Music Video Analysis

David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
Directed by Floria Sigismondi

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

The visuals depict younger versions of both David and Tilda earlier on in their careers. this is linked to the lyrics as they are about "stars" (in reference to celebrities) and being haunted by the past as well as the media's fascination with celebrities. ultimately, the video helps to communicate the lyrics even more because they are closely related.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?

the genre of music fits the type of video because they are both alternative and are a medium for conveying messages. the takes within the video also fit into the rhythm of the song.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

there is only one close of David and its purpose is mainly to show his reaction to the celebrities. there is a kind of colour motif that focuses on soft colours which contrasts with the colours of the celebrities clothes - they often wear black. 
David's image is presented as being more mature due to his relatively "normal" looking clothing, but still clever and creative due to his insight into the media and its corruption.
this video is very different to his previous work such as Life On Mars

but this may be because of developments in technology as well as Bowie's style.


Is there reference to the notion of looking?

Bowie himself is not sexually represented. this is probably due to the fact that men are not often over sexualised in music videos and films because the majority of film makers and directors are men themselves. although the director of The Stars is actually a woman, David is still not presented in a sexual way. however,towards the end of the video the women start being presented in a sexual way. 

interestingly, the video for Marina and the Diamonds - How To Be a Heartbreaker has been deemed "controversial" due to the sexualisation of men rather than women.marina chose to make the video this way in response to the over sexualisation of women and to shock the audience as they would not expect to see men presented in this way, whereas seeing a woman presented like this is perfectly normal.

the "notion of looking" is also presented by the television showing Tilda and David at home and the Stars acting as paparazzi and staring/photographing them in the supermarket 

Are there inter-textual references?

There are references to Bowies' earlier career throughout the video.




Iselin Seiro plays a younger Bowie and clearly represents him.this is possibly used to highlight the message in the video as David is being haunted by his younger self and stardom. there don't appear to be references to separate texts.


Is the music video performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based?

I would say that the video is narrative based because the video fits into the song, connects with the lyrics and tells a story like a narrative video.

Conventions of Music Videos

Functions of a music video

What job does a music video do?

a music video adds a visual element to an artist's music. this is useful for the artist because they can convey extra meaning to their songs, add a connection between themselves and their audience and build an image for themselves. a video can also add a lot of hype for the song and artist as good videos can go viral.

Music TV & Sales

MTV was the world's first music tv station (that's what is stands for). tv is actually still a really big platform for music videos because it is accessible for everyone.
additionally, 5 billion songs have been bought from itunes since its creation in 2003. the massive developments in technology mean that people can now buy music in the easiest way possible, although this generally does not include music videos. however, music videos can still be bought on itunes.
artists can also make money from their music videos if they are on youtube as youtube partners receive money per certain amount of views their video gets, and (big budget) music videos tend to get millions of views.

Technological development

New technology means that people can buy stuff all the time, thus meaning that they can contribute towards the artists earning money wherever they are buy watching and buying videos and songs. this means that artists can probably make more money from videos now than they could 10 years ago because mtv was only available on cable channels that only fairly rich people had access to. therefore, due to the easy access of music videos and songs, artists tend to find the whole thing more profitable.

History of the music video

Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues (1929) is credited as being possible the first music video.

The film featured a dramatised version of the song and was shown in theatres after its release.

Bob Dylan in 1965 filmed a video for Subterranean Homesick Blues, featuring him holding cards displaying the lyrics in one take.this video is credited as being the first modern music video.

in the 1970s, promo films (music videos) were used to replace live performances so that they could be shown on tv and the artist could appear in two places at once, giving them more opportunities to make money. in 1975, Queen marked the beginning of the modern music era with Bohemian Rhapsody which used editing and effects.