Style and Conventions of Music Videos

For this task, I have been asked to research the style and conventions of music videos. Style means the different types of genres e.g. Hip Hop, Country, Dance etc. Conventions is a widely used and accepted device or technique that is closely associated with a particular genre and constructs a stereotypical music video. With conventions the audience becomes familiar with the genre as certain conventions are used to recognize the different genres of the music played. An example of expected conventions of alcohol, dancing, women, and money etc. is hip-hop artist Biggie Smalls 'Big Poppa' music video.

Some music videos may work against the conventions and expectations. The genre 'Country' usually contains guitars, horses, and the setting being placed in a forest/woods. The artists Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton fit this category of following the associations of the particular genre and the stereotypical music video. However, Shania Twain's 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman' music video is a big contrast to the usual Country type videos. 

Stereotypical Country... Taylor Swift's 'Fifteen' music video. 

Against expectation of Country... 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman'  music video.

Shania Twain's 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman' music video portrays a rock genre judging by the first thought of the start of the video. Instead of acoustic guitars, they have been replaced for electric guitars. The red and black colours symbolise the gothic/emo rock genre type, whereas normally Country conveys light colours such as yellows, pinks and greens. The casual and cute 'Country' clothing has been replaced by black cloaks and red fish net type tops, highlighting the stereotypical rock type features.

Performance in a music video

Miley Cyrus performing to a crowd.

Performance in music videos creates a realistic feel as if you are listening to the artist live at a concert or and at a gig. Usually, the music video will consist of the artist looking at the camera while performing, giving it a live concert feel. The impact this has on the audience would be them wanting to get involved as the video is engaging to watch. An example of this is Miley Cyrus' 'Party in the USA'. The video consists of Miley Cyrus looking directly at the camera and her performing on a stage as if she's at a concert. A particular moment where we see Miley performing on stage to a crowd is at 2:31 seconds. The music video has dancing, people interacting with the song by shouting to look as if they're having a good time, making it look more fun to relate to her song. This is engaging and exciting to watch because it makes you want to party. The clothes people wear are casual every-day clothes giving it that realistic feel. The purpose of the video is to make viewers enjoy it and to feel as if they're watching her performing live. The fact that she's looking into the camera lens makes the viewers feel as if shes addressing to them, creating an intimate feel causing viewers to connect with the performance. The music video has many camera angles/shots making it look more effective than an actual performance live, making it more exhilarating to watch. In terms of using this technique for my music video, I would definitely try it out as I think it would make the video look more professional. I would maybe have my band/artist walk onto a stage, showing their preparation of getting into the music.

Live performance in a music video

A live performance music video conveys the artist performing to a large crowd to show the video could have been pre-recorded and or just used clips from the main show. A live performance music video looks very effectual and powerful as the artists real talent is being released with dancers and a band in the background. Video clips from live performances help make the music video entertaining and exhilarating to watch. Reasons as to why some artists may record their live performance and release them as music videos could be to show viewers who don't get a chance to see them in concerts, get a expectation to see what happens and the atmosphere that withholds a gig/concert. A video containing live extracts at a concert is Beyonce's 'I Was Here (Live at Roseland)' music video. The song itself is very touching as it's about her journey of where she got to until present. By Beyonce producing a live performance of this song, we got to see her emotions when singing the song, reflecting the devotion she has for her fans because they helped her get to where she is now. The music video contains videos of her previous years where she started from a very young age and gradually making it to where she is now. The live performance consisted of bright lights to connote the spotlight she gained and the hard work she created to get that, and a band with violins to create that emotional and dramatic atmosphere to feel the concept of the song and Beyonce's emotions. The powerful message she contacts to the audience and fans is an effective way of drawing viewers in. I wouldn't be able to use this style as it's a live performance, so I can't use someone singing live of an already made song.

Narrative in a music video

A narrative in a music video shows a clear story-line through the lyrics of the song. This makes the audience question what the lyrics actually means when it's combined into a music video. The impact this has on the audience is drawing their attention in as they are intrigued by the story behind the music video, making them want to know what's going to happen next.

