What is a music video - Miss Miller

Mirror - Justin Timberlake

What is the purpose of the music video?

The purpose of the music video is to show many different elements of a persons life and the to also represent the lyrics within the song and the artist himself. Mirrors is a very popular music video as it shows an in-depth meaning to the lyrics and explains to the audience what the lyrics actually mean. It allows the audience to create a relationship with the artist and this will therefore be beneficial for both the artist and the audience, and this will help globalise the music video and the song whilst letting the audience experience escapism. The purpose of a music video is to help the artist show his compassionate side and in this particular video 'Mirrors' show the lifestyle of a couple and the events they participate in throughout their lives together. This shows the music video as being relatable for the audience as they can then therefore relate their own lives to the narrative behind the lyrics. Again, this will let the audience understand and pay more attention to the lyrics if they have a guideline. This is shown through the use of

What is the style of the music video?

The style of this particular music video shows both performance and narrative. The performance side can be seen through Justin Timberlake himself and this element is particularly used so that the artist can be seen as if he is part of the narrative within the music video. You can particularly see Justin Timberlake’s performance within the video through the use of cinematography/camera angles. In particular constant use of mid shots is used to show Justin’s performance whilst looking into the mirrors. This I believe is to emphasise the lyrics within the song as though he is reminiscing on the past or trying to tell the story of somebody he knows and has possibly lost in his life. This could be because he wants to reflect on all the good memories, and the mid shots show him singing into a mirror connoting that he may think that the narrative could be him when he is older and with his wife.

Artists use performance in their music video to connect with the audience and in ‘Mirrors’ it can be used to create globalisation so that the audience can relate to Justin and become more captivated by the artist himself, and focus on him and also the lyrics of his song. By having a performance within the music video, the artist (Justin) is able to create a reputation and image of himself to his globalised audience. In Justin Timberlake’s music video he portrays himself as sophisticated and wealthy. This is shown through the use of mis-en-scene (costumes) as he is well dressed in a fitted suit and a bow tie. By having this image and also the costume he is wearing the performance is more relative to the lyrics of the song which comes in with Goodwin’s theory of the performance relates to the lyrics of the song. The performance shows his sophisticated ways and also shows the sophistication of his song, and this is why he uses performance within his music video.

Another style he uses within his music video is narrative. Narrative is also used in music videos so that the audience can get to grips and get a more in-depth understanding of the lyrics. In this music video, they use a narrative of an old woman reminiscing on her past with her husband who has passed away. We can see this as ‘Mirrors’ represents what the woman wants to see, and this could be a hidden message within the song and mirrors can be seen as what people want to see and not what they can see. The use of narrative is seen through the use of editing, with quick shots. This can be seen when they old lady and her husband had just met and the quick shots connote that by having the editing being faster, shows how quick they’re life together had been and that being young felt so far away and so quick, that she feels like she needs to see it just that last time to remember her husband and the good times. The quick shots could also represent that time goes so quickly and that you must cherish every moment with your loved one and not take it for granted.

The narrative also lets the audience connect with the artist further, as they are able to see what they lyrics are about and this helps the audience have a connection with the artist as they can experience escapism and forget about their problems and focus on the narrative of the music video and the lyrics of the song. This will help the artist in making more profits as the narrative is relatable and more people will want to hear it, and also people around the world can talk about it and start a trend with other people making the song more well-known as it is more accessible to other countries.

What are the codes and conventions of a music video in particular the pop one of mirrors by Justin Timberlake? Conventions of the music genre in particular and how are they involved, adapted or challenged?

Pop – performance, nice clothes, close ups, quick shots, narrative, catchy song,

There are many codes and conventions of a music video, and especially in the music genre. Mirrors genre is pop and this music video involves many of the conventions whilst also challenging them too. One convention of a pop music video is dancing and a party of some sort. This is challenged in this music video as we see the dancing through the young teenagers having a good time, but this challenge’s the convention of a pop video as they are dancing quite vigorously despite the music being very slow. This is to show that despite the old people, the memories are slow and she wants to experience them all over again, and the dancing quickly makes the music stand out more and you focus again on the lyrics. The convention shows the opposing the stereotypes of a pop video, to possibly challenge the music industry as a whole.

Another convention of pop music video is fancy/striking clothing. This can be seen through the use of mis-en-scene (costumes) when Justin Timberlake is in a tight fitting suite with very well slicked back hair. This shows that the connotation of striking clothing is introduced into the Pop genre of the music video as this could be a way of showing the artists personal image and persona in which he wants his target audience to see him as. This could create a relationship with the audience as the audience may see an item of clothing on the artist in which they want to wear also, and this could create and possibly start a trend due to advertisement of clothes. The clothes create the image that the artist wants them to see, and this can lead to the music being more popular due to costumes worn, as the better the costume the more the likely the music video will be successful due to a better image of the artist and the more the target audience like it.

Discuss how and why the music video appeals to a particular audience/target audience . Micro elements

This music video is very appealing to any target audience as they are able to relate their own personal lives to the lyrics and also the video. But I believe the target audience is aimed mainly for the younger generation, for teenagers and adolescence (ages 16-25) as I believe that this song could be very relatable for the audience as the music video shows a young couples relationship blossoming into many years of marriage together. I think that it would appeal to this target audience as it has a famous musical artist that has been around for many years, and also most importantly as relationship that is forming and blossoming into old age. This would particularly appeal to them as they are able to witness they young relationship in all its glory, which is shown through the uses of mis-en-scene body language and eye contact as they start dancing and gazing into each other’s eyes. The target audience would feel warmth and empathy as the music video continues as you start to grow attached to the narrative and realise that the man, once older, becomes old and frail and dies.

Another thing that would appeal to the target audience is the