Video killed the radio star booklet - Jay Franks

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
AN INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC VIDEO
BY JAY FRANKS
A2 INDUCTION 2012

N FORD / A HAMMOND A2 MUSIC VIDEO
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FOR YOUR A2 COURSEWORK YOU WILL PRODUCE:
 A MEDIA PORTFOLIO, COMPROMISING A MAIN AND TWO ANCILLARY TEXTS 60 MARKS
 RESEARCH AND PLANNING 20 MARKS
 EVALUATION 20 MARKS
MAIN TASK
A PROMOTION PACKAGE FOR THE RELEASE OF AN ALBUM, TO INCLUDE:
A MUSIC PROMO VIDEO – 40 MARKS
PLUS:
 A COVER FOR ITS RELEASE AS PART OF A DIGIPAK (CD/DVD PACKAGE); 10 MARKS
 A MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE DIGIPAK (CD/DVD PACKAGE). 10 MARKS
YOU WILL THEN BE REQUIRED TO ANSWER TO QUESTIONS IN YOUR 2013 EXAM ON YOUR COURSEWORK.
QUESTION A (25 MARKS) WILL FOCUS ON YOUR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FROM AS TO A2. YOU HAVE
ALREADY BEGUN PREPARATION FOR THIS DURING YOUR A2 INDUCTION LESSONS
QUESTION B (25 MARKS) WILL ASK YOU TO ANALYSE ONE OF YOUR PRODUCTS IN RELATION TO ONE OF
THE FOLLOWING KEY CONCEPTS
 NARRATIVE
 AUDIENCE
 GENRE
 REPRESENTATION
 MEDIA LANGUAGE

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THE PURPOSE OF A MUSIC VIDEO
A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern
music videos are primarily made and used as a [marketing] device intended to promote the sale of
music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their
own in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium, and later with the launch of
VH1. The term "music video" first came into popular usage in the early 1980s. Prior to that time,
these works were described by various terms including "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film",
"promotional (promo) clip"or"filmclip"(Wikipedia)
TASK 1
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAJOR ELEMENTS OF AN ALBUM MARKETING CAMPAIGN (THE DIFFERENT WAYS
IN WHICH A BAND/ARTISTS IDENTITY IS MEDIATED TO AN AUDIENCE)?
 Social Media
 Distribution
 Websites
 Press
 Newsletter
 Album cover design
WHERE HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED THESE ELEMENTS IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
Due to being a teenager, social media is a highly popular element of our lives that most
teenagers use and interact with each other on. Myself and other teenagers encounter social
media every day. So we know what it is like the best, and how it can impact everyone’s day
lives. Through some marketing on social media, it can reach out and spread massively across
the world allowing people to become aware of something very easily if it is marketed correctly.
In terms of distribution, I understand how it is achieved use to working for a retail store. They
have to distribute their products around the world to their multiple different stores. This can
be seen as a similar thing in terms as everything else that gets distributed. The main goal is for
it to reach it’s specified audience, and this can be in various different scenarios. For example, a
pop song would be advertised on a radio station such as Capital whereas a rock song would be
advertised on Keerang, I have noticed this when listening to the radio in my daily life. For
websites, I have encountered these regular as I am a student and needs to do research and that
is gained through accessing different websites. Also, I like to shop online and that requires me
to encounter various different websites. It is interesting how they can all be designed so
differently and this can have an impact on how the audience perceives and rates a certain
company.

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WHAT FACTORS MAKE YOU ‘LIKE’ A BAND AND THEREFORE DOWNLOAD THEIR MUSIC, BUY THEIR ALBUMS OR
ATTEND THEIR CONCERTS? HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH BAND IS ‘COOL’ AND WHICH IS NOT?
 The quality of music produced
 How they look
 The way they act
 Similarities to yourself
 Social media interaction
WHAT MAKES THE MUSIC VIDEO UNIQUE?
THE MUSIC VIDEO IS DESIGNED FOR MULTIPLE VIEWINGS; IT HAS TO BE INSTANTLY MEMORABLE YET
INTERESTING ENOUGH TO WARRANT WATCHING AGAIN AND AGAIN. UNLIKE THE FILM TRAILER IT IS NOT
DESIGNED TO BE VIEWED ON A LARGE SCREEN NOR IS ITS AUDIENCE CAPTIVE.
WHERE AND WHEN DO YOU WATCH MUSIC VIDEOS?
I tend to watch music videos on my phone at home when relaxing at night. This would occur
due to going to a festival and wanting to do some research prior to the event into the acts that
will be attending to determine if I will bother in going to see them or not as I will be able to
perceive if I like them or not and if their music is any good. Another time I would watch a music
video would be for a song that has just came out to see if that makes me intrigued into the
song or just for a new song I find that I like as it interesting to see if the song correlates to the
video. If a music video to a song is good, then it can make me like the song more as I will be
able to remember it more.
TASK 2
IN THE SPACE BELOW LIST AS MANY FEATURES/CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF.
 Mise en scene
 A storyline
 Camerashots
 Cameramovements
 Cameraspeed
 Editing
 Lighting
 Genre characteristics
 Relationshipbetween lyricsand visuals
 Relationshipbetweenmusicandvisuals
 A visual style
 Stage performance
 Amplifyingmusicvideos
 Illustrativemusicvideos
 Contradictingmusicvideos

