Styles, Conventions and Techniques

Styles, Conventions and Techniques

a) Definitions:
. Lyric Interpretation - When using lyric interpretation in music videos it helps further the meaning an artist might want to portray. The lyrics in the song will directly link with what is going on in the video. It is mainly used when an artist simply wants the video to represent the song meaning itself. It helps the audience follow the song as well.

. Extending or consolidating song's meaning - When an artist uses this method they often want the audience to search for a deeper meaning of the song. By the video not automatically linking to the lyrics this helps audiences look at different messages the song could be sending or it could even be used to help explain how the song is a metaphor for something else.

. Focus on performer - This is simply when a music video makes the artist the number one point of concentration. The video will revolve around the artist and show off their singing, dancing or even acting capabilities. This helps the audience engage with the artists themselves.

.Lighting for mood - This is when the chosen lighting in a music video is used to match the tone of the song. Therefore if it is a dark/mysterious song darker lighting might be used whereas an uplifting song would have significantly lighter tone. By doing this it helps the audience understand the direction in which the artist is trying to go.

Allusion - Allusion is where there are aspects of the video that refers to a person/people, a place, an event or even a text. It could be fairly obvious or extremely discrete. This means that it can gage discussion between viewers who may or may not have seen it.

b)
. Special effects - Kanye West - Bound 2

Chroma key or green screen is used in this video by Kanye West throughout. Kanye can be seen riding a motorbike with wife, Kim Kardashian infront of mountainous settings that are clearly the work of green screen.

.Multi-mage - A$AP Rocky - Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2

A$AP Rocky uses multi-mage in this video for Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 on various occasions. One instance of when he uses it is when multiple shots of him rapping appear simultaneously next to each other making it look like there is more than one Rocky. Another use of it in the video is when the whole of A$AP Mob are dancing together and above them appears an image of A$AP Yams the founder of the mob who had unfortunately passed away.

. Cutting to a beat - AJ Tracey - Buster Cannon

This song is a fast paced grime song from London artist AJ Tracey. The video matches the speed of the beat and the song. The video switches between various settings and cuts between them often on the end of a line or when the beat drops.

. An artist miming and lip-syncing to a playback track - Yelawolf ft Joshua Hedley - Shadows

In this video Yelawolf is seen in this video in the setting off an abandoned house and he is also seen walking through a forest. During the video he is seen clearly miming as there are parts when he stops to smoke a cigarette their is no break in the song.

. Animation - Earl Sweatshirt - Off Top

For this short 1:47 freestyle Earl Sweatshirt accompanied it with a short animated video. The whole thing is in animation and even an animated version of Earl himself appears in the video.


. Reference to or includes another artist - Snoop Dogg ft Pharrell Williams - Beautiful

This Snoop Dogg song is produced by Pharrell who also features on the song as he sings the hook. They both appear in the video which is set in Brazil





c)
. Illustrative - is a music video that simply matches the song. The lyrics and the video will have a strong correlation meaning whatever is being said in the lyrics is often being acted out in the video.

Example - Desiigner - Zombie Walk - in this video a zombie apocalypse is happening which learl matches the song as its called zombie walk

. Interpretative - This is when the meaning of the video is not always clear and encourages the viewer to think of a deeper meaning to the video. It is up to the viewers interpretation.

Example - Vince Staples - Senorita - in this video a lot of unclear symbolism is used such as a white skinhead walking through a neighbourhood followed by people from various cultures who drop dead one by one.

. Surrealist - This are videos that often are very unique and appear to be sort of out of this world which includes strange and often magical imagery.

Example - Joey Bada$$ - Christ Conscious - In this video Joey is seen walking around New York and then suddenly ascending into space in a Christ like figure who then gets sucked into a new dimension.


. As-live - This is simply a video that is taken from a live concert that the performer has hosted. It allows to show instant crowd reaction and the emotions of performing the song live.

Example - Kanye West and Jay Z - Ni**as in Paris - In this video Jay Z and Kanye West use live footage of a show done in Paris. It allowed them to show of their extravagant production and their adoring fans.


. Parody - A parody is a video that intentionally mocks something else such as another artist, celebrity or genre in a comedic manner.

Example - Eminem - Just lose it - In this video Eminem uses his humour to mock other famous artists such as Michael Jackson and MC Hammer, it allows Eminem to get across his humourous side and it also creates controversial talking points about the video.


. Animation - A video that uses animation is simply one that uses technology to present their video in a cartoon like manner.

Example - Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. - This video shows the animated band in various different sceanarios only made possible by animation, such as a floating lighthouse.