Research Into Music Genres

Music videos appeal to an audience in a number of ways based on the genre of music and the type of audience they are trying to attract. Most music videos try to attract as large an audience as possible, in order to make themselves as an artists successful and popular. Different genres of music videos however different genres of using have conventional types of music, for example rap artists usually tell there own story through there video. In addition to this dance videos usually show people dancing within there videos which promotes the feel of there track and shows the music making people in clubs or parties having a good time.

Rap:

DRAKE - OVER

The video of over comes from 2009 when Drake was a relatively new artist. This music video is typical in many aspects of being from a rap artist as it informs the audience of his struggles to make it in the music industry and gives us a personal insight into our life in order to connect the audience with the artist. Editing plays a key role in the style of the music video and makes it enjoyable to watch. In the video the colour filters many times whilst drake is in a bedroom, the lights are fast moving and quickly flash from blue to red and also yellow. This shows the audience that Drake has a fast paced life style and he can never just be left alone as he is famous. This relates to the audience as he is sharing with them aspects of his life, which is conventional of a rap artist to let the audience into his life. Another technique is the relationship between lyrics and visuals, this is when people are reflected and fits in with Goodwin's theory, as it matches with what he is saying 'I know way to many people that I didn't know last year' as the people being shown are blurry and unrecognisable. Which again allows the audience to relate to the artist as Drake is exposing his fast paced life to the audience so they can relate more to him and the song.

Drake is shown in a minimalist room with gold chains clearly visible. This is a clear indicater that he is of the rap music genre, as many artists within this genre frequently show of their wealth through expensive jewlerry. The blank canvas of a room is unconvention for the rap genre, yet drake uses this to his advantage as he is portraying himself as an ordinary star who has it made it big in the industry. This is a key marketing tool as his target audience will understand him and where he has come from aswell as relating better towards him. Which of course will mean he will make more profit.

Another key aspect of Drakes video is the cinematograph. One of these being the shallow focus of himself where a dancer is blurry in the background, this subtly shows the audience that Drake had relations with this girl yet he does not care about her. The next camera shots shows a pretty woman in her bedroom in full focus, therefore highlighting to the audience that he cares deeply about her and not the blurred dancer. This relates to Drakes lifestyle as an audience and he sells himself as attracting alot of female attention which is typical for a rap artist who wishes to show the audience the idealistic life of someone rich and famous. An establishing shot is used with the bedroom back wall where a fast moving american city covers drake. This shows the audience that Drake is becoming lost in his new life of fame and fast moving lifestyle. This literally shows Drake to being swallowed up by the city and all the people within it, which is conventional of a rap artist as he is showing us that he has a fast paced and his fame can get too much.

Whilst sitting in the blank coloured room, a mid to long shot clearly shows the buzz of a city behind Drake. This follows Goodwins theory by displaying a clear lyric to visual relationship, as he sings about his fast paced lifestyle a city rushes behind him. This is used to show the audience that as an odinary star drake finds it hard to come to terms with his new found fame therefore is being absorbed my the city behind him. This follows the flashy conventions of the rap genre who nearly always use urban settings when shooting videos. The audience when watching this are not only visually stimulated, but also buying intc Dake's lifestyle and seeing first hand what he is going through. This intimacy is coneventional of the music genre and makes him more successful.

When drake sings about a girl within the video, goodwins theory is also followed as there is yet another visual lyric link. The close up of the female is typical for a rap genre song as she appears stunning aswell as dressed up nicely. The ideal girlfriend is a common topic for rap songs, which helps promote the girl featured plays up to dyers theory and the woman becomes sexualised with feelings of love and passion being exposed by the artist. The artist in this case Drake, also represents himself as a 'player' which is a conventional way for men to be portrayed in rap songs. the fact she appears in the video also attracts an audience as the woman used is worl famous Rita Ora who not only has a fanbase herself, but is also deemed sexually attractive by the audience and makes them more engaing with the video.

