Music Video

When considering my choice of song, at the time of listening once again to Man on the Silver Mountain by British rock band Rainbow, I released that most of the lyrics could be reflected by handcrafted visuals, particularly through stop motion. Although the majority of music videos in existence do not mirror the song lyrics, due to having very little knowledge on the design and production of such an art form, I saw Andrew Goodwin's theories on illustration and amplification to be the most suitable way of approaching my task. Furthermore, by using a form of animation to complete my work, I was able to avoid including any real people in the visuals, as most music videos have a tendency to do. Not only did this enable me to work freely, but kept my work unique and different from others.

Since the majority of the video is filmed and edited as stop motion, my main influence was a small collection of pre-existing music videos that implemented the same technique. Although I knew that I would never produce a piece as astoundingly impressive, the principle video that inspired me to use stop motion was that of Peter's Gabriel's Sledgehammer. Winning nine awards at the 1987 MTV Music Video Awards, it is in my mind, one of the most spectacular music videos of all time, not only due to the finished result, but the sheer amount of effort put in by the creators. Two other music videos that also inspired me to approach my task in the way that I did, were the ones for There, There by Radiohead, and Sober by TOOL, mainly due to the fact that they base their visuals around objects that are a combination of being hand-made and small materials taken from larger counterparts.

Unfortunately, due to not having a professional setup to film the video, certain aspects of production are rather deficient and unsatisfactory. For example, the lighting is not at all consistent throughout the video, as although the window blinds were closed constantly, the outside environment still managed to affect the saturation and colour scheme.
In terms of camera positioning, what with creating a stop motion video, the device had to be kept in the exact same position for the whole of production. This requirement revealed itself to be slightly more difficult than I initially imagined. The camera had to be removed multiple times from the tripod in order for it to be charged. Usually, charging would occur between each new segment of the video, meaning that whenever the visuals changed to present something completely different, the background and main set piece of the mountain would unintentionally move position slightly, breaking contingency and visual flow.
Each segment of the video is a general reflection of the song lyrics. Therefore, the segments have to begin and end as soon as the corresponding song verses do, which means that timing is key. Overall, my video has been edited to meet this requirement very well, due to careful resizing and placing of each frame.
The main set piece of the mountain was constructed by shaping a large piece of cardboard into a cone, before sticking on scrunched up pieces of newspaper covered in kitchen roll, and painting it all silver. The man was created by spreading orange plasticine over a small wooden doll in order to determine the structure, while still enabling the figure's limbs to move. Ultimately, I would say that the set design eventuated rather well, and emitted a whimsical, childlike impression similar to my main inspiration. Although others disagreed, I do, however, feel as though the video would appear better if the background room was not within frame by having a backdrop big enough to cover the surrounding area.

In order to improve upon my video, I would most certainly implement a professional lighting setup, and stick the tripod legs to floor, so that the general appearance stays consistent throughout, and a strong level of contingency is present. I would also hope to have a backdrop that is large enough to cover up the background room.

Music Video Questionnaire

After analysing and applying the theories of Andrew Goodwin and Carol Vernallis to various music videos, I produced a short questionnaire of eight multiple-choice questions, in order to gather primary data in the form of peoples' opinions on what qualities determine a music video to be successful. To increase the probability of my results being evenly diversified, I not only used questions that would give me insight into the personal preferences of individuals, but presented the questionnaire to a total of fifteen people from different backgrounds.
The questionnaire can be deemed by me as a success, since it provided a wide range of quantitive data relevant to my study. The variety of people and large sample size meant that my questionnaire was much less likely to be biased in any shape or form. In addition, by only consisting of multiple-choice questions, the survey results were easy to analyse and summarise into simple pie charts. A problem that has arisen from this, however, is the lack of qualitative data, since the inclusion of short-answer questions would have enabled the participants to express their opinions more freely, by not being limited to choose from a set amount of options. Furthermore, most of the participants had little to professional expertise in the subject matter, meaning that the results may not be fully relevant to my study.

