it causes a closed meaning).

Musical or performance

The iconic band is only a witness to the musical event, whether it is a concert or studio,
or it consists of an aesthetic illustration of the melody, thus only acquiring a
scenographic character without referring to anything else. The goal is to create some
sense of a concert experience. Performance-oriented videos indicate to the viewer that
the recording of the music is the most significant element.

Conceptual

They rely on poetic form, especially metaphor. They don't tell a story in a linear way,
what they do is create a certain abstract or surrealist atmosphere or aesthetic. It can be
a sequence of images with a common concept in colors or shapes that, when united by
music, form a semiotic picture that expresses the feeling of the music, not precisely the
lyrics of the song. Both performance and conceptual videos can be considered a kind
of subclassification of descriptive videos.

Mixed
It is a combination of some of the previous classifications.

Creating a Music Video

The idea of making a video is to present the group's music in a visual and graphic way.

THESE ARE NOT VIDEO COMPETITIONS; what will be judged is the sound, the
execution of the music and the lyrics of the group. This does not prevent interesting
ideas from being proposed that enhance the group's performance, but the most
important thing is THE MUSIC AND THE LYRICS.

Minimum Equipment Required:

 Video camera (HD preferably, although DV can work) with its cartridge or
disk for storage
 Necessary audio equipment (console, microphones, cables, equalizers,
compressors, etc.)

 Lights, if you're filming indoors (the ones used at concerts can work)

 Light diffusers if you're shooting outdoors; a couple or more umbrellas lined

with foil on the inside can be helpful

 Computer with digital video capture card, 512 MB graphics card, minimum 1
GB of RAM, and hard drive with 30 GB of free space

 Video editing program and Effects Editing

 Dual Layer DVD Recorder, HD-DVD Recorder or Blu-Ray

 Blank BD-R (Blue-Ray Recordable) discs, or failing that HD-DVD (for High
Definition DVD-Video)

Three Fundamental Steps to Make Your Music Video

Pre-production

DON'T leave things to chance. Planning everything in advance is known as pre-

production.

Story board

 With this, pre-production has already begun. As if it were a comic, and

based on the musical theme, put your visual ideas on a paper with drawn
boxes. In the lines below, you can put the lyrics of the song and the
technical script (cut, fade, change to black and white, etc.). Use at least
one vignette for each scene or visual shot, always according to your
creativity and the purpose of this video, which is to give greater prominence
to the band's artistic talent.
 Recording of the group's music, using an audio console and digital recorder
so that it is in final stereo wav format at 16 bit - 44.1 mhz

Location of the scene or location suggested by the storyboard

 If it is indoors, calculate the number of lights needed as well as the load

capacity of the power supply.

Decide on the costume and makeup to be used

 The fundamental and necessary thing in the case of makeup is to avoid the
unpleasant "glossy" effect (unwanted shine) on the faces of the video
participants.
 Make copies of the storyboard for those operating the audio and camera

 Setup or preparation of sound equipment so that the music can be

monitored by the band and the music can be synchronized with the
 performance. The line output of this sound equipment should preferably be
connected to a console and from there to the audio input of the camera.

 Prepare a clapperboard or small blackboard, where the name or identifier of

each take will be written. This is essential to keep track of the shots needed
for final editing.

Video recording

 The start of the video recording itself will be scheduled, if it is outdoors, for
the time when the sun rises. IMPORTANT: It is usually NOT advisable to
make video recordings in the range close to midday, due to the shadows
that are created at that time on people's faces, which usually give them a
gloomy appearance. It is important to calculate enough time for the
installation of the equipment as well as the details of costumes, makeup,
props, etc. that will be involved in the production.
 If there is not enough time to take enough shots, say of sunrise at 10 a.m.,
cut the video recording to continue at around 4 p.m., that is, when the sun's
rays are oblique and not perpendicular.

 We will follow the order and the technical script that we have established in
the shooting plan, according to the locations, light fields, position of the
performers, etc. Normally, we tend to shoot the execution of the song
several times and then move on to take protection shots (close-ups of each
member, etc.) in accordance with the central idea.

 It is advisable to take breaks every half hour or so, to relax and to touch up
your makeup.

EditingOnce
the story has been recorded in single takes, the editing begins to give it its final form.

 Step
1First, the video is captured by searching, according to the computer used,
 for the format closest to 760x526. Your video capture card comes with a
video capture program where you can choose the format that best suits you
according to the speed and capacity of your computer's hard drive. Proper
sound timing is vital.

 Step
2Once the video is captured, proceed to debug your video so that it
contains the shots you chose at the time of video recording. There are
many programs for this, some with many options to correct the video and
add certain special effects, subtitles, etc. But they can be somewhat
expensive. Pinnacle includes the VideoSpin program that can be useful for
this purpose.

 Step
3Proceed to make the final version, once your video is in order and with the
desired effects, proceed to make the final version, correcting as much as
possible the color, contrast, etc. using a monitor as standardized as
possible; for this purpose, use the color bar code so that the monitor colors
correspond to the standard of the average monitor. Once the final editing
and correction is done, proceed to make the transfer, saving it in an mpg
format file that can be SUPERVCD or DVD; when you save it, make sure
they are in NTSC protocol.

DVD Recording

 Once you have transferred the final version of your video clip, "burn" a
digital disc in 3 copies, selecting the format that suits you. Obviously, the
BD-R (Blu-Ray Recordable) format is of better quality but DVD is quite
acceptable.

Necessary Requirements for Production

Speech for the filming

  The purpose of the video must be to narrate or graphically describe the
lyrics of the song.
 Argue the script of the video clip following a story line

 The scenery and typology must be in accordance with the description of the
video, with special emphasis on the narrative dramatic genre.

 The appropriate location for the shooting shots must correspond to the
typology of the video, so that it fits with the description of the video.

Equipment for filming

 Professional High Definition Camcorder

 Samsung VP-HMX20C

 Panasonic HDC-SD9

 Panasonic HDC-SD100

 Panasonic AG-HSC1 (Broadcast)

 Panasonic AG-HVX201AE (Broadcast)

 Lighting required in closed environments or in the dark

 Fluorescent Tube Lights

 Spotlights

 Reflection Screens

Editing Equipment

 Analog/digital video input/output connection box

 Canopus ADVC 1000
  Matrox RTX2

 Avid Mojo DNA

 Chart Platform

 NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600

 NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600

 NVIDIA Quadro Plex 2200 D2

 Comprehensive software platform for non-linear editing

 Apple Final Cut Studio 2

 Adobe Premiere Pro CS4

 Avid Liquid 7.2

 Avid Xpress Pro HD 5.8

 Avid Media Composer 3

 Effects software (if necessary)

 Adobe After Effects CS4

 Boris Continuum Complete 5

 Boris FX

This article is originally written by Dr. Ana María Sedeño.

Associate Professor at the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising
of the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the University of Malaga, Spain.
Source 1, source 2, source 3.