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What is a Video Essay? The Art of the Video Analysis Essay

I n the era of the internet and Youtube, the video essay has become an increasingly popular means of expressing ideas and concepts. However, there is a bit of an enigma behind the construction of the video essay largely due to the vagueness of the term.

What defines a video analysis essay? What is a video essay supposed to be about? In this article, we’ll take a look at the foundation of these videos and the various ways writers and editors use them creatively. Let’s dive in.

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What is a video essay?

First, let’s define video essay.

There is narrative film, documentary film, short films, and then there is the video essay. What is its role within the realm of visual media? Let’s begin with the video essay definition. 

VIDEO ESSAY DEFINITION

A video essay is a video that analyzes a specific topic, theme, person or thesis. Because video essays are a rather new form, they can be difficult to define, but recognizable nonetheless. To put it simply, they are essays in video form that aim to persuade, educate, or critique. 

These essays have become increasingly popular within the era of Youtube and with many creatives writing video essays on topics such as politics, music, film, and pop culture. 

What is a video essay used for?

• To persuade an audience of a thesis
• To educate on a specific subject
• To analyze and/or critique 

What is a video essay based on?

Establish a thesis.

Video analysis essays lack distinguished boundaries since there are countless topics a video essayist can tackle. Most essays, however, begin with a thesis. 

How Christopher Nolan Elevates the Movie Montage  •  Video Analysis Essays

Good essays often have a point to make. This point, or thesis, should be at the heart of every video analysis essay and is what binds the video together. 

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interviews in video essay

Utilize interviews.

A key determinant for the structure of an essay is the source of the ideas. A common source for this are interviews from experts in the field. These interviews can be cut and rearranged to support a thesis. 

Roger Deakins on "Learning to Light"  •  Video Analysis Essays

Utilizing first hand interviews is a great way to utilize ethos into the rhetoric of a video. However, it can be limiting since you are given a limited amount to work with. Voice over scripts, however, can give you the room to say anything. 

How to create the best video essays on Youtube

Write voice over scripts.

Voice over (VO) scripts allow video essayists to write out exactly what they want to say. This is one of the most common ways to structure a video analysis essay since it gives more freedom to the writer. It is also a great technique to use when taking on large topics.

In this video, it would have been difficult to explain every type of camera lens by cutting sound bites from interviews of filmmakers. A voice over script, on the other hand, allowed us to communicate information directly when and where we wanted to.

Ultimate Guide to Camera Lenses  •  Video essay examples

Some of the most famous video essayists like Every Frame a Painting and Nerdwriter1 utilize voice over to capitalize on their strength in writing video analysis essays. However, if you’re more of an editor than a writer, the next type of essay will be more up your alley. 

Video analysis essay without a script

Edit a supercut.

Rather than leaning on interview sound bites or voice over, the supercut video depends more on editing. You might be thinking “What is a video essay without writing?” The beauty of the video essay is that the writing can be done throughout the editing. Supercuts create arguments or themes visually through specific sequences. 

Another one of the great video essay channels, Screen Junkies, put together a supercut of the last decade in cinema. The video could be called a portrait of the last decade in cinema.

2010 - 2019: A Decade In Film  •  Best videos on Youtube

This video is rather general as it visually establishes the theme of art during a general time period. Other essays can be much more specific. 

Critical essays

Video essays are a uniquely effective means of creating an argument. This is especially true in critical essays. This type of video critiques the facets of a specific topic. 

In this video, by one of the best video essay channels, Every Frame a Painting, the topic of the film score is analyzed and critiqued — specifically temp film score.

Every Frame a Painting Marvel Symphonic Universe  •  Essay examples

Of course, not all essays critique the work of artists. Persuasion of an opinion is only one way to use the video form. Another popular use is to educate. 

• The Different Types of Camera Lenses →
• Write and Create Professionally Formatted Screenplays →
• How to Create Unforgettable Film Moments with Music →

Video analysis essay

Visual analysis.

One of the biggest advantages that video analysis essays have over traditional, written essays is the use of visuals. The use of visuals has allowed video essayists to display the subject or work that they are analyzing. It has also allowed them to be more specific with what they are analyzing. Writing video essays entails structuring both words and visuals. 

Take this video on There Will Be Blood for example. In a traditional, written essay, the writer would have had to first explain what occurs in the film then make their analysis and repeat.

This can be extremely inefficient and redundant. By analyzing the scene through a video, the points and lessons are much more clear and efficient. 

There Will Be Blood  •   Subscribe on YouTube

Through these video analysis essays, the scene of a film becomes support for a claim rather than the topic of the essay. 

Dissect an artist

Essays that focus on analysis do not always focus on a work of art. Oftentimes, they focus on the artist themself. In this type of essay, a thesis is typically made about an artist’s style or approach. The work of that artist is then used to support this thesis.

Nerdwriter1, one of the best video essays on Youtube, creates this type to analyze filmmakers, actors, photographers or in this case, iconic painters. 

Caravaggio: Master Of Light  •  Best video essays on YouTube

In the world of film, the artist video analysis essay tends to cover auteur filmmakers. Auteur filmmakers tend to have distinct styles and repetitive techniques that many filmmakers learn from and use in their own work. 

Stanley Kubrick is perhaps the most notable example. In this video, we analyze Kubrick’s best films and the techniques he uses that make so many of us drawn to his films. 

Why We're Obsessed with Stanley Kubrick Movies  •  Video essay examples

Critical essays and analytical essays choose to focus on a piece of work or an artist. Essays that aim to educate, however, draw on various sources to teach technique and the purpose behind those techniques. 

What is a video essay written about?

Historical analysis.

Another popular type of essay is historical analysis. Video analysis essays are a great medium to analyze the history of a specific topic. They are an opportunity for essayists to share their research as well as their opinion on history. 

Our video on aspect ratio , for example, analyzes how aspect ratios began in cinema and how they continue to evolve. We also make and support the claim that the 2:1 aspect ratio is becoming increasingly popular among filmmakers. 

Why More Directors are Switching to 18:9  •  Video analysis essay

Analyzing the work of great artists inherently yields a lesson to be learned. Some essays teach more directly.

• Types of Camera Movements in Film Explained →
• What is Aspect Ratio? A Formula for Framing Success →
• Visualize your scenes with intuitive online shotlist software →

Writing video essays about technique

Teach technique.

Educational essays designed to teach are typically more direct. They tend to be more valuable for those looking to create art rather than solely analyze it.

In this video, we explain every type of camera movement and the storytelling value of each. Educational essays must be based on research, evidence, and facts rather than opinion.

Ultimate Guide to Camera Movement  •  Best video essays on YouTube

As you can see, there are many reasons why the video essay has become an increasingly popular means of communicating information. Its ability to use both sound and picture makes it efficient and effective. It also draws on the language of filmmaking to express ideas through editing. But it also gives writers the creative freedom they love. 

Writing video essays is a new art form that many channels have set high standards for. What is a video essay supposed to be about? That’s up to you. 

Organize Post Production Workflow

The quality of an essay largely depends on the quality of the edit. If editing is not your strong suit, check out our next article. We dive into tips and techniques that will help you organize your Post-Production workflow to edit like a pro. 

Up Next: Post Production →

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How to Write a Music Essay with Examples

Writing an essay about music encourages you to think about how music influences emotions and behavior. Did you know that certain types of music can alter brain activity, influence memory, or even change how we perceive time? This kind of analysis can reveal insights that go unnoticed in everyday listening.

In this article, our custom essay writing service will walk you through the process of crafting an exceptional music essay. We've curated a list of thought-provoking topics to spark your inspiration. And to give you a clearer picture of what a stellar music essay looks like, we'll share a sample music paper.

What is Music Essay

A music essay goes beyond just describing your favorite songs or artists. It can merge analysis with personal reflection, allowing you to connect abstract musical concepts to real-world effects.

What makes an essay on music unique is its ability to dissect not just the sound but the meaning and context behind it. For instance, when analyzing a piece of classical music, you might consider how its composition reflects the political climate of the time or how it challenges traditional structures in music theory. If you're writing about a modern genre like hip-hop, you might explore its roots in social movements and how it has evolved as a voice for marginalized communities.

Related : Check our special guide on what is research essay .

Special Features of Writing About Music

Writing about music doesn't require you to be an expert in this field. The key is to listen attentively, reflect on what you hear, and share your unique insights. Like any effective paper, a strong music essay requires a clear thesis, logical structure, well-supported arguments, and polished writing. What makes essays about music distinct is the blend of specific musical analysis with imaginative language that brings the music to life.

Technical vs. Everyday Language

While technical terms can be useful for describing intricate details, they aren't always necessary. If you're not deeply familiar with musical terminology or if you're writing for a broad audience, focus on describing the music in your own words. The aim is to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely without overwhelming your readers with complex jargon.

For example, in discussing Debussy's Clair de Lune , you might say: "The melody flows gently, like moonlight shimmering on a calm lake. It's serene, yet there's a quiet intensity beneath the surface." Notice how this description uses everyday language to convey the piece's emotional atmosphere.

Metaphors can be especially powerful in illustrating the emotional impact of music. For instance, you might describe a jazz improvisation as "a spontaneous conversation between old friends, full of unexpected turns and familiar comfort." This metaphor helps readers visualize the music and grasp its underlying mood.

Well-chosen metaphors not only enhance your argument but also make your writing more engaging. However, it's important to ensure your metaphors are precise and relevant to the music you're describing. Always connect them to specific musical elements so that your readers can clearly understand your interpretation.

Note : Remember to use our medical school personal statement school help for your unique academic adventures.

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How to Write a Music Essay in 7 Steps

Now, follow these 7 easy steps to understand how to write an essay about music. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to create an engaging and insightful paper.

Meanwhile, you can always leave your ' write my essay ' request to our expert writers and get a flawless music essay on any topic!

1. Listen and Note Initial Impressions

The first step in writing a music essay is to listen to the piece multiple times. Pay close attention to the music, noting your immediate feelings and reactions. What emotions do you experience? Are there any specific moments that stand out?

Here are some questions to consider:

• How does the music make you feel? Are there moments of joy, sadness, anger, or peace?
• What instruments are being used? How do their sounds contribute to the overall atmosphere?
• Is there a strong melody or rhythm? How do these elements shape the piece?
• Are there any recurring motifs or themes? What do they symbolize?

These observations will help you identify the key elements of the music and develop a deeper understanding of its meaning.

2. Analyze the Musical Elements

Once you've noted your initial impressions, analyze the various musical elements that contribute to its overall effect. Instead of simply listing the elements, try to understand how these elements work together to create a cohesive composition. For example:

• Melody and Harmony: How does the melody interact with the harmony? Does the melody follow the harmonic progression, or does it create tension and resolution?
• Rhythm and Timbre: How does the rhythm influence the timbre of the instruments? Do certain instruments accentuate the rhythmic patterns or create a sense of counterpoint?
• Form and Structure: How is the piece organized? Are there any recurring sections or themes? How does the form contribute to the overall narrative or meaning of the music?

3. Organize Observations Clearly

Afterward, organize your observations in a way that makes your essay easy to follow. Start by grouping similar ideas together. For instance, if you notice patterns in rhythm, melody, or instrumentation, keep those observations together in your essay.

Next, decide on the order in which you want to present these points. A logical progression usually works best—move from broader observations to more specific details. This structure guides your reader smoothly through your analysis, making it easier for them to understand your perspective.

Lastly, make sure each section of your essay transitions well into the next. Use connecting phrases or sentences to link your ideas so the essay reads like a continuous narrative rather than a series of disjointed points.

4. Develop a Strong Thesis

To develop a strong thesis, start by reflecting on your observations and analysis. What is the key insight or argument you want to convey?

Your thesis should be specific and debatable, not just a statement of fact. For example, instead of saying, "The music uses interesting rhythms," try something more pointed like, "The unconventional rhythmic patterns in this composition challenge traditional notions of time signature, creating a unique auditory experience that reflects the artist's innovative approach."

Make sure your thesis is focused and manageable. Throughout your essay, continually refer back to this thesis to ensure your analysis remains relevant and cohesive.

5. Add Historical Context

To add historical context, start by researching the time period and cultural background in which the music was created. Consider factors like the social, political, and musical trends of the time.

For example, if you're writing about a jazz piece from the 1920s, mention the impact of the Jazz Age on the music's style and composition. How did historical events or cultural shifts influence the artist's work?

Incorporate this context into your essay to show how the music fits into a larger narrative. Explain how historical events or cultural movements shaped the music and how it, in turn, reflects or challenges those influences.

6. Link Music to Broader Themes

Connecting the music to broader themes helps to show its relevance and significance beyond its immediate context. To do this, identify the larger ideas or issues that the music touches on. For instance, if the piece reflects themes of rebellion or innovation, explain how these themes relate to broader cultural or societal movements.

Start by examining how the music aligns with or challenges prevailing trends, beliefs, or experiences of its time. For example, if a piece explores themes of personal struggle, link it to universal experiences or social issues, such as mental health or resilience.

Additionally, consider how the music fits into larger artistic or cultural movements. Does it reflect or influence trends in its genre, or does it contribute to a broader dialogue about art and society?

7. Synthesize Into a Cohesive Narrative

To synthesize your analysis into a cohesive narrative, revisit your main points and ensure they align with your thesis.

Structure your essay so that each section flows logically into the next. Begin with an introduction that outlines your thesis and the main points you will cover. Follow this with a body where you present your observations and analysis, organized by theme or aspect of the music. Ensure each paragraph transitions smoothly to the next, maintaining a clear connection to your central argument.

In your conclusion, summarize how your analysis supports your thesis and highlight the broader significance of the music. Reinforce the key themes and insights you've discussed, showing how they come together to form a complete picture.

Music Essay Topics

When choosing a topic for your essay, consider your interests and the specific piece of music you want to analyze. Here are 15 potential music topics to write about:

• What is the relationship between musical form and narrative structure in Beethoven's symphonies?
• Discuss how music contributes to the storytelling and emotional impact of films or television shows.
• How opera reflects socio-political issues of its time.
• The Beatles' Influence on Rock Music: A look at their lasting impact.
• How does the concept of "syncopation" contribute to the rhythmic complexity of jazz music?
• What makes a song a classic?
• Discuss the issues surrounding music copyright and the fair use of copyrighted material.
• How has music been used to represent and challenge national identity in post-colonial contexts?
• What is the role of nostalgia in our appreciation of music, and how does it differ across cultures?
• The use of classical music in 20th-century film scores
• How does Mozart's use of coloratura singing enhance the dramatic impact of his operatic characters?
• Examine the connections between music and literary works, such as novels, poetry, or plays.
• Trace the development of rock over time.
• How does music help us cope with grief and loss, and what are the psychological mechanisms involved?
• Speculate on the future of the music industry and the potential impact of emerging technologies.

Got your essay topic ready? Don't wait around—just click ' write my paper ' and let the experts handle it!

Music Essay Examples

Here are the samples that illustrate writing about music examples and bring our earlier tips to life. Crafted by our thesis writing service , they show you how to explore music, develop your arguments, and spotlight key details effectively.

The Bottom Line

Writing an essay about music can be both fun and rewarding. With so many topics to explore, just follow our guide to create a standout essay every time. Be adventurous with your topic, keep the writing process straightforward, and stick to academic standards. Use our music essay samples as a model to craft your own polished paper.