In order to gain accurate results, I included thirteen music genres as options for the participants to choose from. 'Pop' revealed itself to be the most popular, with 'Rock' earning second place. 'Jazz' was chosen by two people, whereas 'Metal', 'Hip Hop', 'Soul' and 'Electronic' only gained one point each. Sadly, 'Rhythm and Blues', 'Classical', 'Reggae', 'Folk', 'Country', and 'Ska' did not receive any votes, as they seem to be rather obscure genres in the modern era. Although 'Pop' was chosen the most overall, I did not wish to work with the most mainstream genre, as I feel as though the majority of music videos for pop songs lack imagination and creativity. Thus, I decided to focus my attention on the 'Rock' option, as it reached second place overall in the questionnaire, and is a genre that I believe to be filled with unique and distinctive music videos that often make for interesting viewing experiences.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this study in relation to my music video production, is the genre that my work associated itself with. To help choose, I followed Andrew Goodwin's Dancing in the Distraction Factory theory on the types of music video genre that exist, to conclude the multiple-choice options that should be made available. My results informed me that most people prefer 'Conceptual/Experimental' music videos, while the other types - particularly 'Location' - are much less appreciated. This benefits me, as I was able to abide by the most popular result, since I wanted to create a piece that could be considered experimental and uncommon, as I would have less reason to follow any kind of typical music video structure.

So that I had an impression of the main reason as to why most people were encouraged to watch certain music videos, I made sure that the available options were reasons common enough for the participants to relate and choose whichever best suited them. Equal to my suspicions, the option that received the highest amount of votes was 'The Credited Artist/Band', which did not support me. The band that I had in mind, Rainbow, is not at all mainstream nowadays, since it is no longer performing, and is labelled as a rock band - rock being a genre that I sadly consider to be dying. In the end, I decided to ignore the results gathered from this question, as I suspected beforehand that they would not benefit me.

Hoping to gain insight into which typical music video feature is considered the most appealing by the most people asked, I provided five options that I saw as being common within the majority of music videos. To my concern, most of the participants voted for the 'Choreography' option. In my opinion, it would seem that most of those who chose 'Choreography', are also the same participants who voted for 'Pop' as the music genre that they listen to the most in the very first question. Therefore, since I decided to base my video around a different genre of music, I saw no reason to include the most popular featured voted for, especially since I did not wish for it to include people. Overall, I decided to take advantage of the options that achieved joint second place: 'Lighting' and 'Colour', as they were better suited to the unique style of music video that I had in mind.

Following the four main categories that Carol Vernallis' The kindest cut: functions and meanings of music video editing theory can be separated into, I immediately had four options for participants to choose from in their task to answer which aspect of music video production they consider to be the most important. Fortunately for me, 'Editing' received the most votes, and 'Narrative' followed close behind. These two aspects were the ones that I was hoping to focus on from the beginning, as they both greatly affect the creativity and inventiveness of music videos. Since I wished to produce a piece that could be considered unique, I was able to accept my results in this case, as they would help me achieve such a goal.

Despite when answering if they believed whether music videos increases the success of the songs that they are made for, most of the participants were split between 'Yes' and 'No', these results did not technically affect my work in any way, since the question itself was not relevant to the overall production of my music video. In addition, the final third of participants were either unsure or believed that their answer would change depending on other aspects, meaning that since the remaining two options can be grouped together, the whole group of individuals asked was split evenly three ways, thereby not providing me with an official answer.

Similar to the results of the previous question, the most popular result does not have any impact on my work. In this case, the fact that most people voted 'Yes' for believing that the credited artists/bands should be featured within their music videos, cannot affect my music video's final design, since I obviously have no logical way of filming any official band, let alone one that originally had a vocalist who is now dead. In addition, only one less participant voted for 'No' than 'Yes', and so it was easier for me to ignore the largest group of the same results.