This narrative music video sang by Ed Sheeran portrays a deep meaning. The song is called 'The A Team'. It narrates the story of a girl addicted to drugs, living on the streets of London. She tried to sell magazines for money, but only managed to sell one to the artist of the song, Ed Sheeran, this is shown at 1:25 seconds. The girl struggled so much that she resorted to selling her body to earn money. Later on, the pain became too much for her to bear and she just wanted to end it all. She traded in her "dirty" money for drugs, referencing the lyric "...and in a pipe she flies to the motherland." In the end, the girl succumbs to her drug abuse. The emotional and deep meaning of the music video makes the viewers realise the reality in which we live in be exposed as it leaves us shocked at how this goes on all over the world. The fact that it's based on a true story in which Ed Sheeran experienced and witnessed makes is very phenomenal and remarkable. The powerful message represented within the music video could influence people to help other people going through the same condition, taking action and raising awareness. The black and white effect of the video gives off a downhearted mood to reflect the meaning of the song. The music video reveals the struggles the woman encounters throughout, creating education and knowledge towards the viewers as it draws them in. For my music video, I could use this style to convey the clear meaning and understanding of the story behind the lyrics. I could do this by having an opening sequence, like the one at the start of 'The A Team' where we see the present state of the girl as she lays down dead from 0:00 to 0:19 seconds. This gives the audience an idea of what the video could be about and the base of it.

Animation in music videos

Animation music videos are either stop motion or digitally made. Creating animation music videos is a unique and professional way of portraying what the song is about. This makes the audience engaged as animation is interesting and fun to watch. An example of an animated music video is Kanye West's 'Good Life' video. It features West and T-Pain performing animated backdrops and often mouthing the words of the song lyrics, which appears in large letters.

The animation in 'Good Life' is very exciting and artistic. The graffiti-like lyrics are a great way of viewers to get involved as they can singalong with the music video without having to look them up. The video involves interpretative as they act out some of the actions that respond to the song. For example, at 3:01 Kanye raps the words 'have you ever popped champagne on a plane' with Kanye popping champagne and the animation of liquid coming out of the bottle. The fact that the music video seemed to have taken a while to produce, makes it very effective and astounding. For the viewers, watching a more engaging and eye-catching animation music video is more productive than just looking at artists who act out the actions of the lyrics, making it a great impact for the audience. Also, an animated music video might not cost as much money for the artists record label as new software has been produced, making it possible to animate from your computer. Considering the style is very time consuming and difficult to apprehend first time, I would find it hard to use this type of technique. However, I would have a go at creating animation to push the boundaries in wanting a successful piece of work.

Animated Kanye West and T-Pain.

Intertextuality as pastiche in music videos

Intertextuality as pastiche in music videos is where one media text refers to another. Many artists have incorporated intertextuality in their music videos to make specific references to significant events, people, or photos. Referencing to other media makes the artist more popular because viewers would be engaged to watch a response to an original populated text. This means increase in the amount of viewing of that artist and music video. An example of intertexuality is Madonna's 'Material Girl' music video. 

In 'Material Girl' Madonna makes a clear reference to Marilyn Monroe in 'Diamonds are forever' in the way that she dressed and the setting of the background. In the footage, Madonna is dressed in a similar pink dress, hair cut, necklace and bracelets throughout the whole of the video, with men in suits next to her holding love hearts. As Marilyn Monroe was an iconic figure in the 50's and 60's, viewers knew of that particular moment in 'Diamonds are forever' and were able to know straight away of where the reference and inspiration came from, gaining Madonna more viewers on her music video. The impact intertextuality has on the audience is having that humour added. This also helps the original text seem less serious, convincing the audience to like the original text. If I was planning on using this style, I would find a movie that consists of deep, twisted, and strong meanings behind it so that I could convey clearly to the audience.

 

Intertextuality as parody in music videos

Intertextuality as parody in music videos is similar to the original video, but is portrayed in an amusing way. An infamous person takes a famous popular artists music video and transfers it into a funny video, adding humour and new lyrics to the song, but is still easily known of what the song is that they are doing a parody of. YouTube is the website where the infamous artists upload their parody music videos onto. An example of intertextuality as parody is...

This video relates to Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' music video. He changed the lyrics and dressed up as Miley to add humour. This is a great example of a parody because he takes the mic out of Miley by copying her actions, but exaggerates them more. The shots are very similar, for example, at the very start there is a close-up shot of the man (pretending to be Miley), singing to the camera. In the original, Miley sings directly at the camera with the shot being a close-up of her face...

Parody.

Original.