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Analysing Music Videos:
1. Genre Categories:
Illustration – either a straightforward performance video or a simple narrative video (or
mixture of the two) that illustrates the meaning of the lyrics and visualizes the music in a
straightforward way. It could be called music video ‘denotation’. A good example of a classic
mixed narrative/performance video is Pulp’s ‘Babies’.
Amplification – the conventions demonstrated by the music video ‘auteur’ or creative
director. S/he may use both performance and narrative, however, rather than simply
illustrate the lyrics or sounds this director will ‘amplify’ both with creative interpretation,
unusual ideas and surrealistic approaches. There is still a direct link to the song, whether it
be the beat, sound or ‘connotative’ link to part of the lyrics or song title. See Spike Jones’
video for Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ or Michel Gondry’s video for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into
My Life’.
Disjuncture – also created by ‘auteur’ directors these videos are completely abstract and
have no obvious link to the music, lyrics, song title or artist. In this sense they are a point of
‘disjuncture’ from the song. See Spike Jones’ video for Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ or any
Radiohead video.
2. The Narrative Video Codes and the Performance Video Codes:
Narrative Video -
Narratives are rarely complex for two reasons:
1. They need to market or advertise the band/artist and song so must feature ‘repeatability’
In other words the narrative code must be ‘loose’ or simply ‘suggestive’ rather than
‘realistic’ or ‘detailed’. This is because music video audiences need to be able to watch
videos repeatedly and a tight realist narrative would prove too boring after the first couple
of viewings. Musical Synaesthesia only requires the musical or lyrical ‘mood’ to latch onto to
develop a narrative concept.
2. Musical Synaesthesia – the two elements of the song which determine the visual subject
matter or overall concept

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a) Roland Barthes theory of “the grain of voice” whereby the vocal sounds can be
understood as music in themselves eg Michael Jackson’s ‘yelp’ or Fantasia’s ‘yeh,
yeh, yeh.” or the tone of voice of the words which are the song title themselves e.g
Bjork’s ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’
b) The dominant musical arrangement that dictates the overall mood. This could be a
key guitar sound (the bassline in ‘Sabotage’ The Beastie Boys) or a particular beat
(‘Weapon of Choice’ Fatboy Slim)
Once the director has identified what he/she thinks is the key vocal or musical element then
this may be used to tap into the audience’s sense of shared cultural history or intertextuality
e.g. The steel guitar=the American Deep South and desert plains
Performance Video:
1. Conventions of the band performance: a degree of authenticity of the performance is
sought by the band and the director so we find lip-sync close-up, mimed playing of
instruments, repetition of chorus shots to enhance ‘repeatability’, unusual camera shots
and angles e.g. the micro camera shots attached to the neck of a guitar, sweeping crane
shots to filmaudience reaction to the band playing etc (see number 4)
2. Conventions of solo artist performance: many of the above plus choreographed dance
routines to enhance ‘repeatability’, a first person mode of address directly engaging the
viewer through the camera which involves many close up shots of eyes rolling and
gesturing (see how these conventions have been adopted by ‘Pop Idol’ contestants in a
bid to appear professional and authentic)and if the video is a hybrid form cutting
between performance and narrative then the solo artist or band lead singer often
becomes part of the narrative story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time
(see Jarvis Cocker in Pulp’s video for ‘Babies’)
3. Star Image – only 1 in 10 artists promoted by a major record company will actually make
that company any substantial profit. This is why certain select profit making stars are
manufactured, manipulated and marketed by the record label’s ‘artist and repertoire’
(A&R) division so aggressively. The star image of individuals such as Michael Jackson and
Madonna through their videos is a vital component of this process. This is why we can
identify the ‘meta-narrative’ of stars through their videos whereby the record label
manipulates and changes the artist’s image with each new video release to increase
sales, consolidate target audiences and broaden appeal to new fan bases. The best case
studies are ‘Madonna’ and ‘Michael Jackson’. Trace their image manipulation through
videos over the past 24 years.
A group of choral voices=places of religious significance e.g. a church, graveside etc
A R’n’B beat or bassline=an urban landscape in a downtown American city

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3. Audio-Visual Technical Codes Needed for Analysing a Music Video:
Speed is the Essence:
Camera Shots: jumping directly between long shots, close ups and extreme close ups.
Primarily the close up on the singer’s face is the main generic convention for music videos.
Also the extreme close up on the lips for lip synching.
Camera Movement: whip pans, fast dolly track shots and fast overhead crane shots to
follow the running, walking or dancing of performers. Also fast vertical tilts and horizontal
pans.
Editing: various terms: jump cutting, MTV style editing or montage editing. Creating the
visually de-centred experience of ‘jumping’ from location to person to instrument without
any normal narrative continuity. Instead it is often the beat or the rhythm of the track which
provides the organising principle for editing movement. The editing moves so fast it creates
the need for viewing ‘repeatedly’. There are exceptions though. Some ‘continuity editing’
used such as atmospheric ‘dissolve shots’ such as in Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compare to
You’
Post-production digital effects: see ‘i-movie’ for ‘split screens’ (see Michel Gondry’s video
for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into My World’ for split screens seamlessly ‘bled’ into each other)
‘colourisation’ ‘slow motion’ etc These are now conventional for music videos. Please look
out for other innovative effects.
Lighting: Expressive lighting a key feature of music videos. Extreme artificial light to create
the ‘bleaching’ effect on pop stars faces (making them seem ageless). Also the use of
switching from colour to black & white or sepia to indicate a shift from chorus to verse. Also
lighting effects such as strobes or flashing needs to be identified. This obviously links into
the use of CGI in dance music videos to enhance the atmosphere.
Mise-en-scene: look for the overall artistic concept in a video. Is there a theme such as the
historical period e.g. the sixties (Madonna’s ‘Beautiful Stranger’ with its intertextual link to
the Austin Powers film) or the seventies (The Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ video which parodies
the ‘Starsky & Hutch’ 70s TV Cop genre...also an intertextual link). Does the video’s mise en
scene follow the need for authenticity in performance videos by using the concert hall or
rehearsal studio setting. Or is there an intentional ‘parodic’ setting to exaggerate star image
as in many rap and r&b videos with a focus on glamorous icons such as exotic locations,
beautiful cocktail bars and stunning beachside houses with infinity pools (see Rick Ross
‘Here I Am’).