To my advantage, when asked if they believe whether music videos should mirror the song lyrics, the majority of participants selected the 'Yes' option. This helped me, as I was wanting to match the visuals to match the lyrics of the song itself, since such a technique would be easier to plan beforehand, as well as film. Additionally, I can name very few music videos that follow this method, meaning that the idea seemed uncommon to me, which would help my work achieve a certain level of individuality.

Overall, I see the questionnaire as a success, but obviously not devoid of problems. The main improvement that I would make if I were to redo this survey, would be to include short-answer questions so that the participants are not restricted from sharing their personal opinions in more detail. I would also try to ensure that some of the participants had a reasonable amount of background knowledge in the area of music video production, so that the validity of the results could be greater, and perhaps more in favour of my choices.

Carol Vernallis' Music Video Theory

The kindest cut: functions and meanings of music video editing is a piece written by Carol Vernallis and published in 2001, described as an analysis of the difference between film and music video editing. In her theory, she considers a number of aspects, including, the role of editing, continuity and meaning, the ways in which sound and editing are synchronised through editing, the impact of star image through regular artist close-ups, and how editing reflects the music.
Vernallis' theory can be separated into four main categories which she believes to be the most significant concepts that all correlate to the ways in which music videos are produced. These categories are narrative, editing, camera movement and framing, and diegesis.

Narrative, in regards to music video production, is the visual response to the song itself, as Vernallis believes many videos to accurately reflect the song's meaning, or at least attempt to do so. Narrative themes may occur throughout the videos, but will often be shown in montages, as continuity is not required within music videos, unlike films. Differently, the narrative may be disjointed and generally confusing, as such a technique may cause the audience to focus greater on the story within the song itself, rather than the visuals. Music videos usually always need a subject to drive it forwards, but it may not always be the narrative, since it may cause the audience to generate questions, therefore wishing for more from the artist. In addition, Vernallis states that certain music videos may not have clear endings, therefore lacking in closure for the audience. She sees the main reason for this choice to be so that the narrative's conclusion is left open for the audience's interpretation, as each individual is engaged further into the story, based on their own personal opinions.
The music video for The One That Got Away by Katy Perry clearly shows the meaning of the lyrics and story through the visuals. The narrative can be seen as disjointed, since the setting frequently changes from the past to the present. The main theme throughout the video is a past relationship of Katy, and how she wishes that she could change what happened, which can through a duplication technique in which an older version of Katy appears to be speaking to her younger self at the time of the relationship. The video does reveal what happened to her past lover, thereby satisfying the audience by providing them with a definitive ending.

Editing is an extremely vital part of music video production, as it serves as the basis of the videos themselves, being placed even before the narrative in terms of priority. According to Vernallis, a main convention of music video editing is that it can break or disrupt the traditional style and 'rules' of continuity editing, making it a complete contrast to 'invisible' continuity editing featured within films. Other recognisable editing techniques of music videos include jump cuts, as well as cutting to the rhythm of the music.
In terms of the music video for Tik Tok by Kesha (stylised as Ke$ha at the time), the editing makes itself deliberately noticeable by consisting of jump cuts at the beginning of the video, presenting Kesha waking up in a bathtub while rapidly flashing monochrome shots of a party taking place, thereby informing the audience of what may have happened the previous night. Additionally, throughout the video, cuts occur in synchronisation with the beats of the song.

Camera movement and framing are suggested within Vernallis' theory to include establishing shots as a common element in music videos, alongside close-ups and extreme close-ups of the artist. Vernallis also argues that camera movement in music videos is often synchronised to the rhythm of the song in order to bring more attention to the artist. Furthermore, she states that framing in such videos is often very distinctive depending on the genre.
Within the Brazil version of the music video for Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us, establishing shots are used throughout, in order to focus on the poor living conditions for many citizens of the South American country. Michael is revealed through a dolly shot, as the camera smoothly travels forwards down a narrow alleyway, while presenting the cramped living area. The framing used within the video presents the artist as an important figure, due to him often being in the centre of the shot, or the closest person to the front of the camera.

