word 'kind' or 'class'.
Three types of genre
Music video with a clear genre
Genre: Pop
Music video with a clear genre
Genre: Pop
Song: Katy Perry - Roar
Convention one : Link between lyrics and visuals
This is a common convention with music videos which make the lyrics of the song correspond with the visuals being represented on screen, this is used a lot in pop music videos as it helps the audience remember the words, which allows them to sing along to them music as its very upbeat and cheerful, creating a sense of enjoyment from uses & gratifications. Pop songs are generally very positive and very upbeat and have a surreal happiness vibe as its too good to be real. This then links to the visuals to the lyrics as gets the audience into the mood and spirit of the song. This is denoted at 3:31 where the world all revolves around her in happiness
Convention Two: Editing
For the music video Roar by Katy Perry, it has very fast paced shots during the music video and this is a common technique used during music videos as it connotes an upbeat and happiness vibe that the music video is aiming for which also relates to the target audience that they are targeting for. The editing especially during the chorus becomes much faster at 3:14-3:30 during this sequence there are many different types of shots at different angles which helps to add to the genre of the song.
Convention Three : Referencing
The music video has many intertextual references throughout the music video, for instance right at the beginning denoted at 0:10 is a plane crash which references the TV series Lost because of the lost abandoned plane crash on an isolated unknown location. Another reference is the mimic of the costume and mise-en-scene of Tarzan as Katy Perry is denoted to wear clothing similar to that of Tarzan such as it being ripped and scavenged 2:42 she is also depicted here swinging on the trees and vines just like Tarzan in the films. At and the Jungle setting and location only continues to reference the films, the music video also has clear references of the Jungle books as well from the use of controlling the animals denoted at 3:29
Convention Four: Performance
Commonly used in pop music videos is the use of Performance, and this music video follows this convention, in the music video we see Katy Perry have many live performance shots of her singing and this helps sell her brand and image to the audience, the artist also typical tends to have lots of close up which helps sell and promote their image and brand also.If the music video has a narrative then the artists tends to have a leading role in the music video, while in contrast to the indie genre where the focus is primarily on the narrative and starring other people to improve the creativity.
Hybrid music video
Hybrid genre:
Song: Lana Del Rey - Video Games
Convention One:
Many indie pop videos focus on one theme which is typically used throughout the whole narrative, which is important for the artist to use as it connotes their creativity and ethos while also keeping the song focused on the elements that they believe is relevant to the music video, For example Lana Del Rey Video Games has a narrative that uses a faulty jealously relationship between her as the main role and her partner and the narrative follows Todorovs theory and the a non linear format because there are flash backs throughout the music video which connotes the fun times she had with her partner before it become hostile(1:43)The music video cuts at points to the present, connoting her aggression and sadness, as her partner is now with another women or how her friends have slowly changed and left her alone as she mentions 'As my friends fall', this is also supported by the use of the montage of clips throughout the music video some what creating a scrap book effect as the all the memories are jumbled up. The artist herself stars in the music video which normally isn't seen in indie music videos, but since its a hybrid genre of pop it fits style of music. The artist had also filmed certain parts herself making her own originality and creativity come it.
Convention Two: Low budget setting
Pop indie songs usually tend to have a low budget for the making of the music video, and tend to not have an high budget locations, within this music video the locations and budget are very basic and primitive as its mostly shot like typical urban streets denoted at 1:45.Even the camera footage and style of the music video has a very casual and non studio produced feel because of the hand held nature of the music video, the narrative and storyline is all mainly denoted trough the use of a montage of clips connoting a passing of time through the years and how things have changed.
Convention Three: Filters/overlapping of footage
Many indie music videos use lots of filters and effects but not to a drastic degree to create and give a much more unique vibe to there music videos, sometimes the footage would overlap over footage but in this example there is a use of lots of old black and white footage giving a much more rustic antique feel to the music video. The footage is also much more fast paced creating and giving a representation of the artist as an edgy for example at 2:09 denoted is the use of a saturated blue colourful footage white an old film style to the 80's.
Sub genre Music video
Sub genre Bubblegum pop
Song: Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Convention One: Bright coloured Mise-en-scene
In bubblegum music videos there's a heavy use of bright coloured mise-en-scene which is heavily popular in this sub genre of pop as the main focus of the this genre is to have a 'feel good' vibe to the music, therefore the overall colour Grade and use of props are used to connote this iconography. The bright colours are used for the clothing of the actors such as Carly playing herself but also the bight colours of the grass and location as its a bright summers day, this also connotes the representation of the artist helping create a much more upbeat and kind depiction of their image and brand. For example at 0:51 is closes of the artist but also the main majority of the mise-en-scene is bright and colour and creates a direct focus on Carly Rae Jepsen, since the focus is on Carly and the depth of field of the background is all blurred the composition of the image is mainly directly on Carly.