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Task 3 - Music Video Analysis
AndrewGoodwin’selementstoconsider
AndrewGoodwinpoints out characteristics and featuresthat can be foundin music videos–
 Music videosdemonstrategenre characteristics.(e.g.stage performance inmetal videos,dance
routine forboy/girl band,aspirationinHipHop).
 There isa relationshipbetweenlyricsandvisuals.The lyricsare representedwithimages.(either
illustrative,amplifying,contradicting).
 There isa relationshipbetweenmusicandvisuals.The tone andatmosphereof the visual
reflectsthatof the music.(eitherillustrative,amplifying,contradicting).
 The demandsof the record label will include the needforlotsof close upsof the artist and the
artistmay developmotifswhichrecuracrosstheirwork(a visual style).
 There isfrequentlyreference tonotionof looking(screenswithinscreens,mirrors,stages,etc)
and particularlyvoyeuristictreatmentof the femalebody.
 The artist may developmotifsoriconographythatrecuracross theirwork(a visual style)
 There isoftenintertextual reference (tofilms,TV programmes,othermusicvideosetc).
Music Video 1 – Control by Chase and Status ft. Slaves
1. Music videosdemonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g.stage performance in metal videos,
dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration inHip Hop).
Goodwin’s theory indicates that music videos have specific elements within them that will
enable the audience to identify its music genre through them. The following will give a few
examples from the music video for the song “Control” by Chase and Status where this can be
portrayedforthe genre Punk,forthe UK Duo “Slaves”whostar inthe video.
One genre characteristic in the music video which is demonstrated is that punk music is violent,
angry and aggressive. This is shown through the performers in the video in the actions they
pursue, close ups, lighting and their appearance. For example, these following six screen shots
display all of these. The first shot shows a man standing on car wearing black clothing having his
hands in his pockets and his body language gives off the intention that he is a bad person and
dangerous. The next image shows a close up of the star performer when singing. He looks
extremely aggressive and angry in his singing due to his facial expressions and his voice backs
this up and makes him sound angry and powerful. Furthermore, the next image shows a
mysterious man due to the lighting that it is dark and the distance of the shotis quite far way so
you can’t fully see his identity. He has a glass bottle on fire in his hand with the car in the
background indicating that he is going to do something with this bottle and possibly pursue
violent acts. The next image after that shows a man being aggressive and threatening towards
four police men. He has a block of wood in his hand and gives off the intention that he is going
to hit these police men with it which stereotypically is something not no one would ever
consider as the police enforce the law and help promote peace in the world. However, for the

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punk genres who typically involve people who are angry, aggressive and crazy at times which is
portrayed through the music created shouldn’t be a surprise to people in this music video.
Further on in the video it shows the man from a previous image, which is standing on the care
that he has just been set on fire, showing the ruthlessness and violent acts of the people within
this punk video. The final image backs this idea up as again the previous male from before is now
swinging at the police men from before and just shows how angry and aggressive these people
are. Another way that the music video is demonstrated to be violent and aggressive is through
the editing. It is fast paced and makes the video intense and engages the viewer into the video.
Making them feel as if they are involved and caught up in this crazy violence. There are quick
cuts to different scenes and different camera shots to put across this video, this combined with
the short shotlengthsmakesenablesthe viewertogetthe full effectoff the nature of the song.
 Another genre characteristic is that the performers in the genre are typically edgy and different
to your normal stereotypical person. Thisis portrayedin a number of different waysin the video.
The first image shows the shot of this man who is positioned of centre to represent that he is
different and unique. In the shot he is breathing quite heavily and just raring down the camera.
This can be considered as unstereotypical for a shot in a music video and gives the video that
edge of it being different and unique. He has an unusual haircut and isn’t your stereotypical
good looking performer in the video that a lot of genres go for. Punk is different and is shown
through this shot. Furthermore, the next image shows an extreme close up of a man’s gold
teeth. This shows that the people in the punk genre are stereotypically different to your typical
person. They like to go out to all extremes to be different as that is what they take pride in. This
is shown through tis shot. As well as the last image, the guitarist is shown to have a whacky
haircut style having a spider’s web on the side of his head. These backups the idea that this
genre hasthe characteristicof beingedgyanddifferent.

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 Furthermore, another genre characteristic for punk videos is that they have a lead singer, a
guitarist and a drummer. This is all shown clearly in the music video, and the stage layout is
consistent. They are all separated in their specific roles. The characteristic is that the singer is at
the front and mostly shown as they are the most important and then the guitarist and drummer
behindhimastheyare lessimportant.
 Additionally, another genre characteristic is that punk videos stereotypically have dark lighting.
The reason for this is because the performers are dangerous characters and the dark lighting
correlates to this. Also, their identity wants to be hidden as they are bad people so they don’t
want to be found out who they are. As well as this, the people that perform punk music are
stereotypically not good looking therefore they don’t need to have all the attention on them
through bright lights and would prefer to be seen less which results in dark lighting. Throughout
the video,these ideashave beenshown,whichthesefollowingimagesprove.

