Media A2 coursework

1. Red hot Chili Peppers
The rock genre

2.  The band was formed in 1983 in Los Angeles.
 The group consists of the vocalist Anthony Keidis ,
bassist Flea, guitarist Josh and Drummer Chad Smith.
Who are they?

3.  Dark costumes e.g. KISS
 Gloomy and mysterious music videos e.g. Smells like
teen spirit
 The use of instruments e.g. Guitars, Drums etc.
 Memorable logos e.g. Nirvana smiley face
 One or more lead singers.
Common rock conventions

4.  Rock is one of the most classic and popular genres of music as it
can appeal to many different people, even those who weren't
born at the time of release.
 Red Hot Chilli Peppers are one of the most critically acclaimed and
therefore classic bands. They gained popularity in the 90s and
their most famous song is the 1999 hit 'Californiacation'. Not only
is the song globally famous, the music video is also one of the
most recognised videos of all time.
 The chilli peppers typically follow many of the conventions used in
Rock music videos, such as displaying instruments such as drums
and guitars, which isn't as apparent in the pop genre which does
not glorify the use of instruments as much as Rock does.
Their connection to the genre

5.  This is their most popular song. This is what
introduced the band to a mainstream audience and
brought more attention to the American rock genre
and not just British who dominated the genre.
 The video contains several common conventions such
as instruments which are common in the genre. The
music video is very different to other rock music
videos as it is animated throughout most of the video,
Californiacation

6.  One genre defining feature is the use of instruments
repeatedly during the music video, this is very popular in
rock as it allows the audience to see all of the band
members rather than one main artist, unlike most
pop stars who are always at the centre of attention.
 Animation is used throughout most of the video which is
quite uncommon for a rock video as they are mostly just
performances and not conceptual.
 This unique video is one of the reasons why the song was
so well received.
Mise en scene

7.  Its hard to talk about the use of camera in this music video as the
majority of it is animated, however for the parts which are not
animated, the use of wide shots are very common, the is typically to fit
in all of the band members which is important to the genre like I
mentioned before, The genre features a lot more bands than in pop and
therefor all members are shown in music videos. The actual movement
of the camera is almost as if the artist is being followed, With the steady
pace of the music it allows the viewer to actually appreciate what is
going on in the video which allows a story to be told
Camera angles and shots

8.  The style of this song is a also quite unusual for the genre
as the tune is very mellow and slow, the lyrics too are also
quite meaningful as it explains a realistic version of
Hollywood and fame. The tune of the song captures the
style of the lyrics. This also relates to Andrew Goodwins
theory that music videos have links the their lyrics which is
true in this case.
 The editing in the video is very smooth and calm, it also
helps capture the mellow tone as all of the shots are fairly
long, unlike other music videos like bohemian rhapsody
which is quite jumpy and fast paced.
Sound and Editing

9.  This is another legendary music video by the Chilli peppers. In
contrast to the previous song Cant stop is relatively new as it was
released in 2009 when the Peppers were still at their prime. The song
itself was released in 2003 but the video was not made until 2009
 The difference between these two songs are very apparent due to
the fact that Cant stop is much faster and more typically rock
sounding, this is unlike a lot of their music as their songs are typically
slow like Californiacation.
Cant Stop-2000s Alternative

10.  The 2000s alternative rock is considered its own sub
genre due to the fact that the genre has changed and
widened since 2010 and therefore it is easier to
classify the music as ‘different’.
 The music video is also much more upbeat with faster
pace. Several popular conventions are used in this
video such as the whole band being shown with
guitars and drums
Alternative Rock (2000s)

11.  The theme of the music video is definitely art. The
members of the band are performing tricks with random
everyday objects, I think the meaning of this is to tell the
audience that even after 10 years the band can still release
new and unique content. Id say that this music video is
definitely a mix between conceptual and performance, as
it features both the band playing and carrying objects.
 The video also includes the lead singer topless which is
iconic for the band as this happens in most of their videos
and is used to convey the message of rock and rebellion.
Cant stop- Mise en scene

12.  The first shot in the video is a continuous shot going
through a yellow tube. This is all while the song beings to
build up, the purpose of this is to make the viewer more
excited because it doesn’t give away the theme of the
video. It is almost as if its trying to make the watcher guess
who is playing, as the song was a comeback after a couple
years. This is one of their most popular songs however
there are no complex aspects to the video. This shows that
even with less effort than californiaction the band still
continues to do well
Camera work

13.  Several common camera movements are used, for
example in the shot above, a tracking shot is used.
This is to take the viewer on a journey with the band.
There is no explanation for the lamps on their backs
but the camera will follow them anyway because of
their fame and power.
 A lot of wide shots are used, this is especially popular
in rock videos in order to fit in all members of the
band giving a sense of camaraderie.
Camera work

14.  The Editing for this video is almost completely opposite to
californiacation, the reason for this is that the songs are
completely different in pace and therefore the shots must
be changed in order to keep up with the lyrics. The shots
are very quick and there are very few continuous shots.
 The reason for fast paced editing is so that the quick
energy of the video can be felt, it also resembles how
hyper people can be in their youth which makes the band
seem younger.
Editing

15.  With the increased use of guitars, there is a much
heavier sound in comparison to californiacation. I
think that the reason for this is that there isn't really a
story that is being told unlike californiacation which is
intentionally slow.
 In this song there are also a lot more backing vocals
from the other band members, this is to make the
song feel more lively aswell as to show that its not
just a ‘one man band’.
Sound

16. Dani California- Funk Rock
The very famous song Dani California was released in 2006 making it the bands
latest song, However the song itself sounds quite old and nostalgic for fans of the
band from the start. This is a very interesting music video as it is performance
based yet conceptual in the fact that the band impersonates other extremely
famous artists like the ‘Beatles’ and ‘Elvis Presley’.

17.  Funk Rock is a mixture of Funk and Rock, giving it a
really old and almost blues sound, which can be heard
in the music video. This isnt the first time the band
have made a song under this genre. ‘Under the
Bridge’ was considered Funk rock.
Funk Rock

18.  The mise en scene in this song is very interesting, mainly
due to the costumes and props used in the music video.
The costumes are used mainly to represent other rock
artists, an example of this is the black suits and the bowl
cut wig to look like the beatles, or the famous leather
jackets worn by the punk band ‘sex pistols’.
 For every costume change there is also a set change to
make it more time appropriate, this is shown when chilli
peppers impersonate Elvis and his eras instruments.
Mise en scene

19.  The camera angles are very typical for a performance
based music video.
 A very common shot used in the video was extreme
close ups, these were used to capture the energy that
the band has when performing.
Camera angles

20.  Editing is quite interesting in this music video as, it
changes depending on which band is being
impersonated for example, when the scene was
supposed to portray Jimi Hendrix, the backdrop of
the stage was full of colour and psychedelic looking.
 The pace of editing also depends on which band is
being shown, for example Nirvanas editing was much
slower to realistically portray what type of band it is,
but the opposite occurs for sex pistols.
Editing

21.  The sound is a lot more old school at the start and
then becomes more modern towards the chorus, this
is to follow the theme of going through time with
different bands as the video started with Elvis Presley
and then made its way to Nirvana.
 The sound of the bass guitar is a lot more apparent
than in the other songs.
Sound

22.  From what I have seen from the genre and sub genres I
can tell;
 The classic rock genre uses many shots of the band actually
performing, this is least seen in the music video for
californiacation, however this is mainly due to the fact that
its narrative and mostly animated.
 Genre wise, the alternative rock music video was a lot
more upbeat and faster paced than the others, this is
because the genre is aimed towards a wider demographic
with younger listeners
Comparisons