Hennah Ashraf
Codes and Conventions of Music Videos
Introduction
During this written assignment, I will be writing about five different music genres and the codes and conventions of each. The types of genres I am going to be focusing on are; RnB, Rap, Punjabi, Religious and Pop music. Below are an example of each genre which I will be looking at and comparing it against the codes and convention of other music videos, from a similar genre.
RnB example: Yo (excuse me miss) (Chris Brown)
Rap: Smack That (Akon ft Eminem)
Punjabi: Ki Samjaiye (Amrinder Gill)
Religious: Mein Taliyan Nabi Diyan Chumda (Muhammad Milad Raza Qadri)
Pop: Man In The Mirror (Micheal Jackson)
Yo, Excuse Me Miss: Chris Brown
An example of a R&B music video is the song called Yo (Excuse Me Miss) by Chris Brown. This music video is from a males viewpoint, in this case, Chris Brown. In R&B music videos, men are portrayed as topless, especially in Trey songs, so that they can attract a female audience. However, this also happens vice versa. Women are not displayed as topless but are portrayed very bare, with minimal clothing and are seen as sex objects. For most R&B music videos the target audience is the youth and young teenage girls and boys. Teenage girls are usually the target for songs performed and composed by male artists, whereas teenage boys are the target audience for music videos containing women, as opposite sexes attract. The impact has to be quite big hence both male and female artists where very little clothing.
On one hand, male artists tend to show off their abs and six packs, whereas women show their beautiful figures. In music videos of this type of genre, men usually wear jeans, which tend to hang below their waist. This is so that you can see their boxers and perhaps a shiny designer belt. They also have tattoos around their body which tend to be on the arms, legs or on the upper body, where it is visible. For a change, male artists also wear jewellery, but very little jewellery unlike hip hop artists. The type of jewellery they usually wear is a diamante earring, silver chain and perhaps a designer watch in some cases. These are minor elements which also impact the audience.
On the contrary, women are also seen in minimal clothes too, however they wear a lot of make-up, with variety of tans and eye make-up is very heavy and bold. This is used to seek attention. Computer editing also allows them to hide their wrinkles, eye bags and any spots. In R&B videos, women have their hair looking very dramatic which leaves a wow look, that influences other women. Also, they wear high heals to make their legs look longer and so that their bottoms stick out, which is again to attract the opposite gender. Although saying this, in some performance videos, women wear trainers and jeans rather than dresses and heels. This is to suit the style of their song. Another slight change, in comparison to male dressing within this genre of music is that women wear quite big earrings and hardly any other jewellery; make up and dress usually does the job.
In fast songs women are often portrayed as sex object and when the eye make-up is very light the use of bright red or pink lipstick is used, which creates a balance. A vast majority of the fast songs are shot in a studio so that effects can be added to it. Songs which are about love and relationship problems contain women who are dress appropriately. By wearing costumes which reveal very little represent the women as goddesses and they are seen in a positive light.
Akon's music video, called Smack That is an example of a rap music video. By looking at the opening of this music video we are able to see a lot of black, white and grey scale however like some odd rap videos there are also a high contrast in the colours used. Not only this, but they are also in an environment where you expect them to be played in. For example, in night clubs, bars and on the streets. These are all places where music of this sort is brought to life at. This music video is in a nightclub therefore you can see that it fits into the nightclub theme.
In this particular music video, the artist is represented like a gangster/criminal. This can be applied to all other music videos. Videos of this kind show a representation of gangsters, people with fame, personal wealth and cars. However, some songs are made for club records and others to address a subject matter; being both positive and negative.
Rap music videos also have a hook at the beginning, which in ordinary music is also known as the chorus. The chorus captures the theme of the song and has to be catchy and appealing to a mainstream audience.Beats within the music videos invoke the emotions that inspired the artist when composing the song. They contain a lot of slang, informal and street language, hence being easily interpreted by youths of the modern era. Emotions, creativity and rhymes also derive from this genre of music video and as it is rhymes it makes the music video much easier to remember, having an Urban impact.
Most rap tracks are composition of electronic instruments or drum beats, which are played in the background and are most popular in dance clubs.