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2. There is a relationshipbetweenlyricsandvisuals. The lyricsare representedwithimages.
(eitherillustrative,amplifying,contradicting).
For the music video control, there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals mainly throughout
in a sense of amplifying the meaning of the lyrics. This is achieved through a performance based
video and then using a short side story also where illustrative is added as well to portray the lyric
with the visuals. For example, the first image shows a shot of the main performer singing “orders are
orders”. This visual combats the powerful demanding word of “orders” and his facial expressions
and visual appearance, combined with close up making the viewer feel as if he is in your face results
in the viewer to believe that the lyrics are true and that this demanding word of “orders” is going to
be pursued. It creates the idea that orders are orders and that these orders are most definitely going
to be enforced through this visual. The next image shows a shot of the main performer in Slaves in a
shot of a screen within a screen. This grabs the viewers’ attention in the video as it is notably
different shot to the other shots in the video. Also, as the video is fast paced, to watching it is clearly
different. This shot has emphasis on the lyric “Who?” to imply in the sentence that he is a powerful
and dominant character. The next two images are similar in the fact that close up shots have been
used again to amplify the meaning of the words and to make it seem believable for the viewer. As
the close up really highlights how the performer looks and it highlights his passion and anger when
singing to make him look like an angry punk artist which is stereotypical as they express their
feelingsinthe musicwhichisevidenthere.
In the terms of the next two images, these use Goodwin’s rule of an illustrative element to the music
video. The first image shows a car, with a smoky background with people running. This corresponds
to the lyrics that are said, the car is difficult to control at high speeds”, with this shot that is shownin
the video. This shows a clear relationship between the visuals and the lyrics as they link together and
share the same meaning. This allows the story to be told clearly. Shortly after this shot and these
lyric, the next lyrics are “That zone is controlled by enemy troops”. As the lyrics “enemy troops” are
said a cut is made to this shot of a mysterious man slouching on a car on fire to symbolise that he is
the enemytroopand he isthe one to case thisdangerand violence.
“Orders” “Who?”
Me?
“Who’dya think
you’re talkingto?”
“The car is
difficultto
control at
highspeeds”
“That zone is
controlledby
enemytroops”

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3. There is a relationshipbetweenmusicandvisuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual
reflectsthat of the music.(eitherillustrative,amplifying,contradicting).
Being a punk/electronic song, the mellow tone of the electronic sound and the bass guitars give off
the intention that thisis a song that is violent and includes angry, passionate performers. The visuals
match that perfectly. As for instance, the starring band slaves are rough looking, crazy individuals
and close ups, and the mise en scene match the sound of the song. The song creates a dark
atmosphere and the visuals pursue that with the smoke effects and the constant flickering of the
lightingthroughoutthe videoformdarkto lightmakesthe videoseemmysterious.
As the video begins and the music kicks in of the deep electronic sound, an instant dark ore is given
off. The relationship between the music and visuals is strong from the offset as with this music
images such as a car wheel on fire, a piece of metal rattling a metal cage by someone, barbed wire
and a smoky cage matches the music as these are the type of visuals you would expect to see as a
viewer when listening to this type of music, it is stereotypical that these type of images are being
shownas the genre consistsof violence andtypicallydanger(punk).
Furthermore inthe video,asthe franticchoruscomesto an endand the volume levelof the music
decreasesbackto itsopening, amore sympatheticimage isshown showingawomenlookinglike
she istrappedbehind the cage makingthe viewerfeelsympathyforthe peoplethatare involvedin
thismayhemandto the crazy onesinthe video.Thiscarriesonand an image isshownof a man we
have not seenbefore inthe videoandhe appearstohave a weirdhairstyle andhe isn’tfacingthe
camera,thisgivesof the intentionthathe ispossiblyadangerouscharacter.The musicmatchesthis
and has a relationshipasa soundeffectisaddedtosignifythisshowingthatthere isa stronglink
betweenmusicandvisuals

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The tension throughout the song has been building, and the build-up to the big chorus come and as
soon as the lyrics “Control!” are said the music volume increases, electric guitars come in and play
with an aggressive sound and the visuals match this as from when “control” is said, all hell breaks
loose the police start running at the other people” horse gallops o signify that it is scared a long shot
of the four police men is shown and they are shown to be very angry which is unusual for police. It
just shows that these punk artist bring out the worst in you and this is being shown here and there
danger needs to be stopped. As well as this, lighting flickers rapidly, there are a lot of short shots
combined with fast paced editing to maximise the tension in this scene and it grabs the viewers’
attention through this. This shows that the music and visuals have a strong relationship as when the
chorus drops which is an aggressive tune, the visuals also match it and show the violence and
danger.
A key part of the video where the relationship is shown to be very strong between the music and
visuals is two thirds through the video where it is just the electronic soundtrack played on its own
without any singing or anything. After every beat, the lighting switches to a different position and
highlights an individual. It is clear this is done on purpose and has a good effect and is impressive
whenwatchingthe video.

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4. The demandsof the record label will include the needfor lots of close ups of the artist and the
artist may developmotifswhichrecur across theirwork (a visual style).
I feel in terms of the idea that close ups are used to show off the attractiveness of characters and
that’s why they are included to produce the gaze theory of people when watching the video this isn’t
the case. As these punk artists aren’t exactly good looking, and this is what the demand is of the
record label. However, in terms of the record label in the fact that they will want close ups of the
artists to strike fear into the viewer and to show how edgy and different they look and that they
match the punk genre well can be a demand of the record label. As this will help them promote their
work through this sense and that thisis the visual style in their work, and thatis what they set out to
achieve. Show their passion in their music and put everything into it which in terms of slaves is about
lettingoutangerand showingthatintheirmusic.
5. There is frequentlyreference tonotionof looking(screenswithinscreens,mirrors, stages,etc)
and particularly voyeuristictreatment of the female body.
Reference of notion of looking is used in this video to create fear into the viewer. This is because of
the music and that it is violent, the images show this as well as the artists regularly stare straight
down the camera to portray this idea that they do into the scene and the genre. There are a few
screen within screen shots within the video and this has the effect on the viewer to focus attention
on them as the video is so fast paced and there are so many shots a screen within a screen effect is
used in this video to highlight the bad people and makes them stand out clearly to the viewer. There
isn’t any voyeuristic treatment of the female body at all throughout the video, there is a close up of
a female once which just highlights the fact that she is scared and that she has dirt and mud on her
face which is unstereotypical for a girl. But not in the way to make her look attractive or anything
like thatas it ismusicfromthe punkgenre andthat isn’tthere intention.
6. The artist may developmotifsor iconography that recur across theirwork (a visual style)
The band “Slaves” has definitely developed motifs/iconography throughout their work. It is pretty
clear that they have the visual style of being edgy and trying to look different/crazy and mad
compared to other people. They typically have the visual style of wearing plain basic clothes and
typically they always perform to dark lighting and have the main slaves member Isaac Holman
typically either wears a hat, funky glasses or just plain basic clothes and he is the more expressive
and plays the drums all the time and the other member Laurie Vincent who is the guitarist who is
just a bit weird on stage. In terms of Chase and Status who aren’t seen as much in the music video,
theyalsohave a visual style of lookingcool andrelaxedalways.