Remember, if you're feeling stuck or short on time, our expert writers are here to help. Simply visit our website, submit a ' write my research paper' request, and get a custom-written essay with just a click!

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Though music essay writing is not the hardest job on the planet, there are still some questions that often pop up. Now that you have a writing guide and a list of essay topics about music, it's time to address the remaining inquiries. Keep reading to find the answers to the frequently asked questions. 

What is Music Essay?

How to start an essay on music, how does music affect your mood essay.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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• Added new essay samples

Writing about Music: A Guide to Writing in A & I 24 . (n.d.). https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/ai_24_guide_to_print.pdf

Semiotic Analysis and Content Analysis to a Music Videos Coursework

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Defining research problem, choosing a sample, convenience sampling method, identifying codes, quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, representation of british pop acts.

Music is a universal product that is consumed and shared through listening. It evolved, however, as an audio-visual experience with the introduction of television, and later on, audio-video production of one musical piece, mainly for promotional purposes. Many expressive forms have been introduced, developed, and continue evolving when it comes to music videos. This was bolstered by the introduction of Music Television or MTV in 1981 although programming executive Robert Pittman has been credited as early as the late 1970s to be experimenting a 15-minute show called “Album Tracks” on WNBC channel 4 (Warner, 2009).

The wide and international acceptance and popularity of British pop acts are called the British Invasion. It first occurred in the 1960s when Beatles, Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, Monkees, Bee Gees, The Who, and other bands became popular with consumers specifically in the United States. The second British Invasion came with the MTV friendly acts that are the focus of this study by the 1980s. This research, with the intent to define a certain group using music videos for quantitative and qualitative analysis, will endeavor to focus on a sample population of music videos from the United Kingdom, more popularly known as British popular/pop music from 1980 to 1990.

What themes or issues do you want to find out about?

This essay will apply semiotic analysis and content analysis to 50 music videos in order to assess the representation of a particular social group, issue, or theme and the variety of meanings that music videos offer in relation to these. It will study British or European music videos of the popular or pop-rock genre released from 1980 to 1990 found in the video website Youtube. All lyrics are in English. It will specifically try to find out whether these music videos speak of women through the use of female-related words, what their lyrical themes are all about, what their symbolical meanings are through their outfits in the music videos.

Turn this into a specific question you can answer by looking at music videos

• What are the female gender words used in the lyrics in the studied music videos?
• How often each representative word was used in the videos?
• What are the themes of the lyrics and the music videos?
• How often was each theme used?
• What are the meanings derived from the visual representations of clothing and the lack of it in the performers of the music videos?
• How often were each outfit or clothing used in the videos?

Population/universe (what your sample represents)

The population sample represents the musicians, their music, and their visual representations that produced English music and videos from Europe in the period of 1980 to 1990. This particular group has been chosen for this study due to the prevalence and global acceptance of British and European bands during that period that conquered not only the US but also the global listeners due to the rich lyrical and video contents of these productions. The lyrics provide a variety of subtle, direct, as well as poetic use of metaphors and rich pictures. The videos are edgy and experimental but show influences from one another. The music and the videos also represent the English and European sentiments at the given period

The sampling method is almost always chosen in the research process since there is no need for strict regulation, thus, the researcher is left to rely on logic. The population, however, is clearly defined to maintain the objectives of this study. Convenience sampling a non-probability method is used in this exploratory research due to its limited time and budget in getting certain data (Brown et al, 1999, p 47). The sample population is selected as British pop acts of the 1980s to 1990s to limit a wider selection that is available in Youtube, the internet resource for this study. In searching for British pop acts with music videos, there is the limitation of non-inclusion of other groups who have no uploaded videos on the website. Likewise, the most immediate to appear in the list of the website search engine have the higher probability to be included in this research

Units of analysis (whole music videos/opening scenes)

The analysis is provided on both the lyrical contents as well as on the visual contents of these music videos.

Getting a representative sample

The representative sample generally provides an overview of prevalent musicians or bands during the period of 1980-1970. British was global pop at that time influencing other European bands so that English became a prevalent language that served as an entry-gate to international stardom. It did not matter that there had been a variation of sounds in the given period from the chosen group. What matters at that time is the seeming unity among these bands or musicians in their almost calming melodies with a variety of themes and contents.

Sampling methods

The sampling method used was random. Several bands had several videos released during that time to promote singles and albums, and there were also those who had a few, or maybe, just one hit single that made it in pop charts affecting also the popularity of the music videos.

What are you going to count?

The study will count how many times

• Women or female-associated words were used in the lyrics, how many times a popular theme is used in the music, and how many times certain forms of clothing or the avoidance of it were used.
• The codes are for women, lady, baby, angel, girl, girlfriend, queen, and woman. The theme codes are lost love, war, love, life, confusion, isolation, family, religion, and reaching out. The codes for clothing or outfit are outlandish, costume, formal nightwear, decent casual, casual, summer casual, punk, electronica, animated, biker outfit, sporty, and cowboy/country.

Designing a coding frame

• Coding Manual
• Interpretation – consistency
• Labour intensive – allow enough time!
• Code your full sample
• Ensure it is recorded in numerical form

There are several disparities in the distribution of variables as well as their frequency of use. The first is for the women terminology variable. For the woman or female words/terminologies used, there are several instances that one music video uses the words, like CODE 2 (baby or babe), as well as CODE 3 (girl) and others. There is a repetition of the words in one song. Likewise, in other songs, not a single word or terminology refers to the female gender, so that there is only a total of 41 utterances of the female terminologies, but this does not exactly mean that there are 41 songs that used the female gender. One thing to note is that one music video alone used CODE 3 words (girl or girls) 18 times, and that is “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran. The other prominent pronouns “you” and “me” are instead used in music videos where there is the absence of the female gender representation. The least used female representation is CODE 1 or “angel.”

The second disparity is that for the second variable theme, only one is used per music video, so that, in total, there are only an exact 50 entries. The most prominent theme in the sample population is “love” (CODE 10) with 15 music videos using it, while “lost love” (CODE 11) follows with 10 music videos. The least used themes are CODE 7 and 13, or confusion and religion respectively. The themes, however, vary with at least nine entries or CODES in all.

The third variable, for the costumes, there are a few videos that used several costumes: one set for the performers, and one set for the actors that spell out what is being said. There is a total of 58 outfit or clothing styles used, which some videos represent two production outfits: an animated (CODE 16) with decent casual (CODE 20), or a mixture of the country (CODE 19) and electronica or techno outfits (CODE 21). The most prevalent type of music video wear is decent casual (CODE 20), followed by summer or light casuals (CODE 14). There are eleven codes in this variable with the nakedness or Code 23 least used.

The quantity of each code defines the type of music videos, culture, or message that the artists and their videos represent. For the first variable, only decent terms are used for the women’s terminologies although there is noted anger for the woman by the performer in the “Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths. The group or sample population maintained acceptable respect and a decent representation of women in their words. In fact, Duran Duran assailed the seemingly “accessory” role of women in popular culture for the song “Girls on Film” hinting at high regard by Europeans, or these English-writing bands and performers for the female gender.

As for the theme, the sample population is quite romantic. The prevalent theme is love and following close is lost love, still on the same boat, about the female and male or couples relationship. Other themes used include confusion or isolation, family, life in general, personal struggle or inner conflict, religion, sex, and war or political conflict. Here, it can be easily surveyed that there is a variety of themes in British music videos not centered on just one or two but several others that may be experienced by individuals in general.

The outfits listed have at least eleven assigned codes: Animated, Biker, Costume or outlandish, Cowboy or country, Decent Casual, Electronica or techno / robotic, Formalwear, Naked, Punk or tattered, Summer, Light Casual or Sporty and Swimwear. This also shows the variety of fashion or clothing wear choices for the British or European musicians and performers. The popularity of decent casual also reflects the reserved or almost conservative use of clothing or outfit among the sample population. Only a few strayed to the experimental, or costume outfit, which was neither provocative nor scandalous.

The only time nakedness was used was in the music video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Even the band name implies American or US influence if the name of bands is to be analyzed. The plot of the music video, however, is medieval Roman when gladiators and prisoners had to fight against beasts to survive. Here, two kinds of beasts were represented, the king or political leader, and the tiger.

British popular acts perform rock n roll, pop, new wave, punk, ska, and other earlier forms of the so-called “alternative” music. Their music, compared to later “alternative” music is more melodic, less on the guitar and vocal angst, and polished instead with ear-friendly keyboard tunes.

Aside from the melodic hook of British music incomparable to US-produced, British music video favored MTV of the 1980s onwards due to entertainment and image quality. In fact, the music videos were considered short films in contrast to recorded live concerts of the Americans (Reynolds, 2006).

With the introduction and subsequent popularity of A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran” video at the Billboard Top Ten, more British acts’ music videos followed suit including the other artists listed here:

Alphaville – is a music trio composed of Hartwig Schierbaum, Bernhard Gößling, and Frank Sorgatz with hit singles “Big in Japan” and “Forever Young” from their album also called Forever Young.

B52s – is composed of vocalists Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson, and Fred Schneider popular for their call and response, slightly wacky and enthusiastic party new wave music. Hits include “Rock Lobster”, “Private Idaho”, Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland”, “Love Shack” and “Deadbeat Club.”

Baltimora – is composed of Jimmy McShane, Maurizio Bassi, and Naimy Hackett, one of those so-called “one-hit wonder” bands for their successful “Tarzan Boy” from the album Living in the Background.

Billy Idol – born William Michael Albert Broad, Idol has a worldwide fan base but first embarked with the group Generation X. As a solo artist, his most popular MTV hits are “White Wedding,” “Dancing With Myself” and “Eyes Without a Face”.

The Bolshoi – is composed of singer/guitarist Trevor Tanner, drummer Jan Kalicki, and bassist Nick Chown, and Paul Clark on keyboards. Their most popular single is “Sunday Morning” from the album Giants.

China Crisis – is composed of vocalist-keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie London. Their first hit single is “African and White” from their album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms: Some People Think It’s Fun To Entertain. Other hits include “Wishful Thinking” and “Best Kept Secret.”

Culture Club – is distinctly known for its androgynous vocalist Boy George selling an estimated 22 million albums internationally. Other members are Mikey Craig on bass guitar, Roy Hay on guitar and keyboards, and Jon Moss on drums and percussion. Their biggest single is “Karma Chameleon.”

Dead or Alive- rose from Liverpool and had members: Pete Burns ad vocalist and chief songwriter; Wayne Hussey as a songwriter; Mike Percy as a bass player who wrote and performed the backing track for the hit song “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”; Steve Coy as a drummer; Timothy Lever on keyboards, saxophone, and guitars; and Jason Albury on keyboards.

Devo- is considered a techno-new wave band with original members Gerald Casale, Bob Lewis, Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Casale, Rod Reisman, and Fred Weber. They are known for their hit “Whip It.”

Duran Duran – is best known for its elegant image and slick music videos helped sell 70 million albums to date. Its members are Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Stephen Duffy, Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Simon Le Bon.

Fiction Factory – the group formerly was a ska band The Rude Boys and is composed of Kevin Patterson on vocals, Chic Medley on guitars, Grant Taylor on trumpet, Graham McGregor on bass, Eddie Jordan on keyboards, and Paul Wishart on keyboards for the second album, and Mike Ogletree on drums and percussion. They released the albums Throw the Warped Wheel Out in 1984 and Another Story in 1985.

A flock of Seagulls – is composed of vocalist-keyboardist Mike Score, drummer Ali Score, bassist Frank Maudsley, and guitarist Paul Reynolds. They released five albums and an earlier EP with the self-titled and Listen as the most successful.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood – is composed of vocalist Holly Johnson, vocalist-keyboardist Paul Rutherford, drummer Peter Gill, bass player Mark O’Toole, and guitarist Brian Nash. They became notoriously popular due to the “Relax” single with other successful “Two Tribes” and “The Power of Love”.

General Public – from The Beat, Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger joined with keyboardist Mickey Billingham, guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Horace Panter, and drummer Stoker to release the album All the Rage with the hit single “Tenderness”.

Gene Loves Jezebel – is composed of the twins Michael and Jay Aston, guitarist Ian Hudson and Julianne Regan, replaced later by Stephen Marshall. They released 12 albums with “The Motion of Love” as their most popular single.

Go West- is a duo composed of Peter Cox and Richard Drummie. They were able to release eight albums and their most popular single is “We Close Our Eyes”.

Human League – is considered a synth-pop band for their use of synthesizers composed of Philip Oakey with female vocalists Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley. Active until today, their most popular single is “Human.”

Housemartins – is already considered “alternative” before alternative was known. They have contrasting lyrics about religion and ideology. Their original line-up was Paul Heaton (vocals), Stan Cullimore (guitar), Ted Key (bass), and Dodger (drums), and then replaced by Chris Lang. Their most popular single is “Caravan of Love”.

Lightning Seeds – released six albums excluding compilations with their most popular piece “Three Lions.”

Lotus Eaters – is composed of Peter Coyle (vocals), Jeremy Kelly (guitar), Mike Dempsey (bass guitar), and Stephen Creese (drums) whose most famous single is “The First Picture of You”. They were able to release the albums No Sense of Sin in 1984, First Picture of You – BBC Sessions in 1998, No Sense of Sin in 1998, and silent space in 2002.

Lloyd Cole and The Commotions – Their 1984 Rattlesnakes album is considered by New Music Express (NME) as top 100 albums of all time. They are composed of Lloyd Cole (composer, vocals, and guitar), Blair Cowan (keyboards), Lawrence Donegan (bass guitar), Neil Clark (guitar), and Stephen Irvine (drums).

Midnight Oil – this group started to rise with the singles ”Power and the Passion” and “Read About It”. Their themes are political and are tinged with activism. They released 11 albums, three of which were when they were still virtually unknown.

Modern English – – this pop-rock group’s most popular singles are “I Melt with You,” “Hands Across the Sea,” and “Ink and Paper” with at least eight studio albums.

Nena – may easily be considered among less-informed listeners as a “one-hit wonder” with the “99 Luftballons” hit (and also album title. But the group released several albums mostly in Europe and topped charts. The original individual Nena is Gabriele Susanne Kerner.

New Order – This group is often compared with Depeche Mode, with hit singles “True Faith” and “Bizarre Love Triangle”.

OMD – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synth-pop group with strings of hit singles including “Secret”, “Locomotion” and “If You Leave”.

Queen – considered one of the most successful rock bands worldwide, this group led by the late vocalist Freddie Mercury span decades of hit releases.

The Clash – the Clash performs ska, punk, and even reggae with strong political messages. With a self-titled debut and London Calling, they became international stars.

The Cure – the group also spans decades of producing albums with Robert Smith as the only constant member. They produced several hit singles and the albums: Three Imaginary Boys in 1979; Seventeen Seconds in 1980; Faith in 1981; Pornography in 1982; The Top in 1984; The Head on the Door in 1985; Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me in 1987; Disintegration in 1989; Wish in 1992; Wild Mood Swings in 1996; Bloodflowers in 2000; The Cure in 2004; and most recently 4:13 Dream in 2008 (Robb, 2006).