Diegesis can be described as a style of fictional storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narrative. Therefore, in the case of music videos, 'diegesis' relates to the 'worlds' created within. In Vernallis' theory, she explains that the diegesis is revealed slowly over time, enabling the story to develop. She also states that repetition of certain shots and frames will be present in music videos, in order for such visuals to appear more important than others. Finally, Vernallis declares that some music videos may not always seem completed in terms of the stories that they tell, so as to come across as being disrupted in some way, causing deliberate gaps in the audience's understanding of the diegesis.
As the music video for Hozier's Take Me to Church plays, it unravels a story about a homosexual couple, as well as the religious troubles that their bond causes for them. The repetition of a mid-shot of the two men kissing, and a long shot of them digging a hole in the ground to hide a box, shows the significance of their relationship and how they attempt to keep it secret. The video can be seen as incomplete, since when Hozier's partner is beaten by men who obviously disapprove of his lifestyle choice, and the box is cast into a great fire - all while Hozier watches in shock from a distance - the video concludes without giving the audience any idea as to what happens next.

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Dancing in the Distraction Factory is a book written by Andrew Goodwin and published in 1992, described as combining textual analysis of music videos with a comprehensive understanding of music television as a cultural industry. Since the release of Goodwin’s work, he has been considered one of the first individuals to analyse music videos as an art form.
Although Goodwin’s book has been summarised in many different ways, most consist of six particular points made about music videos, all of which are interpreted similarly within each version. These aspects are the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, the relationship between the music and the visuals, genre, artist close-ups, star iconography, and intertextuality.

The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is a convention in which aspects of the visuals - such as themes, mise-en-scène, and events - illustrate, amplify, or contradict the song lyrics.
Illustration is the concept of using visuals that mirror the lyrics, in order to help portray the message of the song. A music video that uses this technique extensively is the one for Price Tag by Jessie J, featuring B.o.B. In the video, a fake tree with paper money attached to its branches can be seen, while the nouns ‘money’ and ‘price tag’ are sang, along with Jessie J touching her jewellery when using the word ‘bling’, and even onomatopoeia in the form of ‘cha-ching’. Along with many other examples, when Jessie J is stood next to a wooden sign with an arrow facing left and the other facing right, saying the words ‘left’ and ‘right’ forces the camera to move the corresponding way. Even parts of B.o.B’s rap is illustrated through the visuals, since when he says the word ‘cars’, a toy car appears in the size of a real one.
Amplification is similar to illustration, but instead of the visuals matching the lyrics exactly, in this case, the visuals are somewhat exaggerated to portray the song’s message in a wider proportion. The music video for Cyndi Lauper’s song Girls Just Want to Have Fun is a sufficient example of amplification. Just like most music videos that present the artist, Cyndi is lip-synching to the lyrics, creating a visual representation of the song’s original recording. However, after Cyndi sings ‘my mother says’, the words that follow (‘when you gonna live your life right?’) are lip-synched by a figure that appears to be her mother. Similarly, after the lyrics ‘my father yells’, the following words (‘what you gonna do with your life?’) appear to be spoken by a man who is supposedly her father, further illustrating the song’s message and realism. In addition to lip-synching, Cyndi and many other individuals dance to the tune throughout the video, which also helps to reinforce the song lyrics of girls wanting to 'have fun'.
Contradiction is the complete opposite of illustration, as it uses visuals that either completely ignore the song lyrics, or deliberately stand against the lyrics by presenting an antithesis. For instance, in Billy Idol’s music video for Dancing With Myself, when he is riding a lift to the roof of a skyscraper, he sings ‘there’s no one else in sight’, despite the visuals showing a mass of what appears to be zombies attempting to climb up the walls of the building on the outside. Furthermore, during the final chorus, when Billy is stood atop the skyscraper, the zombies reach the top and begin to dance with him, all while he sings ‘dancing with myself’, as if he is all alone. Although one may interpret the lyrics as Billy seeing himself alone as the only live creature dancing, the words sung still contradict the visuals to a large degree.