Ki Samjaiye is an example of a Punjabi music video. The thing which makes this type of genre popular among Asians is because is uses the Indian drum, called the Dhol, in the background. When the Dhol is played, the first thoughts of an individual are to dance to the amazing beat. Similarly, Punjabi music is also created to make people dance and feel happy.
Bright colours and costumes are used to set the mood of the song, however if the video takes place within a club or disco, the artists work in the dark and adjust to different lighting to match the mood of the song. Costumes generally consist of patiala salwar and tight fitted kameez. This is to make the body appear elegant and attractive as most of the themes are based around love, dance, weddings and parties.
Punjabi music allows people from around different parts of Asia to listen along, as the language spoken is a contrast of Urdu and Hindi. Urdu is spoken in most regions of Asia, therefore making it an understandable language to sing in. Punjabi is similar to the slang language used in England. Voice of the singer is more important than the musical instruments. Instruments which accompany Punjabi music are flutes, harmoniums, pianos and the most commonly used; Dhol's. Songs of this genre are very enjoyable and the music rejoices people.
Mein Taliyan Nabi Diyan Chumda: Muhammad Milad Raza Qadri
Religious music is also another genre and a music video, which fits into this category is the one named above; Mein Taliyan Nabi Diyan Chumda. This is an Islamic music video which relates to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which is a role model to all the Muslim nation. Similarly, like this music video, other videos of such kind are also based around religion, God, beliefs, values and morals. Religious music can be composed in different languages, which allows other people to express their views, opinions and feelings about their religion. Some strong influences of religious music in Islam are in Arabic, Iranian and Turkish classical music, in which individuals relate them self to God and the world itself.
Masses of the music produced makes people want to cry, or makes them realise certain aspects of religion really hard, which they may not have given as much importance to before. Some videos are narrative based music videos which tells a specific religious story. Islamic music video use a lot of natural settings, such as landscapes and environment with greenery. This is to imply the naturalness of nature.
Within religious Islamic music, there are also different music types, for example nasheeds, Sufi's, a Hamd, a Naat, Manqabats and Ghazals. Nasheeds are music sung without any musical instruments; considered as permissible and halal in Islam, among Muslims. Sufi's are chanting for the Sufi's of Turkey, however it not seen as a worshipping service. On the other hand, a Hamd is a song in praise of Allah. Similarly and a Naat is a song in praise of the Prophet Muahmmad (peace be upon him). Manqabats are songs in praise of the teachers of the Sufi brotherhood to which the musicians belong to. Whereas, Ghazals are songs which use the language of romantic love to express the soul's longing for union. These are few of the many types of religious music associated with Islam.
Micheal Jackson's, Man In The Mirror is an example of a pop music video. In pop music videos men are commonly portrayed in a modern way, where they are seen as glamourous and attractive. They are also a dominant character within these type of videos, especially in dance and performances. On the contrary, women are also shown in a modern way as they are shown as having upset the man, which hardly ever happened in the past eras. This shows the modernisation of the society.
Pop music videos are based upon relationships, scandals and sexual activity. Common videos portray women negatively and they are often seen as cheats, players and very aggressive in a relationship. When the songs subject is based on a positive thing the lighting is usually light and vibrant, however when it is based on a negative thing the lighting is usually quite dim and dark. This implies the negativity of the song as well as representing darkness within the artists' life, which impacts the mood of the song.
Settings of music videos are set in mansions, nightclubs, boats, beaches and street. When videos are shot in mansions it tends to represent happy, rich people. Whereas if it were set on the streets or nightclubs it gives a youth feel to the music and is enjoyed differently. Props such as cars and jewellery are used quite often, along with bright colours and band performances in some situations. Once again cars demonstrate a rich personality and less jewellery creates a good impression in the audiences minds, commonly in young people's minds.
Animation Video: One More Time (Daft Punk)
Features of this music video are:
- Use of bright colours
- Close ups of animated characters lips while singing
- Adult theme in a cartoon format
- Images and sounds are not suitable for young children
- Music video slows down as the lyrics slow down
- The colours used are party colours and the colours used are of lighting with in nightclubs
- Fictional setting as there are spaceships.
