conventional music videos

The following two music video are what I would call conventional because they follow the generic features of that genre and use certain techniques to create a narrative.

This first music video is for The Script's song "Break even"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHyBMXFTaw


I consider this a conventional music video because it holds certain qualities rife within love song videos and its rock/pop genre. The integrated memory shots are generic within love songs and in this video they are thus amplified by the way in which they are the only pieces of footage that are in colour and the reality scenes are black and white to connote a sense that his life is incomplete and bleak without her.

The mise-en-scene mirrors this view as the reality scenes with the male protagonist are set in an urban atmosphere with paint peeling off the walls which fits in with the lyrics 'falling to pieces'. There are bars encircling the building, as can be seen in the shot below, showing his entrapment not being able to get her out of his mind! The use of red is also very commonly used in media to do with love as here the dark red of the door signifies the couples lost passion and the danger in their relationship. Pathetic fallacy was also used when the weather is overcast, dark and cold the main protagonist is on his own. These are juxtaposed with the memory scenes are set in the light airy out doors near the sea with enhanced colours to create an image of happiness and fulfillment.

Sometimes music videos are abstract and don't use any lip sinked lyrics, however in this genre with this type of love song almost all the lyrics can be seen to be sung by the lead singer whose point of view the video has as main protagonist because this is a form of advertising the band, meaning that they not only need to be able to sing but also to act.

Another conventional element of this video is the live performance footage with extreme close-ups of the instruments and of the strong stage lights shining through as the music is played. These extreme close ups are also used in the sexual scenes with blurred images of bare skin/tattoos, this gets the images across but at the same time leaves ambiguity, also because it is blurred it seems like it never happened.

The slow motion zooms in and out of his face draw attention to him and slow zooms are conventional of love song videos. In addition to this by zooming in the audience is getting an insight into his feelings whereas when it zooms out it distances him from the memory shots that follow.For all these reasons I consider this video conventional to its genre and to music videos in general.

This second video I want to discuss is a stark contrast to the first one and is for 50Cent's song "Candy Shop":

My dislike for Rap and R&B music videos is perfectly portrayed within this video as the conventions of the genre are generally men showing off their expensive cars, jewellery and list of sexy women begging for it.

I find these sorts of video from point of view of the male gaze quite offensive and even more so with the lyrics and the fact that young boys are listening to this and being taught that women are play objects. The mise-en-scene is very generic with the rich surroundings of what looks like a staely home and the large grey fur coat (shown below), even the size of the rooms/hall in which the dancers are standing show the amount of money he is trying to convey not to mention the red car at the beginning of the video that reappears a few times.

I can't bear to watch this video anymore i am feeling slightly violated and angry; however i would like to sum up with the statement that the conventions of rap and R&B music are quite sexist and degrading to women!

From Unconventional to the down right strange in music videos

This is Bjorks music Video 'All is Full of Love'.



As you may have already guessed this was directed by Chris Cunningham another of his works is shown below. Bjork is renown for her experimental style and unusual music videos, and in collaboration with Chris Cunningham this Video was fated to be one her weirder ones. I do however really like this video as it makes a change from the now accepted half naked women prancing around in bikinis, although the very convincing realistic human faces on the 'lesbian robots' are a little scary as they exhibit all the usual emotions. Bjork also seems to be making a very significant statement with this video as well meaning that anyone and anything can love. This video is very clever because if it was made with real women instead of robots this would be quite pornographic and would no longer hit home the messages it is trying to pervade.

The unconventional nature of Cunningham's work means that there are no shots of Bjork or a band, although the futuristic electronic music fits in perfectly with the robot theme. As the first robot woman is being made by the machines the music does not fit in with the edits
at all and only the robots lips are synchronized to the lyrics or beat. When the other female robot appears the music gradually becomes a little more in time with the shot edits, but never quite fit, perhaps this is to emphasize the fact that these are not humans, or that they are flawed like humans because they have emotions.



This is Afrika Shox directed by Chris Cunningham again for Leftfield. This disturbing urban representation of what we can only assume is a homeless black man, who also looks to be blind and emaciated, in a large city where he is predominantly ignored and dodged by the 'wealthy business people, in other words a very negative portrayal of human nature.

As with 'All is Full of Love' (above) there are no edits to shots of leftfield so there are no reminders that this is meant to be a music video except from the music running throughout, having only one narrative allows the audience to get involved with it as they would a film and aided by the interesting dance moves and special effects where his body parts break off and smash along with the regular beat and short lyrics that echo the action in the video.

My favourite shot is the one in which the 'homeless man' has just fallen over having lost both hands and a foot, when another black man stands over him and asks whether he would like a hand! As well as lightening the heart of the video it may also be alluding to a sense that white men and their fast growing businesses are destroying peoples lives.

Red Hot Chili Pepper madness

This is The Red Hot Chili Peppers music video for their song 'Dani California'.



I thought this music video would be a good introduction to the world of Music genre and their generic images. This music video is a mixture of both conventional and unconventional like all The Red Hot Chili Peppers music videos (like the one shown below). This is the reason i like their music videos because they all have a unique narrative and often comically take the mic out of different things. As you can tell this video shows all the stereotypes of different genres from rock to country all in the space of one song.



Above is the "Can't Stop" video also by the Chilli Peppers it is all based on the 'One Minute Sculptures' by Erwin Wurm, which are extremely strange (can be seen below).

Needless to say I love this video because of it wacky inventive style and also due to the clean cut editing that fits in exactly with the music. However this video is extremely distracting which would usually draw attention away from the song; however that is not true of the Chilli Peppers music video becase of a few main features. The opening sequence in fact is a major key to its success in my opinion as it leads you on and drags the viewer into the seemingly never ending mysteries of 'The Tunnel' (Dun Dun Darrh) and the song. When abruptly the twisting turning journey through the tunnel ends with Anthony Kiedis's head starting to sing enigmatically! The yellow hue of the tube makes everything seem a little sick and combined with the ongoing circles of the tunnel and the twirling of the shot, speed up the camera's pace and is very disorientating.
The constant changing of scene/shot and very fast paced editing fluctuating with the tempo of the song enthralls the audience and reels them in. On top of this there are constant flashbacks to the band playing which is a common signifying of a rock music video and reminds the audience of the song. The inevitable ability of the song to move into your head and not leave is another main reason for the success of this video and song combined.

There are bright vibrantcolours all over this music video that combined with the enigmatic performance of the band portrays them as crazy, energetic, unique and artistic.

Music Videos from films

This is 'When the Sun Goes Down' by the Arctic Monkeys also known as 'Scummy Man'. This music video never shows the band and has only one narrative which is quite unconventional, however this may be because this song is the sound track for the short film 'Scummy Man' which was also commissioned by the Arctic Monkeys, meaning that the video has a well established storyline which fits in perfectly with the songs lyrics.

I like the way in which this video is not just dancing people and in fact has a well thought out, honest, dark, revealing storyline behind it which adds sincerity to the lyrics and tune. This is managed with the aid of perfectly synchronized edits between shots to fit in with the beat and the way in which the video picks up pace with the music during the sped up city-life scenes within a car during a rainy night, setting the scummy scene to correspond with the lyrics.

Hello

This is my second Media Studies blog and on this one I will be publishing posts on the Music Industry. WOOP WOOP!

Enjoy