In terms of sound, the relationship between the music and the visuals is a convention similar to that of the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. However, in this case, aspects of the visuals illustrate, amplify, or contradict the actual tune itself rather than lyrics.
Illustration is the notion of instruments being visually reflected, as the audience sees exactly where the sound is being created. Millions of music videos utilise this technique, since it is much easier to make complete use of than others. In addition, many people may consider other techniques to be fake, due to including visuals that paint a manufactured picture. One example of many videos that links music and visuals together through illustration, is the one for The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals. Although the sound played is not actually created by the instruments viewed onscreen, the audience is nevertheless lead to believe that what they see is what they hear, due to the band pretending to play the correct notes at the exact same time as those within the song. Within the video, one can see that neither of the two electric guitars, nor the keyboard, is plugged into any sort of amplifier, despite the notes that play in the actual music clearly sounding as if they were recorded when amplified. In order to make music sound as best as possible, it is required to be recorded using professional equipment designed for sound quality. Since the aim of any music video is to visually advertise the song itself, the band must stay true to the original recording.
Amplification, being similar to illustration, is the concept of the visuals reflecting the tune of the music, but portraying it in a way that exaggerates and increases the mental impact of the audio, usually in order to make it appear more powerful. A rather popular example of a music video that utilises visual amplification of the sound itself, is that of Arctic Monkey's Do I Wanna Know?. The video is entirely animated, featuring an illustrated sound wave that morphs into a wide variety of other imagery. Throughout the video, the sound wave moves in response to most notes played by the drums and lead electric guitar, as well as the majority of syllables within the words of the vocals. Once a sound has been played, the sound wave begins to contract into the form of a horizontal line, before vibrating outwards in time with each new sound. Later on in the video, multiple waves occasionally appear, before the final chorus results in a fast plethora of shifting imagery, moving into transformation in perfect synchronisation with the tune. This visually appealing video helps to add effect to many of the sounds heard throughout the song, resulting in a more powerful listening experience.
Contradiction, seen as the opposite of illustration, poses the idea of the visuals either overlooking the style of the music, or even challenging the style by presenting itself as a contrary. A music video that strongly fits this criteria is the one for In Bloom by Nirvana. The colourless and blurred camera quality makes the video seem as though it was filmed in the early 1960s, despite actually having been filmed in 1992. The smart suits that the band members wear also matches this time period, as does the simple stage design. Of course, these aspects - along with the smiles on the members' faces - are not at all familiar to the band, as they do not match the 1990s time period or grunge rock genre of Nirvana. In terms of sound, the band plays a slow yet heavy tune that completely contradicts the older and more peaceful style of the visuals. Occasionally, the visuals change to show the band members wearing dresses while acting rebelliously by flailing their instruments around the room, and destroying the stage design. These scenes appear to show the band's true performance nature, breaking free from the contradiction of the music.