Convention Two: Child- like / Animated aspects
Since the genre has like child aspects such as the use of miss-en-scene and many other factors, this influences the music videos target audience and focus and the genre is specifically targeted for pre-teens and teenagers, this is commonly communicated through the use of animation and pictures for example denoted at 2:23 the artist and the other male actor are denoted wearing old fantasy clothes from fairy tales and the background is very vibrant and mystical and this connotes the child like influence in the music video making it much more appeal able to the target audience
Convention Three : Transitions
Fairly common in Bubblegum music videos is that the is a trend to have 'unprofessional' transitions between the shots for example denoted at 2:17-2:20 a spiral transition takes place and this is a common convention of this music genre as it adds a bright and creative effect it also acts as continuous as there's always action on screen unlike a fade, which connotes that the music video is much more busy and alive which is similar to a preferred reading as the producers want you to experience the music video in this way.
Generic Conventions
Clear genre music video
Genre: Indie
Song: Coldplay / Paradise
Rick Altman argued that genres offer audiences 'a set of pleasures' and I believe this music video provides a slight visceral pleasure as the audience are on their seat throughout as many enigmas are created and we question of what is happening when the Elephant escapes a zoo and why he's going around urban environments such as airports. This is then all finally explained at the very end when we see the family of Elephants in the middle of the plains of Africa.
Typical Mise-en-scene/Visual Style
The main location of the music video Paradise by Coldplay is mainly set in the plains of Africa and it tends to have a mainly high key lightning in the setting that is being depicted, as it was shot during the day but occasionally there were shots during the evening and the lighting is not as high. This is a typical setting for Indies because of the setting not being very high budget and crazy like various other music videos, its also because of their small size and their branding that they go for these styles of music videos, they also tend to have very small albums and a small active audience.Other reasons why they would choose to have these is if they wanted to have a much more clam and creativity style to represent their image and identity as an artist. Throughout the music video we clearly see examples of this such as at 2:22 when we see a the protagonist on a unicycle in the middle of a remote rural road, which connote the story and characters are in the middle of a isolated and desolate place.
Throughout parts during the sunset the lightning becomes much more orange tinted because of it being a sunset which connotes the end of a long vigorous journey for the protagonist as they escaped a zoo in the UK to travel all the way to their ideal place they call paradise. The orange glow of the sunlight also creates a much more relaxing and nostalgic effect to the music video creating a much more narrative driven story which indie videos tend to follow a lot of. This could of been a filter as it is added to a lot of music videos such as Ben Howards music videos.
Typical types of narrative
A common convention within indie videos is to have a narrative style especially a warm in depth story that motivates or depicts someone's life in a realistic sense. This was done in Coldplay's Paradise when an Elephant is in a zoo and is lonely and wants to be free and escapes and finds various ways of transport to travel across the world to finally get to its destination in Africa where we see the rest of his friends or family eagerly awaiting him. The wasn't any performance in this music video and it was all linear based, which can also connote that the artists don't intend to broadcast their image and to rather tell a story or promote new faces in the industry such as actors and they would rather create and promote the song itself instead of them as artists. This also can connote that the artists would rather prefer to make and create a much more visual image rather than promoting themselves, however it is still conventional to indie music videos to contain performances or not as it depicts the artists style and life and the narrative that they want to convey. Another typical convention that indie music videos tend to have is not to have a predictable narrative right from the start, Paradise does have a fairly predictable narrative from the beginning but an indie genre doesn't require a predictable or non predictable narrative to class as one. However Paradise was still did have an engaging narrative and still used narrative devices such as restricted narrative or red herrings.
Typical Representations
In the Indie genre it is typical to have the lyrics to mean something to the artist that is performing or singing the song and hence the song having somewhat a reference to them and they believe it is important for it to be sung about. In Paradise the phrase 'Paradise' over and over again is a typical correlation to the fantasy world that the Elephant wants to experience or go to, which is then visually represented at the end during a reunion of his friends and family. This connotes that everyone aspires to have a ultimate ate goal or dream that they one day want to accomplish and the Elephant is a primary example of such determination, it can also have a direct link or message that the artist wants to their audience to have such goals In life and that they can always keep trying. This is fairly common in Indie videos and that the artist as primary control of the content they produce, without many restrictions unlike producer controlled artists.
In terms of costumes for the actors being depicted within the music video, it tends to be very childish and fantasy based such as the Elephant costume with lots of makeup being denoted and the use of a band at the end throughout the journey, but everything else stick relatively the same such as the mise-en-scene of the setting and locations and non actor used props and what this can connote is that the artist could be sending a message that you can and should stay true to yourself and be who you are, in terms of personality and physically hence the Elephant is the personality and the surroundings is the world around him, This can connote that they are just like regular people and want to make music that they would like to enjoy, whilst pop artists are generally wearing lots of makeup to make them look like a very famous idol with lots of fans. For example at 1:22 is a shot of the elephant in an airport terminal connoting the causal nature of the artists, even though they are wearing a rather non casual costume the representation and locations the shots are set in give a more casual approach to it.