The Mise-En-Scene of the video also appears to be conventional of a rap music video, Lighting goes from low key to high key frequently, and makes the audience feel an on edge vibe, which is what the artists intentionally wants the audience to feel. The iconography used such as a lamp turning on and off
and the red light appears to express his anger which ties in with the audience trying to express how he feels to the audience. The setting in the bedroom is used as a stage to perform his music, where the past is played around him which draws the audience in and makes what he's singing more relevant. Clothing in the video changes frequently which is conventional, and Drake wears a red jacket when he is singing about being angry, this gives away his body language and the colour red has connotations of pain and aguish which is what Drake is feeling throughout the song.

Dance:

FLO-RIDA - CLUB CAN'T EVEN HANDLE ME RIGHT NOW

Flo-Ridas music video appears to the audience as being very genre specific. The genre of the music is dance music which is mainstream and largely popular. As an artist Flo-rida uses a variety of editing styles such as the split screen which shows the audience that the club is busy, this is also a lyrics visuals reference as it fits into what the artist is saying about the club not being able to handle him. The visuals relate to the music as when the music slows so does the pace of the video, and when the music speeds up the pace does as well. an audience is drawn in by this as they relate the music to the video successfully. This is conventional of any dance tracks as dark rooms and clubs are used to advertise the artists music and convey people to be having a good time and using dance music as a form of escapism.

In relation with the rap genre, the dance genre also use frequent references to expensive iconography in this case a sports car. Parked outside the club the car advertises the music video by displaying the expensive taste for the artist. Wealth is common feature of the dance genre and the flash images of expensive cars, conveys the artist as a success and makes him more of a extraordinary star to the audience.

Probably the most recognisable feature of the dance music genre, is the use of dancing in a club setting. This is a common feature of music videos that portray dance songs as the artist wants to give the impression of fun and a hedonistic liferstyle. The artist Flo rida here dances within the crowd wearing shades, which further makes him stand out as an extraordinary artist meaning he follows the conventions of dyers theory. He is made more of a success within this genre as he isnt affraid to get involved with the crowd, which makes the audience watching the video on either television or socail platforms relate better to the artist and veiw him as fun and likeable which promotes the sdale of his record and any aditional ancillary products.

Cinematography in this track plays a vital role. The long shot focuses on lamborginis which displays the artists wealth and the artist appears materialistic. Audiences can relate to this by idolising the objects that people within this club have, and this relates to the video via the lyrics of the club not being able to handle them. Another camera shot used is the mid shot which shows the artist in the club. The levels show him on the stage which sells the idea of him being the main attraction to the club and that he is popular and idealised. This is conventional of a dance track as the artist appears powerful and the centre of attention.

 The theme of dancing is contiuned throughout the video which is conventional of the dance genre. Females are seen to be carrying bottles of champpage which illistrates the scale of the artists wealth and the amount of girls carrying alchol fits in with the perfomance narrative and shows them to be sexual objects which fits in with dyers theory. The artist Flo Rida is seen to be more successful by the audience as within the video he is portayed as a 'lady's man' and is able to obtain large numbers of girls through being cool and wealthy. This makes the artist a success as his club setting is made vibrant and exciting, somewhere which the audience would wish to go and be intrested in seeing how the perfomance that advertistes the film 'step up 2' plans out. This use of double advertising makes both the film more money byu having big stars apear in the soundtrack, and also step up 2 fans more interested in watching the video in order to see characters from the movie on screen.

The Mise-En-Scene of this song is again very conventional of the dance track genre. Iconography of bottles with sparklers fits the narrative as it shows the audiences extraordinary life and his hedonistic nature if having a crazy lifestyle. The positioning of the females at the start of the video show them to out number Flo Rida. The clothing of the girls was also very revealing, therefor showing them to be attractive and sexual objects. The women also wear the same outfit which shows they are all the same in Flo Ridas eyes and that he can have sexual relations with all of them if he wants, this shows the audience that Flo Rida is a powerful and attractive man with alot of money. The light in the club scene is also very dark which shows the club to be fun and lively this is conventional of a dance track.

