Analysis of music genre

DRAKE - OVER

GENRE: RAP

Drake released Over which is a rap song, in 2010 in his début album Thank me later.


This video is mainly set in a bedroom, which is decorated very plainly with only whites and baby blues as colours. Also the furniture is very simple, as it doesn't resemble a boys or girls room. The low key lighting creates a serious atmosphere. The plain walls make the room look empty and hardly decorated, but as the audience notices later on in the video, that the empty walls were used to project on.
People and city lights were projected on the wall, this helps to make the lyrics clear.

When images of people walking in a big city with lots of lights it represented people walking in and out of his life, but also the chaos in his mind, as also explosions and fast running lights were projected on the wall which was also stated in his lyrics way too many people here right now that I didn't know last year who the f***k are y'all, as Drake swears in the lyrics it  shows the audience that he is angry as he is rapping about his everyday life which is a genre convention of rap.

The mirror effect of the close up of Drakes face, establishes his star image as it is his fist video. Drake's image shows his representation and his introduction into music, this will enable his audience to build a relationship with him. 

The bright colours like red and yellows, shows the artists anger and frustration which relates to the genre convention that rap artist talk about their feelings and emotions. 

ARTIST: FLO-RIDA 

GENRE: DANCE 

Flo-rida released this dance single ‘The club can’t handle me’ in 2010 in his Step Up 3D album.

 

The video is mainly set in dark rooms, such as night clubs, dark streets and even a supermarket store with lots of people dancing around, partying and having fun and moving from place to place. This shows that they are wild and they can’t party in one place but have to keep moving on to new and different locations. This is associated to the dance genre conventions as the people are dancing to the rhythm of the music.

The lighting in the music video is very dark, as not much light has been used, to create a night and partying atmosphere. This is a representation of the artist as well of the genre of music, as it illustrates a wild night out with friends.

The iconography in this video, illustrate the luxurious lifestyle of the artist, like the cars and the champagne which show and expensive way of life. 

The clothing is quite simple as David Guetta is wearing a t-shirt and Flo-Rida a red leather jacket; this helps him to stand out from the crowd as most of them are dressed in black or white. The jewellery, such as the necklace and the watch shows the audience their rich lifestyle, but also the sunglasses in the club gives the artist an important stance.  

Flo-rida is always positioned at the centre of the frame; this is to connote his importance and fame to the audience, as it also helps to draw all the attention to him as he is the main artist in the music video. His body language shows arrogance and cockiness; this is a dance genre characteristic as it represents youth and they are stereotyped as overly confident.

In this music video there are many jump cuts as it continuously skips to different scenarios, this helps the audience to create more interest in the video and it helps to maintain the upbeat music by using the fast pase editing which also helps to involve the audience better.

 

The use of high angle shots helps to create a fun atmosphere as it invites the audience to dance and start partying.  The purpose of this genre of music is to motivate people to dance, party and have fun.

The mid shot of Flo-rida and all the people at the back dancing helps to invite the audience as if directly speaking to them,  and as the artist is not alone they are encouraging the audience to get caught up. 

ARTIST: THE MUSE

GENRE: ROCK

The muse, which is a rock band, released Feeling good in 2001 in their Origin of Symmetry album.

This music video is set in an empty room, entirely decorated in red as it was a place where all these alien looking people can reunite, be together and happy, not segregated as they are all equal to each other.

The red petals represent happiness as a celebration for something new that has happened.

The colour red connotes a new force and energy that has been created which helps to give a deeper meaning to the words as in most rock music there is strong bond between the lyrics and the visuals. Whilst when the people where surrounded by a black background, it connotes them as lonely and scared, with no one to support them.

The shots of the sky represent freedom, which is the main theme of the song. As rock music is generally characterised as having a sad theme, this video helps to give that twist to a happy song.

All the characters are wearing everyday clothing, as they suggest that they are normal people even though they may not look the same as everyone. Most rock artist dress in certain ways to stand out from the crowd and look different and by using different kind of people gives the song a theme of equality; all rock songs have a strong meaning as they try to give their audience messages through their songs, which is a reason why their visuals have a strong bond with their lyrics.

The facial expressions of the alien looking people are quite neutral at start of the video but towards the end when the word Freedom is pronounced there are shots of alien women smiling, this suggests that they are happy that finally they are ‘free’, and they are feeling equal. The visuals help to create strong meaning to the lyrics which is usual convention of rock.

The drummer is seen smiling as this shows that he is happy and he enjoys what he does. This is a genre convention of rock as it shows that for rock artist performing is their passion.

In this video there are many close ups, this is to emphasise the facial distortion of the alien people but also the faces of the artist as they passion for music.

The camera is sometimes shaky to create that rock and danger affected which is exceedingly seen in rock videos.

The continuity editing helps to create an integrated performance, and make the video run smoothly without any jump cuts; this follows the audience through their performance easily as they are always aware of what is happening.

The pase of editing changes as the intensity of the beat also changes; it is fast and edgy when there is a strong beat, but slows down when also the music does. 

In conclusion I found that different genres have certain aspects which distinguish them from others, so for example dance conventions are night clubs and party scenes.
This has helped me with the planning of my own production of a music video as I know I will have to follow certain conventions in relation to the genre of music I have chosen.
As the song I chose includes elements of pop and dance, by the research I have gathered, I will include lots of low key lighting shots as they will depict a night-life scenario, and also I will add different shots in order to make it more appealing to my audience. As I found out that in dance music videos is all about partying and drinking; I might include some club scenes in my video, but as not all of us are over 18, I won't include any signs of alcohol.
With this research I have also found out that the costumes help to define a genre, as in dance, men wear lots of jewellery whilst women wear dresses and heels, and for this reason I am considering dressing my artist in going out dresses in order to convey to the genre conventions of dance.