What Makes A Good Music Video?
 

Hello, i'm making a music video for my year 13 media coursework and would like to know what people like or find interesting about them.

What makes a music video interesting and memorable?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

A good song. :finger:


Seriously though, there's no magic pill or specific answer to that question. Great music videos have always found a way to blur the line between the aural and visual elements of the music they represent.

I'd recommend against planning too much of the video until you've figured out specifically what song you want to make a video for. If you go the other direction you'll likely end up with the equivalent of one of those youtube mishmash of anime clips synced with some cheese metal.

Thanks for the reply

I agree entirely :) however i was asking generally what people like about them.

Also the song will be a 60s-style rock song from a local band

Music videos!
 

I Have to create a music video for my Media School project

What sort of things do you like to see in music videos?
The song is Lincoln Parks, New Divide.

Any ideas?!

I should first say that I never understood music videos, I never enjoyed them and I never watched many of them. My impression of most of them was that they were just trying to flash enough images on the screen so that someone with a 10 second attention span would sit through a 3 minute song. Some of them actually told a story, most of them didn't.

But now I've been "hired" to make one. They have realistic expectations: a few shots from a live concert, a few from a studio rehearsal, and a few wandering around in an aspen grove. I can string them together and dub in the song and we'll have a video.

But that seems really shallow. And while I tend to believe that most videos are really shallow, I'd like to think that I can go at least one step up. I just haven't much of a clue how to do that.

Assuming you're working off of a minimal budget, you should focus on doing the simple things as well as possible.
Don't overcomplicate anything, just keep it simple. As Ben, above said, try just getting a few clips of the band playing, perhaps with a black and white filter if you're trying to recreate a 60's video.
I've always thought a video just following an artist in the snow/ on a cold night makes for an interesting enough video. It's a tried and tested concept too.

I like to see the band playing, maybe in a studio, warehouse, rooftop, or whatever, with subtle effects added (shaky camera, flashing lights, etc.). Not a huge fan of animations or story driven videos. IMO music videos should just be a showcase of each member, maybe give a preview of what a live show might be like.

I don't think you would be able to accomplish this sort of thing as a student, unless you have a group that can mock play the instruments.

I hope its better than the Linkin Park song!

well IMO seeing the band is a must ....

It's funny, this is pretty much an exact description of the kind of video I don't like. Seeing the band generally takes me out of the experience of enjoying the art on its own terms and instead makes me focus on the image of the people producing it. Plus, those kind of videos have always been boring to me. You have all the freedom in the world with video, why not do something more creative with it?

scratch what I said earlier. This is the gold standard for which all other music videos must seek to reach.

An actual concept that has some depth and creates a mood. Usually an interesting video will tell a story with actual characters and dialog but sometimes they are much more abstract. Whatever you do don't just make it shots of the band, it's ok if they are in the video, just don't make it about them.
a couple of examples of videos with cool concepts:

I like the usual 'band in concert' music videos. You can see the band in their natural environment. Probably Nirvanas 'Lithium' or Danzigs 'Mother' would be the best example of this style that I like:







Other types I enjoy are like if the band is put into some way different setting, but like it sort of still fits the sound of the band thematically and stuff.

Like Amy Lee hanging out in snow assuredly fits the style of her music and makes sense, seems natural.

Same thing with Fiona Apple chilling on some Titanic like ship, like it is all retro and stuff, just like Fiona Apples music and stuff is already retro with the jazz vibe.

I think it all goes back to the song. Some lend themselves very well to more atmospheric, indirect, or theatrical visual representations, others just scream for the band to be shown rocking out hard.

Ultimately, you're never going to please anyone, so you might as well try pleasing the people in the band.

I generally agree with you here, but the question is what makes an interesting and memorable video. A band performance vid can definitely be a good video that improves the enjoyment of a song, but will anyone remember it in a few months or years? Will people go out of their way to watch it and get their friends to watch it? If you want people to be engrossed and remember your work, you have to think more along the lines of making a short film, not just try to expand upon the music.

I think in this case it really depends on the band and whether or not the video captures an actual live performance or if it's just a collection of live clips sequenced to the song. Also depends on how visually entertaining the live band gets on stage.

Going back to the OP and the fact that it's going to be a 60s style rock tune (psychedelic?) from a local band the first thing I'd invest in is a kaleidoscope and some oil based food colouring. All you need is an overhead projector (shouldn't be hard to find as a media student) plus a fishbowl and you can make all those badass trippy backgrounds just like that.

Even if you go with a theatrical video you could still technically blue screen most of the sky out of your shots and replace it with liquid trippiness.

I also think you should go for it. Get lots of footage, lots of angles. I am assuming that this is a one song deal. Before shooting listen to the song gazillion times. Memorize the melody, understand the lyrics, feel the song in your bones... that will make the shoot easier. Be creative. When shooting their live concert don't do it with one camera, take at least 3.

Play with your shots. When shooting rehearsals don't be afraid to ask the band to play the song one and more times. Doesn't have to be the whole song, ask them for certain parts, places where you can place your camera and shoot just that ONE second of the drums or the guitar, etc.

Get lots of closeups. Before shooting, if possible, sit with the band and talk about their feelings towards that song. They should be able to give you good ideas as to the mood and the story they want to tell through the song. Finally, when you sit to edit it take your time and enjoy it.

a really nice song with great rhythm, nice setting, hot girls(if wanted)

We might need some pictures for examples. :D


Here are some classics:

Tawny Kitaen




The chick from Billy Idols 'cradle of love'




Some personal faves:

Alyssa Milano in Blink 182s 'Josie'




Jennifer Love Hewitt in 'Barenaked'

I'd go about in one of two ways. Either figure out the meaning of the song, and do some stuff that exemplifies the meaning (Paramore: Brick By Boring Brick), or go so over the top with cliche effects and characters to make it satirical in nature. And out of my two suggestions, I'd choose the funny one. :P

thankyou for all your replies! :)

stepping outside the box...inpiring the viewer to "think"

...and a good song....