Subsequent hits in US music charts made many British Acts in this period cover material for Rolling Stone and Newsweek magazines. The popularity of these acts, however, is not without consequence as some rock journalists criticized the phenomenon as the triumph of image over content (Reynolds, 2006).

Historically, a majority of the British pop acts in this era performs “new wave” a rock genre with influences and roots traced back to the 1970s as an answer to angst-driven punk rock. It was still rock n roll but with traces of electronic, disco, funk, ska, and mod music. It is said that the term was introduced in 1976 by Malcolm MacLaren, the manager of the Sex Pistols. Incidentally, the music being introduced as the new wave was categorically known as “punk”, which was slowly picked upon by British fanzines like Sniffin Glue and the mainstream press. By 1977, the new wave has become much more accepted used for UK’s underground music (Gendron, 2002, p 269). The new wave represented rebellious youth culture and was frowned upon by pop radio and corporate music. Sire Records adopted the term to market The Ramones and the Talking Heads: their music were experimental, anti-corporate, and criticized the status quo in consumerism. The distinction between punk and new wave was later established as three-chord rhythm characterized punk rock and new wave is characterized by melodic hooks closer to pop sound and fusion of other tunes more specifically, the keyboards. Both punk and new wave were against the established and bland popular music of the late 1970s.

MTV, however, is still much credited for the popular acceptance of British pop’s new wave which was distinguished for their use of synthesizers. It was the danceable tunes, and fashion sense of these British acts mostly represented in music videos that made them big hits (Graves, 2009).

Warner, Charles. “Robert Pittman.” The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Web.

Brown, K.W., Cozby, P.C., Kee, D.W., & Worden, P.E.. Research Methods in Human Development, 2d ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield; 1999.

Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again Postpunk 1978-1984. Penguin. 2006.

Gendron, Bernard (2002). Between Montmartre and the Mudd Club: Popular Music and the Avant-Garde (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press), pp. 269–270.

Graves, Steve. “New Wave”. CBS Interactive, Inc. Web.

Robb, John. Punk Rock: An Oral History (4th ed). London: Ebury Press; 2006.

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• Title Index
• Practicing Rhetorical Analysis with Music Videos

Author: 

Deb Streusand

Image Credit: 

Screenshot by Deb Streusand from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg, Taylor Swift's video for "Blank Space"

            In my Rhetoric of Performance class, we begin each class day by watching and discussing a brief performance a student has brought in to share with the class. Since these performances are supposed to be 3-5 minutes, students frequently bring in music videos. With each performance, we do an informal rhetorical analysis.

             First I ask the students what they noticed about the performance while they were watching. They frequently make note of things like symbolism and imagery – in other words, they tend to close read the videos. The goal of my line of questioning after that, however, is to bring them away from that tendency and into the world of rhetorical analysis.

            I ask the students what they think the argument of the performance is. The argument of a performance is not like the argument of a written piece. With a good piece of persuasive writing, as a rule, everyone should come away from it with the same general idea of what the argument was. With a performance, it’s not a bad thing if we come away with some disagreement as to what the argument might be. The students often debate what the argument is, or bring in a multiplicity of answers, but they never have trouble finding some argument in the piece, even though music videos aren’t necessarily designed to make and defend a claim. One of the principles I put forth in teaching this class is that every performance has an argument. I believe this is true, but making the claim makes me a little nervous, because defending it is inevitably inductive – I will never conclusively prove that every single performance has an argument. However, each class day, my students add credence to my gradual inductive proof of this claim, because they have never failed to find an argument in any performance we’ve watched.

            After we’ve wrangled over the argument for a while, we start talking rhetorical appeals. They don’t know that’s what we’re doing yet, though. We haven’t actually entered the rhetorical analysis unit. But we’ve been doing this all semester, from the second class day. By the time they get to rhetorical analysis, they’re already going to be pros at doing it – all that will be new to them is the terminology.

            Every day, I ask them: what kind of persona does the performer present in making this argument? What is the intended audience, and how are they supposed to feel? How is the argument supported? What are the current social conversations to which this argument is contributing? Ethos, pathos, logos, kairos – all in a 4 minute video. My students practice rhetorical analysis 10-15 minutes per class day, all semester long. And because music videos are fun to watch and take apart, they have a great time while they’re doing it.

             We don’t always watch music videos. Some students bring in short dance pieces, or political rants, or slam poetry. I mention music videos because they would be easy to incorporate into a non-performance rhetoric class as a warmup for rhetorical analysis. To make it simpler, the professor might choose them instead of having students bring them in, to make sure there’s lots to talk about – I always start the semester with Beyonc é’s video for “Flawless,” which has never failed to spark dialogue. The main point is to get the students used to doing rhetorical analysis while talking about something that’s fun.

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A2 MEDIA STUDIES - GRACE SUITER 

Music video analysis & andrew goodwins theory, a music video is a short, moving image product shot for the express purpose of accompanying a pre-existing music track and usually in order to encourage sales of the music in another format. andrew goodwin supports this dictionary defenition by stating that a music video isn't primarily a commodity form but a promotional one. music video's are often how listeners associate artists with a song, by visualizing them. similarly, if famous stars appear in music videos this can raise the profile of the song and increase its popularity. for instance carly rae jepson's song, i really like you, had tom hanks acting in it and this got a phenomenal 62 million hits on youtube music videos are categorised into three different typology's and these include type 1 - performance, type 2 - narrative and type 3 - concept/abstract. type 1 - performance is where the band is performing their song and includes singing, dancing and playing their own instruments. this typology is normally relevant for rock, alternative or indie and is used to show the bands talents and skills. these are normally self managed, self taught , raw and original talent. type 2 - narrative is a music video which is based around a story and has actors/actresses performing the story solely or alongside the artists. this typology is used to engage the audience and is usually used in songs which can be relatable for the audience; normally love songs and this is supported by stars including taylor swift and katy perry. the final typology; type 3 - concept/abstract  is a video based around one idea or concept and includes abstract objects symbolising a particular idea or concept. it is used to open the audiences imagination and thinking to consider a more philosophical opinion. it is normally based around what the artist believes is important to portay. .

If I were a boy was released in 2008 and is a type 2 - narrative typology and has Beyonce acting alongside two male actors, Eddie Goines and Ryan Locke. The music video coincides with the song lyrics and is saying how men and women are portrayed differently in relationships, how men don't understand womens feelings. There is a role reversal which occurs because Beyonce is presented in the male mindset and Eddie Goines in the female mindset and then in the final stage of the video, the role reverts back to stereotypes. It plays a story whereby Beyonce is getting overly friendly with Ryan Locke and Eddie Goines feels cheated on. It is relatable to women who are going through heartbreak and therefore this gains a wider audience because the song has a meaning which the audience can relate their situation to. It offers personal identity to the audience and this again attracts the audience. The use of the 

BEYONCE - IF I WERE A BOY

close up's throughout the music video also shows emotions which are also relatable to the audience. The black and white filter is also dramatic because it looks low key and portrays a negative image. 

Let her go was released in 2012 and is a type 1 - performance typology and shows Passenger performing the song alongside his band in front of an audience. He is also playing his guitar which adds to the stars raw talent and the song would fit the stereotypical indie genre. The close ups enable the audience to see the meaning and emotion behind the song in the artists NVC and facial expressions. This music video is very simple but still gained 653 million views on YouTube which is an extraordinary number of viewers. The video allows the audience to gather their own interpretation of the song and reflect on past experiences due to its simplicity. The audience also shows the stars talent because he is playing the guitar alongside his band who also sing the back up vocals. 

PASSENGER - LET HER GO

LADY GAGA - YOU AND I

You and I is an example of type 3 - concept/abstract typology and this is the category which Lady Gaga generally appears in. Gaga challenges everyday stereotypes and in You and I she visualises supernatural creatures including mermaids, as well as being dress in very obscure costumes herself. There is nothing stereotypically relatable from the video to the audience and Gaga does this to suggest that normal doesn't exist and that being original can get you success. Gaga is one of the most outrageous artists which exist and has been explicit on numerous occassions and exaggerates that being normal isn't necessary and therefore gives the audience a role model who gives them an oppurtunity to be themselves and be happy as they are. The video got 81 million hits on YouTube and doesn't have a direct meaning to the song lyrics because it shows different 

visions of 'You and I' and is therefore amplified and gives new layers of meaning to the song. 

TAYLOR SWIFT - BAD BLOOD

Bad Blood is an example of type 2 - narrative typology and has the story of where two friends are close and then the unloyal friend stabs Taylor in the back and she comes back stronger than ever and has more truthful and loyal friends! It is illustrative because the music video has a literal interpretation of the lyrics and the video is relatable to anybody going through friendship issues, break ups or just trust issues. The music video also contains Taylor's real life celebrity friends including Ellie Goulding, Cara Delevigne, Jessica Alba and Selena Gomez. The use of the A List stars also attract a wider audience because fans of all the individual celebrities will want to watch the video to see the stars acting and performing. The video also got Vevo's most watched music video in 24 hours and got 20.1 million views in a day! The video engages emotion and pulls on the audiences heartstrings because 

the audience can relate with their own personal experience; creating a personal relationshop with them and the artist. 

Price Tag is an example of type 3 - concept/abstract typology because the meaning of the lyrics is that life isn't about the money you earn, it's about making the most of life and is immitating those who act like they're famous when they're just normal, everyday people! There is contradictory iconography used in the video where Jessie J says "its not about the money, money" whilst standing under a money tree. This contradiction shows that money tree's don't exist so it is suggesting to the audience that they should be obsessed with money and what expensive items they may own. 420 million YouTube hits reitterates that Jessie J's message of money not being the main concept of life is taken into consideration and considered.

JESSIE J - PRICE TAG

Music videos work around three key codes which are illustrative, amplification and contradictory. The illustrative concept is a literal interpretation of the lyrics which would make the song easier for the audience to understand. This concept also creates a relatable element for the audience if they can relate a personal situation with the artists song. The amplification concept adds new layers of meaning to a song, which allows the audience to contemplate the meaning of the song and discover a new meaning to the song. Finally, the contradictory concept poses a contradiction between the lyrics and the image being shown in the music video. The contradiction again allows the audience to challenge different concepts of the songs meaning and compare it to the video. The three different codes/concepts give the audience different feelings and different ways to interpret what they are viewing and apply it in alternative ways, sometimes to their everyday lives if inspiring. 

In our music video we should definitely apply stereotypical codes and conventions that are used in successful music videos in order for it to look professional. However, we also need to be original because otherwise we are not showing our creativity, which is a vital element in the media industry. The contrast between high key and low key lighting depending on what is happening in the video would definitely be an effective way to portray emotion to the audience. Low key lighting can be used when the mood is lowered but when it's positive, high key lighting can be used and these basic but effective changes will easily show the audience what is happening. We plan on encorporating both performance and concept elements in our music video to show that we are using the stereotypical codes and conventions of a successful indie music video. We decided that using concept would be more appropriate than using narrative because it is less cliché and is still a convention but is used less than narrative. We are also going to base our music video around a broken relationship, however without the narrative because the audience will be assuming what is happening and have to make assumption as to the plot, but this should intrigue them and make them feel more invloved and allow personal identity and personal relationships to be discovered. 

JESS GLYNNE - DONT BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF

Don't be so hard on yourself is a mix between type 1, performance, and type 2, narrative, because there are close ups and mid shots of Jess Glynne singing her songs in different settings. However there is also a narrative of a boy who looks like he has lost his father and moved away with his mother and is struggling to settle in. He then learns how to play the drums and is then accepted. This narrative portrays a message to the audience and suggests that even if you are going through a struggle, you can get through it and this is a positive message. Coinciding with this is the shots where Jess Glynne is singing and this reitterates the message to the audience and makes a personal relationship between the audience and the artist. 

TINIE TEMPAH - WRITTEN IN THE STARS

Written in the stars is a combination of type 1 performance and type 2 narrative. There are low angle shots of Tinie Tempah standing on top of a building and there shots are to suggest that he is not longer the 'kid that nobody cares about.' Therefore the song is promoting a positive image to thousands of young people, saying that anybody can be successful. There are also panning, long shots of Eric Turner playing the piano which is incorporated to present his talent of playing instruments as well as singing. Additionally there is a narrative of a young boy who has a tough life and gets bullied, who then turns out to be successful. The narrative is presenting Tinie Tempah's childhood because the low angle shots are on the same building and therefore the performance and narrative coincide. 

WIZ KHALIFA - SEE YOU AGAIN

See you again is a combination between type one performance and type two narrative. There are long shots and close ups of Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth performing, alongside shots from Fast and Furious which are there to show the story of Paul Walkers life throughout fast and furious as a tribute to him following his death. They are slow paced shots of the two singers performing however the montage of different shots which are the narrative and much faster paced to reitterate the success Paul Walker had before his death and the close relationship between him and his friends. The song itself is also challenging stereotypes of which genre artists perform together. It is becoming more typical to see rap artists performing with pop singers and this widens the target audience which a particular song can appeal to. 

TAYLOR SWIFT - SHAKE IT OFF

Shake it off is a type one, performance music video and shows Taylor Swift singing her song whilst also highlighting an important message which coincides with a type three, concept, music video. "Music in my mind saying it's gonna be alright." This quote from the music video is suggesting that even if you're having a bad time, it's going to get better and so the message being portrayed is positive. This music video is very different to her first music video 'Love Story' and it seems as though she has evolved from a young, innocent teenager to a grown woman with a wider perpective on the world. Additionally, she has matured yet again in her most recent music videos, Bad Blood and Wildest Dreams. This supports Richard Dyer's Star Theory because she has grown with her fans and they accept and appreciate that. This means that there hasn't been any radical changes

which may have disrupted her fanbase. Taylor has a wide target audience, however her main fanbase is young girls. Shake it off also supports the 'male gaze' theory because eventhough it isn't a sexualised video, there are shots where she is wearing revealing clothes and this would automatically attract a male audience. Similarly, in Taylor's Love Story music video, male gaze isn't put into practice whatsoever, she looks so innocent wearing a white wedding dress with her blonde hair curled and tied back. Whereas in her bad blood video, male gaze is defintely used because Taylor and the gang of other females, all wear tight black outfits which represent danger and sexual appeal. The gradual maturity of Taylor therefore allowed her fanbase to mature with her at a gradual pace. This is different to Miley Cyrus who went from being Hannah Montanna, an innocent, youthful, popstar to Miley Cyrus who was half naked in her music videos, as well as swinging on a swinging boulder. The longevity of Miley Cyrus was shattered, however this has not happened to Taylor Swift. Richard Dyer also says that there are common values of a pop star and these include sexual magnetism, youthfulness and creativity/talent and these are three categories which the music video fits into, in perspective. Taylor Swift is also presented as ordinary and extraordinary in Shake it off. she is ordinary when she cannot dance like the professional dancers and this creates a parody which is comical and shows the audience that she doesn't take herself too seriosuly. Dyer's star theory also states that the star is both present and absent in our lives. For instance there are ordinary people wearing casual clothing dancing with her at the end of the music video and this makes the audience feel as though they are present in their life. Contradicting this is the fact that Taylor is absent from our lives because she is performing in a music video, surrounded by professional dancers and performers and this reitterates that she is a star and isn't an everyday person like the rest of the world. However, the lack of reality creates a personal relationship between the audience and the star and also allows surveillance to take place because the audience enjoy following Taylor. The high key lighting which is present throughout the music video reitterates the positive message which is being spread and this coincides with the montage of close ups and mid shots of smiling faces from both Taylor and the ordinary people.

MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS BASED ON OUR GIVEN GENRE - INDIE POP

Gabrielle aplin - the power of love, 23rd september 2015.

The power of love is a performance based music video and is based around Gabrielle Aplin singing her song whilst playing the piano. The point of having a performance based video is to broadcast her talent and show the rawness of her because she hasn't been changed or modified by the media, which is very rare. The first twenty-two seconds of the music video was establishing shots of an old fashioned, abandoned house. This is to create an atmosphere for the audience and creates mystery for them. The old fashioned house is falling apart gracefully and eventhough it is slowly becoming ruined, there's a distinct beauty of the place and this creates a minor link between the old fashioned house falling apart and old fashioned romance 

falling apart, which is a sad reality and amplifies the meaning of the song. Throughout the song there are extreme close ups of Gabrielle's lips and hands and this is to amplify her talent. The extreme close up of her lips exaggerates the fact that she is singing the song and the extreme close up of her hands shows that she has the talent of playing a piano. This emphasises the rawness of her talent and shows that she is the real star of her music, she isn't a fake musician making money, she actually does have a talent. 2:04 minutes into the song, there is a focus pull which makes the back wall look as though it is closing in on Gabrielle and this suggests that love closes in on all of us at some point and we can't help it. It is as though she is trying to escape from love but it it slowly but surely catching up with her. This looks really effective and also briefly disorientates the audience because the wall isn't actually closing in on her, it is purely edited to give the illusion of the given effect. There are also numerous close ups of the singer songwriter and this is to show the feelings and emotions she feels about the song and this creates a personal relationship between the artist and the audience because they can relate to her feelings. Similarly this can create security for the audience because it reassures them that they are not the only people going through the confusing feelings of love. 3:30 minutes, towards the end of the song, there is tracking in a backwards motion, which reveals more of the setting. The setting is of the piano and an old fashioned, ruined room with Gabrielle's back towards the camera. This divulges a long shot of the star playing the piano and suggests that she doesn't need any other musicians or singers to assist with the song because she can do it independently. This again emphasises her talent and makes the audience feel proud of her achievements. 

There is also direct address from the artist to the audience at 3:25 as she looks down the camera and says "Make love your goal." The direct address puts emphasis on the words and amplifies the whole meaning of the song and the importance of love. The whole song is about love and how powerful it is and how you don't find love, it finds you. This again creates a personal relationship between the audience and the artist and it is though she is giving us a command to find love. Throughout the video natural lighting is used, however the lighting is a mix of low key and high key. When there are shots of windows in a dark room it is relatively high key, however when there is no window lighting, the shot is relatively low key. This suggests that love has brighter and darker parts but that is what makes love so special. On the other hand, at 3:30 there are fair lights, which come on as the song crescendo’s and this again amplifies the meaning of the song because it sounds much grander and has more meaning. The music video is mainly slow paced editing and this fits the slow tempo of the song. It makes the song seem very peaceful and calming instead of being abrupt and over the top; this emphasises the purity of love and amplifies the song. Throughout the music video there is cross cutting from close ups, mid shots or long shots of Gabrielle Aplin, to establishing shots of the deserted house. This suggests that the love is built around a home and this cretes stability, but once it is ruined, it continues to decay unless someone tries to fix it or save it. Additionally suggesting that the artist has experienced failed love and doesn't want the audience to feel this way. The final shot is an extreme long shot of Gabrielle Aplin playing her piano with the fairy lights and it looks really picturesque and beautiful and it then slowly fades out. The effect of this on the audience is that it suggests a light at the end of the tunnel, which shows beauty in love and so the final message is a positive one and overrules that love is indeed beautiful.

COLDPLAY - FIX YOU

24th september 2015.

'Fix You' is a performance based music video which is performed by Coldplay. The initial shot was an establishing shot of an undercarriage and then Chris begins to walk towards the camera in slow motion. The slow motion editing technique over exaggerates the sadness of the song, even though it does have a positive outcome. Up until 2:38 there is tracking of Chris as he is walking around the urban setting which is a relatable surrounding for many people, which means that a wide target audience should be able to relate to the music video. The majority of the lighting is low key and this therefore adds to the subdude mood of the video. The song is about someone being heartbroken and then another person coming along and 'fixing' their heart. As the song develops and the setting changes from urban to a live stage, there are numerous long shots of the 

musicians performing and playing their different instruments and this is to show off their talents to the audience, so they know that they aren't a fabricated band who aren't actually musicians. In the competitive music industry it is difficult to prove that a band is original and hasn't been adapted to fit a specification. Therefore by performing their song, Coldplay are proving that they deserve their space in the music industry. There are also close ups of the artists performing their songs and this exaggerates the emotion, which the artist is feeling and this is then reciprocated to the audience and they then understand how much the song means to the aritst. Regardless of the slow paced editing, there is still an element of fast paced editing from 1:30 - 1:37 and it cuts from a Long shot of Chris, to a mid shot, to a close up, to a mid shot, then a close up and then a long shot. The montage of different cuts allows the audience to see the emotion, body language, as well as the setting, all in a close proximity. This is very effective against the remainder of the slow paced editing. There are also cross cuts of Chris playing with fire and this amplifies the meaning between the song and the video. It links to the 'fixing you' as though he's playing with fire because fixing someone can go one of two ways; positively or negatively. Playing with fire generally always ends in disaster and therefore in this sense it shows that fixing someone involves taking a risk. On the other hand, after 2:40 minutes, the cuts turn fro slow paced to fast paced and this amplifies the song because the tempo speeds up, and coincidingly so do the cuts. The change from slow paced to fast paced has a seperate meaning from just the increased tempo. It also suggests that when someone begins fixing you they are unresponsive and everything is quite dull, but once you begin to open up, it all becomes a bit brighter and happier and the mood of the song reflects this. 

The whole song is natural lighting, however the natural lighting is low key and this reflects the indie/pop genre which the song fits. Many indie/pop songs are shot in natural lighting to suggest that it isn't about the music video, but it is mainly about the message, which is being portrayed and the musicians involved. They are not so much about telling a story, but letting the song tell its own story. 

The first six seconds of the music video is silent and this adds enigma and mystery to the music video because the audience doesn't know what is going to happen. Even though a typical audience thrives on mystery, it is unusual for an indie/pop music video to do this, it is typically a convention of a thriller film opening. However, the lack of sound at the beginning could be for the audience to reflect on what they think may happen in the music video and what the song may be about and how it may relate to them as a viewer. At 2:40 minutes Chris appears on stage and the video then goes from a really basic performance without any musicians, to the whole of Coldplay performing in front of a concert and this exaggerates the popularity of the band and their success. Finally, all of the musicians and singers wear black and have no fancy hairstyles or make up on and this seems to be a typical convention throughout all indie/pop music videos.

KATE NASH - FOUNDATIONS

28th september 2015.

Foundations is a performance and narrative based music video because there are shots of her performing, coincidingly there is an underlying message being shown throughout, through a narrative. The first five seconds of the music video has different shots of stationary objects including socks, two toothbrushes and shoes. This sets the setting as a home and shows the intimacy of the relationship that is going to be shown. There are numerous close ups of Kate performing her song and this shows her talent and the fact that she is the main singer of the song. In addition to this, there is a close up of the couple holding hands and then in the same shot, they begin to release the hold of each others hand. This shows that the couple are obviosuly going through troubles and their closeness is fading away. Similarly,

there is a close up of the couples feet as they are laying side by side in bed and she looks as though she is trying to push him away from her; again as though she is trying to be close to him but she's struggling. 33 seconds into the music video there is a long take of Kate in her kitchen, which is full of flowers and plants. She then walks over to the fridge and opens it up, revealing a load of beers, which is contrastingly very manly. This shows a contrast between male and female stereotypes, which is recognisable to the audience due to its relatability to real life. This shot lasts seven seconds and the length of the shot emphasises the importance of stereotypes to the audience. In addition to this there are cross cuts from the couple laying in bed to close ups of her performing her song. The use of cross cutting shows a gradual seperation of the couple laying in bed, which suggests hesitation from the female character and her uncertainty about the relationship. This makes the sequence of shots much more effective and instilled in the audiences mind. The majority of the cuts are neither slow paced nor fast paced, they are all a relatively normal speed and this allows the everyday life of a normal relationship to be portrayed; especially the bits, which annoy those in a relationship. 3:12 minutes there is a focus pull on the male character and this suggests that the male character is on the females mind, there is a shift of importance from the female to the male. 

1:09 minutes into the music video, the part of socks laying on the floor tie up together and 2:45 minutes into the video the watched intertwine. Additionally, 3:15 minutes in, the toothbrushes turn around and face each other. These different cuts are all metaphorical and are meant to represent the couple but as inanimate objects. This is also effective because it it satirical and suggests that even the individuals belongings are turning against each other and it's a powerful message being portrayed. In addition to the metaphorical watches getting closer, the lyrics which are amplified at this point are "I know I should forget but I can't." This suggests to the audience that she tries to leave and forget but she gets dragged back into the relationship and this is a relatable message, which many women can relate to; adding the element of personal relationships and surveillance into the music video. The audience want to keep watching until the end to find out what she finally decides to do. Finally at 3:25 minutes the metaphors explain themselves with the watches becomes unattached, the toothbrushes facing away from each other and the socks untangle. This suggests to the audience that what is happening to the inanimate objects is going to happen to the characters too. 

Throughout the music video natural, high key lighting is used and this is whilst the relationship is still in progress and then at the end of the music video, low key lighting is used and this is the part of the narrative where the female finally leaves the male. Even though it is positive for her, there is still an element of sadness and therefore the low key lighting amplifies the overall meaning of the song. However throughout the music video, bright colours are used and Kate wears yellow, which has connotations of happiness and cheerfullness. This suggests to the audience that she doesn't really mind that her relationship is coming to an end because everytime she tries to salvage it, it just gets ruined again. This is reitterated by the lyrics "Everytime that your upset and I smile." On the other hand, whilst they are laying bed and their feet are sticking out of the end of the bed, the artist is wearing red nail polish, which has connotations to danger and passion and this suggests to the audience that she enjoys the danger. Finally, the last shot is a close up of a door with a poster, which reads "don't fall for this" and this suggests to the audience that they shouldn't fall for stupidity or lies. It is an empowering song to women because it exaggerates the fact that holding onto foundations can be pointless if they constantly break. 

ELLIE GOULDING - HOW LONG WILL I LOVE YOU

30th september 2015.

How long will I love you is a performance and narrative based music video, which shows Ellie performing her song whilst playing out a love story throughout. The first ten seconds of the music video is credits, which outline who is in the music video, who directed it and the camera phone, which it was shot on. The black sans serif font stands out against the plain white background and this makes the writing the most important element to the shot, which makes the audience compelled to watch it. This shot then fades into a close up of Ellie Goulding's hands whilst she is playing the piano. This shot shows off her talent of playing the guitar and this is refreshing for the audience because many artists have a back up band, however she is doing it all by herself. 

This then cuts to a long shot of the back of Ellie Goulding whilst she is playing her piano and this then cuts to a side, mid shot of the star and this then reveals her true body language and facial expression, and this is 19 seconds into the song. This creates a slight mystery because the audience are unaware of how the star is feeling or what she looks like (unless they are familiar with the artist). However, as the mid, side shot of Ellie is occuring, her partner walks through the door and this cuts to a close up of him and a shot reverse shot takes place. from a close up to him, a close up of her and then back to a close up of him. When the close up of Ellie takes place,she looks as though she is giving a half-hearted smile and then the cut back to her boyfriend suggests that he is going to cheer her up. This is a stereotypical convention of relationships because when either partner is sad, it's the other partners responsibility to cheer them up. Therefore this shot it relatable to the audience and allows a personal relationship to be built between the audience and the characters. 0:24 seconds into the music video, there is a mid shot, landscaped shot of the male character and this allowed the left side of the shot to focus on the male and the right side of the shot to focus on the words written on the doorframe. "We like the hearts that go BOOM." These words suggest to the audience that the couple are in love and we see these words whilst there are no lyrics and so we can infer that the song will indeed be about love. In addition to this, the flat, which they are living in, looks quite untidy and not pristine, which is another stereotype of young couples living in the city. This again makes the video relatable to a young audience, as well as an older audience because they can reminisce about their young love. This makes the audience create personal relationships with the artist because they can relate, as well as surveillance taking place because the audience want to see the couple stay together and therefore watch the video until the end. 

This then cross cuts to a two shot of the couple in the car and they both look much happier and this suggests to the audience that relationships create happiness within one and other; therefore portraying a positive message to the audience. A high angle shot is used in the car to show the open top car and the retro interior of the car; suggesting that it is more special than an everyday car. This again suggests to the audience that the couple have special things, which are theirs to share and this shows the love that they share. The whole video is shot in high key lighting and this amplifies the happiness of the song, which suggests that they should love each other forever. 0:42 seconds into the music video, there is a cross cut from natural, high key lighting, to a black and white effect where Ellie is performing her song. The shot is a long shot and shows the audience the star playing her guitar whilst singing her song. The different lighting clearly distinguishes between performance and narrative and this makes the music video clearer and easier to understand. There is the a cross cut to 0:52 seconds into the music video, there is a close up of the male characters hands and this then straight cuts to a two shot of the couple, and then straight cuts to a close up of the females phone and this reveals the message from her partner. This then jump cuts to a mid shot of Ellie Goulding smiling at her partner and this is an eyeline match because it is as though the camera is in the eyes of the male actor. This looks effective because it is as though the male character is admiring the female and this reitterates the love within the relationship. A shot reverse shot also takes place in the music video as there is a close up of Ellie walking towards someone, then a close up of the old man she is walking to and then a two shot of Ellie kissing the old man. This shows the anticipation because we have no idea who the artist is walking toward, or what she is going to do by the shocked expression on the males face. The two shot then reveals the mystery and everything becomes clear to the audience again; eventhough we are unaware as to why she has just kissed an old man whose wife is stood right next to him.

2:20 minutes into the music video, there is a long take of the couple, which is a two shot. The two shot is also a mid shot and allows the audience to see the couples body language and facial expressions all in one shot. This is effective because we can clearly see how relaxed the couple are around each other, this allows the audience to relate with the on-screen actors because they clearly recognise personal relationships and this allows the audience to feel as though they have experienced similar feelings to the star.

The music video also relates to Richard Dyer's paradox of the star because in the music video she is 'both ordinary and extraordinary.' She is ordinary in the sense that she is in love and this is relatable to millions of people around the world and this allows personal identity to be found and also personal relationships, which creates a connection with audience, making the video relatable to everyday. Similarly, the music video may offer diversion from everyday life, due to the 'perfect relationship' being portrayed in the music video. However, Ellie is also extraordinary because she is a popstar and this is visible during the shots where she is playing her guitar and performing her song. This isn't relatable to many people, which makes her extraordinary. Regardless of this, the audience do not mind because she is still presented as ordinary in the music video. Similarly, Ellie is also present but absent at the same time because we discuss what she is doing and what she is wearing as though we are in close contact with her. However she is also absent because we do not actually know her and this is the reality of stars. Regardless of this, the audience still build personal relationships with the star because they like to be like her and to be seen as going through something similar to her. 

