Music videos appeal to audiences in a number of ways, through iconography, editing and also showing the audience more about the artists themselves or in some cases, even building controversy to get people talking about the music video. Song lyrics may not be enough to enforce feelings and emotions, so a music video may clear it up better and emphasise the points. A music video doesn't have to cause controversy to be abstract, and Drake's "over" is an example of that, being a diverse music video with it's special effects, visuals and editing.
Drake "over" is a diverse music video that is also both conventional unconventional to the rap genre, but sways more towards being abstract. The instance in which it shows conventionality is with the use of mis en scene, in the iconography present. Drake is wearing a gold chain, commonly seen worn by other rap artists such as 2 chainz and 50 cent, this is commonly seen on artists to show they can afford expensive jewellery. ' An edting effect used in this video is called a mirror effect, where at one point we see two drakes instead of one, which could connote this is himself looking back on his actions, supported by his lyrics "I did it overnight it couldn't happen any quicker." Another example of editing used commonly here is also when drakes face and what he sees e.g the females in the background is faded numerous times in the video using a blur effect, which is efficent as this means drake cannot put a face to people, supported by his lyrics "I know way too many people here right now that I didn't know last year, who the f*ck are y'all?" Cinematography is present and used through close-up camera shots in order to engage the audience, as there are close-ups of drakes face throughout the entire video, this is used to engage drake with the audience and that he has their attention, also that he himself is the center of attention. This is conventional, as artists want to see more of him and his songs and will buy it if they like it, they see a lot of drake in this video, if his face is constantly put out to the public, he becomes more recognisable and this helps him as he will sell more records. There is also a mid shot of him sitting on the end of the bed, which is used to show the special effects and images that appear on the wall behind him. Another meaning could be that since he is on a bed, it could all just be a dream and this is what is inside of his head.
Lil Wayne "lolipop" is a hip-hop song which is conventional to the genre in a number of ways. It's first use of cinematogrpahy is shown with a mid shot of lil wayne in the car with girls that appear promiscuious and are all wearing revealing clothing. It is typical for this to be present in hip-hop videos, as these artists want to show their viewers that they are "cool", in this case lil wayne wants to demonstrate that by showing he has a lot of women. The second use of cinematography is shown with tracking shots that occur twice in the video. The first is when the camera tracks from space to across the city and to lil waynes hotel room, immediately focusing on him, the main intention of this type of cinematography being that they want to show lil wayne is the main focus and do so by zooming straight on him at the beginning. The next example is of a black limo driven in the video, which features lil wayne and his women in. Black limos are expensive and are a luxury item and lil wayne is acting like this is his every day life, partying with women in the vehicle. Again, he wants to show to his audience the "cool guy" gimmick and also make his fans possibly want to have his life. Editing is shown right at the beginning of the video, with special effects showing golden lights, which symbolise las vegas, where the limo is seen driving through throughout the video and also there is a visual effect that follows that shows blue colours with black circles inside, which could symbolise a dancefloor. These effects then continue to be used continuously throughout the video and to show not only with bright glamorous colours that lil wayne lives the "high life", but also that him and those with him on the evening are after a good time and are partying. Fast paced editing is present in this video and is shown throughout, as they introduce the viewer to lil waynes life, showing the limo, women, a pool and lil wayne himself rapping in a number of quick shots, mainly since because it is hip hop, hip-hop songs are generally fast paced, hence the fast editing. An example of mis en scene is the clothes he is wearing, a smart suit and tie, expensive clothing again, showing these are luxerys lil wayne can afford and this again shows conventionality as hip hop artisrs like to brag about what they have and flaunt themselves often.
Guns n Roses- Welcome to the jungle- rock and roll
The video "welcome to the jungle" is conventional to the rock genre in a number of ways. An example of editing is constant jump cuts near the beginning of the video between all the artists from the band. It shows the members of the band playing instruments you'd expect to see in a rock and roll video and also what you'd expect to hear, for example electric guitars and drums. This satisfys the audience, as they are seeing and heaing what they expect, meaning this could help sell the song more successfully. Another example of editing is during montage shots, a shot of a soldier can be seen running and also police brutality, which link in with the genres main theme of violence and also aggression which is very common in this type of music, making it conventional. An example of mis en scene is the costumes the band members are wearing and also other aspects of their appearance, such as tattoos and wacky hairstyles, and also steel bracelets and black leather jeans, all what a typical rock and roll audience would picutre their favourite artist or who they're viewing to look like, as rock stars also care little what people think of them, which is further shown in this video by the characters unordinary image and outfits. Cinematography is used in this video to show the band up close and personal, with various closeups of them playing the song. This interracts the audience with the band and attracts them to their performance, giving the audience what they're after and also trying to sell themselves as artists. There are also panning shots of the band playing on stage, showing the viewers their performance and allowing them to see all of the artists playing personally, further drawing viewers into the video, as they are getting what they want, in seeing the band they like and want to listen to.
Conclusion:
Overall technical elements vary in different ways accross these music videos. It's important to consider the technology changes and how music videos has become ever more different as years have passed, evidenlty comparing over with welcome to the jungle, the rock and roll music videos quality is lower, and special effects like the ones seen in over wouldn't have been able to be implemented into a video during Guns N' Roses' era. The music videos appeal to the audience mainly by sticking to and showing conventions of the genre and also showing the artists/artists up close and personal to their fans, allowing the artist/artists to buld a relationship with them. For my music video, I think it is important I am shown a lot and close to the camera, as I am the artist in our group, and conventions to our indie genre such as the use of guitars and casual clothing can be presnt to further reach out to our intended audience.
This post demonstrates some understanding of how micro elements are used within different music videos. You have made a start in analysing three different music genres, but you need to ensure that your analysis points, include evidence on the micro elements throughout, as some points are a little vague.
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