Music videos main essence in my opionion is too promote a artists image while it gives consumers a hyper real life experience relationship with that artist this can relate to the mood, music and theme. However it is a mechanism used to sell and promote an artist in which it is used to build a relation ship around consumers make them want to see what they want too see. however the music itself is a representation of the artist.
THE FUNCTION:
The whole purpose/point of us having music videos is to create a 'unreal' (fantasy) and 'engage' the audiences that the artist is aiming to appeal to which sells. The conventions of a music video will generally usually include lip-syncing - lip- singing works when the artists themselves are in their own music video as the star image in which, they will be singing the lyrics of their song. However, lip syncing is included in music videos if isn't a narrative telling a story or if the lyrics are not present on on screen. This allows audiences to focus more on the image of the artist that is being portrayed rather than the actual music in which is a form of promotion for artists, hyper reality, intertextuality, narrative, performance, and close up that are usually dominant as they revel to audience what record labels want audiences to see for example if an artist record label was to say do a close on a product placement such as beats that was incorporated in the music video it implies that they are selling/promoting the product making people aware of what it does and it also makes them want to purchase as their artist they adore will be featured with it or using the product.
WHY GENRE CONVENTIONS ARE RELEVANT IN MUSIC VIDEOS:
Genres such as hip-hop, self produced, indie, and pop music videos tend to follow specific conventions but the styles may differ as too having performance, conceptual and narrative. performance and narrative music videos tend to go viral creating a large market for the artist while conceptual music video tend to challenge the conventions as it focus it's attention more on cutting to the beat of the music however, it may come across as usual as there is no form of lip- syncing being present but it usually grasp a lot of attention.
The genre conventions that are portrayed in music videos vary depending on the genre. The reason there are conventions in music videos is so that they can be unique, and identified differently which you can link to Andrew Goodwin's theory and how he expressed that there are many theories connecting the concept of music videos and how they are seen and acted upon. Andrew Goodwin theory states that their are 5 key stages to a music video which can be broken down to:
- The relationship between song and visuals
- Performance and narrative of the song
- The technical aspect of the music video
- The star image being shown off (the protagonist in which is usually dominated by a lot of camera shots making the artist the centre of attention to audiences - CLOSE UPS
- Thought through the beat (seeing/understanding what the lyrics imply in your head)
MSE EN SCENE (lighting, setting, costume, choreography or performance) :
A clear example of how lighting is used to set an artist as the centre of attention (making them the focal point in videos:
Lighting is the most important aspect as it focuses the audiences attention on specific characters or objects showing importance and relevance. It also builds a scene and tells a story for example:
You can use these different types of lighting such as High key, low key, single and 3- point
A clear example of how lighting is used to set an artist as the centre of attention (making them the focal point in videos:
setting creates a sense of direction in terms of mood and place and may also reflect an artist/characters mind set- how they see them selves or want them selves to be portrayed as.
costumes creates the effect in which makes the artist/character more appealing and noticeable in which it is used to express a artists/characters personality or status.
choreography is the bringing to life of the artists character in the sense of creating a hyper real feeling for audience to engage them whilst appeal to them.
- Thought through the beat (seeing/understanding what the lyrics imply in your head) - This hip-hop music video has hidden meaning behind the lyrics. The lyrics are mainly implying that him and his squad are having a fun party for the artist as it is a celebration for his birthday and how they treat women hence the lyrics "I'm bouta spoil her" however, it's also how the females treat the group back in which is been expressed in the music video. In addition to this, the main focal point of the music video is the artist and his squad giving us an experience of their idea of having fun. The hook and the intro is pointing to the fact that the artist himself is seeking to seduce a women into having sex with him. the visual and editing aspects of this music video was good as they where used in a clever way due to the fact that when you heard the lyric "rewind" they incorporated a rewind making the music video rewind a few seconds to show the woman's figure and motion backwards. In which, this lyric is a reference to and i quote "I'm tryna know if I can hit it from behind though".
In this screen shot you see the 679 fades into the music video also the name of the song represents the artist birthday which is the 7th June 1990 hence it's 679 - this video is based on the artist and the group celebrating his day.
you could even say that this was placed in the music video as product placement as it is still advertising and promoting the fine champagne but the meaning to the artist refers to his boys in new jersey hence the name Remey boyz 1738. the champagne bottle portrays to us that the artists use it to show their wealthiness as it is usually associated in all hiphop videos.
