Pop Music –

 

Pop music is the type of music in which different types of genres such as rock & country are brought together. Small amount of other elements are showcased in Pop music as many different styles are used. It is popular, and it is heard by a wide range of viewers because of its wide range of different elements.

 

It has a good rhythm and catchy melody as it is easy to make a beat catchy as it brings many different elements into its style.

 

This is evident in the music video of the song “Havana” by Camila Cabello

 

Pop music follows all modern trends in the media industry such as clothing and the messages portrayed, Pop music videos follows a linear narrative, one of the main conventions of Pop Music is that most of the lyrics are related to what’s being displayed in the music video.

 

In Pop Music Video’s Artist tend to appear themselves as it helps promoting the music video, they are also shown to be happy and smiling in music videos.

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Hip Hop Music –

 

Hip Hop is a music genre which was created in the 70s by the inner African Americans, it consists of two main elements Rapping & Djing (MC). Hip hop is basically one person rapping some rhythmic lyrics while the other person is giving him a beat to rap to.

 

The beginning of Hip Hop was by Universal Zulu Nation, A street organization inspired by DJ Kool Herc (Afrika Bambaataa) it was centered around Hip Hop to draw teenagers out of

Drugs & Gang violence.

 

There are many conventions of Hip Hop music, one of them is low angle shots as it shows that the artist has power over the audience. Close ups are also one of the main conventions as the artist takes up the entire frame it deems them as an important figure.

 

In Hip Hop a link between the lyrics and the visual is common, it is as simple as showing what object it is referring to. Male gaze theory is applied in majority of Hip Hop as most of the audience are males. The clothing in Hip Hop usually signify strength so the attire is sporty or tank tops.

 

This is all evident in 50 cent’s “In Da Club”

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Indie Music –

 

The genre Indie relates to the fact that the artist or band are a part of independent record label. Indie Music is centered around Rock music and have a similar use of instruments such as Drum, Electronic Guitars & Bass which all create loud music. Indie is a non-mainstream rock.

 

Indie artists have a chance to experiment with what genre of songs they want to produce as they are a part of an independent record label and they won’t be having a great fan following, most of the meanings behind indie songs aren’t personal but instead it’s about nothing.

 

Some of the codes & conventions of Indie music videos are that there is barely a relation between the lyrics and the visual instead the music video promotes the artist or relate to the band.

 

The Majority of Indie music videos will be interpretive, and the Music video will have a band performing live, Indie music videos are usually dark & not as joyful as Pop music videos as Pop music looks at the good parts of life while Indie looks at more depressing things.

 

This is evident in “Supersonic” By Oasis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Styles - 

 

In concert & “As Live” footage –

 

Artists that use in concert footage get the benefit of it promoting the artist himself as the audience get to see the artist perform live and see there as good live as they are normally. The audience even see the atmosphere in concerts which is the main reason people don’t buy concert tickets as they don’t like the atmosphere.

 

In the music video “all around the globe” by Justin Bieber there are many clips of him performing live and the audience enjoying his performance, this would encourage the audience the purchase tickets for his next concerts as they would see how enjoyable his concerts seem to be and they would want to experience that.

 

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Animation –

 

Animated music videos are mainly used for creativity, it helps take the audience to completely different setting instead of just watching an artist perform, this makes the artist appear alternative and interesting which will increase their fan following and hits on songs.

 

In the music video “lone digger” by caravan palace the characters are all cartoons which will be more interesting to the viewers as very few artists use the style of animation in their music videos which makes animated music videos unique in their own way.

 

The down sight to the artist would be that in a live concert the audience wouldn’t enjoy their music as much as there wouldn’t be any use of animation which is one of the sloe reasons people listen to such artists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop Motion –

 

“End love” by Ok Go is an excellent example of Stop motion music video as in the music video all 4 characters stick together to show unity between themselves and all 4 of them are wearing different colors which would show different emotions.

 

Stop motion music videos are rarely used by many artists so it is deemed unique if it is done and the artist is shown to be creative which would attract different audiences who would listen to the song for the messages & the creativity behind it.

