Music video clips. Collaborative filmmaking and digital circulation as a research method in Ethnomusicology

This presentation will discuss a collaborative approach to making music video clips. The relevance of such a participatory approach lies in the nature of the medium, since the production of video clips is a key aspect of contemporary music making, as well as a creative audiovisual communicative process. Through engaging with musicians in the production of a video clip, the fieldwork becomes a mutually beneficial project. The researcher gains a deep insight into the circuit of music production, from recording to promotional strategies, and their involvement is necessary for the video product to be successful. Furthermore, the digital circulation of music creates a new dimension in the production of music tastes and trends. It also becomes a powerful channel for the construction of cultural identities, especially in diasporic contexts, as illustrated by Jesse W. Shipley's study (2013) on Ghana's Azonto dance craze and Eric Charry's collected volume (2012) on the spread of hip hop through Africa. By allowing the musicians to be protagonists of the process, filmmaking becomes an exploration into their networks, memories and life experiences, enhancing the level of intimacy with the subjects of fieldwork. The construction of the clip, through location and frame selections, cinematic style, and editing choices, expresses the inner dialogue that accompanies the conception of music by its authors, and its social circulation. The non-narrative structure of video clips – as stated by Peter Wollen (1986) – evokes atmospheres and emotions rather than discourses, in other words, the aesthetics of the musicians.