Rock:

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE - HELENA

Helena is an early song from American rock band my chemical romance. The strong has very strong connections with the rock music genre and the emo sub genre. The video itself uses fast pasced jump cuts which highlight to the audience the fast nature of the song and express the narrative of the video to be very eventful and to tell an emotional story. This is conventional of any rock song. The use of the mid shot at the end of the video shows the funeral procession and the dancers performing in black clothing. This allows the audience to visualise everything that is going on and see both the cofin and dancers. There is alot of dark and emotional creativity going on which is steryotypical for MCR and the rock music genre.


The lead singer Gerad Way is portrayed in this shot from a high angle. this is used within the video to create a moody atmosphere which is typical of the rock genre. The artist is seen to be wearing black eyeliner and have long black hair that covers his face, This is living up the 'emo' sub genre as many veiwers who watch this will be interested in this style and see the artist portrayed in the same way as them which makes him an ordinary star. the relationship between the artist and the audience is therefore strong, which allows the band to be more successful. This is typical of the rock genre as the aim of this kind of music is to keep fans and appeal to a smaller target audience outside of mainstream chart music.

Tere is certainly aspects of visuals relating to the lyrics, as the lead singer states "can you hear me, are you near me?" when hes standing next to the coffin this directly indicates a deep love for the dead girl who he is talking to. This is conventional of Rock emo music as the artists deeply in love and emotional about his feelings, this appeals greatly to the young teenage and perhaps early twenties audience, who would be deeply into the goth/emo lifestyle and love everyaspect of the music video. The shallow focus of the artist aswell indicates to the audience that the lead singer is the main part of the narrative, and this focus editing style conveys to the audience that he is dark and emotional which is stereotypical of the Rock music genre.

Steryotypes are also followede again later in the music video when one of the band members is seen playing the guitar which follows the conevtions of the music genre. the use of instruments is used in nearly every rock and alternative track, as the fans will want to see music being played, becuase rock fans wish to go and see live music. This intimacyis met within the video and the hardcore edgy stle of the band meber is also displayed, with his talent on the guitar making him appeal more to the audience and the bands strong fan base who will be veiwing this song, perhaps on rock channels such as Kerrang.

The female within this shot from the music video is seen to be coming alive from the coffin anddancing around. The girl is typical of the rock genre, as she is dark and mysterious and also looks pale and wears black. Playing up to the gothic audience she is also attratcive which meets with dyers theory of a female star. When she is persumed dead goodwins theory is also followed as the lyrics relate to whats happening on screen. The words 'can you hear me' are sung which highlights the dramatic and intense mood of the song and lives up to the genre by creating a split between narrative and perfomance. The visuals of this video are very targeted, which although may limit the videos success in the mainstream charts will complely appeal to a rock audience. This is conventional of the genre.

The mise-en-scene of this video is also steryotypical. The iconography used, such as candles and crosses are very gothic and emo related which appeals directly to the audience who would be captivated by this video. The positioning of the band playing there instruments is also what all rock bands do in there music videos to show that the music there playing is real and thus appealing to the audience. The clothing of course is very dark and gothic, with extreme amounts of eyeliner even on the male band members. This is not conventional for society, therefor expressing the emo nature of being out there and trying to rebel against social norms. The lighting is quite low key, even outside where it is raining. This gives the video a sense of foreboding and creates a depressed atmosphere which appeals to the audience who enjoy the dark and mysterious nature of  rock music. Even the setting is at a funeral, which is completely in line with the emo nature of the video. The danger rock bands have of performing such a genre specific song video is that it may only appeal to a certain audience making the video not as popular in mainstream music, however this again is stereotypical for rock bands and fans to not care what others thing and be as outrageous as possible.