Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
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features of music
videos
Rob Wilson
The theories
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal
videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
2.There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with
images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3.There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the
visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4.The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the
artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
5.There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors,
stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6.The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual
style)
7.There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos
etc).
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either
illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
This song does present a relationship between lyrics and visuals, the lyrics throughout the song talks about white
police against black males and how black males should unite to stand up against the police so that they can live
without being unfairly treated. The artists rap about what black males should do against the police, Take over a
jail, give them COs hell showing the anger towards the police. where the f#ck the warden? And when you find
him, we don't kill him, we just waterboard him these lyrics show that they want to torture the police for what they
have done to the black males and to use this as revenge due to the effect the police have had on their life. As
previously mentioned the video presents the story of black males against white police and the video shows that
they fight throughout the whole video but neither of them win they are both seen as equals but due to racism this
is not shown in real life.
The video is illustrative of the lyrics and portrays a story related to the lyrics and this will help keep the audience
interacted as they should be thinking about the meaning behind the video and the lyrics and this will help create a
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otherwise it would appear boring if the editing was slow paced.
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played showing that they do not have
that the male is not prepared to be
as if they do not. The video shows
anything to do with the video.
arrested and is trying to get away.
that on the street the police and male
are equals.
There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of
the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
The tone and atmosphere in this music video appears to my quite dark and dull, which is linked to
the genre of music as the streets of America appear to be dark and dull and this is usually what is
rapped about in common songs. They have portrayed this by using a simple but effective effect of
the black and white setting over the video. This shows that there is not much light in the video and
could give connotations that there is very little light in the streets of America so this also has a
deeper meaning. There is a rather aggressive tone used in the video as rap music is known as
being aggressive and violent for the general public, the fighting scene throughout the video shows
the characteristics of violence.
The videos tone and atmosphere help present the song well and the it portrays the aspects of a
rap music video really well. The video helps amplify the song to us by providing us with lots of
images and different meanings for the audience to think about and analyse. To portray the
atmosphere of a dark atmosphere the director uses a lot of different shots we see a few different
angled shots and several movements to keep up with the fight scene.
The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist
and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
This music video defies Andrew Goodwins statement as the artists do not appear that much in the
video which shows that the record label Mass Appeal are not too bothered about their artists
being involved in the music video as much as other record labels, although the video has the
record labels logo in the corner so they are still advertising their branding and their record label.
The video was uploaded onto their YouTube channel so that their channel receives lots of views
and subscriptions which will help promote their branding which is part of the post production as
they are marketing their brand.
Their also appears to be no brands in the music video which shows that this video was purely
produced to present the message across to the public, usually brands are used in videos from
sponsors or companies that pay for their product to be advertised but this video appears to be
very
This
is theplain.
only time the artists appear in
the music video and as we can see we
see not much of them at all and they are
wearing very bland and dull clothing. We
see a close up of each member to show
who they are but it is only quick and does
not reoccur throughout the video.
(1
The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their
work (a visual style)
This video is very different to the art of Run The Jewelss music videos as most of them are
narrative where they are performing to the someone where as this completely goes against their
iconography. Their videos appear to be very basic and do not require too specialist work yet all
their videos look good which is important for us as it can inspire us to use a basic video and still
gain good a good video. Their motif/ logo does not appear in the video as well which also shows
how they were not too bothered about promoting themselves. They usually have a gun and fist
pointed out which is their motif and do it a lot in videos and at concerts and is also there logo on
there album work.
There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music
videos etc).
There does not appear to be many intertextual reference to films and television programmes as it
is a very different and political video. Films it could relate to would be involving power and race so
films such as Django Unchained which was about white power and black male changing their
power, this shows a key intertextual reference of racism and also both videos are set in completely
different times as Django Unchained is set in 1858 where as Close Your Eyes is set in modern
times.
The director has purposely used this type of video to show the story throughout his day and how
he wants to be somewhere else. The images portrayed in the video show us that the place appears
to be dull and it almost explains to the audience why he wants to be Somewhere Else. The mise
en scene of the main character helps portray the characteristics related to British indie rock music
as we see him wearing primarily dark clothing and very plain clothing. A long dark trench coat is
being worn which is a common item of clothing for British rock bands such as Oasis. The camera
work that is being used portrays the main character as rather cool and that he kind of takes most
of it in his stride. The audience that the genre relates too would be middle aged men and men are
stereotyped to like to go to the pub and so in the video they use a few pub shots so that t relates
to the public that they are intending to relate to. These genre characteristics are met by thr video
so that it appears to be audience friendly and relatable.
Due to the video being partly performed and partly performing a story it is hard for their to make a relationship
between the lyrics and the video but the director has still managed to portray a similarities between the two. The
lyrics are about how he is with a girl and how he doesnt like it and doesnt like being with her hense the title
Somewhere Else and we are portrayed lots of different images of where he is or where he may want to be which
means they are illustrative images. This may mean that he does not want to be with this female as she may be too
bright and bubbly for him where he wants to be in a dull basic world where it is simple which would explain the use
of the black and white effect.
