This document provides a case study analysis of music videos by the artist NF. It analyzes 3 of his music videos to discuss the styles, techniques, and conventions used. The videos all have a dark, gloomy style to match the emotional themes of NF's songs about mental health, relationships, and family issues. Techniques like backwards editing and slow camera cuts help tell the story and draw the viewer in emotionally. Rap music video conventions like dim lighting and relatable, personal themes are discussed. There is strong intertextuality as the videos visually depict what is described in the lyrics. Critical analysis explores how NF's videos take a deeper, more realistic approach compared to videos only about money and fame.

1. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
CASE STUDY
C H ELSEA K IER A N S

2. MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
• We will look at Music Videos from a number of perspectives, this
template is for you to write up your notes and to complete your
case study.
• The document is split into 3 different tasks, each with separate
questions to answer.
• Task 1 is concerned with the purposes of music videos and the
strategies employed by labels and artists
• Task 2 is concerned with the styles, techniques and conventions of
music video production
• Task 3 is your own case study into a minimum of three music
videos where you can unpack and discuss the videos considering
everything you have looked at in Task 1 and 2

3. NOTES ON COMPLETING THE
CASE STUDY
• It is often easier to show something you are discussing than to
take time describing it. With this in mind, feel free to add lots of
illustrative images from your chosen video examples. Links to
YouTube/Vevo/etc are also encouraged.
• Remember, when you make a point or define something, you
should follow this with an example, an explanation of this and
then link to further texts/videos where possible.
• If you don’t think there is enough room to add your full response
to a question, don’t just reset the font size to really small, add an
extra slide wherever necessary.

4. TASK 1 -
PURPOSES

5. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short
explanation for each:
• Entertainment – To entertain the audience as no one will watch
it if it is boring. This will also make people come back, and view
more videos.
• Branding/Identity – So people relate you as an artist to a certain
style of video, or pattern in the video. So if a video is made for a
younger demographic, the audience will relate the artist to
bubblegum pop type videos. This is branding.
• Sales – To make money, more views make more money.

6. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q2 –
• Some of these bands/ Artists do not have the time/ availibity to
play music live. If they play ‘live’ during a music video, then it
will make some people feel like they are there and then will not
have to go to a concert, if they cant due to work or dates maybe
not being in the country that they are in.
• Artists may want to put forth a political view or social message
that they feel strongly about, to put their point across they may
put a hard hitting video out. If an artist is signed then they are
more likely to get more views than someone who might be
relatively unknown, so the signed artist will get their point across
more, and more people will probably talk about it.
• A lot of artists like to ‘feature’ other artists, particularly from their
label within songs and videos, as you bring two lots of fans
together and you get double the views, which means more
sales, more profit and promotion on each side to the others
viewers.

7. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q3 – Describe what is ‘synergy’ is and how it has been used in
music videos [min. 3 examples of synergy and convergance]

8. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q4 –
• I have chosen NF, he is a singer/rapper.
He sings quite sad/angry songs about
his family and love interests. His videos
show this, as he seems to always be
quite angry or upset in all videos. He
carries around some black balloons in a
lot of his new videos, his is a
reoccurring theme that represents his
struggle with his mental health, the
black balloons representing his
depression and anxiety. He promotes
this, as he knows people are going
through the same struggles with mental
health and with the things that have
caused his issues such as his mum
overdosing. He is trying to help other
people that also struggle. This is his
brand. In all his videos he is singing to
the camera at some point, and it feels
as if he is singing to the people at
home, and reaching out to his audience
that also may be struggling with
themselves.
All of his videos seem quite dark and
sad, as he’s trying to put a message
across that this is what it feels like inside
of his head.

9. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q5 –One Directions videos are
really quite easy to follow and
simple. It has their faces in it, close
up shots and also isn't abstract or
really tells a story, they just seem to
be having fun They are selling the
artists on their good looks and trying
to appeal to a younger audience,
which need to understand what they
are watching, this is why they are so
easy to go along.
• Animal collectives videos aren't as
easy to follow and are quite
abstract. They don’t show their
faces at all really, its more about the
music than the video. They don’t
really care about selling the faces
as much as one direction because
they want to appeal to everyone,
but more specifically older people.
These are more confusing videos in
a more colourful, fun and creative
way than the one directions videos

10. TASK 2 – STYLES,
TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS

11. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q1 –
• In NF’s videos they are quite dark and depressing, relating to
what he is singing as he talks about mental health and the
things that have caused his mental health to be so bad. The
cutting he uses in his videos is quite fast paced, and on beat,
this makes the video flow better and shows how fast he really Is
when rapping.

12. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing in music videos,
i.e. the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this
• Close ups are normally used to show emotion on someone’s
face, with this video, the emotion in particular that is being
portrayed through this close up is anger. He has a straight facial
expression, he is not smiling, his eyes are dark, and it again,
relates to the song and words he is singing as well. When the
viewers can see emotion on the artists face they know what to
think and how to feel as the song is played.

13. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q3 –
• In one of NF’s music videos, when the beat hits, there is the
illusion that the camera has been hit as it shakes. This makes it
noticeable and brings your attention to the music. From 0.42
seconds, until 0.44 seconds, the camera pans around him to
give it a bit of depth, and when the close up shot is filmed, the
beat hits and the camera shakes.

14. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q4 –In rap music videos, they are usually
quite dark, especially if the song is about
‘dark’ things, also rappers almost always sing
to the camera at some point, and like to have
a few close ups in their videos usually on
themselves, as they want to being the
attention back to them and what they are
singing rather than the video and what’s
going on. NF’s videos fit within the usual
‘conventions’ as they are all dark and you
normally keep your eyes on him at all times
because they are so dark and depressing. He
also sings towards the camera to grab
attention too, he gestures towards the
camera a lot as well, which is another thing
that a lot of rappers do, especially when they
are very passionate about what they are
rapping about.

15. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS
• Q5 –
• Interextuality is the relationship
between the music video and the
song. So some songs have no
relation to the music video at all,
but others are literally what the
words are. It really depends on the
artist and genre.
• The music video for Time by NF, is
clever as it goes forwards, like a
normal video in the first 10-ish
seconds, then it plays backwards,
showing what happened in this
relationship and why it seems like it
is falling apart, it shows their ups
and downs ,all the way until they
met. This is clever as the song is
about the breakdown of a
relationship, and it relates really

16. TASK 3 – CASE
STUDY

17. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• For your individual case study you must study an artist or genre
of music, focusing on a minimum of 3 videos [ideally 5+ videos]
• This should provide discussion on the usage of the following:
– Style[s] & Techniques employed
– Intertextuality
– Camerawork/editing
– Genre conventions
– Critical approaches [you should be applying some of the critical
approaches from your lessons and some of your own, to your
selected videos]

18. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• You should include a video link for the video
• You can include as many illustrative stills as you like
• Be creative in your approach, it is suggested you use the
heading on the previous slide a guide on how to structure your
response to get you started
• Remember, make a point, use a specific part of the chosen
video as an example, explain yourself and then link to another
video where possible
• Compare and contrast your artist/genre to other artists/genres
• Remember to consider differing contexts

19. CASE STUDY• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1ZVSFfCk9g
• Style/ Techniques:
The style of all of his videos are all quite dark, there is never a bright blue sky, or anything that may portray any kind of happiness. This is because
the themes of his songs are quite dark and emotional, and he likes to reflect this in his music videos. The techniques he used in this video was that
the video was kind of backwards, to show what had happened and how it got that bad that she is leaving him at the start of the video, it shows what
they went through and how happy they were at first. There is minimal cutting, and it pans a lot to different times in their lives, to show that they were
carrying on almost. When it cuts, I believe that’s when they’ve ended the relationship, or started it.
• Camerawork/ Editing:
The whole video apart from a few seconds at the start, is backwards. They have done this to show how the couple grew together, then apart, as the
song is about how hard relationships can be. It goes from them fighting and splitting up, and shows what happened for them to get that far, but
backwards. When something is reversed it needs to look fast otherwise it would be boring, and no one would want to watch it. The editing is fast,
but the cuts are not. The shots are ordered, and it is edited in a way that it tells a story as the song is being played, it is not a montage of random
things, it is carefully thought about and planed, and really quite clever.
• Genre Conventions:
In rap videos, they are normally quite dark and dimly lit, this is because they either use natural light or a very dim light. This is because it looks
realistic, especially in this video, as he is showing that everyone goes through what his being depicted. Everyone is susceptible to love and
heartbreak, and everyone has relationships, and everyone has issues and fights. This is what this video is trying to say, that its normal to argue and
having troubles, as long as you are mature enough to sort it out, and get through it. Also, it shows that people get their hearts broken but they will
be okay in the end, because the end of the relationship is not the be all and end all of your life.
• Critical Approaches:
The genre characteristics far rap is the darkness of the videos, they’re always either shot with natural light or with light that’s quite dim, this is to
keep the attention on the music and the words that are being said. Rappers normally rap about things that they have been through such as love,
remorse, sadness, and addiction. NF comes into this because he is talking about heartbreak and how it is normal to feel bad about yourself after a
break up but in the end everything will be okay, no matter the outcome of the relationship you're in. there is a relationship between the lyrics and
visuals as the music is talking about how even if the relationship is going through some trouble, he still loves her and that everything will still be
alright with them because he's trying to change to be a better person for his partner. This music is relevant to the visuals, as it tells the story that
the song is telling as well. The song is talking about how relationships are hard, but its worth it when you get through it, and that everything will be
okay in the end, no matter the outcome. In a lot of rap videos the video is unrelated to the song, and its mainly men with a lot of lady friends and
expensive cars etc. This song and video is a little deeper, and the way he has chosen to make his video was very smart and admirable, compared
to those who chose to use expensive things that don’t really relate to the song.
Time By NF

