1. VODCAST SCRIPT
In this podcast I will be talking about the lyrics, visuals and narrative of a music video. The
mise-en-scene typically signifies the genre of the song. There is often a relationship
between the lyrics and visuals, however it can also be contradictory or disjucture. There is
also often a narrative in the video however there are cases where there isn't.
The first music video I will look at is Price Tag by Jessie J and B.o.B. The genre of the song is
pop and the music video was released in 2011. The lyrics of this song are trying to send the
message across that people need to enjoy life more and stop worrying about money as
"money can’t buy you happiness". There are some points where the relationship between
the lyrics and visuals are direct to that specific line or lyric, and others where it directs to the
overall message of the song. This is shown at points, like with the oversized price tag (0:36),
the serious men in suits (0:44), the signs pointing to left and right (0:54), the tree made out
of money (1:00), the car (2:18), the planet mars (2:30). At 2:58, there is a little easter egg as
it shows jessie j and 2 other dancers where jessie is wearing the same tights, grey bodysuit
and orange jacket as her do it like a dude video which came out in 2010. there are other
visuals which don't directly tie in with the lyrics, like the clowns, small house, big teddy bear
and music box, however they all tie in with the theme of childhood, which is anchored by
the seemingly younger jessie j. there is some narrative enigma at the beginning where the
camera zooms into the teddy bear with a high-pitched tinkling music box playing a nursery
rhyme and then zooms out with a younger Jessie J.
The next video i will look at is Highway to Hell by AC/DC. The genre of this song is rock and
the music video was released in 1980. Andrew Goodwin states that there is some form of
relationship between lyrics, visuals and music. This is applicable to highway to hell by
ac/dc. The music video does demonstrate genre characteristics as it's performance based
for a rock song. The low light, dark background, mise-en-scene and shadows reflect the
tone and atmosphere of the music. There is no narrative to this video as it is performance
based with lip syncing but it is broken up with shots of the guitarist and drummer.
The last video i will look at is Street Fighter Mas by Kamasi Washington. the genre of this
song is jazz and the music video was released in 2018. There are no lyrics to this song, but
the genre is slightly represented through the mise-en-scene with the classic car to the booth
with the lamps he sits at. There is a narrative but there is disjuncture as the song has no
lyrics for the narrative to represent. There is narrative enigma present at the start where
we get a close up of a hand putting money into a street fighter game. There are proppian
archetypes used, such as the hero. This is anchored through the text, the constant tracking,
rule of thirds and a slight low angle. We follow our protagonist through his hero's journey, a
theory by joseph campbell. We watch the departure as they get in the car and drive
somewhere, we see the initiation when he is battling someone on the streetfighter game
and we see the return after he wins the match and sits by the pool. This also represents the
structure by todorov beginning with an equilibrium, then a disruption and then back to the
equilibrium.
The first music video i will look at is Hideaway by Kiesza. The genre of the song is dance and
the music video was released in 2014. There are clear genre signifiers throughout this video
2. such as the outfits. Kiesza is wearing red hightips, blue low waisted skinny jeans with
suspenders and a white bralette. Some other outfits of the dancers include a white vest,
blue baggy jeans, a navy blue flannel, trainers and a chain and a yellow crop top with flowy
zebra pants and white trainers. These outfits are very youthful and hip which is a good
signifier of the dance genre. Going back to Andrew Goodwin from my last vodcast, there is
a relationship between the genre and the visuals as they are dancing and the genre is
dance. Kiesza is wearing red lipstick and light eyeshadow. There is male gaze present, a
theory by Laura Mulvey, with the red lipstick and bralette as well as the outfits of the other
female dancers. Although this video is a single shot, it is quite fast paced and there's upbeat
dancing. There is a range in pace which is shown between the contrast of 2:35 and 2:51.
The next music video i will look at is Kill this Love by Blackpink. the genre of the song is kpop
and the music video was released in 2019. Kpop often has a lot of outfit changes, significant
sets. This is definitely apparent in the kill this love video. There are 5 whole group outfit
changes and other parts where one or two of the girls have a different outfit change. Each
of the girls have different outfits but are coordinated in the groups. The first group outfit,
the girls are wearing mini skirts or dresses with extravagant jewellery. The second group
outfit, they have a tomb raider lara croft inspired outfits with boots and lots of straps all
over the outfits. The third group outfit is very brightly coloured and each are wearing
accents of the neon blue, yellow, orange and pink colours. The fourth group outfit has a lot
of leather, red, black and fishnets. The girls also have tattoos on them anchoring the
streetwear theme of this outfit. The final outfit has dancers in the background all wearing
the same black soldier style outfit and blackpink wearing different variations of a black and
maroon soldier style outfit with boots. Their individual outfits include a floor length,
feathered white ball gown dress and a black jumpsuit with long sleeves and a white detailed
collar for the swan shots, a white crop top, a large red, white and turquoise fur coat, black
shots, royal blue thigh high boots with a matching belt which holds them up and another
jewelled belt for the cereal shots. In the reflections scene, which is one of the six defining
common characteristics argued by Goodwin, the notion of looking, the girl appears to not be
wearing any clothes, with a large coral like head piece but she isn't showing any cleavage. In
the car scene, when in the car, the girl is wearing a blue denim jacket, a lacy black bralette
or cami and a watch. When she is running away from the car, she is wearing a white tunic
type mini dress with a detailed black belt and she is holding white heels. In the shop scene,
the two girls are both wearing high fashion outfits with a skirt or shorts. In the field scene,
she is wearing a flowing, soft, light, white dress. in the haunted house scene, there are two
different outfits, one is a white ball gown style dress with a square neckline, common in
tudor times, like what anne boleyn would wear and lots of necklaces. the other outfit is an
accordion folded shiny dress with a short matching cape, jewellery and a head piece. The
makeup throughout is quite mellow but occasionally bright and colourful. Another genre
convention of kpop is dancing. They dance during the tomb raider, bear trap and soldier
scenes. There are only backup dancers in the soldier section. There is a range in pace but
it's mostly fast paced and with quick shots. This is a very youthful signifier, which works for
kpops younger target audience.