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Music Video 2 – “Song 2” by Blur Genre = Rock/Indie
1. Music videosdemonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g.stage performance in metal videos,
dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration inHip Hop).
Image 1, 2 and 3 – These images are taken from the start of the video. It shows a drummer, a
guitarist and a singer. These are stereotypical roles for people within a rock band, and are the type
of instruments you would expect to hear within the song when it’s from the rock genre as it is a
stereotypical genre characteristic. Also, another element to point out within these images is that it
shows the scene of the video. It appears to be an empty studio with cheap wallpaper on the wall
behind them representing the stereotypical nature of a young rock band trying to perform at any gig
or place possible as they are running low on cash due to their age. This scenery can be seen as
stereotypical within rock videos as they are usually plain and basic as the bands don’t really care
where theyperformthey justwanttoperformthe musictheylove.

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Image 4 and 11 – These images represent the genre characteristic for rock videos that they are
always performed passionately. Image 4 shows the guitarist in mid-air after jumping which has
emphasis on the song. Image 11 shows the lead singer also jumping with the beat and hanging onto
the microphone so his words have full impact in the song. In this image also there is a wind turbine
blowing and he is still there showing no difference in his performance even though this is on
showinghowcommittedandpassionate he isinperformingthe song.
Images 1, 3, 6 and 9 – These images show the stereotypical look of a young rock band and this is a
common genre characteristic. Image 1 shows the drummer who isn’t really shown much but is
stereotypically a bit weird and crazy. Image 3 shows the lead singer, who is good looking compared
to the rest of the group and thisis typically the case for a indie/rock song. Is stereotypically a way of
getting a good fan base by having someone good looking in the band where the male gaze theory
comes in. Image 6 shows a guitarist who is primarily there to make the band look cool and image 9
shows another guitarist who is slightly nerdy and is stereotypically good at playing the guitar and
comesup withcreative ideasinsongwritingandvideoideasforthe band.
All images – Another genre characteristic in rock videos is that there is dark lighting. This is shown
within all the images above. As stereotypically it represents the nature of the type of music that is
produced which is violent and scary. This can be portrayed through he lighting. Also, images 5 and 7
show close ups of the lead singer with variants of light and dark lighting on him through the use of a
close up. This is common in rock video as typically they don’t want to be seen as they are
stereotypicallynotgoodlooking.However,thisisthe countertypeforthisleadsinger.
Image 8 – This image shows a longshot of the whole band. It shows the stage set up for the band and
it is a clear genre characteristic. Drummer at the back as he the least important, guitarists in front of
the drummer as they are fairly important in the band and can really express themselves on this
instrument. Then finally the lead singer at the front as everyone wants to see them as typically they
are good looking in a indie/rock song and therefore will present the band in a better way even if
othermembersinthe bandaren’tas so goodlooking.
Images 7 and 9 – these images portray the band to be a bit crazy, this is a genre characteristic when
it comes to rock music. They express themselves heavily in the music and do crazy things. This is
shown in image 7 where a member of the bad is flying backwards into the wall when the chorus of
the song kicks in to emphasise the song and all the instruments playing together. Image 9 shows the
guitarist playing while a turbine is on blowing strong at him, only ideas like this are used within rock
videostoshowhowweirdandwonderful the genre is.

16
The relationship between the lyrics and visuals is strong and is amplifying; this is stereotypical for a
rock/indie video as they are typically good performers. The first image shows the lead singer moving
up close to the camera and shouting the lyrics “Woo-hoo”. This indicates that the band is performing
and having great fun. This is backed up by the following image straight after this as it shows a
guitarists jumping up while playing the guitar showing that he is expressing himself in the music and
havinggreatfun.
The next image shows clearly the strong relationship between lyrics and visuals as when the lyrics
form the main singer said, which are “I got my head checked”, he hits himself on the head to
reiterate the lyrics. It just shows that it is an illustrative type of video where the bands are going to
performforthe viewer.
Lyrics = “I got my headchecked”
Lyrics = “Woo-hoo”

17
The next two images represent the lyrics “When I feel heavy metal”, the first image shows the lead
singer going flying into the back wall which indicates that heavy metal is dangerous and the other
image when the lyrics are said later on in the video shows a wind turbine blowing on him and he is
jumping and shouting the lyrics down the microphone which portrays the idea that heavy metal
musicisa bitcrazy and he lovesitwhichistypical inrock music.
Beinga rock/indie song,instrumentsare integral inthisvideo.There isabigemphasisonthis
and itis clearthe relationshipbetweenmusicandvisualsisstrong.Itisevidentfromthe start,as
the song startsthe drumsbeginthe song;there isa shot off the drummerplaying.Whenthe
guitarkicksin inthe song a visual of the guitaristisshownandthenwhenthe vocalsare aboutto
start it cuts tothe leadsinger.Thisshowsthe relationshipisstrong,anditis a veryperformance
basedmusicvideowhichisgivenoff fromthe offset.The styleof the videoiscontinuedasitis
fromthe start,meaningasa whole alsothe videoisillustrative.
Lyrics = “WhenI feel heavymetal”

