What Makes a Great Music Video? (Your Preference)

[No Seas Cortes]

I love when artists play characters in music videos and they do a whole choreography that is somehow linked to that character, that place etc. Britney does it a lot, that's why I think her music videos are so iconic and memorable. 

In my opinion it's so fun to peak a location, for example kitchen, library, club, plane etc. and create a character, for example student, ********, cook, lawyer, judge, superhero etc. that is good for that location + create an outfit and choreography that works well with a song and all of that. But still I feel that you have to have charisma and look good in it to make it enjoyable. 

[Neydelinska Spearsi]

I hate MVS these days. They feel plain. Just twerking, extremely disgusting dancing that should be for OF and not for YT, throwing money and flexing. Just damn stupid, plain and it all looks the same

 

I loved early 00s - simple yet adorable, comfortable outfits and ****loads of breathtaking choreo (think of crazy, sometimes choreos)

I loved 04-07 era- choreos, beautiful outfits (Nelly Furtado, Gwen Stefani)

08-12s - the rise of katy and gaga and lots of rihanna content. Their MVs had storylines, they were vibrant and catchy.  If you considered yourself edgy you had avril and evanescence who made a comeback that year, linkin park...

 

Now... I don't remember the last MV I liked honestly. They all look the same and boring...And def.for OF and not for YT

 

Examples:

 

then:

 

 

now

 

 

 

Then

 

 

Now

 

Then

 

 

Now

 

 

 

Apologies to younger members who love new music! This is just my opinion.

[Urbanney]

I think I most like creativity, pleasing visuals that actually match the vibe of the song, and seriousness in music videos. It’s the unique visuals that make them memorable for me. I absolutely HATE music videos that are supposed to be camp/funny/childish like Katy Perry’s videos. 

This is just pure visual creativity and art, and it fits the vibe of the song beautifully (warning - ****): 

This video is rather simple, but it’s unique, it fits the vibe of the song, and it just entrances me watching it. I really enjoy it:

People love to **** on Gimme More’s video but I LOVE it so much and it’s literally just Britney dancing on a pole with some mood lighting. But that’s what’s so great - it fits the vibe of the song perfectly, her energy/attitude is captivating, and it’s so visually appealing.

And this might be very explicit (very ****), but this whole video is just pure eye candy for me. The colors, the attitude, the angles, the vibe:

A video that’s very simple, but creative and haunting. How can you watch this video, and not have it stay in your mind for a while?

I generally also don’t like videos with storylines or that basically just act out the story of their songs. Like if it’s a song about a  breakup, and then the video is a breakup, I’m like “this is boring.” It feels like the artist is lacking in creativity and is uninspired. A video that makes no sense but with creative visuals is preferred for me than one that’s way too direct and story-driven. 

Billie’s Lost Cause video is SUCH a serve for me because it’s literally just her being a bad ***** and having fun with her friends while being visually distinct (the beige colors, fisheye lenses, closeups) and very well edited to match the beat of the song. 

I generally don’t like Britney’s “3” video because I find her dancing on a white background and the lack of colors boring, but the editing of the bridge and last chorus is SO good. 

[Princess Britney 007]

I have no idea. Either it gets you or not. But a cool costume/dress is a must.

[Adriannn]

Choreography, costumes, and a story line are always great. However, it is the attention to detail that art direction provides what really does it for me. Here are a few examples:

Mila's eyes color variation in Aerosmith's 'Jaded'

The bald cat in Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance'

The animals effects in Outkast's 'Ms. Jackson'

All easter eggs in Taylor Swift's 'Look What you Made me Do'

The glossy features in Britney's 'Toxic', and so very many others.

 

[bitbitboi]

THE EDITING.

Please y'all, acknowledge the importance of editing in music videos already. Videos from the late 90s and early 00s were great at that. Images should flow with the music, have a certain rhythm. It should be structured, tell a visual story even if there isn't a series of events.

And dancing. I'm sorry but to me a popstar should dance or have some kind of choreography even if it's a freaking ballad.

[PokemonSpears]

It's a mixture of things, and videos can be great for various reasons.

For me, it's mostly about the visual aspect. Of course the artist has to look great, but also the colors of the video have to match the song. They have to have something that sticks in your mind, that if you see just a screencap of that video on a random google search, you immediately recognize what video it comes from. If you see a still that could very well be the video of any random artist, or maybe a commercial, perhaps a movie?, then that's not a great video imo, because it didn't achieve its purpose of putting an image to a song.

Storyline isn't always important, again, different approaches can lead to great videos, you can have a story like in Toxic, or something more abstract like Work *****, and both are great. But they do have to have a certain pace. They need a climax scene or shot before the end. The editing needs to fit the song too, like the vocals and the instrumentals need to match the movements of what you see onscreen, whether is the person moving, or the change of one scene to another, as if these visual variations were the ones producing the sound.

But I don't know, there's always a je ne sais quoi that tells you when something is good, even if it's out of what you would usually think of good.

 

An example of what I don't like for example, is Katy Perry. I don't know if the ideas come from her directors or from her, but there's always that touch of cheap humor, that precisely cheapens her videos (i.e. Dark Horse). It turns them into a joke, and not in a positive way.

In the 2000's many videos, especially things like the Offspring or Blink 182, had that touch of comedy, without going overboard or being obnoxious, but Katy's jokes are just never funny. Probably Last Friday Night is the one that did it better, yet still has some bits that I'd remove.

 

[itswwasheembitch]

Many things but not just posing and twerking (Ari, Nicki as much as I love you you can do the job)

Look at Britney's Slumber party: the location, the choreo, the mood 

Little Mix are pretty good for giving us good MV: look at Holiday, Sweet Melody, Confetti, Kiss My or Love Sweet Love: there is a location, a choreo, a concept

But the new Generation didn't know how to work ...

[bitbitboi]

7 hours ago, itswwasheem***** said:

Little Mix are pretty good for giving us good MV: look at Holiday

I love that video, why do fans hate it so much??

[Crabo Lavender Turmeric]

There are probably 100s of different way to make a video for a song;

I guess it is a mixture of inspiration, thought, execution and (on rare occasions) budget.

For example, the Somday video:

The simplicity works perfectly here; I highly doubt she wanted actors, children's rooms, toys, diapers, hospitals and all sorts of props to represent this very special time in her life ;

 

 

[Helenmirren]

I like when the outfit/look is memorable enough to become a Halloween costume. Imo, that’s when you know it’s iconic. (Britney with oops, slave / Miley with wrecking ball / Gaga poker face etc)

 

I think that’s what ultimately makes an artist iconic

[myonlywish]

If I had to pick one thing that makes a music video great, it would definitely be the dancing. I agree with bitbitboi, even if it's a ballad, there's got to be dancing. I think this is mostly why a lot of people have been referring to K-Pop at the moment: they music videos feel like a continuation of 2000s. For example, while simple, BoA has incredible dance skills for her song "Only One:"
 

The fact that the record label can release a dance version of the music video can be more impressive than the actual music video itself.

Although storyline can be vital to a music video, it's not always necessary. One of my favourite videos is another simple video, which celebrates all types of dances. Fantastic Plastic Machine's "Take Me To The Disco" connected their song to suit the different styles of dance, and it works really well!

As long as it makes sense, I think that's what makes a music video great.

I could go on with this topic, but I believe that the dancing adds an element to the song that makes it not just fun, but also memorable