In concert/live: Linking Park (Numb Encore)
- Screams and cheers before the performance has started
- Live band and performance, with lighting
- Singers singing live
- Include footage of their journey in black and white (applies a posh feel)
- A live concert is boring alone therefore the video includes footage of the audience jumping, cheering and screaming showing the statement
- Artist voice is louder than the sounds themselves, which is good because the audience can understand what is being sung
- Shows the work behind the music video production (production team etc)
- Singer signing off stage
- Black out to imply the end of the music video.
Homage: Ghetto Ghospel (2Pac)
- A diary type of music video
- Events are recorded and timestamps are displayed of the event
- Tribute to 2 pac
- Dull colours, black room to show the pain
- Gangs on streets doing undercover drugs business, shows the type of lifestyle he lived
- Narrative - telling the life story of 2 pac (realistic)
- The use of colours like, black and red (colours related to crime and funeral colours)
- Picture at the end, to show people who he is and what marks he left behind
- The outfits the thugs wore (black with silver chains and earrings gives a gangster impression)
- Woman seeing things as she removes her veil to realise that she is seeing an illusion.
Parody: Some Study That I Used To Know (Gotye)
- Get a horrible feeling already, see half a body of naked male who's hairy (off putting)
- The name of the song fits well as it is about school days and studies, even though it is a bit boring
- However the video itself is quite good in terms of whatever is being painted on the wall, is also being painted on the human which I haven't seen in hardly any other music video, making this one unique and memorable
- The language which is used is not for young children nor is the video itself because it has censored aspects of nudity
- Not as expected, uncomfortable to watch and inappropriate for my taste of music.
Influence: Gold Digger (Kanye West)
Features of this music video are:
- Introduction is quite squeaky, even if you don't want to you will still turn to look at the video, as the squeakiness is what attracts us(the hook of it)
- A theatre type of introduction like a starting of the movie, curtain raisers
- Warning sign given before hand, however its not so sharp and bright which indicates is an easy going music video
- Target audience is for adults; at all not suitable for children (too influential and not good for a young audience).
Example of Pastiche Music Video
Christina Aguilera - Candyman video
pastiche - imitating a certain era
- Pastiche music videos are music videos which imitate a certain era, in Christina Aguileras' music video it is of a previous era, back in the days. The music video above goes back to the 40's. Some of the features of this video are that it:
- Contains highly sexual lyrical meanings
- Not suitable for a young audience
- Costume is of the olden era and a white costume simplifies purity, however this is not the case throughout the song
- A lot of facial make up to make them appear like barbies, strong lipstick colour to have an impact on the opposite gender and the clothes that they wear reveal alot of skin
- Energetic and representing the olden era in a new way
- Adult content, concept music video and the subject is love and sexual desire/feelings
Lyric Interpretations
Try by Pink
Looking at the lyrics for this music video, we assume that the theme has a negative feel. which conveys the message of an individual who is attempting to live in a relationship which is failing to be successful. Not only this but we can also iterate that this music video is from a women's point of view because she approaches the other person as a 'he'. In a heterosexual relationship, which is very common in all societies contains heterosexual couples, hence reflecting from this I make a stereotypical judgement that it is the thoughts of a woman towards a male partner.
Nevertheless, the word 'try' has been emphasised a lot and it is also within the title of the song, which emphasises its meaning further. The writer of this song believes that you should keep trying to make it right in a relationship and this has been clearly demonstrated within the music video. Within the chorus we think that the music video is about a woman who has heard something about her partner but is saying to the world that rather than believing it she is going to try and make it work out for herself. This entire piece of lyrical music has been evolved around a woman's thoughts, mind and feelings.
The character which is being portrayed to us within the lyrics is a woman who has been badly hurt and it trying to move on from it, however the love pulls her back to a relationship which has become too tough to handle and that it is better for her to live again and learn from her mistake. Pink has also mentioned the word 'flame' throughout her chorus which makes me think that perhaps she will also use a fake flame like Rihanna did in her music video called, Love The Way You Lie. The music video seems narrative based and may use a contrast of dark colours and shadings to demonstrate the pain. Various shots, mainly close ups are likely to be used to show facial expressions and body language of the actors, which is likely to be from a subjective and at times and objective viewpoint. In reflection of this, costume, colour and lighting may also be dull, dark and dreary to enhance the feeling of a depressed atmosphere.
