PLANNING- Ultimate goal of a Music Video

The ultimate goal of a music video is to ensure viewers repeatedly watch the video. However it is difficult to maintain the viewers attention as many people watch TV passively since there are many other things you can do while watching TV. Such as doing homework, cooking, talking on the phone etc. Therefore music videos need to be interesting and worth watching in order to catch the viewer’s attention and encourage them to watch the whole thing. It is estimated that viewers stay on a channel for a maximum of 10 seconds before wanting to change the channel, this means it is important for music videos to interest the viewer and grab their attention as soon as they put on the music video.

Music videos are normally 3 to 5 minutes long; any song longer than this is usually compressed. Music videos are short for both psychological and economical reasons. The psychological reason being, because of the short attention span viewers have and the economical reason being, producers want to be able to play as many songs as possible in a short period of time and avoid any tune outs.

Music videos have developed the way they have because TV is practically a free method of entertainment. It is something that can be consumed in the home and since there are a number of things to do while watching TV, there is no real reason to pay attention.

Seeing as music videos are short there is no time to develop characters, instead we get a persona, as character’s and plot are weak to accommodate the song.

Within a music video, a narrative or an overall message is usually being told. Multiple clips being shot are edited together do this. The clips are too short and make little sense on their own, so the rest of them are needed in order for the message to be understood clearly.