18
4. The demandsof the record label will include the needfor lots of close ups of the artist and the
artist may developmotifswhichrecur across theirwork (a visual style).
The record label will demand for close ups of the main artist within Blur as he is the leading role of
the band. He is the centre of attention in their music videos and therefore will be a selling point for
the band I their music. For the other band members, I don’t feel close ups of them will be required
as they are less of importance within the band. However, close ups could be used of all the band
members to shows the audience how different they all are and that they are a unique band. This
could also be a selling point for the band on how they are physically appear different compared to
each other.Thiscouldbe theirvisual style acrossall theirmusicvideos.
5. There is frequentlyreference tonotionof looking(screenswithinscreens,mirrors, stages, etc)
and particularly voyeuristictreatment of the female body.
Notion of looking isn’t a key element to a rock/indie song with a boy band. However, the lead
singer does look straight down the camera on almost every shot he is in. This can be used to
make his role as a lead singer in a rock band more believable for a young adult singing the song.
The male gaze theory could occur here for females, but more importantly makes him seem more
passionate andbelievable if he issingingwithpassionandisclose tothe camera.
Due to the genre being rock/indie, most certainly a visual style can be created which could recur
across their work. It is clear that there is, the lead singer is passionate and good looking, one
guitarists looks like a nerd as he has glasses so stereotypical connotations come with that
another guitarist in the video is made to look cool as he is standing there in a dominant pose in
one shot and isn’t putting a lot of passion in but is simply there to look cool due to his clothing
also. Then the drummer is show to just wear plain basic clothes, looks like your average guy and
is there because he does a good job playing the drums. This can be recreated over all their
videosandwill cause amotif forthisband.

19
Music Video Analysis 3 - Time to dance by The Shoes (Electronic)
Music videosdemonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g.stage performance in metal videos,dance
routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
For the final music video Time to dance by The Shoes, the music genre is electronic. This comes with
genre characteristics that the following will explain in correlation to the images taken from the
video. The first image shows a young couple dancing, drinking and being close and intimate. This is a
genre characteristic for electronic music, as itis usually the type of music people of these age are the
people that listen to it as it is common in nightclubs and therefore these typical actions occur when
young people and alcohol is available. The second image shows the male dancing and goofing off in
the same scene. This is stereotypical as electronic music results in dancing and then people try and
show off and go crazy with their dance moves which is evident in this image. Furthermore, the third
image shows someone in a weird and colourful costume, this is similar in the fourth image as it
shows the people at this party to be wearing weird, colourful costumes in the hot. This is
stereotypical for the electronic genre as fancy dress is common for this as electronic music is
typically played at parties as it is good music to dance to meaning this is a genre characteristic for
electronic music. The fifth image shows a young woman in the middle of a crowd dancing with her
friends, it reveals to the audience that she is wearing cool sunglasses and a hat. This is a genre
characteristic for electronic music as people like to wear cool accessories and stand out the crowd
when at a party or a festival. It is also stereotypical that she is good looking andis wearing a low vest
top to look attractive to the other people at the party. This is a genre characteristic as electronic

20
music is played at parties, clubs and festivals and is a good opportunity for people to meet new
people, which is why people want to look seductive to possibly spark a future relationship. The final
two images reflect the genre characteristics for electronic music as the first one shows bright lights
and a crowd of people in a nightclub which is stereotypical for this music genre as said before. The
final image reveals more of the mise en scene in this shot, as you can see the flashing disco ball in
the top right of the shot and a speaker, and it also shows a woman dancing to the music which all
reflects genre characteristics for electronic music as dancing is a common theme for this music and
goingcrazy.

21
The images above represent countertypes to the electronic genre. Violence isn’t stereotypically what
you would associate with upbeat dance songs. Usually you’d think you would see only images
associated with dancing, parties, clubs, adventurous costumes. However, this music video is
contradicting, this is what I feel makes this a really interesting video, to wonder why this is included.
Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of the video, is portrayed to be a psychopath through his relentless violence
shown in the music video. “He travels through the hippest parties on a killing spree of Dalston
hipsters. Gyllenhaal masters the role of unsuspecting dark-eyed psycho as he pumps iron and gums
drugs preparing for his next beautifully fashionable victim. Transforming the music video into
magnificently dramatic cinema, director Daniel Wolfe has captured contemporary London in a
shockinglyaddictive modernSlasher” - IMDB
Thisvideodoeshave agood relationshipbetweenmusicandvisualsif youbreakitdown
carefully.Itmayseemtonot have at firstdue to how fast acedthe videoiswhichisneeded
to representthe electronicgenre. Thisvideoisamplifying,asthe lyricsinthe videocanbe
portrayedintoa meaninginthe videowhatthe followingwill explain.
“Do what I do, it's what I feel”
“And now it's time for you
to burn”
The lyrics “Do what I do,it’s what I feel” portray the feelings of Jake
Gyllenhaal in the music video. Previous to this images of intense
violence were shown. This shot of him at the gym putting full effort
into lifting weights is linked with the lyrics, as it shows that this
character has a lot of aggression and feels aggressive and violent
and therefore lets it out at the gym. Resulting in a relationship
betweenthe musicandthe visuals.
In thissequence of shots,there isarelationshipbetweenthe musicandvisuals.Asthe lyrics say“And
nowit’stime for youto burn” there isemphasisonthe word“burn” andthere isa quickcut to a close
up of a womanandthenit isa cut back to the man ina differentscene walkingdownasetof stairsto
indicate thathe is goingafterthiswomanandis goingto kill her.

22
“And now it's time for you to run”
“And then it's time to dance”
The visualsinthisshotshowJake Gyllenhaal slippingoverinarunningfashioninthe snowwhich
linkstothe lyricsof “Andnowit’stime for youto run” which isironicas the womanwho justgot
killedshouldhave beenrunningawayfromthispsychopathkiller.
The first image shown is more of a clear relationship between the visuals and lyrics, as the, lyrics
“And then it’s time to dance” a cut after this line is said cuts to an image of a girl dancing at a party
which portrays the lyrics. The next two images are more of an amplification representation. The
lyrics are said when these images are shown, and creates the ideas that Jake Gyllenhall’s ideas of
dancing which has the stereotypical connotations of having fun, is actually killing people. This is a
countertype for the music video as it is an upbeat soundtrack, therefore you wouldn’t expect to see
these images which makes it interesting in my eyes. The last image goes back to what you would
stereotypically see when the lyrics “And then it’s time to dance” are said, as the visuals show a man
dancing in a night club and is what you would stereotypically see and does actually match the sound
of the songalso.

