Analysis of music genres - Miss Georgiou

Analysis of music videos

Music videos appeal to their target audience by portraying the genre of the music within the video to appeal to their audience. This is done by the micro elements within the video which are editing, sound, mise-en-scene, and cinematography. An example of this would be within the rap genre where fast pace editing would be used when the artist is rapping, this would portray their fast pace life and their eccentric drug lifestyle. The mise-en-scene of a rap video would include costumes that show the rap genre by wearing baggy clothing, gold chains, trainers and snap back hats because these items of clothing are often associated with rap artists and gives a stereotypical portrayal of the artist. The cinematography that would be used in a rap video would mainly be close up shots of the artist whilst performing, this would be whilst the artist is rapping, this would be to portray the artist as a role model to the audience and therefore appeal to them as fans of the artist.

Drake - Over (rap)
The camera shots used in Drake's video 'Over' includes close ups of Drakes face when he is singing towards the camera. This demonstrates the emotions that Drake is singing about as the audience can see his facial expressions and his emotions and feelings. This is conventional to the rap genre as you can tell that he is relating to himself and his past experiences.  This therefore portrays the genre of rap as it is conventional to include aspects of your life and the problems you had in your past in your lyrics to make the song emotional. Another camera shot that is included in the music video is a high angle. This can be seen when Drake is sitting on his bed. This demonstrates his anger and pain towards the female in the video as it shows him looking small, portraying his feelings about the girl.

The use of editing in this music video is also present as the infrared/colour tints and background settings for example the clouds and city settings. The use of these different colours portray Drake's different emotions, for example the use of the colour tints and when red is shown is shows that Drake is portraying the emotion of anger. This is conventional to the rap genre as the artist is showing their emotions through the visuals and music, therefore making the audience relate to what he is saying more. Another use of editing is when there are effects and fast paced editing and fast timing of shots. This is evident during the chorus when Drake is talking about his past experiences, this also makes what he is saying relateable to the 13-30 year old target audience as they can relate what he is saying to their own past experiences.

The mise en scene used within Drakes video is also present as the setting and iconography is clearly shown as most of the video is filmed with Drake sitting in his bedroom at the end of the bed singing. The use of this bed shows how distraught he is about the breakup of the relationship as bedrooms are assosiated with love therefore it shows him reminicing on his old relaionship as he is filmed being alone. Also as drake is being filmed alone on the bed it allows him to become emotional and come to grips with his feelings and understand that the relationship is 'over'.

Another point for the mise en scene of the video is that within the video Drake's body language changes throughout. As, when he is sitting on the bed he looks sad and emotional aswell as when there are close up shots of him. But when he is singing the chorus of the song in the street area he looks more alive and full of energy as he is dancing. His facial expressions throughout the video help the audience to understand how he is feeling. This is conventional to the rap genre as it shows he is relating his life to past experiences and putting emotion into what he is saying.

Hair, makeup and costume is limited in Drake's video as he is male, but you can comment on his choice of costume. At the beginning of the video when he is wearing a white tracksuit sitting on his bed, this shows that he is laid back and relaxed showing that he is comfortable in his enviornment. This is therefore conventional to the rap genre as he is laid back and casual about things, but throughout the video when the setting changes to the streets he is wearing a black jacket and jeans with trainers a typical outfit for a rap artist. The outfit change also makes the artist more relateable to the audience as they have someone to relate to when he is in a tracksuit and someone to look up to when Drake is dressed up.

The positioning of Drake within the video changes as at the beginning he is placed dead center sitting on the bed, this shows that he is the most important character as he is the only person the audience can see. Through the video his positioning changes to the left when he is on the street setting, this shows that he wants the audience to see the background and setting making it significant. This is conventional to the rap genre as the main attention is on the artist and what they are thinking and feeling.

The lighting within the video includes flashing bright colourful lights, this is when Drake is singing the chorus therefore making it seem more energetic to the audience. This is conventional to the rap genre as it shows that it is full of emotion as the colours symbolise Drakes emotions.

Flo Rida - club can't handle me (dance)

In the music video 'club can't handle me' the cinematography used varies, as there is a high angle shot used which shows everyone in the club as well. This shows to the audience the whole club setting and the characters in the video. It also portrays everyone else as less important as the angle makes everyone else look less important and less significant. This is conventional to the dance as the artist is shown to be the most important character compared to everyone else. Another point on cinematography is that there are close up shots of the artist. This is shown at the beginning of the video when he is wearing sunglasses, a gold chain and leather jacket with people dancing in the club setting background. This is conventional to the dance genre as people are dancing in the background showing that they are having a good time, this allows the audience to look up to Flo Rida as they want the lifestyle that he is portraying. 

The editing used within the video is faced pace editing, this is shown throughout the video during the club settings. This shows the fast paced lifestyle that Flo Rida is portraying to the audience as it makes the people in the video appear busy all the time. This is conventional to the dance genre as dance music is fast paced and it makes the audience want to living the same lifestyle as the artist. Another editing technique used in this music video is there are a lot of jump cuts. This is used throughout the video to jump from different locations and to jump from the two different artists in the video. This allows the audience to have a full view of what is going on in the video as they can see all of the people in the video and allows them to see all of the locations. This is conventional to the dance genre as again, it shows the busy fast paced lifestyle as a lot is going on in one video. 