From 0:00 to 0:07 seconds where the man is staring directly the camera, the parody has copied Miley's make-up. The red lipstick, fake eyelashes, and edited eyes are a way of creating an amusing scene as men usually don't wear make-up. The parody video is created to share laughter around the world, making it an impact for the audience as it's engaging to watch rather than watching a boring video. The whole purpose of a parody music video is to entertain people and to get a reaction from them, in hopes to gain a lot of viewers as the 'Wrecking Ball' parody displays 11 million views, which is great considering it can't be played on outlets such as music channels. If I was to use parody in my music video, it would be a great way to grab viewers attentions, however, I wouldn't be able to pull it off at the same standard as the successful pieces of parody music videos which is why I wouldn't want to use this style in my own video.

Interpretative in music videos 

Interpretative in music videos means when a video interprets the visuals directly into a story that matches the lyrics. This can be portrayed by narrative, animation, or special effects. Not many artists use interpretative in their music videos because it's very basic and consistent. An artist that used this concept in their music video is Rebecca Black's 'Friday'. The music video is very concise with the concept of it being interpretative. At 0:29 seconds, Rebecca Black sings the words, 'Got to get down to the bus stop', in which she it stood there in front of the bus stop sign. The song and music video is targeted at the younger generation, particularly teenagers as the lyrics are in relation to teenage life, which draws them in. The impact this has on the teenage audience is for them to connect with the song because typically teenagers cannot wait to get home from school on a Friday and party, which means Rebecca Black was hoping for teenagers to play the song whenever they wish it was Friday. This causes repetitive viewing of the music video, gaining popularity for Rebecca. Although, because the song and music video was very cringe and childish, the video received a lot of criticism. The force of interpretative of 'It's Friday' made the music video cheesy, this could be an indication as to why she chose this sort of theme for the younger generation audience. If I was to use this particular style, I would use it if my song was easy to interpret in a music video.

Impressionist in music videos

Kanye West on a police car with flashing lights.

Impressionist in music videos means imagery that matches the mood and pace of the song but not necessarily the lyrics. This creates tension attracting viewers. The video type impressionist can use elements of surrealism or animation to make the video seem more interesting. An example of this concept is Kanye West's music video 'All Of The Lights' featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi. The elements involved in the music video match the pace and mood of the song, although some of the clips do not match. At the very beginning, a little girl is seen alone walking out of a building into the streets where it's cold. The black and white effect gives off a disowning mood. This scene does not link with the lyrics because it's about what Kanye has encountered in a metaphor way, he mentions 'cop lights' and 'strobe lights' to represent his contact with the police and also the good side of lights like performing with 'all of the lights' and cameras flashing. Although, at the beginning the intro consists of violins setting a down-hearted mood to reflect the cold and the girl being all alone. In a way, it tricks the audience into thinking it's going to be about a girl who is all alone and has nobody, yet transfers into flashing, florescent, bright colours at 1:04 seconds. This makes the viewers gain interest and leads them into wanting to watch more to understand the concept of the song and video. Throughout the whole of the video, it contains colourful colours to reflect the theme of the song, creating a funky and captivating mood. The flash of each lyrics match the pace of the song giving off a gripping and compelling feel as it looks very effective to watch. If I was to use this style in my own music video, I would get a song that has a fast pace to present a piece with colourful and flashy images like 'All of the Lights'.

Surrealism/Abstract in a music video

Surrealism/abstract in a music video includes elements that surprise the audience, unexpected juxtapositions, and non sequitur meaning something that does not go with what you would typically not to see and withholds strange things happening. The visual view of it and the lyrics side of it are likely to not match, creating questions for the audience to engage in to come up with opinions of what the music video could be portraying. An example of this concept is Lady Gaga's 'You And I' music video. 

At 0:21 seconds, we see an appalling man in a ice cream van with a doll in his hand. This scene does not reflect in anyway to the lyrics of the song because it's about a relationship. Gaga's curious and bizarre music videos often do not make sense with the actual lyrics of the song, especially in the 'You And I' video. The impact this has on the audience is them wanting to see what she's produced later on in the video because the video has a abnormal intro before the song has even started. The surrealism/abstract is used throughout the video, in one scene, Gaga is portrayed as Yüyi the Mermaid, with gills on her face and neck, as she lies in a tub filled with dirty water. This has no relation to the song in any way. The lyrics and the music video have no similarities in anyway, creating confusion for the audience yet influencing them to want to watch more because they are intrigued by the surrealism/abstract. I wouldn't mind using this style as I find it interesting to watch, so I would maybe include elements to surprise viewers by creating a successful piece of work.

Gaga as Yüyi the Mermaid.