23
“It was so fun, you feel so strong”
The relationship between the music and visuals is clearly noticeable. The moment after Jake
pursues a killing a loud, drowning, sinister sound is added to the scene. This links to the on
screen images as they are violent and aggressive and gives off that tone and atmosphere
withinthe scene thatsomethingbadhasjusthappened.
As soon as Jake enters this nightclub, the music changes to a deep base sound in the
soundtrack. This relates to the stereotypical sounds you would hear in a nightclub. It fits the
atmosphere shownfromthe visualsonscreenandthe musicmatchesit.
This shows Jake to be slashing a knife into a body letting out all of his anger which is indicated
through the facial expressions shown clearly through the use of a close up. The lyrics indicate
backs up the idea that he is a psychopath and portrays the idea that he gets enjoyment out of
killingpeople andthatitmakeshimfeel betterasapersonas he feelsstronger.

24
This shows Jake to be in a hair salon having a haircut and a clean shave. Once he is finished, the
towel is removed from his eyes, he opens his eyes sharply and a loud distinctive bang noise is added
to the video. A cut is then made to shots of Jake trying to inflict violence on a man. This indicates
that Jake has a new identity now and he feels he can stay hidden from people knowing who he is
and he can carry on pursuingviolence andbeingakiller.
The relationship between the music and visuals has a distinctive relationship in this shot. Jake is
shown to be banging his hand a wall in sync with the beat of the music. This is a clear relationship
and allowsthe audience tobecome engrossedinthe video.
4. The demandsof the record label will include the needfor lots of close ups of the artist and
the artist may developmotifswhichrecur across theirwork (a visual style).
The demand of the record label for Time to Dance by Shoes to produce close ups of the
artist is low. The reason for this is because they are not very well known and therefore will
not grab attention to the public. The director hired well known A list star Jake Gyllenhall to
pursue the role of the psycho killer within the music video. For him, did produce various
close ups within the video to make the viewer realise who the person playing the role
actually is and to make the audience shocked in what he has become within this music
video.

25
5. There is frequentlyreference tonotionof looking(screenswithinscreens,mirrors, stages,
etc) and particularly voyeuristictreatmentof the female body.
Within the Time to Dance music video there is only a couple of notion of looking references.
The first image shows a point of view shot where Jake Gyllenhaal’s point of view is shown
looking at this female character within the video. This reveals that he is looking at this
blonde female and due to the scene he is jealous of the young adults dancing and having fun
so he takes out his jealousy and kills both of them. The second image shows the voyeuristic
treatment of the female body, and that she is shown to be all over the male and being quite
intimate. A long shot reveals the woman’s whole body and could result in the male gaze
occurring for men. The third image shows Jake looking straight down the camera, this use of
notion of looking makes him seem powerful and dominate also due to the low angle shot.
This could be attractive for females watching the music video. The fourth image uses a
mirror shot, however it doesn’t particular show off Jake’s masculine body as he doesn’t
show to have one, so this is a countertype to stereotypical reasons for using this type of shot
to create notion of looking. The final image shows a female in a club dancing, the way she is
dancing particularly shows off her body and portrays the voyeuristic viewing of her body in
the video.

26
In terms of the artist Shoes, they don’t create a visual style of themselves through their music videos
as they don’t feature in them. This creates a style of their own, in terms of that they are behind the
scenes and are just creating the music. They are able to get stars such as Jake Gyllenhaal to feature I
their videos then why would they be in them their self? A list actor in a music video would gain more
attention than them being in it themselves. This creates the visual style of that they always have
different people playing the main role within their music videos which might interest people and
make themwatch themmore.
7. There is oftenintertextual reference (tofilms,TV programmes,other music videosetc).
There is definitely an intertextual link between the film American Psycho and the music video “time
to dance”. The similarities are that the star of American Psycho is Christian Bale, and the star of the
music video is Jake Gyllenhall who both look similar I their appearance, both are American and both
pursue levels of extreme violence within the extracts using a knife and brute strength as their
weapon for their killings. Therefore, I feel there is an intertextual reference between the two
extractsare theyare verysimilarinwhatoccurs.

27
TASK 4 – ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS BELOW – THIS IS EXACTLY THE SORT OF THING YOU’LL NEED TO DO
WHEN EVALUATING YOUR OWN COURSEWORK.
1. Whydid you choose the text you are analysing?
The reason I chose Control by Chase and Status ft Slaves is because it is a music video that
has been crafted with precision which I really like. Chase and status are a great electronic
band and Slaves are one of the best upcoming punk bands in the UK, it is a song that is a bit
crazy but I seemtolike it.
2. In what contextdid you encounterit?
I went to a festival where chase and status were playing and they put on this song and
everyone inthe crowdlovedit,the place wasbouncing.
3. What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the
text?
The context made me like the song, as if it wasn’t for going to the festival I wouldn’t of
listenedtothisatall letalone like itasit isn’tsomethingIwouldusuallylistentoo.
4. Whichconventionsof the genre do you recognize inthe text?
One genre convention in the music video which is demonstrated is that punk music is
violent, angry and aggressive. This is shown through the performers in the video in the
actions they pursue, close ups, lighting and their appearance. For example, these following
six screen shots display all of these. The first shot shows a man standing on car wearing black
clothing having his hands in his pockets and his body language gives off the intention that he
is a bad person and dangerous. The next image shows a close up of the star performer when
singing. He looks extremely aggressive and angry in his singing due to his facial expressions
and his voice backs this up and makes him sound angry and powerful. Furthermore, the next
image shows a mysterious man due to the lighting that it is dark and the distance of the shot
is quite far way so you can’t fully see his identity. He has a glass bottle on fire in his hand
with the car in the background indicating that he is going to do something with this bottle
and possibly pursue violent acts. The next image after that shows a man being aggressive
and threatening towards four police men. He has a block of wood in his hand and gives off
the intention that he is going to hit these police men with it which stereotypically is
something not no one would ever consider as the police enforce the law and help promote
peace in the world. However, for the punk genres who typically involve people who are
angry, aggressive and crazy at times which is portrayed through the music created shouldn’t
be a surprise to people in this music video. Further on in the video it shows the man from a
previous image, which is standing on the care that he has just been set on fire, showing the
ruthlessness and violent acts of the people within this punk video. The final image backs this
idea up as again the previous male from before is now swinging at the police men from
before and just shows how angry and aggressive these people are. Another way that the
music video is demonstrated to be violent and aggressive is through the editing. It is fast
paced and makes the video intense and engages the viewer into the video. Making them feel
as if they are involved and caught up in this crazy violence. There are quick cuts to different