The lyrics say that You give me everything I need, but I really really wish I could be somewhere else, Than here
this shows the audience that he doesnt want to be in a a relationship with this female as he doesnt want all of
the hassle of her being a emotional reck. The lyrics somewhere else show us that he may have been somewhere
else
emotionally
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which may show to us that he
appears to be in a pub which
see that he is in a pub with his
may have a drink problem or
portrays to the audience that
friends which also presents
that he relies on drink to get
he wants to be there instead
another place he would rather
somewhere else and that this
of with this female.
be.
is the place that he wants to be.
There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of
the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
The tone that is set throughout this video appears to be rather dull and plain which is similar to the
previous music video. In this video the tone is that he is almost begging to the audience to be
somewhere else or where he wants to be which shows the audience that he is in misery. The music
almost makes him appear to be walking away from his issues which would make the tone appear
the he is desperate to escape to somewhere else.
The atmosphere that is set appears to be dark and depressive due to the black and white theme
running throughout this portrays him as being dull and boring and that he doesnt have a bright
spark.
The
constructs a desperate
atmosphere
and that he almost cant live with what he
In this
shot we
seecharacter
that he has his
In this scene
we see his facial
hands
on his head
which makes
the desperate he
is going
through
and how
is to beand
somewhere
expressions
how angry/ else.
audience think that he is in pain and
that the whole female thing is doing
his head in and he feels trapped.
The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of
close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which
recur
across their work (a visual style).
The record label have defiantly matched this statement in the making of this video as the video primarily
consists of the artist walking and we see plenty of the lead singer Johnny Borrell and this is because he is the
star image of the band and he would be the most recognizable. The video consists of plenty of close ups of the
artist as it follows him throughout his trip. The reason the record label would have asked for this practise to be
put into place for the video so that they can really get their artist out their and advertised to the general public
so that he becomes fashionable and people recognize him and also Razorlight. This will help allow them to
generate more income as they will be able to sell merchandise where he appears on it.
Throughout Johnny Borrells videos he usually appears with plain black clothing such as suits and black jackets
as in this video and the majority of his videos appear with a black and white setting over it which will be a motif
for their work and make their videos recognizable for the general public. His hair cut is rather wild and this could
be seen as a motif by the public as it will be recognizable and almost a signature for him such as Michael
Jacksons glove and Elvis Presleys iconic features (slicked back hair, low buttoned top). His hair appears to be
scruffy, long and curly throughout his work keeping a consistency so that he remains recognizable to the public
so that they would be able to say thats Johnny Borrell which would be seen as a success as he will be seen by
the public as a famous figure.
Another reason behinds these motifs is so that the record label for Razorlight (mercury) can become more
popular
and this means that they should be able to increase interest and popularity from other brands as if they
Johnny Borrell in the hit
Johnny Borrell
In The then theJohnny
Somewhere
Johnny
- America
see
Razorlight
becoming a success
with Mercury
bandsBorrell
will feel
as if they want
to Borrell
be involved
in the
song
Golden Touch
Morning
else
same success as Razorlight.
Other than this clip there does not appear to be any features that appear within this statement although
it is a performance video we do not see him appear on a stage or with a instrument so the audience may
not see him as performing the song. It almost appears to the audience that he is singing to them as a 1
to 1 as Johnny Borrell keeps eye contact with the centre of the camera so that it looks as if he is looking
at the person who is watching the video which will keep the audience interacted with the video. The
director has used the male gaze as people will feel sorry for him as he seems down and depressed and
people will feel sympathy for him and this relates to the lyrics as the audience are aware of the struggles
that he is having.
As previously mentioned his looks are recur throughout the majority of his music videos of the
scruffy and greasy hair look and the mise en scene of dull clothing and dark clothing. We usually
see him wearing black or white and this matches the colour pallete of their album cover of black
and white. This means that there is a consistency in their work and that these dull coulors match
their pallet throughout their work.
The hair will be known to the public as they will recognize Johnny Borrell due to this hair style and
they will know that he is the lead singer of Razorlight. The reason that he has this look is because
it could be seen as a bit crazy or wacky and so this will stand out to the audience as it is not your
typical boyband hair style and this makes it quite unorthodox and makes it stand out. The clothing
is reasonably fashionable throughout British indie rock of long jackets as this appears to be a style
that
is adopted
from
lots of bands
asofOasis.
All of the
his music videos appear as black and white
Here
we see
the iconic long
black
Here issuch
a photo
Oasis wearing
and
this
runs throughout
of his music videos and this reflects the lyrics within the
jacket
and
his surroundings
appear the majority
long dark jackets.
black
and as
white.
song
dull and depressive.
