- Lyrics and visuals
- Music and visuals
- Genre conventions
- Intertextuality
- Presenting both/either genders in a sexual manner ('looking.')
- Performance, narrative or concept based structure to the video
The lyrics and visuals suggests that there is a relationship between these two aspects, with the lyrics being in someway displayed in the music video. For example in Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls just want to have fun,' the artist visually refers to this by showing girls dancing and laughing together, which is stereotypically how the female gender is expected to behave (particularly in the teenage/young adult stage.
The music and visuals regard the tone of the music relating to the visual style of the video. An example of this can be found in the Evanescence song 'Bring me to life,' with the loud and fast paced band music connoting darkness and having links to a Gothic lifestyle. This is visually represented in the setting of low lit skyscrapers, connoting death and the basic architecture having a detached feel to them.
Genre conventions are different in each music video, depending on the genre. Much like with films, a music video will usually follow the stereotypical trends set by other examples in that genre. An example of this is apparent in the Sleeping with the sirens cover of a song called 'Iris.' Because they are a band, it is typically expected for their music video to contain moments of them playing live to demonstrate their talent and connote a sense of union by playing as a group. As a result, the entire video is of them playing the song live in a studio. This may also refer to the fact that they are a niche band and aren't that well established in the music industry, not being able to afford original set pieces.
Intertextuality, in this context, concerns a music video relating to another media text. For example, if a song was part of an official film soundtrack then the video to that song would contain extracts of the film to help promote it and therefore aid it's financial success. This is reflected in the music video to Nickelback's song 'Hero.'
A majority of pop songs present the artist in a visually positive manner by making them sexually desirable. They do this by focusing on gender stereotypes, with men being conveyed as very masculine via big muscles and animalistic nature, whereas women use their femininity with a similar lack of clothing. This idea is supported in the Miley Cyrus song 'Wrecking Ball,' with the artist appearing naked in multiple shots and therefore embed the element of the audience 'looking at her in a different light than previously.'
Performance, narrative and concept are the 3 ways that a music video can be presented. As previously mentioned with Sleeping with the Sirens a performance video will focus on the artist/s performing live to put a face to the music. A narrative (story) video can be seen in Eminem's song 'I love the way you lie,' relating to the lyrics as well as showing a sense of progression in the characters within the video, as the female protagonist attempts to dominate her controlling boyfriend.
A concept video is less focused than the other two structures and appears more distorted and open to interpretation so that the music can be perceived in multiple ways. For example the song 'Somebody that I used to know' by Gotye has no story to it and may show the artist singing but this is not the main focus of the video. What stands out most is the vibrant set design and the fact that the artist becomes a part of it holds symbolic meaning that relates to the tempo of the song.
The music and visuals regard the tone of the music relating to the visual style of the video. An example of this can be found in the Evanescence song 'Bring me to life,' with the loud and fast paced band music connoting darkness and having links to a Gothic lifestyle. This is visually represented in the setting of low lit skyscrapers, connoting death and the basic architecture having a detached feel to them.
Genre conventions are different in each music video, depending on the genre. Much like with films, a music video will usually follow the stereotypical trends set by other examples in that genre. An example of this is apparent in the Sleeping with the sirens cover of a song called 'Iris.' Because they are a band, it is typically expected for their music video to contain moments of them playing live to demonstrate their talent and connote a sense of union by playing as a group. As a result, the entire video is of them playing the song live in a studio. This may also refer to the fact that they are a niche band and aren't that well established in the music industry, not being able to afford original set pieces.
Intertextuality, in this context, concerns a music video relating to another media text. For example, if a song was part of an official film soundtrack then the video to that song would contain extracts of the film to help promote it and therefore aid it's financial success. This is reflected in the music video to Nickelback's song 'Hero.'
A majority of pop songs present the artist in a visually positive manner by making them sexually desirable. They do this by focusing on gender stereotypes, with men being conveyed as very masculine via big muscles and animalistic nature, whereas women use their femininity with a similar lack of clothing. This idea is supported in the Miley Cyrus song 'Wrecking Ball,' with the artist appearing naked in multiple shots and therefore embed the element of the audience 'looking at her in a different light than previously.'
Performance, narrative and concept are the 3 ways that a music video can be presented. As previously mentioned with Sleeping with the Sirens a performance video will focus on the artist/s performing live to put a face to the music. A narrative (story) video can be seen in Eminem's song 'I love the way you lie,' relating to the lyrics as well as showing a sense of progression in the characters within the video, as the female protagonist attempts to dominate her controlling boyfriend.
A concept video is less focused than the other two structures and appears more distorted and open to interpretation so that the music can be perceived in multiple ways. For example the song 'Somebody that I used to know' by Gotye has no story to it and may show the artist singing but this is not the main focus of the video. What stands out most is the vibrant set design and the fact that the artist becomes a part of it holds symbolic meaning that relates to the tempo of the song.
No comments:
Post a Comment