The music video shows us that the dominant sex in the video is males which indicates the lyric "spoil her" portraying the women being sexualised for pleasure and self desires. It also portrays the way the artist is being seen as in the sense of him wearing branded clothing, flashing money, partying in a mansion (location) and women flooding the scenes to suggest that the artist is upper class. lastly, it shows audiences that they are having fun partying and creating memories.
They used high key lighting to make Fetty Wap and the woman he is pursuing to show them looking important making the focus be on them as they are the brightest in some scenes. The mise en scene being shown in the mansion is mostly that of natural lighting however the artist and the woman were singled out (put in the spotlight) intertwine of the lyrics and their relevance/importance/authority.
This music video represents that of an conceptual video because the music video was dominated by different shots of the interior of the artists house Fetty Wap. It can easily be said that it was a surprise party for the artist in which makes it conceptual as houses are usually associated with parties.
The camera techniques used: were that of cross cutting, between Fetty and the woman and fades.
This music video uses natural lighting as it was summer when they shot the music video. the featured guest artist both wear white which expresses goodness, innocence, purity but best of all it represents perfection in which i think the artist were aiming for as they are surrounded by ladies. close up were used to show the importance of the artist and also to match the product to the lyrics.
they used emoji which made the music video itself unique and different as they were used to portray moods and to create sense of humour. creating a relation ship with audiences by giving them a hyper real feeling.
In the beginning of the music video the audience are introduced to the lavish life the artist is living (giving audiences an hyper real feel) which came with the entrance of a stylish and expensive looking super car and the mansion. The image of the artist symbolised that he is upperclass, wealth, wears designer but also is representing/promoting the perks being a rapper and living big/dreaming big.
The first close up that was used was on the artist/star image himself as he is gob smacked by the sight of all these ladies welcoming him in to the candy shop. They made it so that 50 cent looks vulnerable due to him being the only masculine figure (being the only man). However as the mansion doors creek open the introduction of the music is revealed, which also reveals a large quantity of women walking around with sexual clothing linking it to men - fantasy/dreams.
This screen shot shows us that the artist Andrew Goodwin (50 cent) is memorised by being sourrounded by a lot of beatiful girl and on top of that was welcomed with the word "welcome to the candy shop" this is like a fantasy for him however he thinks it is real and is soon awoken from his slumber. Its clear that women are objectified and are used as objects for pleasure. There are close ups of the womens in their individual clothing in which amplifies the voyeristic nature engaged on women and there is another close-up illustrating the star image (artists) pleasure due to seeing this many women in there individual attires.
The exterior location of the mansion is dull, dark, foggy, eerie and isolated however it is in contrast to the bright, energetic colours of the interior setting of the mansion.
The lyrics also tells audiences about the sexual nature of both genders how men are very submissive to the women and how women are being portrayed.
In conclusion, i concludes that hip hop music videos are usually dominated by close ups as they help encourage power and importance of the artist as they take up basically the whole frame and that there usually tends to be some link between lyrics and song for example: showing an object or product placement and then referring to it in the song. However, the general message being portrayed from hip hop videos is that of partying, sex, drugs and drinking. In addition, i also found that mise en sene plays a crucital role in reference to showing wealth as artists can be highlighted/singled out from settings people to show the relevance of that artist and importance. Lastly, I think women are expressed as tools, objects to use for pleasures and nothing more while on the other hand men play the role of having all the power.
Kenny Akale
Kenny Akale
Task 2a - Indie Artists - Comparison (James White)
Conventions of an Indie music video:
Indie music videos have a very different purpose to what a major music video or a self produced music video would have. An Indie artist will not make a music video to sell themselves, their purpose is not to broaden their star image, an indie artist main objective is to draw the audience in to an interesting different music video. An Indie artists music videos are more like a piece of art work, with the purpose to promote their work and music videos, rather than themselves and their own star image, unlike a major artist, who will be the star image with the record label insisting on using close up's on the major artist because they are the talent and the star image. Indie music videos will generally use different conventions, such as the lighting of their videos, which can be varied from any style of lighting, like it being dark or bright, however, the lighting depends on the music video's lyrics or music itself. Indie artists will use different styles, such as a narrative style of possibly a performance style, they will usually focus on the artist themselves, or sometimes they will feature they whole band performing and sometimes neither will appear, this can happen in a narrative styled music video as the video focuses on the characters within the video.
