Matching Sound to Visuals vs. Matching Lyrics to Visuals

When you initially listen to a piece of music, you don't necessarily notice the lyrics first: you first notice the sound of the song. When creating a music video for a song, it is important to make sure your visuals match the sound of the song, because if it doesn't match, it can be very confusing for the audience. For example, if you have people in a club dancing for the video of a heavy rock song, it won't match and therefore the audience will not be able to connect with the music video. However it could also be considered equally important to match the lyrics to the visuals, something which is occasionally overlooked when creating a music video. If there is very poignant lyrics in a song, it would make sense to somehow include this in the music video, as it would probably be something that the audience would also think when hearing the lyrics, therefore making the music video more enjoyable for them.  Some of the most memorable music videos are those that manage to balance both of these factors, or choose to incorporate the right one for the song they are creating a music video for.

Cocoon - Catfish and the Bottlemen

An example of when lyrics have been matched with the visuals is in the music video for 'Cocoon' by Catfish and the Bottlemen. The video is completely narrative, and the song itself revolves around the idea of a boy and a girl being unable to be together, which is perfectly represented in the music video. In the music video, which is set in a mental institution, a young male and female are prized apart by the workers in the house, and therefore are unable to be together, as they are 'cocooned' like the title insinuates. One of the lyrics says 'I cocoon/ Round your shoulders/ When you’re half cut/ And you’re frozen', which is clearly depicted due to the fact the young female doesn't talk, and is 'frozen' in her chair looking out the window, perhaps a side effect of the medication she is being given.

King - Years & Years

On the other hand, the music video to the song 'King' by Years & Years clearly matches the sound with the visuals, although it does also incorporate some of the lyrics within it's representation in the visuals. About two minutes into the music video, the lead singer Olly falls into water, surrounded by bubbles. The sound in the song matches this visual perfectly because at this point in the song, the bass and the drums are removed, leaving just the lyrics and the keyboard. This therefore makes the song sound reminiscent of the effect being underwater has on your hearing: making everything muffled and slightly echoed.

Throughout the video, the decision has also been made to match the lyrics to the visuals. At the point when Olly falls into the water, the lyrics repeatedly say 'Let go', which he is clearly doing by letting himself fall into the water, and just stay submerged. Also, one of the main lyrics from the chorus is 'I was a king under your control', and through the narrative of the music video, Olly can be seen being 'controlled' by a group of people all dressed in white, whom only he can see.



Animals - Maroon 5

Another example of matching lyrics to visuals can be seen in the music video for 'Animals' by Maroon 5. The song itself is about a man trying to get a woman to love him, but he refers to animal like natures with which he hopes to get the woman. The opening shot of the music video takes place in a butchers which clearly links to the animal theme throughout the music video. Also, latter shots take place in an abattoir, with one of the shots showing the lead singer Adam pretending to be a lump of meat by hanging from the bar in the abattoir. The story follows him stalking a young woman that has come into the butchers, and he appears to be quite masochistic in his attempt to 'trap' the woman, a characteristic which is quite animalistic, and something you would typically link with a predator in the animal kingdom.

Overall, I feel that although matching the sound to visuals is vital in order to make a clear connection between the song and the music video that has been created, I think it is equally important to match lyrics to visuals. Although not every music video requires the visuals to match the lyrics, if the decision is made to do this, I feel it has to be done well for it to actually be effective and worthwhile to having done so.