Music Video Questions

1) Do music videos allow for meaning to be fixed?

I believe that most music videos do allow for meaning to be fixed. The reason I think this is because if you listen to a song without the video following it, people may interpret the meaning of the songs lyrics differently to how other people may interpret it. However, if everyone listens to the song along with the music video then everyone will be able to realise the true meaning behind the song. In the rare case that people still get different interpretations of the song even with the music video, the narrative may be disjunctive so therefore the true meaning may not be clear.

2) How far is a brand responsible for their 'brand'/their artistic identity?

I think that a brand is half responsible for the way they portray their artists as they represent them in ways which will appeal to a certain audience. A clear example of this is Lady Gaga. Before she joined her record company, she was an innocent, gentle and natural looking female, however, once her record company made her famous and shaped her image, she transformed into a wild, extravagant and over the top person.

However, more independent artists can shape their own image in the way they want to be portrayed, an example being Rihanna, whos image has not changed dramatically since becoming famous. She still has a innocent but attractive look about her.

3) What effect does knowing visual images are 'polysemic' have?

The word polysemic is defined as something that can express two or more meanings. The fact that we know visual images are polysemic means that people can make their own interpretations of these images or can in fact confuse the audience, so it makes them think hard about the true meaning of the images. The effect polysemic images have may be that audiences watch the video more than once as they get a different meaning each time. The video may also be spoken between people as different audiences are getting their own interpretations of the video, which helps to sell the artist and the image they are portraying.

4) What role does Album Art have in contributing to the star's identity?

Apart from live performance, media coverage, the songs and music videos, the record covers play a very important role in selling the albums as well as the image of the star that they are presenting. Advertisement of the album would be shown on TV adverts, magasines, in store and billboards, for example, so will have a major impact and influence on contributing to the star's identity. Therefore, an attention seeking, individualistic and memorable album cover is essential to draw peoples attention to the stars album. If people remember the front cover of an album, it is more likely to be spoken about, thus spreading the name of the artist around. One of my most memorable album covers is one by Pink Floyd called 'Wish You Were Here':

I find this an extremely clever album art because it is very memorable but bizzare. The name of the album 'Wish You Were Here' also contradicts the picture on the front of the album, as a male is shaking another males hand who is on fire.














5) How far does Album Art provide a frame of reference for interpretation?

I personally believe that Album Art provides a full frame of reference for interpretation as not all album covers represent what the album will be about, leaving it to the audience to interpret what the album will be about. For example, 'Build a rocket boys' by Elbow, the name of the album has nothing to do with the front cover of the album.

Music Videos are not fictional in the sense that real world stars or bands, and the outcomes for them are inextricably linked. Therefore, if a star plays one role, it will have a direct relation or effect on their overall persona.