The hair and makeup within this music video is limited because the artist is male, but he is wearing the same outfit for the video. He is seen wearing a red leather jacket, gold chain and sunglasses. This shows that he is wealthy and successful from his career. This would make the audience admire the artist and aspire to be like him as they want to be as successful as him. This is therefore stereotypical of the dance genre as it shows the artist to be successful and in a dance environment enjoying himself all the time.

The positioning of Flo Rida in the music video is the same throughout, whenever he is present in the video he is always positioned in the middle of the screen. This is shown at the beginning when he is in the club with loads of people around him and again when he is sitting down in a big group. This shows that he is the most important person in the video and that the whole video revolves around what he is doing. This also makes him the key eye contact point for the audience and therefore makes the audience watch what he is doing the whole time. This is conventional to the dance genre as the artist is the most important character in the video and Flo Rida being dead centre the whole time allows him to be this character.

The lighting within the video is classical club lighting when they are in the club with quite dark lighting with flashing strobe lights everywhere. This is shown when they are in the club but when they are in the other settings the lighting is quite bright, normal lighting. This lets the audience identify that they are in a club as they would identify a club with lighting like that. This is conventional to the dance genre as it signify's that they are in a club dancing, having a good time and this is what the audience want to be like.

The setting and iconography within the music video help identify the music genre, as at the beginning there are two sports cars parked outside the club and later on in the video there are a number of champagne bottles being brought to them in the club with sparklers coming out of them. Both of these help identify the genre as it shows that the artist is successful in his industry and the bottles of alcohol signify that they are having a good time in the club. 

The facial expressions and body language within the video show that the artist and people around him are all having a good time. This is shown as the artist is seen dancing and using body language to express that he is having a good time in the club. This is conventional to the dance genre as they are seen to be dancing and enjoying themselves and making the audience wish they was there.

Ed sheeran - Drunk (acoustic/alternative)

The cinematography used within the music video helps to identify the music genre as there is common use of close ups of the artist. These are evident throughout the video and when Ed is talking to his cat. This allows the audience to notice the artist and identify that he is the main person in the video. This is conventional to the acoustic/alternative genre as their music is mainly about their past experiences and life problems and including close ups of the artist allows the audience to understand this. This also allows the audience to relate to what he is saying in the music video as you can clearly see his facial expressions and moods. Another point on the cinematography in the video is there are a lot of mid shots of the artist sitting on the sofa and in the pub. This shows the artist and some of the background, this is conventional as it shows that the artist is laid back and goes with the style of music, it also allows the audience to see the background and setting therefore making the video more relateable to them as they feel asif they are more involved.

The editing used within the video also portrays the genre of acoustic/alternative as there is a lot of slow paced editing. This is used through the video and only fast paced editing at the end when there is a party. This shows that artist is laid back and relaxed as everything is moving slowly, this is conventional to the acoustic/alternative genre as their music is very laid back and relaxed and the editing shows this. Another editing technique is there are a lot of reaction shots. This is mostly seen when Ed is talking to his cat, this allows the audience to see his facial expressions and therefore relate to what Ed is singing about which makes the whole music video more relateable. This is conventional to the music genre as the music is more relateable to the audience.

The hair, makeup and costume within the video is the same throughout. The artist is seen to be wearing a casual hoodie and jeans with messy hair. This shows that the artist is laid back and relaxed which fits the style of music. This allows the audience to feel more comfortable and relate to what he is saying more as he is seen to be on the same social scale as the audience.

The postioning of Ed throughout is mainly that he is positioned in dead centre, this is most evident when they are in the pub. This shows that although the video is laid back the most important person is still the artist as he is placed dead centre, this makes him in the audiences view point for the whole video and shows that he is the main character. This is conventional as acoustic/alternative music is very personal to the artist and therefore they should be the main point in the video.

The lighting within the video changes throughout. At the beginning the lighting is quite dim, and then when they go to the pub the lights change to a light blue and when they go back home there are colourful lights. The light changing may symbolise the artists different mood changes about the girl he is singing about, this is conventional to the genre as it shows that his music is personal. 

The setting and iconography within the video include Ed's flat and the pub, throughout the video there are alcoholic drinks and various items around the house. This shows to the audience that the video is relateable to them as the artist is in places where the audience can picture themselves in the same situations. This is conventional to the genre as it makes the music more relateable to the audience and more personal to the artist.

The artists facial expressions and body language change throughout the video as during the video Ed looks sad and emotional when there's flashbacks to the girl he is singing about. This shows that Ed is emotional about what he is singing about and that it effects him a lot. This allows the audience to feel more involved in whats happening in the video as they can understand why the artist is feeling certain emotions and relate to them. This is conventional to the acoustic/alternative genre as the music is very personal and is about past experiences.