Research into similar media texts

Music Videos

There are different styles of music videos and there are 3 main forms that they come in; Performance, Narrative and Image. Performance speaks for itself, it is a performance based video normally on a stage or something of a similar sort. Narrative is where the video tells a story either the one relating to the song or a separate narrative is told. Image is when the video focuses mainly on the artist.

Beyonce- Single Ladies

Link to video- http://www.muzu.tv/beyonce/single-ladies-put-a-ring-on-it-music-video/43845?country=gb

This is an example of an extremely simple, it consists of three woman (one of which is Beyonce) who spent the entire music video dancing in sync in a slightly provocative way. This video very much focuses on the image (focusing on the artist) of Beyonce, their is absolutly no narritive throughout the video and the performance takes place in what appears to be a large white empty room. The video focuses mainly on th images of beyonce in this video, it shows how woman are and should be confident with or without a man and beoynce is the perfect example throughout the video. This song is very much an r 'n' b genre, this is mostly due to the style of music.

This particular video has delibrately decided to use black and white colouring, this has most likely been done to show off the class of beyonce, blakc and white colouring makes the viewers fouc in more on the actual artist than the surroundings. I beleive that this video was seuccessful becuase of the simplicity of the video and the creativity of the dancing by the peroformers. Therefore this particular music video highlights that in order for the main focus of the music video to be reconigsed by the audience it is important that the creator uses effects that will highlight the key focuses of the video.

Calvin Harris- I'm not alone

Link to video- http://www.muzu.tv/calvinharris/im-not-alone-music-video/170260?country=gb

This video uses a larger variety of methods throughout, at the beginning of the video it is very narritive based. There is a small child struggling to cope travelling through the cold winter weather. At the time the lyrics clearly relate to the conditions shown in the video. When the song breaks down and the chorus starts it becomes very much a dance beat and the image of Calvin Harris starts. It just depicts himself singing the song, and then there are woman dancing around him. There is absolutly no performance in this particular video, it is either image or narrative. The genre of this song is dance, like the large majority of his music.

Once again the originality of the video is the key to the success and popularity of this particular music video, the section of the video where Calvin Harris is dressed up as a doctor is particularly different to a normal Calvin Harris video, the actual video fits in very well with the song as it is random and a fresh beat. The implication of these features highlights how the mise en scene is extremely important when creating a music video, for example if Calvin Harris was not wearing the doctor out fit throughout the duration of the video then the music video would lose all effect. This is extremely important to keep in mind for my music video as I intend to include animal costumes so they will have to remain the key focus of the video or the effect will be rendered useless.

Goldie Lookin Chain- Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers do
Link to video- http://www.muzu.tv/goldielookinchain/guns-dont-kill-people-rappers-do-music-video/220799?country=gb

Like the previous vidoe involving Calvin Harris this video as a narrative and image. Throughout the video the members of the band are running away from the police and explaining how rappers kill people. Many times throughout the video it cuts to the members of the band which does not actually relate directly to the video of the song or any of the narritve. The band image throughout this music video is very much 'ganster rappers' and they get that point across in their video. The narritvie in this video is the members of the band running from the police and in a wierd way showing how the police are not that powerful. This is a very light hearted video and is clearly not to be taken seriously. The genre of this song is rap.

This video is highly entertaining due to the comic values the actual song possesses, lyrics etc. The video itself also is humorous, the members of the band appear to be going around a shop, town centre makign fun and tormenting the police. This origionality of the music video really does capture the imagination of the viewers, this will result in the song selling plenty of records due the the popularity of the music video. This music video highlights that is edited and shot well then music videos do not have to be serious in order to be appreiacted, this is clearly a mock up music video which its main perpose is to be entertaining, as this is the type of video I intend to be creating these implications are important to take note of.

System Of A Down - Chop Suey!

Link to video- http://www.muzu.tv/systemofadown/chop-suey-music-video/16738?country=gb

This video is almost completely a performance of the band, they are all on a very small stage performing to a very hostile crown. This clearly links to the genre of the song, which is heavy metal. The image of the band is that of 'rockers' as they are all wearing dark clothing, with dark hair and all the cosmetics you could expect these' rockers' to have. Again this links directly to the genre of the song. There is absolutly no narritve in this particular video, the video mostly just consiists of the band performing to their respective fans. The genre of the video is metal and rock.