Typical Sound Design
In the music video there is no diegetic sound meaning that there is no sound apart from the non diegetic sound from the song, making the song the primary focus, and this connotes a much more fantasy nature and vibe to the music video, the nature and style of the song fits the indie genre of being up coming and aspiring while keeping true to who you are, and the song creates that atmosphere. From the beginning of the song its much more calm with a much slower tempo of synthesisers and Violins and it starts to increase in speed at 0:13 and becomes slow again during the lyrics and then becomes much more upbeat and fast during the chorus segment towards then end it becomes calm again and much more emotional 3:55 following (McKee's 5 part structure) which connotes a much more emotional and compelling narrative creating a sense of happiness for the protagonist in the music video.
Typical Editing Style
The editing style denoted in Paradise is slow to begin with and decreases in duration and variation as the tempo and pace increases making the music video follow and cut to the beat, making it follow the typical indie genre conventions.
Another typical connection in the Indie genre is the use of Lots of effects in post production such as the use of blurs, and overlays in footage such as I've mentioned before. Indie music videos tend to use blurs as a dreamy effect to connote an sense of aspiration and sense of relaxation. Indie videos also tend to have distinct colour grade in post, and Paradise has a very saturated and vibrant colour grade making it suit the feel of aspirations and dreams. There are also lots of effects and abstract elements in indie videos to create a sense of surrealism such as Florence. This is fairly conventional for Indie music videos as it depicts their creativity and their nature as artists to create and write songs that they want to have a meaning.
Recurring Camera techniques.
Camera techniques and language within the Indie genre tend to be handheld and more non professional feel for example in the music video, Video Games the camera is predominantly hand held and jerky lacking the use of smooth shots such as Crane's and steady cams that the film industry predominantly uses. This is mainly what Indie artists mainly try to aim for, a reason why they would want this style is that they want to have a much more rogue feel to their music video and have their own style to their vison. Indie artists may have used equipment such as Monopods and some use of stabilisation because having no stabilisation at all makes the footage very hard to watch as its very jerky, so they made sure that they had a balance between the two mediums. This is seen Lana Del Rey at 0:21 as its clearly handheld, but has camera movement and its non static with various longshots to Close ups, which creates and gives a sense of Edginess and rebellious to the typical camera conventions in music videos. This style that the artist has can be used to represent their brand identity and it can also convey and depict certain elements give much more story and narrative the music video such as the hand held scenes in the music video, Video Games as the and held nature connotes a much more causal approach to the scene unlike a very scripted and professional viewpoint.
In terms of proxemics and composition of the shot of the Indie music video, there is a lot of non conventional film shots such as the use of the rule of Thirds, as some of the shots do follow the typical conventions but the more old styled footage is genuinely non conventional such as the use of the actor not being in the full frame and when the actors aren't aware of the camera such as real life as it looks like it was shot on a phone at random. This is a common convention in Indie artists as the artists like to have a mysterious and edginess vibe to their style of music videos, and rather to put a focus on their narrative side of the music video instead of the Performance aspect or acting role.
Genre: Indie
Song: Ben Howard Old Pine
Friendship
Theme of friendship is also another main theme within the music video as Ben Howard is with another person in the non performance denoted at 2:53 where they are jumping from one cliff to another one. This connotes the bond of friendship between the two characters and how they all relate and connect to each other. The body language is very passive and non aggressive and connoting a sense of connection between the two characters, and how they are having a good time.
Friendship is also denoted when there are two people in the sea at 2:20 which is also a typical cinematic shot used in films that have a romantic genre such as couples and friends being together. The use of the neutral angle of the camera connotes the down to earth nature between the two people and how they have so much between each other.
Overall friendship is common within the Indie music video genre as they tend to focus the best and most happiest moments in life, which is a direct representation of the artists identity and brand.
Hedonism
In Ben Howards Old Pine there is a huge abundance of feeling good and enjoying yourself vibe in the music as in the music video He finds places that he has lots of fun throughout the entire song such as the use of Surfing and swimming on the beach, he also forgets all of his worries and the song has that wind down factors which is a common theme in Indie videos as the music videos tend to focus on feeling good about embracing your childhood, and how even when adults you still enjoy the same stuff. Theme is denoted a lot from the use of just lots of relaxing and calm shots of the sea which is all for fun and pleasure. This theme is also connoted in music videos such as Mumford and sons.
Nostalgia
In terms of nostalgia the theme in Ben Howards music video Old pine uses the heavily uses the sunset or golden hour lighting for the majority of the song with lots of establishing shots of landscape's and the use of the golden lighting of many various locations connotes the nostalgia of the areas depict places that he used to have haven gone to as a child and how its changed or how's its stayed the same, and the golden shine of the sun connotes then end of an era and how things continue to move on and how he's changed with time. I personally felt the use of this emotional during the beginning shots especially when the guitar starts playing signifying and complete trip from beginning to end as the actor Ben Howard returns back to when he may have grown up from.
How I would incorporate this into my music video?
For my music video the types of genres that I would like to include in my music video is the use of reoccurring editing/animated techniques which are commonly seen many music videos in the modern age. Another way I would use the genres to help promote my music videos is the use of themes and hidden messages that would be signified throughout the entire video.
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