Finally, there is also a long, two shot towards the end of the music video and it is of an older couple looking lovingly at each other and then kissing. This then cuts back to a two shot of Ellie Goulding and her partner and this shows reflection and it's as though they are looking towards the future as a couple, due to the eye line match of the shot. This creates surveillance because the audience wonder whether the couple will make it to that age together, but due to the music video coming to a close, the audience will never know and this is enigmatic. 

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE

Shake it out, 1st october 2015.

ED SHEERAN - YOU NEED ME, I DON'T NEED YOU 

7th october 2015.

Ed Sheeran is a worldwide phenomenon who only became recognised in recent years. He has become friends with major stars including Taylor Swift, Niall Horan and Courtney Cox. His song 'You need me, I don't need you' is about his refusal to conform by the music industry. He was told he had to dye his ginger hair and change his musical styles in order to succeed. This song was therefore him challenging the music industry and saying how they need him to make money, he can find someone else to sign him. Matthew Morgan is the main sign lyric dancer in the music video and this makes the music video a concept and performance based video because the video doesn't particularly have a narrative but the young boy is performing, showing a talent.

For the first three seconds of the music video, there is a spotlight, which gradually increases in size and reveals Matthew Morgan who does the lyric signing. This then cross cuts to a close up of Ed's guitar and him playing it, however we only see the guitar and his hand, not above his mid-drift or below his hips. The cross-cutting between the two different performers happen for the first ten seconds of the music video and this is to suggest to the audience that they are the two key performers in the video. Thirteen seconds into the music video there is an extreme close-up of Matthew's eyes, nose and top lip and the shot is slightlyhigh angle, as though the camera is looking down on him. This makes him look vulnerable even-though he also looks quite fierce and strong. The juxtaposed representation of the boy suggests that he acts strong but is alos vulnerable and this is shadowing Ed's initial representation into the music business; due to his quirqy looks. This then jump cuts to a mid shot of the boy and the camera gradually gets closer to the boy and this is during the first couple of lines of the song. This amplifies the song because the song is just getting started and doesn't require any fast paced cuts until the song gets faster in tempo. In addition to this, three minutes and four seconds into the music video there is a mid shot of a boy standing in a choir boy costume and this mid shot is shown as Ed sings " I’m still a choir boy in a Fenchurch tee " and the lyrics coincided with the mid shot of the choir boy amplifies the song and makes Ed seem as though he was once innocent. Being apart of a choir suggests purity and innocence, which aren't two representations that would normally be considered for Ed Sheeran, however with the black and white filter this suggests that the music industry ruined his innocence. 

The jump cuts additionally amplify the music video because they happen whenever the beat intensifies in the music video and this makes each cut stand out amongst the other cuts. It also amplifies the song as a whole due to the black and white filter because the black and white intensifies the whole music video and makes it more dramatic. The black and white also creates an enigmatic atmosphere because it is implicit and minimises what the audience can see. The setting is also unfurnished and this allows the audience to solely focus on the artist/character who is on the screen at the current time, which means there is only a shift of importance when the cut jumps to a different, individual artist. The fact that all of the artists/act are allowed their own individual shot suggests that Ed finds all artists individual and equally as important as the others. No artist is better than another, they simply showcase different talents and skills. One minute and fourty-three seconds into the music video, the first abstract prop is shown and it is a small buddha sculpture, which doesn't fit the theme of the music video, which is performance based. This shows the audience that the music video is also concept and the whole point of the abstract prop is to get the audience confused and questioning its appearance. This therefore makes the music video rememberable, which increases its popularity. Towards the middle of the music video there are cross cuts from Matthew to other dance performers and this again shows that many different people have talents and their talents are all original and Ed is trying to encourage originality and suggesting that you don't have to conforom to the stereotypical 'success 'criteria.' However, they are all performing in the same setting, which suggests that everybody has the same platform and oppurtunities, it's just how you use the chances you're given. 

Even-though there is a black and white filter on the music video, the audience can still identify the low key and the high key lighting. The difference between the high key and the low key lighting shows the amplification of the beat and tempo of the song, with the video. When the tempo or beat increases suddenly, it goes high key and then low key relatively quickly and this looks really effective. The lyrics "You need me man, I don't need you" are amplified because Matthew Morgan points down the camera as though he is directly addressing the record company that Ed Sheeran is referring to. This is effective because a 'finger point' is seen as passively aggressive because it isn't violent but signals tension between people. This therefore exaggerates the fact that Ed is very passionate about his raw talent and doesn't feel the need to conform to change. Direct address is regularly used thoughout the music video when Matthew Morgan looks down the camera when he is signing the lyrics and this looks quite intimidating, especially with the black and white filter, which is used. The initmidating look suggests to the audience that the record label shouldn't have crossed Ed because he may not look intimidating, but he can definitely hold his own and will be successful without them.

Overall, I personally wouldn't use black and white throughout the whole of my music video, however using it to go back in time may look effective and clearly distinguish between the past, present and future. In addition to this, I think amplifying the lyrics with what is happening on screen looks effective and I would therefore like to incorporate it into our music video. However, I find the concept element of the music video slightly bizzarre and would therefore rather focus on a narrative and performance based music video. 

ONE REPUBLIC - COUNTING STARS

8th october 2015.

THE KILLERS - WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG

October 12th 2015.

The Killers are an American indie-rock band who formed in 2001 and have released six albums since their formation and sold around 22 million albums worldwide. The music video is based around a couple who are in a relationship but obviously have their ups and downs and the male cheats on his partner. Cross cuts are commonly used because the cuts are not in chronological order. This creates intensity because the audience want to keep watching to see what is going to happen to the couple. It also creates an unsettling atmosphere because it isn't in chronological order and this keeps the audience intrigued and interested in the music video. It also prevents the audience from 

guessing the next cut because of the cross cutting; eventhough the audience can probably guess what will happen as the video progresses. The first 0:45 seconds of the music video have no lyrics and have a lot of establishing shots and close ups to build the setting of the music video and also create emotion between the characters. The male and female character both look quite distressed and upset and this creates engima because the audience are unaware of what has happened. 1:27 minutes into the music video, the guitar instrumental begins and the audience realise that the song is about to begin and the cuts begin to increase.

0:35 seconds into the music video there is an extreme, establishing long shot and this is used to show the femals vulnerability because she is at the top of the mountain with a sheer drop. In addition to this, the previous cuts add suspense to this because she looks distressed and emotional and seeing the height she is standing at, with the sheer drop in front of her, this makes her actions unpredictable and this makes the audience uneasy and also slightly concerned for the character. In contrast to this, 2:16 minutes into the music video there is a two shot of the couple, which is also an establishing shot and the juxtaposition between the two shots suggest that the music video has gone back to the past tense and that the remainder of the music video will explain the beginning of the music video. The two shot shows the couple looking loved up and happy and as though they are on top of the world due to them standing at the top of the church, with the mountainous backdrop. This suggests to the audience that they are oblivious to the rest of the world and this is emphasised by the two shot. 2:43 minutes into the music video there is a close up of the female who is being cheated on as she has just seen her partner in bed with another woman. As the shot is slightly longer, the female walks backwards and knocks a picture of her and her partner off of the wall and this suggests to the audience that their relationship is falling apart around them. Just before this shot there is an over the shoulder shot of over the females shoulder, as she is looking in the mirror, which reflects an image her partner cheating on her. This shows the females point of view, which exaggerates the heartbreak and emotion she is feeling because it is as though we are witnessing it too. This is effective and creates a stronger sense of emotion because we can see the shock in the males face and the upset in the females and this makes the audience feel emotional also. 15 seconds after the initial close up of the female, as she runs out of her house, there is another close up of her, however the lighting is no longer low key, but high key and this suggests to the audience that her world isn't over, if she is out of the relationship she can start again and be happier. 3:08 minutes into the music video there is a close up of the female looking over her shoulder, looking back at her home and there is then cross cuts back to her wedding day and then back to her crying. This amplifies the emotion because we can see how happy the female was, and now how upset she is. This makes the audience feel sorry for her and create a personal relationship with the female, especially if they have gone through a similar ordeal. Similairy, surveillance is created because the audience wants to continue to watch to find out how she deals with the situtation. Personal identity can also be discovered in the music video because if someone has experienced what the character has, they can now relate to the song and the ideal man who they wished they could have met. 

0:45 seconds into the music video there is a mid shot of the female leaning up against a cross and this suggests to the audience that the song will have elements of Religion in it. There is then a cut to a montage of flashbacks including her husband cheating on her as well as Religious symbols, which suggests that what has happened is going against her vows and she is wondering why God has let such destruction happen to her. This then straight cuts to two mid shots of her husband climbing through the mountains as though he is looking for his wife. This then cross cuts to a mid shot of his wifes waist and below and we can see that she has her hands clenched like fists and this suggests that she is infuriated. From the ensemble of these shots, the audience can infer that the male has done something wrong because it is as though he is trying to find her and she is extremely upset. The shots then speed up and there are more cross cuts of the male and the female and this then results in a two shot, which slowly pans outwards to an extreme long shot and intensifies the shot. There is then an extreme close up of the female and this shows the emotion on her face, especially in her eyes and the audience therefore sympathise with her. There is then a close up, two shot of the couple and this shows their closeness and the love they do have for each other. 2:37 minutes into the music video there are cross cuts from the man cheating on his wife, back to his wife and this creates intensity because the audience can see both characters points of view and sympathise with the female because she is witnessing her husband sleeping with another woman and the lyrics "when you were young" are repeated throughout this sequence of cuts and this suggests to the audience that men make mistakes due to their human nature and their immaturity, especially when they are younger because they don't realise what they have. The corss cuts, which appear before the male is cheating builds suspense because his wife is getting closer and closer and this creates an intense atmosphere because the audience knows what is going to happen, but the characters do not. This makes the audience seem superior because they know something that the characters don't know. 3:37 minutes towards the end of the music video, there is a shot reverse shot of the couple before the cheating and this shows the lust that the male feels towards the female and due to the extreme close ups of her body parts and the extreme close ups of the man biting his lips and looking at her, this suggests that he finds her sexually attractive too and this creates a personal connection between the two characters and it feels quite intimate between the audience and the characters; creating a personal relationship. 

Mise en Scene

All of the shots have an old fashioned lense look, which looks like a sepia effect has been used. This makes the video looks slightly older and imperfect, which reitterates the vulnerability of the relationship. The female in the relationship wears white throughout the music video and this exaggerates her innocence and vulnerability. Whereas the female who her husband is cheating with wears red and this suggests that he likes danger but that she is very passionate and determined to ruin their marriage and this is exaggerated when she pulls his head closer when the wife walks in the room. This adds to the sympathy felt towards the wife due to her innocence and purity. When the band are performing the cuts are normally low key lighting and this adds to the dull and disappointed mood of the music video. If it was high key lighting, this would contradict the rest of the music video, therefore the low key lighting supports the theme of the music video. When there is the cheating in the music video, the low key lighting is intense and creates an implicit view for the audience and allows the audience to focus on the male cheating and not look at the surroundings, this highlights the important element of the cut. However, when the female runs outside, it is high key lighting and this suggests that she has broken free from the heartbreak and disappointment and makes the audience feel a sense of hope for the character. 

The first forty five seconds of the music video has a strong natural sound of wind blowing and this creates atmosphere, especially with the occasional heartbeat running through the music video. This creates intensity because it is such a pounding sound and immitates the heartbeat of one of the characters; especially due to the rarity of it, which suggests the heart is beating slowly. Thirty-two seconds into the music video there is the sound of chimes and this is more relaxing and peaceful, which reduces the intensity of the music video. Thirteen seconds after this, the lyrics begin and they have no backbeat, just the return of the heartbeat sound and blowing wind, which creates intensity again. 1:27 minutes into the music the guitar begins and this suggests to the audience that the music video is about to begin. Therefore, there is around 1:30 minutes before the song actually begins and this is a common convention for the Killers music videos and therefore they are sticking to their convention, which creates originality. 2:53 minutes into the music video when the cheating has been exposed the sound goes from crescendo to dimminuendo and this intensifies the mood due to the reduced instrumental being played in the cut. However, after around ten seconds, it goes crescendo again and the pace of the cuts speed up and this is to highlight all of the couples good times. 4:54 minutes into the music video the pace of the music video slows down and this amplifies the music video because the crisis has been dealt with and the issues have been resolved, therefore the anticipation is no longer required. The slow pace gradually comes to an end. This is satisfying for the audience because they can clearly see the rollercoaster of the relationship and then the end result and that is a convention the audience enjoy.

JAMES BAY - LET IT GO

15th october 2015.

MUMFORD AND SONS

I will wait, 16th october 2015, fun - we are young, 4th november 2015.

LAUREN AQUILINA - FOOLS

5th november 2015.

LANA DEL REY

Summertime sadness , 6th november 2015.

NOVEMBER 10TH 2015

GEORGE EZRA

Blame it on me, 11th november 2015.

HOZIER 

Someone new.

BIRDY 

Skinny love, 14th november 2015.

LILY ALLEN 

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

How to be a heartbreaker.

CHARLIE XCX

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Complete Guide How to Write a Video Essay: Steps and Tips

• by Joseph Kenas
• September 11, 2024
• Writing Tips

Making a video essay has become an increasingly popular way of presenting ideas and concepts in the age of the internet and YouTube.

Video essays are an engaging way to express ideas, arguments, or critiques using both visual and auditory elements.

In this guide, we present a step-by-step guide on how to write a video essay and tips on how to make it.

While it is easy to write a normal essay, the structure of the video essay is a bit of a mystery, owing to the newness of the term.

However, in this article, we will define what is a video essay, how to write a video essay, and how to present a video essay well in class.

What is a Video Essay?

A video essay is a video that delves into a certain subject, concept, person, or thesis. Video essays are difficult to characterize because they are a relatively new form, yet they are recognized regardless. Simply, video essays are visual compilations that try to persuade, educate, or criticize.

These days, there are many creatives making video essays on topics like politics, music, movies, and pop culture.

With these, essays have become increasingly popular in the era of video media such as YouTube, Vimeo, and others.

Video essays, like photo and traditional essays, tell a story or make a point.

The distinction is that video essays provide information through visuals.

When creating a video essay, you can incorporate video, images, text, music, and/or narration to make it dynamic and successful.

When you consider it, many music videos are video essays. 

Since making videos for YouTube and other video sites has grown so popular, many professors are now assigning video essays instead of regular essays to their students. So the question is, how do you write a video essay script?

How to Write a Video Essay Script

Unscripted videos cost time, and effort, and are unpleasant to watch. The first thing you should do before making a video is write a script, even if it’s only a few lines long. Don’t be intimidated by the prospect of writing a script. All you need is a starting point.

A video script is important for anyone who wants to film a video with more confidence and clarity. They all contain comparable forms of information, such as who is speaking, what is said, where, and other important details.

While there are no precise criteria that a video essay must follow, it appears that most renowned video essayists are adhering to some steps as the form gets more popular and acknowledged online. 