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Interpretive –

 

Interpretive music videos encourage the viewers to gather their own interpretations from the music video & messages that are given, an action can give a viewer a completely different interpretation from another viewer which would make a particular viewer more related with the video & think about the real messages that our being shown from the music video.

 

For example, “Capsize” by Emily Warren & Frenship is an interpretive music video as there are no clear messages being given through the music video which will make the viewers gather their own insights and interpretations on the music videos and each viewer will have different interpretations also.

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Narrative –

 

Hero by Enrique Iglesias is a great example of a narrative music video, It follows Todorov’s 'Narrative Theory' by starting with an equilibrium with the couple together enjoying and having a good time.

It then enters a state of disruption of equilibrium when the artist finds trouble at the end of the road with what appears to be his girlfriend’s father, he gets beaten up and left for dead by the father however, even though this is a very sad scene; it then seems to enter a state of a new equilibrium when the girl is released and hugs him one last time.

This appears to be an equilibrium because of the lyrics “I can be you’re hero” link with the video when they are together no matter what happens and no one can take them away from each other.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJlIGDImiU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Conventions –

 

Lyric interpretation –

 

This basically means that there is a direct link between the video and the lyrics as without the visuals the song wouldn’t make that much sense, this is done so that the viewers can gather their interpretations properly from the music video.

 

This can also be a bad thing for the artist as it removes the possibility of enigma in the music video which can damage the creative aspect of the artist.

 

Extending a song’s meaning –

 

It is similar to Lyric interpretation in a way that there is a link between the video and the lyrics but the difference here Is that instead of actions, symbolism or other conventions which are not that obvious as actions is used to convey what’s going on in the music video.

 

This gives the viewers the chance to understand the meaning behind the song & also gather their own interpretations about the music video as well.

 

Allusion –

 

Allusion music videos are quite similar to referencing & pastiche music videos but are not the same as in this there is a small hint that the music video is connected to some other form of media but isn’t copying it completely.

 

This makes the music video seem more creative and makes the viewers think hard about the lyrics in a less obvious manner.

 

Links to other artists –

 

In this type of music video there are two or more artists that appear, they don’t necessarily have to perform, they can just be referred, or it could be a tribute to an artist that passed away.

 

This provides the main artist with a secondary audience which are the fans of the additional artist appearing in the music video.

 

Techniques –

 

Cutting to beat –

 

This technique is done to cut to another scene whenever there is a sound of a different beat, this is done to change the scene and atmosphere of the video and also makes the music video more interactive.

 

 

Effects –

 

Visual effects are a key technique in enhances a music video to a greater level as it is interesting for the viewers to see different effects going on the music video instead of the artist just singing with no narrative.

 

Miming & Lip sync –

 

This technique is used when the producer play’s back the prerecorded track and the artist either dances or mimes along with the track playing.

 

This is either done to cover up any illness that the artist is facing or if he is having bad vocals while dancing, this can help fix that issue, this is also done to make the artist look like he/she is a good dancer.

 

Multi-Mage –

 

This is when there are more than one videos shown on the screen at the same time, this is done to show the artist in different location and show the different moods the artist is in, this is not done very often and is used by minimal artists which makes this a unique technique which will gain a lot of interest from the viewers.

 

Camera Movements –

 

Camera movements are used to portray the mis-en-scene well and could be used in a way in which the viewers would feel as if they are directly involved with the music video.

 

When different camera movements are used, it is more fun to watch for viewers and also makes it a lot more interacting.

 

Camera angles –

 

There are many camera angles used in music videos so that the viewers can see what’s happening from many different perspectives, so they will gain a better understanding of meaning behind the music video.

 

Some common camera angles are High angle, Low angle, Birds eye view and eye level camera.

 

Chroma key –

 

Chroma key is basically like a green screen where a block of color which is usually green is

used to layer another scene, this is mainly used to place the artist at a location, which he/she couldn’t be at or it would be used for special effects.

 

The special effects and different types of colors which when brought together keep the audience interested in the music video.

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