Actual Video:
However in the real video everything was almost opposite to how we may off assumed it to be like. For example the video contains so much more action and colour with eliminates aspects of stereotypes. The lyrics talk about being hurt and to imply this colours such as blue and yellow (emphasising the black and blue bruises) have been used to create a better impact of the brutality of this music video. In this case the couple have not been be separated but instead their love brings them together again, which is slightly unusual in comparison to other music video of similar kind. There is an equal part of violence from both actors towards one another however the lyrics are from a woman's viewpoint which makes us feel sympathetic towards her more, which completely disregards the man's situation. In favour to her viewpoint, the lyrics create a bias.
Another point of consideration from this music video is that the setting is in a house which looks empty, reflecting their relationship. However as the camera moves from room to room, a different story is also being told. Firstly everything starts off on an equilibrium and then matters worsen when each room contains more action. The music video switches from moments of love to moments of hate and abuse and abrupt,sharp, bright colours are used which are not expected.
Love Story by Taylor Swift
Lyrics of the music refer to Romeo and Juliet's era from the past which implies that the music video is to be based upon a love story similar, if not the same as to Romeo and Juliet's. It implies how strong love can be and by comparing it against Romeo and Juliet love story it creates an impact and the audience can sympathise with the actors as the story is so common among society, that many versions in different languages have been created to narrate the same story. Coming from this, I assume that this music video is going to be a narrative based music video which will follow the lives of the two individuals to show their love story. The clue of what the music video is about is in the name. Love Story indicates that it is going to be about the story of their love.
Also, I can conclude that it is from a woman's viewpoint as she states 'that you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles...' which clearly allows us to assume that she is likely to be taking on Juliet's role. Romeo and Juliet's story was famous for keeping hope in their love and that some day they will be one and hence this music video follows a similar structure. The word 'difficult' has been used to create an impact on the audience so that we know how difficult their situations are and how they still keep faith. This music video is likely to be set in a school, college or university as it is based on young love. It is also likely to be joyful and adventurous at times as well as slightly saddening and emotional at times. As an audience we assume that when she talks about the separation of her with her boyfriend that we will see rivers of emotions and unhappy people. A story is being told within the lyrics which tells us that her father is not happy with the relationship. For example it is mentioned in the lyrics that '...my daddy said to stay away from Juliet...' which explains the reasons for their distance. From this we can also assume that the boy was not capable for Juliet because when he returns he says he will buy her a wedding dress and ask her father but he asks her to say 'yes.'
Actual video:
The actual video is very much like how we would think it to be like. In the opening sequence of the music video we see a variety of shots, from establishing shot, to close up and medium close up shots. All these types of shots give a different feel to the audience hence they have been used so diversely. This music video is set in Romeo and Juliet's era and hence the women wear big dresses in mainly white and beige colours with beautiful hair-do's and are dressed to feature like Queens and Princesses. Personally, this is how I imagined the video to be and in reality it has lived up to my expectations.
Lyrics reflect what is being shown to us in the video too, but majority of the video is located at a college and in the forest, which goes a bit by the location which I predicted. However, none of it is based at home, which does not matter a lot. From a cheerful vibe we move to a sad part of it when Juliet leaves Romeo's hand which makes the audience hold their hand against their heart hoping that the two will reunite. During this particular moment of the scene, the so-called Juliet walks past an angel who is holding her hands making some sort of wish, which reflects how she hopes that there is a new beginning to this sad ending. The fairytale ending occurs when he returns to her like she had hoped and they meet up again in a field similar to the one where they departed from. They both are happy once again.
Techniques Used In Music Video Production:Music producers use various types of techniques within a music video. Some examples of them which I will be writing about are; cutting to beat, effects, miming and lip sync, playback and lip sync, multi image, camera movements, camera angles and chroma key.
Cutting to Beat: Can be defined as the change of music with the change of scene. It is simply syncing the audio to the music video. A scene cuts to another scene on a specific lyric. An example of when cutting to beat was used was in the music video by Adele; Rolling in the Deep.
Effects: Effects can be referred to a result or a change of something. In music videos effects such as animation and visual effects (VFX) are used between the change of scenes and are appealing to a different range of audience. Some simple effects which can be used in music video are; dissolve in, ease in and out, flash, check board and so forth. Producers also use other visual effects and 3D animation as well as CGI. Visual effects allow the producers and directors to go more creative and to appeal to a larger audience.