1. Write a Thesis

Because a video essayist can handle a wide range of themes, video analysis essays lack defined bounds. The majority of essays, on the other hand, begin with a thesis.

A thesis is a statement, claim, theme, or concept that the rest of the essay is built around. A thesis might be broad, including a variety of art forms. Other theses can be quite detailed.

A good essay will almost always have a point to express. Every video analysis essay should have a central idea, or thesis, that ties the film together.

2. Write a Summary

Starting with a brief allows you and your team to document the answers to the most pressing project concerns. It ensures that everyone participating in the video production is on the same page.

This will avoid problems of mixing ideas or getting stuck when you are almost completing the project.

3. Choose appropriate Writing Tools

When it comes to writing your script, use any tool you’re familiar with, such as pen and paper. Also, find a writing atmosphere that is relaxing for you, where you can concentrate and be creative.

Consider what you don’t have to express out loud when you’re writing. Visual elements will be used to communicate a large portion of your content.

4. Use a Template

When you don’t have to reinvent the process every time you sit down, you get speed and consistency.

It’s using your cumulative knowledge of what works and doing it over and over again. Don’t start with a blank page when I sit down to create a script- try to use an already made template. 

5. Be Conversational

You want scripts that use language that is specific and targeted. Always avoid buzzwords, cliches, and generalizations. You want your audience to comprehend you clearly without rolling their eyes.

6. Be Narrative

Make careful to use a strong story structure when you’re trying to explain anything clearly. Ensure your script has a beginning, middle, and end, no matter how short it is. This will provide a familiar path for the viewers of your video script.

7. Edit Your Script

Make each word work for a certain position on the page when you choose your words.

They must serve a purpose.

After you’ve completed your first draft, go over your script and review it.

Then begin editing, reordering, and trimming. Remove as much as possible.

Consider cutting it if it isn’t helping you achieve your goal.

 8. Read your Script Loudly

Before recording or going on in your process, it’s recommended to read your script aloud at least once. Even if you won’t be the one reading it, this is a good method to ensure that your message is clear.

It’s a good idea to be away from people so you may practice in peace. Words that flow well on paper don’t always flow well when spoken aloud.

You might need to make some adjustments based on how tough certain phrases are to pronounce- it’s a lot easier to change it now than when recording.

9. Get Feedback

Sometimes it is very difficult to point out your mistakes in any piece of writing. Therefore, if you want a perfect video essay script, it is advisable to seek feedback from people who are not involved in the project.

Keep in mind that many will try to tear your work apart and make you feel incompetent. However, it can also be an opportunity to make your video better.

The best way to gather feedback is to assemble a group of people and read your script to them. Watch their facial reaction and jot your own comments as you read. Make sure not to defend your decisions.

Only listen to comments and ask questions to clarify.

After gathering feedback, decide on what points to include in your video essay. Also, you can ask someone else to read it to you so that you can listen to its follow.

A video essay can be a good mode to present all types of essays, especially compare and contrast essays as you can visually contrast the two subjects of your content.

How to make a Good Video from an Essay Script

You can make a good video from your script if you ask yourself the following questions;

• What is the video’s purpose? What is the purpose of the video in the first place?
• Who is this video’s intended audience?
• What is the subject of our video? (The more precise you can be, the better.) 
• What are the most important points to remember from the video?- What should viewers take away from it?

If the context had multiple characters, present their dialogues well in the essay to bring originality. If there is a need to involve another person, feel free to incorporate them.

How to Present a Video Essay Well in Class

• Write down keywords or main ideas in a notecard; do not write details- writing main ideas will help you remember your points when presenting. This helps you scan through your notecard for information.
• Practice- in presentations it is easy to tell who has practiced and who hasn’t. For your video essay to grab your class and professor’s attention, practice is the key.
• Practice in front of your friends and family asking for feedback and try to improve.
• Smile at your audience- this is one of the most important points when presenting anything in front of an audience.
• A smiley face draws the attention of the audience making them smile in return thus giving you confidence.
• Walk to your seat with a smile- try not to be disappointed even if you are not applauded. Be confident that you have aced your video presentation.

Other video presentation tips include;

• Making eye contact
• Have a good posture
• Do not argue with the audience 
• Look at everyone around the room, not just one audience or one spot
• Remember to use your hand and facial expressions to make a point.

Joseph is a freelance journalist and a part-time writer with a particular interest in the gig economy. He writes about schooling, college life, and changing trends in education. When not writing, Joseph is hiking or playing chess.

How to do a Video Essay: The Video Essay Process

• Plan, Prepare & Create

Storyboarding

• Finding, Filming & Editing
• References & Credits
• The Video Essay Process

This section will give an introductory overview of the stages required to create a video essay.  Video essayers advice is to start simple and work through each stage of the video production process. Visit the Resources page of this guide for more.

Identify what is your argument? What is it that you want to communicate to the viewer? Write this down in a few sentences, refer and modify it as required.

Watch Video Essays

Watch a selection of video essays, read blogs and web pages from video essayers and decide what type of video essay you would like to create. Start simple.

A storyboard is a detailed outline (similar to an outline in a written essay) that helps you to organise and visualise the video essay as to what is on the screen, text, media, message and transitions between shots.

Storyboards assist in determining the length, message and meaning of the video essay and help save time with editing and post production processes.

• Free Storyboard Templates

Collect & Edit

Collect video material as downloads, ripping DVDs, screen grabs, mobile phone footage and create voice-overs. Use research skills to find information and statements to support your argument. Maintain a standard of quality and manage your videos by naming conventions and storage.

Use editing software and experiment with available functionality to enhance and support your argument. Add a voice-over, sound effects, music and other aspects of multimodality. Be sure to include references and credits to all sources used in creating the video essay.

Revisit elements of your video essay and modify as required.

Visit the Resources page of this guide for more.

• Where to find video and how to capture it
• Video Editing Basics - iMovie
• Software Guides

References & Credits

References to cite sources used in the Video Essay. Referencing is a formal, systematic way of acknowledging sources that you have used in your video essay. It is imperative that you reference all sources used (including videos, stills, music, sfx) and apply the correct formatting so that references cited can be easily traced. The referencing style used at ECU is the APA style, 6th ed. 2010. Refer to the ECU Referencing Library Guide for accurate citation in APA style.

Production credits Individuals: acknowledgement of individuals and their role in the production. Purpose: A statement for internal use, e.g. “This video was produced for [course name] at [institution’s name] in [semester, year]”

• Referencing Library Guide
• << Previous: What is a Video Essay?
• Next: Modes, MultiModality & Multiliteracies >>
• What is a Video Essay?
• Modes, MultiModality & Multiliteracies
• A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies
• Modes Of Multimodality
• Video Essay Journals
• Video Essay Channels
• Weblinks to Video Essay Resources
• Weblinks to Creative Commons Resources
• Titles in the Library
• Referencing & Copyright
• Marking Rubric
• Last Updated: Aug 28, 2023 2:57 PM
• URL: https://ecu.au.libguides.com/video-essay

Edith Cowan University acknowledges and respects the Noongar people, who are the traditional custodians of the land upon which its campuses stand and its programs operate. In particular ECU pays its respects to the Elders, past and present, of the Noongar people, and embrace their culture, wisdom and knowledge.

• Houston Community College
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ESSAY #3 - Music Video Analysis

Music video analysis essay, due: thursday, april 24, 2012, assignment:.

Choose a music. Analyze, Interpret, Synthesize and Evaluate your video according to the guidelines in our "Critical Reading, Music Videos" lecture (on Learning Web)

Your essay should includ e:

A strong thesis statement about the video, which contains a Subject, an Opinion and Proof.

A descriptive summary of the video.

Three body paragraphs.

A conclusion, which restates your thesis and the main points of your body paragraphs.

900 words or more

For this paper there is no required number of outside sources.

If you choose to use outside sources they must be cited according to MLA format.

Include an MLA Works Cited page, which includes  your video and any outside sources you've cited.

Size 12 – Times New Roman font – double spaced

Paste your essay into the body of an email to:  [email protected]

Introduction –

• Hook your reader with your opening sentence.
• Introduce the video you’ll be discussing (Artist? Album? Year?)
• Write a thesis evaluating the entire video or an aspect of the video.

Body Paragraphs -

Support your thesis by analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing and evaluating the video.

Conclusion –

• Restate the topic of your article.
• Restate your thesis.
• Restate the main point from each of your paragraphs.
• Wrap your essay up and put a ribbon on it.

An Outstanding Essay Will:

• Present a clear thesis containing a subject, opinion and proof.
• Summarize the video identifying some or all Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? questions.
• Develop and organize ideas logically by connecting each paragraph in support of your original thesis statement.
• Identify, analyze and interpret important features of your video.
• Give specific examples from the video to support your thesis.
• Provide a strong conclusion restating the main points of your essay.

No books have been added to this reading list.

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Beyonce — An Analysis of Beyonce’s Music Video “Formation”

An Analysis of Beyonce's Music Video "Formation"

• Categories: Beyonce

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Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

A framework for using popular music videos to teach media literacy.

Jordan M. McClain Drexel University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA [email protected]

This article discusses the use of popular music videos as a tool for teaching media literacy. First, the article addresses the importance of music videos as popular culture, what other music video research has examined, and what features make music videos a good fit for in-class work investigating media and popular culture. Then the article details a single-class activity for introducing and teaching media literacy through the use of music videos. To achieve this objective, the article also proposes a set of original music video-specific discussion questions. Finally, a particular music video is considered to illustrate possible results of this activity and the broader issues that may arise from class discussion.

Communication, Media, Media Studies, Popular Culture, Pedagogy, New Media, Digital Media, Media Literacy, Media Education, Music Videos

Although popular music videos have long been criticized for their superficiality, fast edits, and sensational content, features like these help make the videos an excellent teaching tool, effective for getting students’ attention and exploring broad issues. Many educators may be skeptical about or may have never thought about the benefits of using music videos in the classroom—thus the shortage of research on this approach. Cayari wrote about students creating music videos in order to learn music and technology skills.  Maskell discussed the use of music videos for teaching English, saying the content has “huge potential for use across the entire English curriculum” (54). There is still, however, much to uncover about the myriad possible uses of music videos as a pedagogical instrument.

With a focus on popular music videos, this essay discusses their importance, describes an activity using them to teach media literacy skills, offers some new music video-specific ideas for introductory media literacy exercises, and shares example results of the activity. This information may appeal to a wide range of educators, especially media and popular culture scholars teaching undergraduate college courses such as Media and Society, Media Literacy, or Introduction to Popular Culture.

Although the pedagogical value of music videos remains formally under-recognized, many have thoroughly established why music videos are an important and potent way to learn about life around the globe. “Music television deserves serious attention from students of popular culture” (Goodwin and Grossberg ix), proclaimed the introduction of Sound and Vision: The Music Video Reader, the influential collection edited by Frith, Goodwin, and Grossberg. Supporting this call to study music videos, Austerlitz saw them as a “fascinating oddity” (1) and a “compelling marker of cultural history” (1). He concluded that the music video’s “triumphs render it a subject worthy of deeper study and attention” (1). In summarizing the state of music video research and demonstrating why they are more than just entertainment, Straw wrote, “music videos are increasingly seen as elements within complex assemblages of image and sound that circulate the world and are recombined within a variety of diasporic media, from satellite television networks through DVD and Internet video clip sites” (3176).

Consideration of certain music video research trends indicates their diverse potential. One major trend adopts a media effects perspective and examines how music videos influence the ways audiences think and behave, especially younger groups like adolescents, teens, or college students. Studies have looked at music video effects in terms of sex, such as how kids imitate the content (Ey and Cupit), how they sext (Van Ouytsel, Ponnet, and Walrave), and what their attitudes are toward sex (Aubrey, Hopper, and Mbure; Beentjes and Konig; Kistler and Lee; Zhang, Miller, and Harrison). Others have researched music videos’ effects on perceptions of rape (Burgess and Burpo; Sprankle, End, and Bretz). There is also much work on the influence of music videos on how people think about gender-specific ideas related to misogyny (van Oosten, Peter, and Valkenburg) or bodily self-perception (Mischner et al.).

Overlapping with work that emphasizes effects, there is a trend of research interested in representational patterns in music videos. Gender often emerges as a main focal point, such as Wallis’s content analysis of differences in gender displays. Many have also tied race to genre, with rap being a dominant line of inquiry (Balaji; Conrad, Dixon, and  Zhang; Zhang, Dixon, and Conrad). Overall, work on representation has spanned topics like sexual objectification (Aubrey and Frisby; Frisby and Aubrey), sexuality (Turner), and violence (Aikat; Smith and Boyson; Thaller and Messing).

Such trends show the utility of music videos in media research, popular culture studies, and beyond. In addition, music videos are characterized by a combination of features that make them an ideal fit for in-class activities about media and popular culture:

• They are conventionally short, compared to a full movie or television episode.
• They are often familiar, which benefits group discussion because many students bring background knowledge.
• They are common online, which makes it simple for instructors to find multiple good examples.
• They are easy to access, such as the free official content available on video-sharing sites like YouTube or hosting services like Vevo.
• They are often controversial, working as a compelling catalyst for critical discussion and thus able to help students identify important issues, then articulate their views on social or political matters.
• They are commonly imitated on the Web, as evidenced by remakes, parodies, satires, and mash-ups that have become a common way for lovers and haters—including amateurs, professionals, and people in between—to express themselves online. 1
• They are popular culture, as a collective form and as individual artifacts, which gives them instant student appeal and significance as a teaching tool.  

Activity: Popular Music Videos and Media Literacy

The following activity is a productive way to use music videos to introduce and teach media literacy. This exercise is intended to occur in class and requires the instructor’s use of an Internet-connected device that can play music videos viewable by the whole class at once (e.g., via projector or on a large monitor). Objectives include these:

• The exercise will (A) strategically use music videos as a teaching tool, (B) demonstrate the importance of critical thinking about music videos, and (C) demonstrate the importance of critical thinking about popular culture.
• Students will (A) strengthen media literacy skills and (B) increase comprehension of popular music videos as a significant form of entertainment media.  

Preparation: Prior to class, carefully select a popular music video accessible online and useful as a teaching tool. Billboard charts and YouTube’s “Popular on YouTube” section are helpful starting points. The instructor should select something that will resonate with students; this can be based on recency or the interests and personalities of the class. I suggest watching the video many times before class. It is also essential to research the video’s production background and popular reception. Immediately before class begins, it is smart to prepare the music video for easy start-up and test all necessary technology—video connection, audio levels, video start function, video end point.

Execution: Once class begins, start the activity by announcing its order (i.e., discuss media literacy, watch music video, analyze video alone and then together) and expected outcomes (i.e., enhance media literacy comprehension and skills).

Part 1: Introduce Media Literacy and Music Video-Specific Follow-Up Questions

First, I explain media literacy and the following five key questions of media literacy, using visual aids like PowerPoint slides and the Center for Media Literacy’s website, medialit.org:

• Authorship: “Who created this message?”
• Format: “What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?”
• Audience: “How might different people understand this message differently than me?”
• Content: “What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?”
• Purpose: “Why is this message being sent?”

As justified in the rationale above, we then briefly discuss why music videos are media content worthy of critical thought.

