Song choice: Mefjus & Bowsar ft. MC Maksim - Primal Instinct

Song choice for music video task:

This is the song my group have chosen to complete the music video task for, the reasons behind this is that the majority of the group have some interest in the genre which is drum and bass (D&B). Although this is drum and bass, it also fits into to the sub-genre of neurofunk. 

Upon hearing this song, we all had strong ideas on what we could include such as the footage being in black and white, which we have found is conventional to the genres' music videos. As well as this, there were suggestions of some colors being made visible through the black and white filter, in a 'Sin City' style. In relation to location, to keep it conventional we aim to shoot in an area that looks rough and edgy to keep the video conventional.

Rock music video analysis 2: Guns 'n' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

Analysis

Editing

In relation to editing, all of the shots are cut very faced paced, this is stereotypical of rock and roll music. As well as this, it creates a sense of chaos and mayhem which is typical to rock and roll music also. In addition, there is varietal use of black and white and normal colour shots. This creates a retro feel to the music video, Guns N' Roses are an old and classic rock band so the black and white footage does fit amongst the colour shots. During the time this music video was shot, they were not as old and classic as they are now, they were in their prime as a rock band, despite this the black and white shots are well suited to the music video.

Mise en scene

Noticeably, the use of musical instruments such as guitars, drum sets and microphones are used as props but they are more subtle as they are expected in a rock and roll music video and are therefore seen less obviously as props. As the shots are of the bands performance, they are seen throughout the entire video. Furthermore, another prop that I saw throughout were cigarettes, the band members were smoking cigarettes in the non performance as well as the performance shots. This gave me the impression they were very causal about their line of work, smoking is also part of the Rock and roll image, so this is typical of the genre.
The clothes the band were wearing (costumes) were very dark, the majority of the pieces of clothing were black which is conventional to the 'darkness' of rock and roll. Most Rock and roll artists wore and still wear dark clothes, its just tradition. The body language seen in the music video from all of the band members was very chilled out and relaxed which gave a 'too cool for school' impression.

Camerawork

As I mentioned in the beginning, the editing was very fast paced and chaotic, but so was the camerawork, the camera was constantly moving and zooming in and out of shots, this added more chaos to the video, but it works if that is the vibe the video is trying to create. The whole video was of the bands performance, despite a few short shots of the band members sitting around and talking to girls. 

Grime/Hip-Hop music video analysis 1: Lunar C - Reality check

Analysis

This music video, was born out of a genre called British underground Hip-Hop.

Grime/Hip-Hop Music video analysis 2: Astroid Boyz - Rinsa ft. Manga (roll deep)

"The setting that grime video's are typically set in are the streets and cities that the artist has grown up in. The main artist is being followed around by other people dressed similarly to them who are from the same class of people as the artist. The typical clothing that is worn in grime music video's are jeans and tracksuits (usually black or dark coloured) The connotations of the colour black are connected with power, death and evil. This is similar to the lyrics that are usually spoken in the music video's."

Mise en scene
It is arguable to point out that the mise en scene is highly related to the artist image, from what they are dressed in and the locations they have shot in. Attention and respect are two things most grime artist strive for and they achieve these by creating their own image, they need to stand out from the crowd and be noticeable. The artist in the video, 'The Astroid Boyz' wear a style of clothes called urban street wear, this allows them to create a link with their audience as most people who listen to this type of music dress this way. The clothes they wear are also heavily branded and as far as i know quite expensive, this is where the fans respect them. The locations shot in are parks, alleys, flats etc, these may link to the songs narrative but the also link to the origin of the genre which began on the streets as an underground genre. There is a shot of one of the artist infront of a brick wall, this creates realism and is also conventional of the genre, as are the other locations used.

Conventionally, grime artist never take on random roles, they always play themselves as they are trying to establish their image, unlike pop music where the artist image is already established which allows them to take on random roles. What makes a good grime artist is someone who is respectable, speaking truth and are generally likeable in terms of image and style to the audience.

Camera Work
The use of close ups are highly evident, this shows the artists facial expression and generally how they are reacting to what they are saying. There is also use of mid shots which let some of the background scenery and other artists in the group be seen by the audience. This also creates realism, as they are filming in an open area that hasn't been closed for filming, unlike pop music videos which are generically shot in a studio and don't look as realistic as videos such as this. This blatant realism is how the artists relate to the audience, as whats going on in the video may be highly relatable to the audiences own lives, as they are apart of and follow the same music culture.

Editing
The footage is edited on beat and at the same pace of the track. This is conventional of the genre as the lip synching is vitally important to make it look like the artists are saying their words there and then and not have it looking like they have pre-recorded it and just placed the footage with it. In addition to this, there were some effects included, for instance, when the there was a droned out wobbly sound, there was a linear wobble in the footage that made it look like a TV losing signal slightly. This is effective as it adds excitement to the footage and as it is in time with the music, the audience can begin to piece together the relationship between the video and the sound.

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis's theory (taken from 'The Kindest Cut'):

This theory closely analysis's the comparison between the editing between music videos and Hollywood films. This comparison allows us to highlight that distinct approaches were taken in the production between the two different types of media.

There were numerous analytical points that Vernallis found and stated related to the difference between music and Hollywood film videos.

The first point highlighted is that in music videos, there are various narrative strands that are sometimes incomplete, usually in this type of video, these different strands are cross cut edited together. This links to montage editing as it creates the feeling that a lot has happened within the few minutes the music video runs for. This differs from narratives in Hollywood films as there is typically one clear narrative throughout the film, with a distinct beginning, middle and end. For instance, establishing shots are used to create the distinct beginning of the film.

