Research for Music Video... Function of a Music Video.

Fact 1. Music Videos are nothing like Thriller openings! There are three types of music videos:

• Illustration video - this is the simplest concept to base a music video around, it is the literal meaning to the songs lyrics in visual form. 
• Amplification - this is closely related to disjuncture. Amplification doesn't necessarily illustrate the lyrics however it does have certain relation to them.
• Disjuncture - visual arts that have been created to contrast with the meaning of the lyrics.

Fact 2. Music Videos are created to entertain but most of all to PROMOTE THE ARTIST! In class we looked at Madonna's 'Vogue'. A song well known to all, the video manages to keep everybody interesting with eyes on screen throughout the entire video. I would personally categorise the video in amplification. The reason for this is the video is not strictly related to the lyrics however other aspects do relate "strike a pose" - and everybody in the video strikes a pose. Having analysed the video as a group, we discovered that in fact Madonna's video doesn't consist of anything more than herself and her dancers, and even the locations were not chosen to be particularly interested, the director of the video is obviously trying to focus everybody on her that's why there isn't much else to see but a wide shot of Madonna, a close-up of Madonna, an extreme shot of Madonna... I could go on and on. This video is simple but it works because the angles used to shoot the video make her look a star. Mission: Sell the artist. Result: Success, now classified 'Queen of Pop'.