Next, to successfully analyze popular music videos and expand on the preexisting five key questions of media literacy, I propose the following set of original follow-up questions that are music video-specific—four follow-ups for each of the main questions—to help prompt critical thought and advance media literacy about popular music videos:

• Who is explicitly identified as a creator?
• Who created the song?
• Who created the music video?
• What are some major components of the music video that people created?
• What techniques are used in the music?
• What techniques are used in the music video?
• How does this music video seem influenced by popular culture?
• How has this music video seemingly influenced popular culture?
• Who do you think are some target audiences for this music video?
• What components of the music video indicate its target audience?
• What parts of the music video seem open to interpretation?
• What parts of the music video seem controversial? To whom?
• How does the music video convey this?
• How do you think this relates to the music video’s creators?
• How do you think this relates to the music video’s target audience?
• What may have caused these representations and omissions?
• Why was this music created?
• Why was the music video created?
• Why was the music video created for this format? (I.e., cable television, the Web, DVD, etc.)
• Who would benefit from the music video’s popularity?  

Part 2: Watch a Music Video

After focusing on media literacy questions, introduce the music video by identifying the song and performer. I find it useful to informally survey how many students know the song or artist and how many like the song or artist. It is crucial to establish the significance of studying this artifact. For instance, instructors should cite facts about awards the artist or song has won, sales information like albums or singles sold, rankings from Billboard/Nielsen chart data, concert grosses, YouTube views, and social media metrics (e.g., how many likes or followers an artist has online). It is best also to show students visuals like a Twitter feed or Billboard.com article to support those claims. This will help students recognize the significance of putting popular culture under the microscope—this is not just a song but a social phenomenon that deserves to be studied, and the class is learning a system for accomplishing that.

Here it is helpful to notify students that after watching the video once, they will need to answer and discuss the five media literacy questions and music video-specific follow-ups. Thus, as they watch, students should think about answers to the questions, which they may wish to quickly review before watching the video at this point.

Part 3: Practice Media Literacy Skills by Discussing the Music Video

Solo: After watching the video, students should individually write answers to each media literacy question and the follow-ups. When dealing with time constraints for this in-class activity, I advise students to focus on answers that come easiest, instead of straining to complete all questions (i.e., quality over quantity). This is a good time to encourage optional Internet use for those with enabled devices. Answers are possible with only a pencil and paper, but Web-based research will probably strengthen responses.

Small groups: After the solo work, students form pairs or triads and share their findings with each other. They should consider what they learned from peers to expand their answer list and prepare for a full-class discussion.

As a class: After the small group work, reconvene as a class and watch the video for a second and final time. This provides a chance to see more, helps solidify what students learned so far, and refreshes memories for the following discussion.

I then lead a Q&A through each of the five key media literacy questions and follow-ups. Instructors should seek many answers to each question, solicit like and unlike observations across the group, and play devil’s advocate to help students form their opinions.

Activity Results

This activity results in valuable dialogues, which will vary based on the video(s) examined. One highly recommended music video to choose for this activity is Katy Perry’s 2013 hit, “Roar” (Lipshutz; Perry, “Katy Perry – Roar”) 2 . Using this video would give the instructor a chance to talk about Perry’s many Grammy nominations, MTV Awards, Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and Guinness World Records. The instructor could also discuss her remarkable billion-plus views that place this song in the top ten most-viewed YouTube and Vevo videos (Jang; Lane; “Vevo Top Videos”) and made Perry “the first artist to ever have two videos with over 1 Billion [ sic ] views” (“Katy Perry – Vevo”; “Roar10xCertified”). Students respond well to these kinds of arguments for a video’s significance and facts like Perry’s status as the most-followed Twitter user—with over 75 million followers, she ranks above people like Justin Bieber and President Obama (Perry, “Tweets”; “Twitter Top 100”).

Discussing Perry’s “Roar” video would likely cause students to answer the media literacy questions and follow-ups in ways that lead to fascinating conversations about the major media literacy concepts. “Authorship” would relate to the song being co-written by a team of professional hit makers including Max Martin, Dr. Luke, and Bonnie McKee (Hampp; Seabrook). “Format” would connect to sexualization, familiar pop song ingredients, and the use of visual effects. “Audience” would lead to concerns about young fans, PETA’s objections to the video’s use of animals (Boardman; Palmer), or the video’s twist ending. “Content” would tie to portrayals of selfies, makeup use, and heterosexuality or sexual orientation. “Purpose” would relate to product sales, promotional culture, the modern music industry, free YouTube content, conspicuous use of Nokia merchandise, and celebrity branding.

This kind of popular music video analysis, based on the five key media literacy questions and follow-ups, enables discussion of many broad issues. In particular, this includes:

• How race, class, age, and ability are represented in music videos.
• How gender, sex, sexuality, and sexism are treated in music videos.
• How beauty norms are reflected in music videos; how this impacts body image, self-esteem, or eating disorders outside music videos.
• How celebrities appear in music videos; how musicians are positioned as celebrities in music videos.
• What music videos tell us about censorship, evolving moral standards, political correctness, and cultural taboos.
• How product placement shapes music videos.
• How genre affects music videos.
• How new and digital media impact music videos.

By using this activity, I have found that students thoroughly enjoy practicing and developing critical thinking skills through the study of everyday media and popular culture. The classroom becomes a space where fun and learning can logically and productively intersect. Students become more consistently engaged with class topics and discussions, searching for such intersection. Their media literacy skills improve—instantly and long-term—through the type of practice and collaborative critique that this exercise facilitates. As a result, students are more sensitive, informed, and skilled critical consumers of entertainment media.

This essay expands on general media literacy principles and produces original music video-specific questions, enabling systematic use of music videos as effective resources for teaching media literacy and critical thinking about media and popular culture. The five key media literacy questions are a valuable framework for studying popular music videos and exploring the broader issues they raise. Without the media literacy framework, this exercise might allow only surface-level scrutiny. Using the media literacy foundation strengthens, deepens, and formalizes this learning process, enhancing student comprehension, analysis, and evaluation of popular music videos as important media content.

The in-class activity described in this essay is ideal for undergraduate courses, but can be adapted by prefacing the work with level-appropriate lectures about media and popular culture for a variety of potential student audiences, such as tweens, pre-college teens, or graduate students. One alternative to the in-class activity is to remake it as a written test, which would benefit from a rubric used to grade answers. For example, instructors may choose to teach the five key media literacy questions first, then, on the same or a different day, show a music video and require students to answer the five questions and music video-specific follow-ups as a test of knowledge and skills. Other possibilities include a student presentation (individuals or groups pick a modern video, argue for its significance, analyze its content using the music video-specific follow-ups, and consider the implications); a reflection paper (students address the extent to which media literacy about music videos will impact how they think about such entertainment); or a self-produced video essay (students use the media literacy questions and music video-specific follow-ups as prompts for a prepared, recorded oral critique of a popular music video; bonus points to those who share their video essay on YouTube).

Popular music videos have many educational uses, which span disciplines. These videos are excellent instruments, effective for getting students’ attention, and helpful for teaching about many complex and meaningful concepts. Educators should therefore embrace and experiment with music videos as a powerful teaching tool.

1. By way of illustration, consider the many humorous takeoffs on The Black Eyed Peas song, “My Humps,” which inspired popular online videos by alt-rock celebrity Alanis Morissette, gender-role-defying electronic musician Peaches, and pre-teen remix video YouTube-star MattyBRaps.

2. Here are some other recommended popular music videos that work well for this activity: Michael Jackson, “Thriller”; Madonna, “Erotica”; Shania Twain, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”; One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”; Robin Thicke, “Blurred Lines”; Pharrell Williams, “Happy”; Taylor Swift, “Shake it Off”; Drake, “Hotline Bling.”

Works Cited

Aikat, Debashis. “Streaming Violent Genres Online: Visual Images in Music Videos on BET.com, Country.com, MTV.com, and VH1.com.” Popular Music and Society 27.2 (2004): 221-240. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Aubrey, Jennifer Stevens, and Cynthia M. Frisby. “Sexual Objectification in Music Videos: A Content Analysis Comparing Gender and Genre.” Mass Communication and Society 14.4 (2011): 475-501. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Aubrey, Jennifer Stevens, K. Megan Hopper, and Wanjiru G. Mbure. “Check That Body! The Effects of Sexually Objectifying Music Videos on College Men’s Sexual Beliefs.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 55.3 (2011): 360-79. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Austerlitz, Saul. Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video, from the Beatles to the White Stripes . New York: Continuum, 2007. Print.

Balaji, Murali. “Owning Black Masculinity: The Intersection of Cultural Commodification and Self-Construction in Rap Music Videos.” Communication, Culture & Critique 2.1 (2009): 21-38. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Beentjes, Johannes W. J., and Ruben P. Konig. “Does Exposure to Music Videos Predict Adolescents’ Sexual Attitudes?” European Scientific Journal 9.14 (2013): 1-20. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Boardman, Madeline. “PETA: Katy Perry’s ‘Roar” Music Video is Cruel to Animals.” HuffingtonPost.com . The Huffington Post, 15 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Burgess, Melinda C. R., and Sandra Burpo. “The Effect of Music Videos on College Students’ Perceptions of Rape.” College Student Journal 46.4 (2012): 748-763. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Cayari, Christopher. “Using Informal Education Through Music Video Creation.” General Music Today 27.3 (2014): 17-22. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Center for Media Literacy. “Five Key Questions Form Foundation for Media Inquiry: Keywords and Guiding Questions Help Build Habits of Critical Thinking.” MediaLit.org. Center for Media Literacy, n.d.: Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Conrad, Kate, Travis L. Dixon, and Yuanyuan Zhang. “Controversial Rap Themes, Gender Portrayals and Skin Tone Distortion: A Content Analysis of Rap Music Videos.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 53.1 (2009): 134-56. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Ey, Lesley-Anne, and C. Glenn Cupit. “Primary School Children’s Imitation of Sexualised Music Videos and Artists.” Children Australia 38.3 (2013): 115-123. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Frisby, Cynthia M., and Jennifer Stevens Aubrey. “Race and Genre in the Use of Sexual Objectification in Female Artists’ Music Videos.” Howard Journal of Communications 23.1 (2012): 66-87. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Goodwin, Andrew, and Lawrence Grossberg. Introduction. Sound and Vision: The Music Video Reader . Ed. Simon Frith, Andrew Goodwin, and Lawrence Grossberg. New York: Routledge, 1993. ix-xi. Print.

Hampp, Andrew. “Katy Perry, ‘Roar’: Track Review.” Billboard.com . Billboard, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Jang, Meena. “YouTube’s 10th Anniversary: Watch the Top 10 Most Viewed Videos to Date.” Billboard.com . Billboard, 14 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

“Katy Perry – Vevo Certified Artist.” Vevo.com . Vevo, 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Kistler, Michelle E., and Moon J. Lee. “Does Exposure to Sexual Hip-Hop Music Videos Influence the Sexual Attitudes of College Students?” Mass Communication and Society 13.1 (2009): 67-86. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Lane, Laura. “These Are the Most-Watched YouTube Videos Ever – Have You Seen Them All?” People.com. Time Inc., 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Lipshutz, Jason. “Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ Music Video: Watch the Singer’s Jungle Adventure.” Billboard.com . Billboard, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Maskell, Hayden. “Using Music Videos.” English in Aotearoa 74 (2011): 54-57. Print.

Mischner, Isabelle H. S., Hein T. Van Schie, Daniël H. J. Wigboldus, Rick B. Van Baaren, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels. “Thinking Big: The Effect of Sexually Objectifying Music Videos on Bodily Self-Perception in Young Women.” Body Image 10.1 (2013): 26-34. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Palmer, Chris. “Katy Roars, Elephant Whimpers.” Peta.org. PETA, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Perry, Katy (katyperry). “Tweets.” Twitter account. Twitter.com. Twitter, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Perry, Katy. “Katy Perry – Roar (Official).” Video file. KatyPerryVEVO. YouTube.com. YouTube, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

“Roar10xCertified.” KatyPerry.com . Capitol Records, 6 July 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Seabrook, John. “The Doctor Is In: A Technique for Producing No. 1 Songs.” NewYorker.com. Conde Nast, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Smith, Stacy L., and Aaron R. Boyson. “Violence in Music Videos: Examining the Prevalence and Context of Physical Aggression.” Journal of Communication 52.1 (2002): 61-83. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Sprankle, Eric L., Christian M. End, and Miranda N. Bretz. “Sexually Degrading Music Videos and Lyrics: Their Effects on Males’ Aggression and Endorsement of Rape Myths and Sexual Stereotypes.” Journal of Media Psychology 24.1 (2012): 31-39. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Straw, Will. “Music videos.” The International Encyclopedia of Communication. Ed. W. Donsbach. 2008. Print.

Thaller, Jonel, and Jill Theresa Messing. “(Mis)Perceptions Around Intimate Partner Violence in the Music Video and Lyrics for ‘Love the Way You Lie’.” Feminist Media Studies 14.4 (2014): 623-39. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Turner, Jacob S. “Sex and the Spectacle of Music Videos: An Examination of the Portrayal of Race and Sexuality in Music Videos.” Sex Roles 64.3-4 (2011): 173-91. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

“Twitter top 100 most followers.” Twittercounter.com . Twitter, 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Van Oosten, Johanna M. F., Jochen Peter, and Patti M. Valkenburg. “The Influence of Sexual Music Videos on Adolescents’ Misogynistic Beliefs: The Role of Video Content, Gender, and Affective Engagement.” Communication Research 42.7 (2015): 986-1008. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Van Ouytsel, Joris, Koen Ponnet, and Michel Walrave. “The Associations Between Adolescents’ Consumption of Pornography and Music Videos and Their Sexting Behavior.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 17.12 (2014): 772-78. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

“Vevo Top Videos Most Viewed All Time.” Vevo.com. 2015. Web. 24 Sept. 2015.

Wallis, Cara. “Performing Gender: A Content Analysis of Gender Display in Music Videos.” Sex Roles 64.3-4 (2011): 160-72. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Zhang, Yuanyuan, Laura E. Miller, and Kristen Harrison. “The Relationship Between Exposure to Sexual Music Videos and Young Adults’ Sexual Attitudes.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 52.3 (2008): 368-86. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Zhang, Yuanyuan, Travis L. Dixon, and Kate Conrad. “Rap Music Videos and African American Women’s Body Image: The Moderating Role of Ethnic Identity.” Journal of Communication 59.2 (2009): 262-78. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.

Author Bio:

Dr. Jordan M. McClain is Assistant Teaching Professor of Communication at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. He enjoys researching and teaching about framing in music journalism, celebrity, the intersection of television and music culture, and consumer culture. For the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) he serves on the executive board,  as Music area co-chair,  and as Journalism and News Media area chair. For the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), he chairs the Professional Development area.

Social media:

Academia.edu: https://drexel.academia.edu/JordanMcClain LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-m-mcclain-72304163 Twitter: https://twitter.com/j_mcclain

Reference Citation:

McClain, Jordan M. “ A Framework for Using Popular Music Videos to Teach Media Literacy.” Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy  3.1 (2016). Web and Print.  

