Research into Music Genres

 

Research into Music Genres

According to the genre of music an artist creates, this will influence the content of their music video in order to appeal to audience by conforming the conventional genre characteristics. Elements such as mis en scene, cinematography and editing are adapted in a particular fashion in order to attract the target audience and fulfil their demand as to what they want/expect from the music video. However, the artist can also subvert the generic conventions which can also attract an audience as they would appear to be something fresh and unexpected. Artists such as Rihanna have pushed such boundaries and has become very popular and well known for doing so.

Drake:

Drake is a well known rap artist, a genre that typically promotes money, expensive lifestyle, drugs and women. Here in his video to 'Over' we see his representation of the genre of rap:

The video begins with a long shot of the setting, a bedroom in which the artist is been to be centrally positioned in. The shot allows the audience to see that the artist is clearly central in the frame and therefore this conveys his importance and power as the audience are drawn to focus on him. At the stage of the video there is no music/lyrics playing either, further emphasising his importance as there is nothing else for the audience to focus on, just the artist. This particular frame can be related to Richard Dyer's Theory in which he proposed that an artist must be both 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary' in order to appeal to an audience; the artist appears to be in a relate-able location as it is a typical bedroom showing his 'ordinary'side, however he is also a famous millionaire presenting his 'extraordinary' side. This allows the audience to relate to the artist but still be fascinated and show interest in him. 

The video continues by showing a close up of the artist, in which this allows the audience to build a relationship with the artist. This video in particular was one of Drake's first music videos and therefore by allowing the audience to build a relationship with him, this will encourage them to continue to show interest in him and therefore his music. This frame can be related to Goodwin's Theory, in which music videos will include lots of close ups of the artists in order for desired effect to be had on the audience i.e. interest, obsession etc.

The editing in this video portrays a short narrative/representation of the artist's lifestyle as a projection is used show what appears to be city lights on the surrounding walls behind the artist; in which this could suggest that the artist lives a very fast and adventurous life, again showing his 'extraordinary' side to interest the target audience. Through editing there is also an effect that changes the lighting and colouring of this particular scene  several times which could further portray the artists lack of consistency as he lives such an 'exciting' and 'extraordinary' lifestyle. This also conforms to the generic conventions for a rap music video, for the artist is conveying/suggesting his extreme lifestyle which appears to be fast and exciting to the audience.

Later in the video, the artist is seen performing in which this is a generic style when regarding to rap as this allows the audience to focus on the presentation of the artist rather than a strong narrative, taking away the focus from the artist. While doing so, we can also see the appearance of fire in the frame next to the artist, portraying the artist's power and fame. This also connotes a sense of danger; the artist is breaking boundaries as many artists within the rap genre represent themselves as rebellious with anti-social attitudes.There is also an illustrative relationship between the lyrics and the visuals; by showing one line of the song on the screen, this becomes a remembered lyric within the song, making the song more popular amongst the target audience as well as making the video more remembered.

From the previous close up, the audience are able to identify the clothes in which the artist is wearing in the music video; a hoodie and chain around his neck. These items of clothing are heavily associated with rap artists as they portray a both a street identity and lavish, in which this can be correlated once again with Dyer's paradox of an artist being both 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary' in order to keep the audience interested. By identifying the artist's style, this may encourage the audience to buy into the artist's lifestyle by choosing to copy their style for example,  in order to become more similar to them. This again influences the audience to have an interest in the artist.

Near the end of the video, there is a woman dancing in the background of the artist's performance. She is wearing minimal clothing; a common generic convention regarding rap as this is perceived to be a main attribute in such artist's lives as they often include such content physically in videos and in lyrics as well. As the woman is wearing minimal clothing, she is presented in a sexual way which could be interpreted as particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body; a proposal found in Goodwin's theory. This content may give the audience a short representation of the artist's lifestyle as well as attracting a male target audience through content including the revealing of a female body.

Flo Rida:

Flo rida is another well known rap artist, however he made a track called 'Club Can't Handle Me' featuring David Guetta, a dj. Together they created a dance track that shares the conventions of both dance and rap:

The music video begins with the artist arriving at the club in two Lamborghini's. He then gets out the car and throws his money in the air, suggesting he has lots of money to spare. Such iconography conveys to the audience a short representation of the expensive lifestyle in which the artist lives, a conventional portrayal for a rap artist. This will appeal to the audience as it is not the conventional life which they live; this short representation of the artist enables them to 'know' more about the artist and their opposing lives.