We see the band highlighted in all these neon bright colours in which they stand out on a black background this
shows that they are standing out and that they would stand out if they were on a stage. The instruments are
still presented and we see a character within British rock of the drummer rocking his head and kind of going a
bit mad so this matches the usual aspects of most rock videos. There is not a routine for the band to follow as
we them moving their instruments in beat with the song and moving their bodies with the music so they appear
to be dancing whilst performing.
A typical rock music consists of thing being smashed but in this video instead of items becoming smashed they
appear to throw/ shoot paint everywhere
so this kind of follows the typical characteristics of a rock music video
Here we see the whole band
Here we see the paint splatters which
but with and
different
items.
Some
videos
appear
a studio so I think the director has used the
performing
they clearly
stand
out rock music
would
resemble
themwithin
smashing
black
asand
there
surroundings
so
they The
could
either
within
a studio or on stage.
from
thescreening
back ground
we see
their
objects.
paint
kind be
of fills
up the
instruments which will resemble that
they are performing the song.
There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the
visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
It is hard to understand the tone or atmosphere from this music video as we do not see any other
images other than the band and the background is blacked, it is also a performance based video
so it is hard to understand if they are trying to get a message across to the audience or whether it
is just simply a performance. From what we can see with the gun fingers and shots it would appear
that they are fighting one another and the link to the lyrics she's my queen it would appear that
they are all at war over a female and so this would create a aggressive atmosphere as they all
want this women.
The tone is very fast paced and so it creates a exciting tone for the audience as the video is filled
with action which is what is interactive with the audience. The guns create a fast paced tone as
they are seen as dangerous and this will create a effect on the audience as they will recognize the
guns and they will think about warfare. This means that it is partly illustrative as the gun shots are
relating to the lyrics but as previously mentioned there is also disjuncture as we never get to see
the female and so they ignore this aspect of the song.
The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of
close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which
recur across their work (a visual style).
Kasabians record labels Columbia and Sony Music clearly want to get the band image out their
as we see lots of shots of each and every band member and we see lots of close ups for the
artists. The band are often presented as a four and we see them playing there own specific
instrument. A popular motif for Kasabian is Sergios hair as it is very long and curly and he is often
recognized by this as it is very different. The lead singer once had really long hair which was very
recognizable as Sergio and Tom both had these features which created a similar mise en scene for
the audience to recognize.
Similar mise en scene is used within this video is used within the video Empire as we see the
band members using similar jackets if not the same which appear to be smart army like jackets
which reoccurs throughout these videos. There are several Kasabian videos that appear to have
warfare in these videos are Empire, Shoot the runner, LSF (a prison break), Club foot and
Fire. These songs all have violence and war based story's, the reason behind this is because they
appear to be in war with online music downloads and that Kasabian are trying to restore the old
methods used such as vinyl, CD, and tape which is especially shown within the song Club Foot.
The war based storysFire
would
appear to be a reoccurring
motif for Kasabian. TheL.S.F
reason to why the
Empire
(heist)
Club Foot
record label have used these motifs is because people dont like war and dont like violence but if
Kasabian are presenting these images they will be know for it and so this will improve the
popularity of the band and also the record label.
There is not any other objects in the video other than the instruments that the band are using and
so we do not see any screens or mirrors. We do not know whether they are on a stage or in a
studio but the audience get a feel that they are defiantly performing to someone/something and so
the camera follows the band as if it would do in a normal performance video as we see the low
angle shots to emulate a crowd member and lots of close ups. There are times that Tom Meighan is
looking at the camera to interact with the audience watching the video. The camera focuses on
each band member and what their role is so it may focus on the drummer for a while then move
on to the guitarist. This would show a high chance that they are in a studio rather than at a
concert. We here the lyrics Your my queen and this shows that some of the female gaze is being
used as the women is being objectified and that she belongs to him so she becomes a possession.
The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their
work (a visual style)
As previously mentioned Kasabian have used similar costumes to other music videos that they have used and
so this makes the recognizable. They have followed similar styles to other rock music videos and bands as they
use black jackets similar to Razorlight and Oasis and so they clearly feel as if they are part of the trend of this
dark, dull clothing that is simple. They do wear army jackets in this video and the other music video Empire. As
previously mentioned Sergios hair is quite recognizable as it is a bit wild and wacky and audiences will know him
for his haircut.
Also they use war based story's in their music videos so when one of their videos are played it is know for being
a Kasabian music video. They use quite controversial storylines as if Empire a child gets killed and this is
frowned upon by the general public but it means that they can gain publicity from this as it would be spoken
about for being controversial. A reoccurring theme throughout their work is that they appear to be fighting
against modern music techniques such as downloads, Spotify, Itunes and illegal downloading sites as it appears
to be killing the music industry as artists are finding it hard to make any money from songs as it can just be
downloaded illegally. This is specifically shown in the song Club Foot as there are tanks that try to destroy radio.