Most similar to music itself, it has become quite clear that there are also multiple genres of music videos. Goodwin believed there to be five specific categories overall: stadium performance, studio performance, location, narrative, and conceptual/experimental.
Stadium performance music videos are based only, or mostly, on the artist performing their song onstage, which may be in front of a fake audience also shown within the video. Overall, although the music played within these types of videos often have specific meanings, the videos themselves are not designed to visually reflect such meanings. Stadium performance music videos are mainly used to present the talent clearly, so that a strong, visual connection is built between the artist and the audience. By including a fake audience within the video, the real viewers can more easily image themselves watching the artist perform live, which may temp them to purchase concert tickets. A notable example of a stadium performance music video is that of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name. In this case, the video consists of nothing but scenes of the band pretending to play the original recording of the song onstage, while a fake audience cheers for them. Many shots taken close to the members' faces as they look into the camera, are shown, in order to give the impression that they are aware of the viewers' presence, resulting in a stronger connection between the two groups of people.
Studio performance music videos capture the artist performing their song in a professional recording studio, or at least pretending to do so in synchronisation with the audio. Generally, these types of videos are created to promote songs by underappreciated artists who either do not have sufficient income to pay for other types, or wish to present themselves and their music as true as possible for their audience, in order to avoid being seen as artificial and fabricated. One particularly obvious example of a studio performance music video is the one for Joe Bonamassa's Dislocated Boy. Within the video, Joe is seen in a recording studio, singing and playing an electric guitar while a few backing performers play other instruments to the tune of the song. Although there is no proper way of determining whether or not the video captures the actual recording of the song, it is highly unlikely due to the fact that almost all song recordings are not one continuous take, as the song will often be recorded multiple times, before professional sound editing is used to piece together the best parts in order to produce one full-length song. Despite still technically being fake in terms of performance, the main appeal of this type of video is that is still manages to add a dramatic sense of realism to both the music and the artist: a benefit that many listeners may greatly prefer over those created by other types of music videos.
Location music videos revolve around the concept of presenting an outside area in the visuals, whether it be natural, such as a mountain, or man-made, like a city street. Of course, the locations featured are often named in the song lyrics, and usually resonate strongly with the artists, evoking certain memories and emotions. An iconic example of a location music video is the one for Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles. Throughout the video, the band members are depicted standing by a tree in a wide field, at times of both day and night. The silly, frolicsome skipping and running of the members expresses the concept of childhood and youth, since Strawberry Fields is in fact an orphanage that was prominent in band member John Lennon's childhood. The Salvation Army, which ran the orphanage, had a band that would play at the Calderstones Park garden party every summer, right next door to the orphanage. The young John, having played in the gardens of the area with his childhood friends, would beg his aunt to go to the party every year as soon as he heard the band playing.
Narrative music videos attempt to tell stories that are either featured in the lyrics of the song, or suggested by the lyrics and dramatised by the visuals. Certain music videos within this genre are sometimes labelled as short films, since they usually include actors, props, and set designs similar to ones featured in cinema. Due to the extensive amounts of technical equipment, video editing software, actors, filming locations, and other requirements, narrative music videos are often very expensive type for record labels to produce. One clear example of a music video that conveys its message through a visual story is that of Knights of Cydonia by Muse. Overall, the video combines the western, martial arts, and science fiction film genres to present its narrative, depicting a heroic cowboy attempting to obtain a piece of technology, before losing a fight against the antagonist who casts him out from civilisation, to which he eventually responds by remerging as a stronger figure to rescue a damsel in distress, and defeat his nemesis. In terms of the western genre, the video is set in a town during the time of the American Old West, whereas the martial arts genre is present in both the protagonist and antagonist's fighting moves, which seem to parody the moves of characters portrayed by Bruce Lee. Differently, the science fiction genre can be seen through the character of a robot, firing of lasers from guns, and presence of both modern and future technology. In my eyes, the song's meaning is about convincing individuals to make their own personal decisions in life, and 'fight for' their 'rights'. The inclusion of technology appears to illustrate how such medium can be used to spread messages of rebellion, resulting in true freedom from an unfair and oppressive system within society.
Conceptual/experimental music videos play on the idea of using visuals different from those seen within traditional videos. They are often created to be unique and memorable to the viewers, as they stand out by taking advantage of visual concepts that can be considered oddly unfamiliar, thereby making the video itself appear special and distinctive. These types of videos are usually labelled as being experimental, due to the fact that the artist/s behind the work may be preforming an experiment based on the viewers' tastes, as they are supposedly seeing rare and unconventional uses of visuals unlike any others. A perfect example of such a video is the one for Marilyn Manson's Dope Hat, which combines a childish, whimsical appearance with a dark and mysterious one. It uses intertextuality by parodying a disturbing scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), in which the main characters are subjected to a wave of frightening imagery when riding through a tunnel when they are seated on a boat sailing on a river of chocolate. The song meaning, in my opinion, is about a performer who attempts to keep his inner pain hidden from the public eye, whilst continuing to entertain people who do not care for his mental wellbeing. The character is required to turn that which is 'tragic' into 'magic', all in order to continue making a living. However, his madness seems to begin seeping into his work, scaring children instead of entertaining them, which appears to also be the case in the film scene at hand, providing Manson with a perfectly well-known example to base his song around.

