Task 7: Music Video Research Part 1

Rock - Queen

-High key lighting - Expressing the song's title and how lively their music is, upbeat.
-Static camera - Video isn't about the performance but more about the music
-Leather clothing - popular and common style throughout the genre, iconic
-Lack of props - Only items on set are the instruments used, further reinforcing the view that the music -video is straight to the point
-Non diegetic sound - No narrative to base diegetic sound upon
-Pace of cuts varies on the pace of music
-No narrative

Pop/Punk - SWMRS
- High key lighting - express how up beat the song is and if the melody sounds happy.
- Fast cuts - punk is energized and full on, fast cuts exemplifies this trait. Some songs are slower resulting in slower cuts.
Diegetic and non diegetic sounds - SWMRS are very much a DIY band and they like to experiment with studio and real life sounds together.
Original music videos - very atheistic and usually 90s looking, including VHS camcorder recording parts of the video.
Some videos are nearly entirely narrative and some are entirely performance. Linking back to their DIY nature, they can do as they like, they are not trying to be mainstream.


Folk - The Lumineers

-Narrative based - easily illustrates the lyrics
- Pace of cuts depended on the narrative, helping build structure, anticipation and character development. Montage esq at some parts to show passing of time.
- High key lighting showing the couple traveling implies joy and adventure
- Long takes on specific takes such as loving scenes to emphasize the couples excitement and admiration for each other
- Casual clothing, appropriate for narrative
-Diegetic sound makes narrative more realistic.

Learning comment
From doing this task i have understood the clear differences from different genres music videos, i have also looked at how the micro elements are perhaps more important in a particular genre over another. Learning codes and conventions from 3 different genres has allowed me to think about the genre i'm interested in and would like to do. I have also seen how far music videos have came from the 70s/80s with Queen and the early 10s with SWMRS and The Lumineers. The music video industry has been given more time and money to invest in it, making it part of a usual artists album. I also found it interesting to study these music videos as it meant i could find influences from a less know genre such as folk and use certain traits in a rock or pop song.