As the video progresses, a split screen is included showing the club as very lively while outside on the street is very quiet. This split screen portrays and emphasises to the audience the atmosphere in which the song is suggested to have created as everyone listening to it is perceived to be having a good time. This will appeal to the target audience as they are under the impression that the song is in fact a song that creates and enhances a good time. It is conventional for a dance track's music video to contain a party scene in order to create this.

The location of the music video is mostly based in a club, creating a party scene throughout. This narrative enhances the desired affect on the audience as they feel the song is the reasoning behind people having a good time. By having a club, this also gives a short representation of the artist's life, as both dance and rap artists are perceived to be living a 'party' life consisting of excitement. This appeals to the target audience as they are able to build a relationship with the artists by attaining knowledge about them, as well as buying into the artist's life to become more similar to them. As the song is called 'The Club Cant Handle Me' and the location being a club, there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals in which Goodwin proposed influenced the success of a music video.

Later in the video when the party is on the street, the artist is positioned in the middle of the frame on a pedestal and therefore higher than those on the ground dancing. By positioning the artist in both a higher and central place in the frame conveys the artist as superior and more important than the others in the frame as this encourages the audience to focus on him. This will appeal to the target audience as they will assume that it is in fact the artist creating such atmosphere and therefore will become interested in the artist in order for them to have a similar effect on them. This is conventional of a rap artist as they are perceived to have an a superior attitude toward them self.

When the party is outside on the street, a high angles shot is used to show the artist. A high angles shot of the artist can be perceived as border-lining arrogance as it is suggestive of a 'look at me' attitude in which this is conventional of a rap artist as being flashy in their music videos in order to convey and emphasise their success. This may attract the target audience as they become interested with the lifestyle of such artists as it is unfamiliar to them.

Killswitch Engage: In Due Time

The final chosen genre I have chosen to analyse according to it's generic conventions is Rock, specifically in the sub-genre of Metalcore; a combination of hardcore punk and extreme metal. I have chosen to analsye 'In Due Time' by the band Killswitch Engage, in which their name only portrays them as conventional Rock artists from the word 'kill'.

The video begins with a panning shot of a line of electric guitars. Electric guitars are conventional iconography for a rock music video as they are perceived as edgy; they have a much harsher and louder sound than acoustic, a softer instrument. This instrument in particular contributes to the artist's image as it portrays them as more of a 'rocker' because the instrument is so typical of the genre. A panning shot emphasises to the audience that they are there, as it shows them one by one to the audience, again emphasising the 'rocker' image of the artists. The video also begin in black and white, another generic convention regarding mis en scene. Such colours make the video darker, they have connotations of anger, misery and mystery. For example, if they lighting were have pink tones, this would represent the artist of girly and happy; obviously not what a conventional rock artists is represented as. Instead black and white, make the artists appear dark and angry, very conventional in terms of artist representation in rock. This appeals to the audience as they can relate to the artists emotionally, therefore seeing their music as an outlet for their anger etc.

Furthermore, the lighting is conventional to the rock genre throughout the entire video. In this particular frame, the artist stands in front of red lights on a black background. The colour red has several connotations such as love and passion. However, in the context of this video, the colour red has been used for anger and danger, other interpretations of red. It highlights the atmosphere as being almost violent, as the colour can also connote blood. Again, this builds the artists representation as being rebellious and aggressive; conventional for rock artists.

The image of the artist is much conventional in terms of the genre. He is bald, giving him an almost thug look which could be viewed as intimidating. Long hair is also conventional to a rock artists as both looks suggest suggest a lack of regard to appearance, rather a rough and tainted image. He also has tattoos, one including barbed wire, indicating his tough attitude as this suggests pain. His clothes are also conventional to rock genre, again black and white to convey darkness. As well as this, the t-shirt the artist is wearing reads the word 'scream' in capital letters to ensure the audience will notice; it could be suggested of the type of music they make as it is included in the sub-genre they belong to, however it is also disturbing and unappealing to those who don't enjoy such music again reinforcing their rebellious image.

The cinematography allows the audience to engage with the band's performance. The close up of the drums provides an intense and intimate relationship between both audience and artist, making them feel involved in the atmosphere of performance. This is conventional in the rock genre to portray the effect the song has, it also emphasises the song itself as the audience can see the instruments up closely. Drums are another piece of iconography that is considered to be conventional to the rock genre as such instruments are typical of the genre; they are loud and provide a chaotic sense in terms of what the audience is hearing.