Artist close-ups are often present within music videos - especially those for songs that are part of world-renowned music genres, such as pop, rock, metal, and hip hop. In many cases, the demands of the record label will include the need for many close-ups of the performance artist, often resulting in them developing motifs that recur across their work. By visually presenting themselves in a clear manner, artists are able connect with and relate more to their (often young) supporters, as opposed to not doing so. For instance, Sam's Smith music video for his song Stay With Me is a popular example, due to containing many long shots of the artist's face and hair presented clearly in soft lighting. At the time, Sam Smith had his hair in the pompadour style, but with a quiff as the centrepiece, leaving his hairline quite exposed. This made his visual appearance rather iconic, enabling him to be recognised more easily, as well as distinctively relate to his supporters.
In some ways, artist close-ups are associated with voyeurism, since it can be argued that many artists of both sexes often use their visual appearance within music videos to appeal to the opposite sex. Through the exposure of skin and use of provocative camera angles, a wide range of music videos attempt to sexualise the artist so that their supporters will fantasise over them, becoming all the more addicted to their work. One example of many is the music video for Worth It by Fifth Harmony, featuring Kid Ink. The video consists of all five women of the girl group dressed in business-esque attire that is as professional as it is revealing. Taking place in an office building, they are seen as CEOs and managers, dancing in front of male employees in a sexual and attractive manner, whilst the camera is often positioned to be rather revealing for the women. Presenting many feminist attributes, it shows women working and succeeding in a supposedly 'male-dominated' world of business, while worded statements such as 'women in power', 'feminism is sexy', and 'glass ceiling' flash onscreen. From this, it becomes apparent that the song is written from the perspective of women telling men that they are better than they may be perceived by claiming that are 'worth it'. Kid Ink is also featured in the video, sat on a sofa alongside an attractive woman on either side of him. The close-ups of him show the women to be lusting over him, whilst the fast cuts between his face and those of the members of Fifth Harmony, present them all as enchantingly tempting. Conclusively, the close-ups of this music video serve the purpose of appealing to both sexes. Many men can be pleased by the sexual visuals, whereas many women can feel inspired by the group's supposed reputation of empowerment over men.

Star iconography is another technique that Goodwin recognised within music videos. He wrote that many artists have a trend of repeating certain actions and/or dressing in certain ways, in order to establish 'trademark' movements and appearances, thereby making their image recognisable, which leads to their work becoming more popular due to being associated with simpler concepts that can be presented visually to individuals. Hundreds of examples of star iconography exist, including the black and white face paint of KISS members, Queen's Brian May's 'Red Special' electric guitar, Amy Winehouse's beehive hairstyle, the fictional zombie-like character of Eddie used to promote Iron Maiden, Elvis Presley's 'gyrating hips' and 'leg shake' dance moves, 'guitar spasms' and school uniform costumes of AC/DC's Angus Young, Michael Jackson's multiple dance moves and singular glove, the 'Union Jack' dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, Deadmau5's mask, and The Who's Pete Townshend's 'windmill strum' guitar-playing move.
Despite star iconography enabling most artists to be visually recognised, others may instead create multiple appearances for themselves, as they decide to evolve over time by continuously changing their visual personas in order to experiment with other concepts, as well as maintain the interest of their supporters. One of the most common examples of an artist who constantly reinvented themselves in terms of appearance and song meanings was David Bowie. Throughout his life, Bowie changed his persona multiple times, beginning with the simple Davy Jones, and finishing with The Blind Prophet. In between, Bowie became a number of different characters, including Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, Aladdin Sane, The Thin White Duke, and Halloween Jack. He also starred as iconic characters in many films, such as The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Snowman (1982), The Hunger (1983), Labyrinth (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and The Prestige (2006). Heavily inspired by David Bowie, Marilyn Manson is another artist who has changed his visual appearance and song concepts over time, with his third studio album Mechanical Animals, released in 1998, serving as a tribute to Bowie. In addition, artists such as Elton John, Freddy Mercury of Queen, the members of The Beatles, Britney Spears, and Katy Perry are partly famous for significantly altering their appearances as time has progressed.
A rather interesting case of star iconography is that of Sia. In person, Sia wears a wig in the style of a faux bob that covers most of her face, including her eyes. However, as she does not appear herself in most of her music videos, they instead consist of different people donning similar wigs. This unique case of star iconography presents that of Sia as something that can be copied by any person on a universal scale, enabling her to connect with a larger audience.
Logos are also a form of star iconography, as they help promote artists through simple icons that may not even show the name of said artist. Examples include the 'tongue and lip' logo of The Rolling Stones, the 'TS' logo of Twisted Sister, the 'smiley face' logo of Nirvana, and the 'love symbol' of Prince, which even gave birth to a similarly shaped electric guitar that he would perform with.