Miming and Lip Sync: Miming is to use gestures and movements without using words while acting in a play or a performance. Whereas lip sync is to move the lips at the same time as the speech or song which has been recorded, in order to make it look real and as if to make it feel live. Artists like Britney Spears, Queen, Ashlee Simpson, Milli Vanilli and Justin Bieber have done miming and lip syncing within their music video productions.
Playback and Lip Sync: Audio playback in a music video means to replay a part (if not all) of a audio/video recording in order to monitor quality.
Multi Image: Multi-image is sometimes used to describe the output of digital images being portrayed on screen, as a combination. Multi images are used for photo montages and image stitching.
Camera Movements: There are many ways in which the camera moves such as crab, dolly, dolly zoom, follow, pan, pedestal (ped) and tilt.
Cutting to Beat: Can be defined as the change of music with the change of scene. It is simply syncing the audio to the music video. A scene cuts to another scene on a specific lyric. An example of when cutting to beat was used was in the music video by Adele; Rolling in the Deep.
Effects: Effects can be referred to a result or a change of something. In music videos effects such as animation and visual effects (VFX) are used between the change of scenes and are appealing to a different range of audience. Some simple effects which can be used in music video are; dissolve in, ease in and out, flash, check board and so forth. Producers also use other visual effects and 3D animation as well as CGI. Visual effects allow the producers and directors to go more creative and to appeal to a larger audience.
Miming and Lip Sync: Miming is to use gestures and movements without using words while acting in a play or a performance. Whereas lip sync is to move the lips at the same time as the speech or song which has been recorded, in order to make it look real and as if to make it feel live. Artists like Britney Spears, Queen, Ashlee Simpson, Milli Vanilli and Justin Bieber have done miming and lip syncing within their music video productions.
Playback and Lip Sync: Audio playback in a music video means to replay a part (if not all) of a audio/video recording in order to monitor quality.
Multi Image: Multi-image is sometimes used to describe the output of digital images being portrayed on screen, as a combination. Multi images are used for photo montages and image stitching.
Camera Movements: There are many ways in which the camera moves such as crab, dolly, dolly zoom, follow, pan, pedestal (ped) and tilt.
Crab - A term used for tracking or trucking, however this term is not very often used.
Dolly - This type of shot usually travels along tracks to give a very smooth movement which can also be referred to as a tracking or trucking shot, whereas Dolly Zoom tracks smoothly while the camera moves closer to further away from a certain object.
Follow - The camera follows the subject at almost a constant distance.
Pan - This means for the camera to move from left to right and right to left.
Pedestal (Ped - This is the opposite to panning; moving the camera up and down with respect to the subject.
Tilt - Vertical movement of the camera angle, either pointing up or down etc.
Camera Angles: Different angles of camera shots are as follows; extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, close up, extreme close up, birds eye view, high angle, eye level and low angle.
Extreme Long Shot- an establishing long shot of setting. This type of shot is usually used to set the scene and it includes an exterior view of the landscape; as much as possible.
Long Shot - This is a full shot showing the entire human body; from head to toe. It also shows slight sections of the setting.
Medium Shot - A camera shot from the knees or to the waist up.
Close Up - This type of shot shows very little background and concentrates on a specific detail of the object.
Extreme Close Up - This is an extreme version of the close up, generally a zoom in which creates an intimidating feel.
Birds Eye View - A view of the setting from an overhead view which gives a feel as if you are looking down upon something.
High Angle - The camera is high above the action sequence however it is lower than the bird's eye view, showing a wider picture.
Eye Level - A neutral shot where the camera is position in level with the human eye which creates a feel from a participants/actors viewpoint.
Low Angle - This is a drop down from the eye level point. Low angles are used to create confusion and shows the speed of the action. This also creates an intimidate look.
Chroma Key: Blue screen or chroma key effects allow producers to record actors/singers against a chroma key (single colour, either blue or green0 background which allows them to replace the backdrop during the post production of the music video. Some examples of music videos which have used chroma key during the post production are: Oasis ( All Around the World), Fat Boy Slim ( Right Here, Right Now) and Kylie's music video; Can't Get You Out Of My Head.
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