28
scenes and different camera shots to put across this video, this combined with the short
shotlengthsmakesenablesthe viewertogetthe full effectoff the nature of the song.
Another genre convention is that the performers in the genre are typically edgy and
different to your normal stereotypical person. This is portrayed in a number of different
ways in the video. The first image shows the shot of this man who is positioned of centre to
represent that he is different and unique. In the shot he is breathing quite heavily and just
raring down the camera. This can be considered as unstereotypical for a shot in a music
video and gives the video that edge of it being different and unique. He has an unusual
haircut and isn’t your stereotypical good looking performer in the video that a lot of genres
go for. Punk is different and is shown through this shot. Furthermore, the next image shows
an extreme close up of a man’s gold teeth. This shows that the people in the punk genre are
stereotypically different to your typical person. They like to go out to all extremes to be
different as that is what they take pride in. This is shown through tis shot. As well as the last
image, the guitarist is shown to have a whacky haircut style having a spider’s web on the
side of his head. These backups the idea that this genre has the characteristic of being edgy
and different.
Furthermore, another genre convention for punk videos is that they have a lead singer, a
guitarist and a drummer. This is all shown clearly in the music video, and the stage layout is
consistent. They are all separated in their specific roles. The characteristic is that the singer
is at the front and mostly shown as they are the most important and then the guitarist and
drummer behind him as they are less important. Additionally, another genre convention is
that punk videos stereotypically have dark lighting. The reason for this is because the
performers are dangerous characters and the dark lighting correlates to this. Also, their
identity wants to be hidden as they are bad people so they don’t want to be found out who
they are. As well as this, the people that perform punk music are stereotypically not good
looking therefore they don’t need to have all the attention on them through bright lights
and would prefer to be seen less which results in dark lighting. Throughout the video, these
ideashave beenshown,whichthesefollowingimagesprove.
5. To what extentdoesthis textstretch the conventionsof its genre?
I feel they have stretched it in terms of the stereotypical punk video, a band in an obscure
location, minimal equipment and just perform the song. They have used clever lighting and
editinginthisvideothere isaside storytoit and developsthe videotoanotherlevel.
6. Where and why doesthe textdepart from the conventionsof the genre?
At the second half of the video, this is used to give this video an edge of stereotypical punk
videos.
7. What sort of audience did you feel that the video was aimed at (and how typical was this
of the genre/style ofmusic)?
Defiantly aimed at punk/electronic/ rock tastes of music as the song is stereotypical of these
genresandthe videodoesrepresentthat.

29
8. What sort of persondoes it assume you are?
That you’re a bitmental andlove hard core music.
9. What assumptionsseemto be made about your class, age, genderand ethnicity?
Age – 16 – 24
Class– Lower– Middle
Gender– 70% male,30 %female
Ethnicity – White
10. What interestsdoesit assume you have?
Partying,goingtofestivalsandlive gigs.
11. What relevance doesthe text actually have for you?
Relevant for me as it is a song I really enjoy listening to as it reminds me of my time with my
matesat the festival inCoventrywe wenttoo.
12. What knowledge doesittake for granted?
13. To what extentdo you resemble the 'ideal reader' that the videoseeksto positionyou as?
I wouldn’t class myself as the stereotypical reader for this type of text, however I am in the
age bracket mentioned, I am white, male and of a middle class so I suppose I am an ideal
readerfor thistextstargetmarket.
14. Are there any notable shiftsin the video'sstyle (and ifso, what do theyinvolve)?
No,none notable shiftswithinthe video.The textstayssimilarthroughout.
15. What responsesdoesthe videoseemto expectfromyou?
Good and bad responses. As it is a video that won’t suit everyone. Some people will like it
some people won’t.
16. How open to negotiation is your response (are you invited, instructed or coerced to
respondin particular ways)?
Instructed, due to the fact people can see the light of the song if they don’t particularly like
and realise howgooditwouldbe ata festival.
17. Is there any penaltyfor not respondingin the expectedways?
No

30
18. To what extentdo you findyourself'readingagainst the grain' of the textand the genre?
Not a lot, the text is what it is. A heavy electric guitar based song with a rough lead singer. It
suitsthe punkgenre and therefore youcannotreally“readagainstthe grain”.
19. How typical do you think this videois of MusicVideos?
I would say it is pretty stereotypical of a music video. The reason being that it is an
illustrative based music video and that is common in music videos. It also has stereotypical
codesand conventionsforthe punkgenre andtherefore Iwouldclassitastypical.
MARK: /25
GRADE BOUNDARIES 0-5 E/U 6-10 D 11-15 C 16-20 B 21-25 A

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