20. CASE STUDY• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOzQMCyPc8o
• Style/Techniques
This video has a dark theme, again, just like his other videos as it is about his mum overdosing and dying. It is also how he doesn't understand why she chose
drugs and an addiction over her own children. The dark and emotional themes are present within all of his videos but especially this one as its themes are the
darkest that he has explored within his songs and videos. It shows that they all loved each other yet something as simple as addiction ruined their family and
took her out of the family. The techniques used in this video are one of which pull on the users emotions and make them feel the what the song is singing
about.
• Intertextuality
None of NF’s videos have any intertextuality in them as he likes to take ideas that he has come up with himself, and make sure the videos are heavily related
to the song and feelings he is trying to portray.
• Camerawork/ Editing
There are a few cuts to his crying alone in a room, zoomed right up to his eyes nose and mouth. This is to show how alone he felt in the situation he was going
through and also to portray the strong emotions and feelings he wants to put across. You could say that the fact that he has posed crying in a music video is
quite brave as men are expected not to feel emotions as strongly as women do (a silly stereotype in my opinion) but it could be said that the feelings were very
strong as a man is crying about it. The cuts in this video are quite slow, like the song, even though there is fast rapping in it. It’s a slow paced video so this
means the editing is very much putting slow-motion on the actors, as these are the only bits that are slow motion. It is slow motion so that you get the whole
story through 5 minutes of storytelling.
• Genre Conventions
Rap videos are normally quite hard hitting a lot are about the effects of drugs. Some are about sadness and depression, maybe having everything they could of
ever wanted and still not being happy. Others are about having big dreams, and what they would or have done to get there. In conventional rap videos there
normally is dark lighting, and actors trying to do the artists vision justice. This video comes under these conventions as this is about his family life, drugs, and is
very personal. He is talking about his mum and how she died, and this is very hard hitting stuff. The lighting is dark and gloomy almost to represent the feeling
of reality and how this happens to normal people everyday, and it is reminding these people who are going through loosing anyone that he understands them
and they are not alone.
• Critical Approaches
The typical rap videos have very dark lighting, within this specific video they make sure to make it dark to portray a realistic side to the themes within this video.
If the lights are just what you would expect natural light to look like then already it is realistic and relatable compared to videos that may have red lighting to
them. A typical rap video may not deal with the risky and sad themes that NF deals with, but the concept is the same. There is a relationship between the lyrics
and the visuals as the song talks about how his mum overdosed and had her life taken over by pills instead of being a normal mum to her children. This song
shows what he saw as a child and that he didn’t understand many things that did happen, including her death. For example, he says, ‘I’m in a room with a
parent I don’t barely know, Some lady in the corner watching us while she taking notes’. He clearly doesn’t understand why there is someone watching him and
why hes even in this room with his mum, as he barely knows her anymore. The relationship between the music and the visuals is there as the cutting is slow,
as is most of the shots that are taken. This is to go with the slow music because even though it is a rap song, with fast paced words, the music itself has a lot of
slow violins in it to how the sadness of the situation. NF’s visual style is very much telling a story within the music videos that he makes, and focusing more on
How Could You Leave Us

21. CASE STUDY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbHbTBP_u7U
• Style/Techniques
Reoccurring theme in all of his videos is the dark and natural lighting. He likes to keep the video and themes relatable and does this
through lighting and the themes of his songs. He doesn’t rap about money and girls, he raps about his issues as a human and how
he got through them, and how he struggles sometimes. He also likes to film slowly, and cut to the beat of the song, this makes the
video fit better with the music and look more pleasing to the eye.
• Camerawork/ Editing
There is only close ups on the man that is supposed to be him when he is older. This is to show he is disappointed in himself as he
feels like he has let himself down with the way he thinks etc. The pace of the cutting and editing is quite slow and on beat with the
music to fit better and look good. The slow pace and slow motion bits of this is a reoccurring theme in all of his videos, to tell a
story.
• Genre Conventions
Rap videos are normally quite dark, this one in particular is about his mental health and how it has declined. It is about depression,
and how he is feeling so disappointed in himself that he feels like he’s letting people down. In conventional rap videos there
normally is dark lighting, to maybe show the dark themes that the rapper is talking about, like in this situation. This video comes
under these conventions as this is about his mental health and how he knows he’s making the wrong decisions and people may not
be happy about the decisions he is making and don’t understand why he’s making them so he’s apologizing in a song about it. The
lighting is dark and gloomy almost to represent the feeling of reality and how this happens to normal people everyday, and it is
reminding these people who are going through feeling like this that they are not alone and they can get help and everything will be
okay.
• Critical Approaches
The video is dark and sad, this is very much within the genre characteristics as dark lighting and rapping about real situations that
people go through is something that a lot of rappers do, normally not as deep and meaningful as NF and the songs he writes but
still rather dark. There is a link between the visuals and lyrics as he is singing to someone who is supposed to be an older him, as
he feels like he has let himself down more than anyone else, the older him watches a younger him drown, and this is him thinking to
himself that he should of helped himself when he had the chance not when it is too late and the situation is over and done with. The
close ups are mostly on the old man and on his facial expressions as all these different things are happening to a younger him. The
point of this is to show that he could’ve stopped them but he was too late and couldn’t do it.
Let You Down