Directors that direct Indie music videos will direct them because they will lead as a stepping stone for them to gain further attention for their work and to broaden their appeal and their careers. They will usually be up and coming directors, they will be noticed for the work they do more because indie artists will be allowed to experiment more and be able to take risks in the music videos, risks that major labels cannot afford to take, these risks would be seen as an artistic view and shown as for the director, that they are more creative.
Example 1: Mumford and Sons - I will wait:
This music video is is a performance video, this is shown as the lead singer and the rest of the band are performing in front of a live audience. We can also tell that this video is a performance because of the audience at the end of the video, as they are clapping and cheering at the end.
The main artist and the rest of the band are dressed in a more causal way than what you could see others dress in other videos, they are dressed in a casual way in order to appeal to their audience, trying to show that they are like their audience and can fit in with their audience.
At the beginning of the video, we can hear the audience cheering before the song has started, showing that it is a live performance. The editing is fast paced also at the beginning of the video and slows down throughout the middle part, however, as each chorus is sung, the fast paced music comes back, throughout the choruses, when the music is quicker, the video flows faster with it, meaning that they have used rythmic editing at times, as they have cut to the beat within the chorus. At the start, they focus on the instruments that each band member is playing, as they cut to the guitar's and the keyboard. The lead singer sings and plays the guitar, this can make him more appealing to audiences as he has a strong diversity to him.
The lighting within the room is of low key around the audience, it is dark to set a specific mood and atmosphere within the audience, however there is high key lighting on the stage where the performers are, this is purposely done because they want to indicate to the audience who and where the star image is.
Example 2: Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta:
This music video is mainly a performance styled video, we can tell this as the artist is singing to the camera throughout almost the entire song and video, there are many conventions showing this is a performance video as there is lip sinking involved by the artists who also features in the video. There is also a narrative going on throughout the video, however it does not come across as strongly as the performance does.
The artist uses a lot of match on actions throughout the video, they do this by linking the story and the performance together as they come on to the stage as the curtain draws at the end, the match on actions are used specifically to link the events, showing the different band members playing a different instrument, they also use these match on actions to sell the artists image, to help create their star image to the audience, as the lighting is low key, with more light emphasising on the performers, it shows that they are the star image and they are being focused on.
As the room is dark, they light candles in certain areas of the room and a bright light flashes out at times, this adds to the fast paced feel to the music video, appealing to the audience, giving the video a live performance feel or possibly a club like feel. Towards the end of the video, the last verse and chorus are even faster than the others, this is because they want to conclude in a fast paced way. They use fast cuts to flow with the music.
The band members wear causal clothes in order to appeal to their audience, to show that they fit in with their audience, they are in a casual location, somewhere that their audience will like and enjoy, to show that they can fit in with them, they do this to help there star appeal. The indie artist here use close ups to show the main artist, this is very important because they are the face of the band and they are the star image and what will sell and make money for the band and any record label.
Example 3: Arctic Monkeys - Snap out of it:
This music video by the Arctic Monkeys is a Narrative styled music video, this is because there is clear story occurring through the video, the story is showing a man and woman who have split up and now she is alone and as the song progresses, she misses him.
The music video many times uses voyeurism, this is because the female character within the video is sexually appealing the male audience, so she is sexualised. This may also appeal to females who may wish to look like the female in this video.
The video is very sexual, as it shows many different scenes of voyeurism, an example of this is where she is eats the meat and picks it out of the frying pan whilst it is still cooking.
The video high key lighting, it has been lit like a house is supposed to be lit, this means that the band are trying to emphasize the realism in the story and the house. The artist is not in the video with the woman, this shows that the artist is not desperately trying to broaden there star image. They are in the video that the girl is watching throughout the video, this is where the artist is shown, it is supposed to symbolize the woman and the artists past, this is supposed to indicate they were once together, adding to the realism of the story.