This music video was made popular due to the addictivness of the music video, the special effects used really appear to be happening (like in real life) and it really captizates the listenings imagination. The song is not particully a great song but the music video really makes the song appear far suprior than most. This video again highlights how if the video has a clear aim and is well shot and edited then it can become a success, as already stated this particular video has very little happening in it (as far as events are concerned).

Michael Jackson- Man in the mirrow

Link to video- http://www.muzu.tv/michaeljackson/man-in-the-mirror-music-video/268606?country=gb

This video is narritive, although not in the conventional way. The song does not in a sense tell a story but instead it sends out a message which is extremely powerful. The lyrics of this song link directly to the many different clips shown throughout the duration of this video. The video informs the audience of the horrors that the world has witnessed throughout a space of time but it also shows near the end of the song that there is still hope that the world can 'change' if we all 'make the change'. There is no performance in this video by Michael Jackson and likewise there is no image of Michael Jackson, this has clearly been done delbiberatly to highlight the importance of the message portayed throughout this video. The genre of this song is pop.

This music video is highly emotional due to the racial context of the video clips and the motives behind the artist singing this particular song. Every single video clip throughout the duration of the song appeals to the viewers and highlights all what is wrong in the world (starvation and racism). The overall quality of the song itself meant that the record would of sold many units, but along with the music video it was a massive success worldwide. It it important to take note of the implications of this particular video as even though it is only a slide show of video clips the editingand order in which they are shown in a sense tell a very important story (in this case about the evils of the world) and therefore highlights the importance of the sequence in which the clips are shown in a music video.

Cartoons- Witch Doctor

The song starts off with a small narrative, multiple characters are waiting for advice from the witch doctor. As soon as they recieve the advice the song starts, from there on in the video is almost completely random, all of the events to not particually relate to the lyrics of th song. There is a case to claim that there is a form of performance in the music video, this is because all of the memebrs in the band are singing the lyrics as they appear. However it is important to note that the video is not on a stage so it cannot be a proper performance. I beleive that this video is mostly narrative, at the beginning there is th pre narrative which then leads all the people in the video to follow the 'witch doctor' as the 'special words' that they are given help them reach their goal. This song is a novalty song, therefore the normal codes and conventions of a music video to not apply to an extent as it is suppost to be 'wacky'.

This music video offers some important techniques, such as the massive variety of shots and in general the random nature of this music video. These key implications therefore will be taken on board when creating my music video as it intends to be very randomly shot (with a narrative) which in turn offers a clear humourous factor.
Aqua- Barbie Girl

This is yet another novalty song, it starts off with Ken (Barbies boyfriend) coming around in the car to her house. There appears to a be a party that takes off soon afterwards, there is a continous voice over from either barbie or ken which describes what a great time they are having. This is a pop genre song, again just like the previous song as it is a novalty song the normal codes and conventions of a music video do not directly apply to this video as the main point of this video is not suppost to be taken seriously and is clearly suppost to be cheesy. The fact that the band is using the characters from barbie shows that the video is suppost to be taken lightly, not like a video such as 'man in the morror' by Michael Jackson. The narritive in the song is thouough, both character seem to be describing what they are doing in the music video more times than not.

Blood hound gang- The bad touch

This song is competely image, the entire band appear to be dressed up as monkeys, runing around a massive city (most likely somewhere like New York) this main reason for me choosing this video is that it is not too dissimilar to the video which we hope to create, the members of the band appear to be eating worms at some points during the song, this random approach to creating a music video is what has captured the imagination of many music channel viewers. The actual song is not great but the quality and originality is what really makes this a fantastic music video and due the the video is sold many units in music shope throughout the world.

The genre of this song is a parody rock song, it is not a conventional rock song but has many aspects which a rock song had (including the instruments used) and taking into account the previous songs which they have released they have always been a rock band. This music video is arguably the most important, I intend to have people dressed up as animals (like this video) throuhout our town centre, this video uses a variety of shots and cuts quickly in order to keep the audience entertained, this is extremely important techniques so will be clearly taken on board