McClain, J. M. (2016).   A framework for using popular music videos to teach media literacy.  Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy. 3 (1).  http://journaldialogue.org/issues/a-framework-for-using-popular-music-videos-to-teach-media-literacy/ 

Tags: Communication , Digital Media , Media , Media Education , Media Literacy , media studies , Music Videos , New Media , pedagogy , Popular Culture

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How to Make a Video Essay (with 5 Inspiring Examples)

• Serra Ardem

In the world of digital media, video essays are a canvas where creativity meets critical thinking. From pre-production planning to post-production editing, these videos require a careful balance of visual elements, narrative structure, and technical skills to effectively communicate your ideas.

In this blog, we will:

• Explore different types of video essays
• Guide you on how to make a video essay step-by-step
• List 10 best practices for creating compelling video essays
• Share 5 great video essay examples for further inspiration

Let’s get started.

What is a video essay?

A video essay is essentially a written essay brought to life through the use of video footage, narration, music, and other multimedia elements. As a form of creative nonfiction, it blends the depth of written essays with the power of visual storytelling.

Best video essays are:

• Personal and reflective; often explore the author’s personal experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
• Multifaceted and creative; combine various forms of media to keep viewers engaged.
• Argumentative or analytical; present a thesis and support it with evidence, or break down and analyze a particular subject.
• Thought-provoking; aim to stimulate viewers’ critical thinking and intellectual curiosity.

Before we delve into the steps on how to make a video essay, let’s take a look at its different types:

How to Make a Video Essay Step-by-Step

Whether you’re exploring a personal story or making a strong argument about a current issue, video essays offer a powerful format for self-expression and analysis. Here is how to make a video essay in 3 stages:

Pre-production

• Choose your topic and define your thesis statement. Select a topic that interests you and that you understand well. Then develop a clear and concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or claim of your essay. For example, if you’re creating a personal college application video, your thesis might focus on how a specific experience shaped your worldview or contributed to your personal growth.
• Gather research materials. Conduct thorough research to gather information that supports your thesis. Make sure to organize your sources so you can reference them accurately during the production and editing phases.
• Develop an outline and craft a script. Break down your outline into introduction, body, and conclusion. List the main points you will cover in each section. This will ensure that your essay flows logically and smoothly. Then write a script that expands on your outline.
• Create a storyboard. You don’t have to be a professional artist; just sketch out a basic visual plan of how your video will unfold. Map out the key scenes, shots, and visual elements that correspond to your outline. Include captions and notes to describe each shot.
• Prepare your equipment and software. Gather the video equipment for your video production, such as camera, microphone, tripod, and lighting. If you’re going to use AI tools, familiarize yourself with the software and test it with sample footage to ensure it works as expected.

• Set up your equipment. Position your camera, lighting, and microphone according to your script. Make sure that the camera is stable, the microphone is properly set up for clear audio, and the lighting is adjusted to enhance visibility and create the desired mood.
• Record or generate your video. Follow your script and storyboard to shoot the necessary footage. Pay specific attention to framing, focus, and audio quality during recording.

If you’re using an AI video generator, provide the tool with your script, and select the desired style or aesthetic for your video. The AI will then process your input and generate the video essay. You may need to provide additional details or make adjustments during the generation process.

10 AI Video Generators for Beginners (with Best Practices)

Post-production.

• Edit your footage. Import it into your chosen video editing software. (Popular options include Adobe Premiere Pro , Final Cut Pro , and DaVinci Resolve .) Arrange clips according to your script and storyboard, trim unnecessary parts, and correct any visual or audio errors for a polished final look. In case of AI video generators, review the generated content carefully and utilize the tool’s editing features as you need.
• Incorporate music, sound effects, and text overlays. Make sure that auditory elements complement the mood and do not overshadow narration. Integrate text overlays to introduce sections, highlight key points, or provide additional context. All these elements must be seamlessly integrated and add value to your video essay.
• Add subtitles and a transcript . Subtitles will make your video essay accessible to a broader audience and facilitate comprehension for those who prefer or require visual text. Always check if captions are synchronized with the audio and accurately represent the spoken content. Meanwhile, generate a transcript of the video to provide a textual version of the content, which can also aid in SEO and accessibility.
• Do a final review and make necessary adjustments. Watch your video essay in its entirety to ensure that all elements are cohesive and effective. Consider seeking feedback from others to confirm that your video conveys your message clearly.
• Export and upload your video essay. Choose the appropriate format and resolution for your intended platform. When uploading your video, write a compelling title and add an eye-catching thumbnail to attract viewers. Include relevant keywords and tags to increase discoverability.

10 Best Practices for Making Video Essays

In addition to the instructions mentioned above, these 10 best practices on how to make a video essay can make your content even more impactful:

• Rehearse your script. Practice makes perfect, so rehearse your timing, intonation, and pacing to reduce the likelihood of errors and improve overall presentation.
• Have a strong opening and closing. Start the video essay with an intriguing introduction to grab your audience’s attention, and end with a strong conclusion to reinforce your main points and leave a lasting impression.
• Avoid rambling or going off on targets. Stay focused on your main points and do not include unnecessary elaboration or unrelated anecdotes, as every segment must contribute to your thesis.
• Incorporate data or statistics. Present them in a clear and understandable way, utilizing visuals like charts or graphs to make it more relatable for viewers.
• Use B-roll footage, graphics, and animations to enrich your main content. These elements can help you illustrate complex ideas, reinforce your arguments, and make your video essay more memorable.
• Provide high-quality audio. Minimize background noise during recording, and adjust audio levels and eliminate any distracting sounds during post-production.
• Prioritize accessibility. Include subtitles and closed captions to aid deaf and hard of hearing viewers while maintaining high contrast between text and background for better readability.
• Encourage audience interaction. Add calls-to-action (CTAs) for viewers to comment, like, share, or subscribe, and ask them to share their opinions and experiences related to the topic.
• Track and optimize. Regularly check view counts, watch times, and engagement rates to understand how well your content is performing and analyze the data to refine your approach.
• Experiment and have fun. Try different approaches, such as using various editing styles or narrative techniques, and stay open-minded along your creative journey.

Add AI Subtitles to Your Video Essay

This will not only improve the accessibility of your video essay but also boost its SEO performance and multiply your viewership.

5 Powerful Video Essay Examples

Featuring an example from each category, these 5 videos can inspire you with various approaches on how to make a video essay.

Personal Video Essay

This college application video is a great example of a personal video essay. With a clear structure, it demonstrates why the person is a good candidate and utilizes editing features smoothly. The effective use of graphics, background music, subtitles, and transitions all contribute to the success of the video.

Argumentative Video Essay

This argumentative video essay named “How Discounts Keep You Poor” shows the importance of well-done research for this kind of content. The main argument is supported by solid reasons and examples, which are highlighted with eye-catching text overlays. The call to action at the end of the video invites viewers to share their own thoughts on the subject and subscribe to the channel.

Analysis Video Essay

Titled “Why Do Movies Feel So Different Now?” , this analysis video essay focuses on how movies have evolved since modernism. Based on movements like postmodernism and metamodernism, the content is organized into chapters to create a logical flow. A professional voiceover accompanies high-quality footage from movies, all creating a final harmonious piece.

How to Add Chapters to Youtube Videos

Experimental video essay.

Going beyond traditional video game reviews, this experimental video essay explores gaming as a perfectionist . It adopts unique audiovisual techniques to blend in-depth analysis with unconventional storytelling. The clever use of humor and game footage also adds an experimental flair to the typical video essay format.

Hybrid Video Essay

This hybrid video essay titled “drowning in entertainment: the age of distraction” combines personal, argumentative, analysis, and even experimental formats to delve deep into how we interact with information today. It uses attention-grabbing B-roll footage, still images, and text overlays to enhance the narrative. The talking head sections further personalize the content, allowing the creator to build a direct and engaging connection with the audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is a video essay.

This can vary depending on the complexity of the topic, the target audience, and the platform on which the video essay is shared. Typically, video essays last from a few minutes to over an hour. It’s important to keep the length aligned with the content’s depth and engage the viewers without overwhelming them.

How do you get ideas for a video essay?

For personal video essays, consider experiences that have shaped your perspective or lifestyle. For argumentative and analytical video essays, pressing social issues or cultural trends are excellent sources of inspiration. Meanwhile, hypothetical scenarios (e.g., future possibilities) or artistic interpretations can fuel ideas for hybrid and experimental video essays.

What to wear for a video essay?

Students shooting an application video essay can opt for business casual attire.  YouTubers and content creators might choose outfits that align with their personal brand and content style. Business professionals can wear a collared shirt or blouse to convey a polished and professional look. Each outfit choice should reflect the context of the video and enhance the overall presentation.

How to make a video essay for YouTube?

You can follow the steps above to make a video essay for YouTube. For this specific platform, it is especially important to use relevant keywords and design an eye-catching thumbnail to draw viewers in. Take advantage of YouTube’s end screens or cards to promote related video essays.

How to make a video essay for class?

When making a video essay for your class, make sure you understand the topic, length, and any other guidelines correctly. Organize your thoughts in a logical sequence, plan the footage you’ll use to support your points, and rehearse your script beforehand. Ensure audio and visual quality while recording and editing the video, and don’t forget to have fun!

Featuring actionable tips, this blog covered the steps on how to make a video essay and listed 10 best practices for making this kind of content even more polished and memorable. It also shared 5 inspiring video essay examples in different types.

Here are our 3 golden rules for creating an impactful video essay:

• Define and stick to your thesis statement. This will be the core of your video essay and help you stay focused during the production phase.
• Have a strong beginning and end. Both should be carefully crafted to hook your audience from the start and provide a satisfying conclusion that ties everything together.
• Utilize various multimedia elements. Incorporate video footage, images, text overlays, and music to express complex ideas and maintain viewer interest.

Follow the tips in this blog to refine your video essay creation process, and feel free to experiment with different formats along the way.

About Serra Ardem

Serra Ardem is a freelance writer and editor based in Istanbul. For the last 8 years, she has been collaborating with brands and businesses to tell their unique story and develop their verbal identity.

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Essay on Music for Students and Children

500+ words essay on music.

Music is a vital part of different moments of human life. It spreads happiness and joy in a person’s life. Music is the soul of life and gives immense peace to us. In the words of William Shakespeare, “If music is the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” Thus, Music helps us in connecting with our souls or real self.

What is Music?

Music is a pleasant sound which is a combination of melodies and harmony and which soothes you. Music may also refer to the art of composing such pleasant sounds with the help of the various musical instruments. A person who knows music is a Musician.

The music consists of Sargam, Ragas, Taals, etc. Music is not only what is composed of men but also which exists in nature. Have you ever heard the sound of a waterfall or a flowing river ? Could you hear music there? Thus, everything in harmony has music. Here, I would like to quote a line by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest musicians, “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

Importance of Music:

Music has great qualities of healing a person emotionally and mentally. Music is a form of meditation. While composing or listening music ones tends to forget all his worries, sorrows and pains. But, in order to appreciate good music, we need to cultivate our musical taste. It can be cited that in the Dwapar Yug, the Gopis would get mesmerized with the music that flowed from Lord Krishna’s flute. They would surrender themselves to Him. Also, the research has proved that the plants which hear the Music grow at a faster rate in comparison to the others.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Magical Powers of Music:

It has the power to cure diseases such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc. The power of Music can be testified by the legends about Tansen of his bringing the rains by singing Raag Megh Malhar and lighting lamps by Raga Deepak. It also helps in improving the concentration and is thus of great help to the students.

Conclusion:

Music is the essence of life. Everything that has rhythm has music. Our breathing also has a rhythm. Thus, we can say that there is music in every human being or a living creature. Music has the ability to convey all sorts of emotions to people. Music is also a very powerful means to connect with God. We can conclude that Music is the purest form of worship of God and to connect with our soul.

FAQs on Essay on Music:

Q.1. Why is Music known as the Universal Language?

Ans.1. Music is known as the Universal language because it knows no boundaries. It flows freely beyond the barriers of language, religion, country, etc. Anybody can enjoy music irrespective of his age.

Q.2. What are the various styles of Music in India?

Ans.2. India is a country of diversities. Thus, it has numerous styles of music. Some of them are Classical, Pop, Ghazals, Bhajans, Carnatic, Folk, Khyal, Thumri, Qawwali, Bhangra, Drupad, Dadra, Dhamar, Bandish, Baithak Gana, Sufi, Indo Jazz, Odissi, Tarana, Sugama Sangeet, Bhavageet, etc.

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• Knowledge Base
• Citing sources
• How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago

How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago

Published on March 17, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

To cite a video from YouTube or another video sharing site, you need an in-text citation with a corresponding reference listing the uploader, the publication date, the video title, and the URL.

The format varies depending on the citation style you use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago style .

Use the interactive example generator below to explore the APA and MLA formats or use Scribbr’s Citation Generator .

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Table of contents

Citing a video in mla style, citing a video in apa style, citing a video in chicago style, where to find the information for a youtube citation, frequently asked questions about citations.

An MLA Works Cited entry for an online video begins with the name of the video’s author (the person who created it). The uploader is listed later, after the name of the site. The video title appears in quotation marks, the site name in italics.

In the in-text citation, list the author’s last name and the timestamp of the relevant part of the video.

Videos with the same author and uploader

When the person who created the video (the author) is the same person who uploaded it, MLA recommends starting the Works Cited entry with the title so as not to repeat the name in both the author and the uploader position.

This means that the in-text citation for a video like this begins with the title, shortened if it is a long title.

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In an APA Style reference entry for a video , the person or organization that uploaded the video is always listed in the author position, even if they didn’t create the video. The video title appears in italics, followed by “Video” in square brackets.

A timestamp may be used in the in-text citation to show the location of a particular quote .

Note that if the uploader’s real name is known and is different from the name of their channel, both should be included—the real name first, then the channel name in brackets.

To cite an online video in Chicago style , include a bibliography entry listing full details of the video, and a footnote where you cite it in the text.

The bibliography entry shows the video title in quotation marks, as well as specifying that the source is a video and stating its total length.

The footnote may list a timestamp if it’s necessary to highlight the location of a specific part of the video.

Chicago also offers an author-date citation style . An example of how to cite YouTube videos in this style can be found here .

All the key information needed to cite a YouTube video is displayed below the video itself on the site:

• The video title
• The uploader’s username
• The upload date
• The timestamp of the relevant part of the video
• The URL (it’s best to use the one given when you click on “Share”)

If the uploader’s name is not the same as their username, or if you need information about the video’s original creator, this information may be available in the description or in the video itself.

The image below shows where to find the relevant information below the video on YouTube; other video sites tend to follow a similar layout.

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The main elements included in a YouTube video citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the author/uploader, the title of the video, the publication date, and the URL.

The format in which this information appears is different for each style.

All styles also recommend using timestamps as a locator in the in-text citation or Chicago footnote .

In APA , MLA , and Chicago style citations for sources that don’t list a specific author (e.g. many websites ), you can usually list the organization responsible for the source as the author.

If the organization is the same as the website or publisher, you shouldn’t repeat it twice in your reference:

• In APA and Chicago, omit the website or publisher name later in the reference.
• In MLA, omit the author element at the start of the reference, and cite the source title instead.

If there’s no appropriate organization to list as author, you will usually have to begin the citation and reference entry with the title of the source instead.

When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)

In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.

For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved September 18, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-video/

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Jack Caulfield

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