Indie music videos have a very different purpose to what a major music video or a self produced music video would have. An Indie artist will not make a music video to sell themselves, their purpose is not to broaden their star image, an indie artist main objective is to draw the audience in to an interesting different music video. An Indie artists music videos are more like a piece of art work, with the purpose to promote their work and music videos, rather than themselves and their own star image, unlike a major artist, who will be the star image with the record label insisting on using close up's on the major artist because they are the talent and the star image. Indie music videos will generally use different conventions, such as the lighting of their videos, which can be varied from any style of lighting, like it being dark or bright, however, the lighting depends on the music video's lyrics or music itself. Indie artists will use different styles, such as a narrative style of possibly a performance style, they will usually focus on the artist themselves, or sometimes they will feature they whole band performing and sometimes neither will appear, this can happen in a narrative styled music video as the video focuses on the characters within the video.
Directors that direct Indie music videos will direct them because they will lead as a stepping stone for them to gain further attention for their work and to broaden their appeal and their careers. They will usually be up and coming directors, they will be noticed for the work they do more because indie artists will be allowed to experiment more and be able to take risks in the music videos, risks that major labels cannot afford to take, these risks would be seen as an artistic view and shown as for the director, that they are more creative.
Example 1: Mumford and Sons - I will wait:
This music video is is a performance video, this is shown as the lead singer and the rest of the band are performing in front of a live audience. We can also tell that this video is a performance because of the audience at the end of the video, as they are clapping and cheering at the end.
The main artist and the rest of the band are dressed in a more causal way than what you could see others dress in other videos, they are dressed in a casual way in order to appeal to their audience, trying to show that they are like their audience and can fit in with their audience.
At the beginning of the video, we can hear the audience cheering before the song has started, showing that it is a live performance. The editing is fast paced also at the beginning of the video and slows down throughout the middle part, however, as each chorus is sung, the fast paced music comes back, throughout the choruses, when the music is quicker, the video flows faster with it, meaning that they have used rythmic editing at times, as they have cut to the beat within the chorus. At the start, they focus on the instruments that each band member is playing, as they cut to the guitar's and the keyboard. The lead singer sings and plays the guitar, this can make him more appealing to audiences as he has a strong diversity to him.
The lighting within the room is of low key around the audience, it is dark to set a specific mood and atmosphere within the audience, however there is high key lighting on the stage where the performers are, this is purposely done because they want to indicate to the audience who and where the star image is.
Example 2: Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta:
This music video is mainly a performance styled video, we can tell this as the artist is singing to the camera throughout almost the entire song and video, there are many conventions showing this is a performance video as there is lip sinking involved by the artists who also features in the video. There is also a narrative going on throughout the video, however it does not come across as strongly as the performance does.
The artist uses a lot of match on actions throughout the video, they do this by linking the story and the performance together as they come on to the stage as the curtain draws at the end, the match on actions are used specifically to link the events, showing the different band members playing a different instrument, they also use these match on actions to sell the artists image, to help create their star image to the audience, as the lighting is low key, with more light emphasising on the performers, it shows that they are the star image and they are being focused on.
As the room is dark, they light candles in certain areas of the room and a bright light flashes out at times, this adds to the fast paced feel to the music video, appealing to the audience, giving the video a live performance feel or possibly a club like feel. Towards the end of the video, the last verse and chorus are even faster than the others, this is because they want to conclude in a fast paced way. They use fast cuts to flow with the music.
The band members wear causal clothes in order to appeal to their audience, to show that they fit in with their audience, they are in a casual location, somewhere that their audience will like and enjoy, to show that they can fit in with them, they do this to help there star appeal. The indie artist here use close ups to show the main artist, this is very important because they are the face of the band and they are the star image and what will sell and make money for the band and any record label.
Example 3: Arctic Monkeys - Snap out of it:
The music video many times uses voyeurism, this is because the female character within the video is sexually appealing the male audience, so she is sexualised. This may also appeal to females who may wish to look like the female in this video.
The video is very sexual, as it shows many different scenes of voyeurism, an example of this is where she is eats the meat and picks it out of the frying pan whilst it is still cooking.
The video high key lighting, it has been lit like a house is supposed to be lit, this means that the band are trying to emphasize the realism in the story and the house. The artist is not in the video with the woman, this shows that the artist is not desperately trying to broaden there star image. They are in the video that the girl is watching throughout the video, this is where the artist is shown, it is supposed to symbolize the woman and the artists past, this is supposed to indicate they were once together, adding to the realism of the story.
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