The first music video i will look at is Price Tag by Jessie J and B.o.B.. the genre of the song is
pop and the music video was released in 2011. There is some intertextuality present in this
3. video where she is wearing the outfit from her "do it like a dude" music video released in
2010. It's a very short 1 second shot.
The next video i will look at is Kill this Love by blackpink. the genre of this song is kpop and
the music video was released in 2019. The girls took inspiration from the movie tomb raider
and the protagonist lara croft. This is an example of intertextuality.
the next video i will look at is street fighter mas by kamasi washington. the genre of this
song is jazz and the music video was released in 2018. There is intertextuality present with
the street fighter game. The silent movie format of this video is an example of simulacrum
as we get a representation of a representation of a representation and so on, which is very
playful.
the last video i will look at is thank u, next by ariana grande. the genre of this song is pop
and the music video was released in 2018. there is intertextuality present throughout this
video as she plays in different rom-com movies, being mean girls, directed by mark waters
and released in 2004, legally blonde, directed by robert luketic and released in 2001, bring it
on directed by peyton reed and released in 2000 and 13 going on 30, directed by gary winick
and released in 2004.
the first music video i will look at is not giving in by rudimental ft john newman & alex
clare. the genre of the song is electronic and the music video was released in 2012. this
video looks into poverty, gangs, drug abuse and domestic abuse, all very heavy topics. there
is a really strong message and narrative in this video which is about getting into the wrong
crowds and gangs. this is not a very common convention of the electronic genre as we
would assume to see dancing without a specific narrative and typically caucasian
protagonists. this does have dancing but a very strong narrative and it is set in manila in the
philippines with asian characters.
the next music video i will look at is lsd by asap rocky. the genre of the song is hip hop/rap
and the music video was released in 2015. this covers quite a few different themes. we of
course have drugs being represented as the song title is lsd an acronym for love sex
dreams. the protagonist, being the artist travis scott himself, is african american and the
princess or prize proppian archetype of the video is asian american. there is clearly a much
higher social class in this video than the previous, which we can see through the clothing
and mise-en-scene with chandeliers for example. the couple in this video are heterosexual
which we would typically see for a hip hop/rap genre.
the first music video i will look at is red red wine by ub40. the genre of the song is reggae
and the music video was released in 1983. there is a large range of shot types and angles
used in this music video. we can immediately tell who the protagonist of the video is as
there are tracking shots and lots of close ups on him. there are a lot of fade transitions
throughout which signifies the passage if time and the protagonist getting progressively
more drunk. the pace of the video is quite slow and there are a few slow mo moments. the
video is all in black and white however, the red wine is. there isn't a lot of lip syncing in the
video but when there is, it is a medium long two shot. there are many group shots in the
bar with the protagonist being centered according to the rule of thirds. some notable shots
4. include the high angle at 1:07, the zoom in whilst zooming out shot giving a vertigo effect at
2:03, the freeze frame shots at 2:07, the panning at 2:34 to signify the protagonist being
drunk and a very long shot at 2:48.
the next music video i will look at is seven nation army by the white stripes. the genre of
the song is alternative and the music video was released in 2003. there isn't a massive
range of shot types and angles used in this video and with the style of each shot zooming in
creating another inside, we see the same angles and shot types a few times. at the
beginning, it starts off dim and slowly goes from light to dark until the drums kick in. this
also happens again at 1:14 when it goes back to black after the first chorus. there is a lot of
red and white lighting. these lights occasionally flash very quickly. the editing is fast paced
in some sections like the chorus and slow paced in other sections. there are a few different
animations added in during editing, for example the skeletons marching which starts out
with just a couple and then a lot, an elephant, the fire on the head and the electricity
effect. throughout we can also see a reflection on the floor which is what goodwin argues is
a common characteristic of music videos, the notion of looking. at 2:00 we see a slight
change which is semi circles instead of the triangles. at the very end it zooms into the
silhouette of a head.