Intertextuality, in terms of music videos, is a technique in which the video makes references to another media text. The link between the two pieces of work can be found through the music video's instrumental sound, lyrics, and visuals. This technique is generally used to engage the audience further, as they may be a supporter of what the music video is referencing, and might even feel gratification if they recognise the link. A simple example of intertextuality is the music video for Madonna's Material Girl, as it bears a striking resemblance in terms of setting, clothing, choreography, and song meaning, to Marilyn Monroe's Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend performance in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Likewise, Iggy Azalea's music video for Fancy, featuring Charli XCX, is a direct reference to the 1995 film Clueless, since the school setting is similar in each, and Iggy wears a yellow, chequered blazer and skirt almost identical to the iconic attire of the character of Cher Horowitz in the film.
The music video for Movies by Alien Ant Farm is a major example of intertextuality, as it makes multiple direct references to certain 'movies', hence the song name. The video presents a crowded cinema screen room, with the band members sitting on the front row of seats. Once an advertisement for hot dogs begins to play, the members jump through the screen before performing the song. Throughout the video, the clothing and background of the band changes to reference multiple famous films, including Ghostbusters (1984), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), The Karate Kid (1984), and Edward Scissorhands (1990), after which all of the audience members join the band by also jumping through the screen.
Blink-182's music video for All the Small Things is a rather well-known example of a set of visuals referencing other personas in music. In this case, the music video aims to ridicule American boy bands of the 90s, such as Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, and New Kids on the Block. Through their simple clothing, smiling faces, and expressive dance moves, the members of Blink-182 present such boy bands as all the same. In particular, the members attempt to show how they believe that such bands focus too much on appealing sexually to the opposite gender, and do not write songs efficiently, due to the constantly lazy repeat of 'na-na'.
It is important to remember that while parody artists exist, some of them are considered legitimate artists that aim amuse people, as well as add new perspectives to already-existing songs. Perhaps the most famous parody artist is 'Weird Al' Yankovic, who has produced many parody songs based off music by a wide variety of artists including Queen, Dire Straits, Nirvana, Backstreet Boys, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Lorde, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Coolio, and Michael Jackson. Due to being a parody artist, 'Weird Al' takes songs performed by other artists, but alters them by changing all the lyrics in order to completely shift the tone and message of the song, usually always for comedic effect. Depending on the new lyrics, the music video that is produced from the parody is either very similar to that of the original, or completely different. For instance, the music video for his song Eat It, which parodies Michael Jackson's song Beat It, features an alleyway, relatively empty bar, and apartment room almost identical to what it seen in the original, along with characters who look very similar in both versions. Contrarily, the music video for the parody song Like a Surgeon, which parodies Madonna's song Like a Virgin, is set in an operating theatre, whereas the original is set in a palatial building and on the canals of Venice. Over many years, most of 'Weird Al' Yankovic's parodies have been approved and thoroughly enjoyed by the original artists, portraying him as a genuine artist even to those who were not avid supporters to begin with.