In Pharrel Williams music video of his hit song 'Happy' it is clear that this type of 'choppy' narrative is used as throughout the video, there are shots of various points in time of the artist and of different characters in their daily life being 'happy'. These various narratives are cross cut, and as i mentioned previously, this gives the audience the sense that a lot has happened throughout the duration of the video (montage editing)

we know that the shots are from different 

point in time through the use of costume 

change. As well as costume, location allows us to differ between the different narrative strands. The fact that some shots are in the day and some are in the night also allow us to notice the difference. This characteristic of the music video also allows us to feel the sense that time has progressed quickly and that there has been a lot that has happened during the video.

Generally, in a music video, there is an unconventionally shot order and shots are shifted between more freely, on the other hand, in Hollywood films there is a conventional shot order. This is evident in Calvin Harris's video 'Summer'.

Rock Music Video analysis 1: Red Hot Chilli Pepper - Californication

Analysis

The type of video this falls into a category in relation to Andrew Goodwin's theory is disjunctive as the band are taking on roles that are nothing related to their everyday lives. As well as this, there is little narrative to the video, its an animation. It frames, what seems to look like a video game.

Editing

The editing in this music video cuts off the beat. This is stereotypical of a rock music video. Although, the footage is cut off the beat, it is still very fast paced and the irrelevant narrative makes it easy to watch, you do not get bored of watching it as its so spontaneous, you don't know whats going to happen next. For example, there is a quick transition from this snowboarder on top of the train, then going through the tunnel. There is then a jump cut to another animated figure swimming in the depth of the sea. This is very spontaneous and unpredictable, hence why the video does not get boring.

Camera work

As the majority of the video is an animation, there is little camera work used. However, there are sections where there are clips of the band playing there instruments. Conventionally, the main singer is framed the most with close ups and mid-shots. There are also some long shots of the whole band mid performance, this is also typical of rock music video.

Mise en scene
It is obvious to say that the band have no t shirts on and are showing their torso's off. This is another conventional characteristics in rock music videos, they may do this to look more gritty and 'hardcore'. Furthermore, the band footage has been shot infront of a green screen, footage of the sky has then been edited on to create some sense of location. The use of the sky could relate to them being 'sky high' as there is general links to drug use and rock music. as well as this, they may have used this to create the impression that they are out of reality, this goes hand in hand with the animation as it gives the audience an escape from everyday reality.

Andrew Goodman

The Theory

Andrew Goodwin is a media theorist, his theory 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'outlines how there are key features that need to be focused on when analyzing a music video. 

The first point is whether the visuals in the video illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics, for instance if the visuals were to illustrate the  lyrics, the actions in the video would closely match what the artist was singing about throughout the duration of the video.

Next, is the relationship between the song and the visuals, the same as before, the song can either illustrate, amplify or contradict the visuals. In relation to which music videos do which, each genre will have a typical music video style that each will tend to follow, to create an example, in the genre of pop music, the producers will typically choose an illustrative music video, as this type is best received by the audience.

There are also certain technical aspects that need to be considered, if the music video has a narrative it will be much easier to watch for the audience, this increase the chances of them having an overall positive opinion of the song. If the music video had little or no narrative, the audience will struggle to follow it and could become bored or uninterested.

As well as this, the artist will stay at the center of attention for the majority if not for the whole music video. This is done through use of stylish costume, unblemished make-up, jewelry, expensive cars, and generally anything that will make them stand out from the rest of the people in the music video. Close-ups of the artist will also keep them in the limelight.

Three further steps are taken to look into the meaning of each verse and chorus, next is if the artist has a characteristic that makes them unique such as their style or voice that allows them to maintain stardom. In the modern age of pop music, a husky voice may be seen as unique and the sound that certain record labels are looking for. The final stage is breaking down the message or story the artist is trying to tell the audience.

From this, Goodwin claimed that their were three different types of music video; Illustrative, Amplified and disjunctive.

Here are some examples of each.

 Illustrative -



In terms of media Theorist Andrew Goodwin, an Illustrative music video is one that cuts on the beat of the music and uses images and footage that convey the messages that the lyrics are giving (video is very literal to what the artist is saying). Furthermore, in a music video of this type, Goodwin claims that the Band or artist should dress as expected (like a generic pop star), in modern fashionable clothing that is loved by the general public. This type of music video is very common in the industry as they are the most popular and are arguably the most easy to produce.

Amplified


An amplified music video will either cut on the beat or off the beat in specific areas to emphasize features. The visuals will amplify the lyrics and their may be some hidden messages. The band or artist will usually take on fictional roles in this type of music video.
Disjunctive 



In a disjunctive music video, the video typically cuts off the beat and the visuals will relate in little or no way to the lyrics. The artist(s) will take on roles or images that are completely unrelated to them. This is why the type of music video is used for Drum and Bass tracks as the image of the artist is less important in that genre, unlike pop music where star image is everything. Pop musicians will be unlikely to ever use this type of video.

Pop music video analysis 1: Rizzle Kicks - Down with the trumpets

Pop music Video analysis 2: Martin Garrix-Animals

Mise en Scene
The location used for the majority of the music video is a night club and the people in the club are reacting to the music and as the song begins to build up and tension is created, the reactions become bigger and bigger. Everyone looks like they're having the time of their lives dancing around. This is typical in pop music and what the artist may have been trying to do is make the audience understand that Martin Garrix's music has this amazing effect on people. This also links to the big focus of artist image in the pop industry. The costume of the five mysterious figures the camera focus's on are masks of different animals which conceals their identity, but we can still begin to guess that the one with the tiger mask is Martin Garrix himself as he is the main one with the most attention further persuing the idea of artist image.

Editing
On the beat cutting/editing which makes the video easier to watch. 

Camera Work
variation between close ups and mid shots of the five masked figures causing chaos and dancing when the song builds up and eventually drops.