Glossary

Glossary

Style

Genre Specific

Genre specific is when the music video is in line with the genre of the   music for example heavy metal is very loud and usually has darker themes and black clothing. This would then be implemented into the music video. One example of a Genre specific music video is 50 cent Major Distribution which is an example of a very basic generic rap video which people will probably expect.

In Concert

In concert is when they film the music video is a live performance. A good example of this is Jay-z featuring linkin park. One reason why they do this is to make the person watching the video feel closer to the artist. This can also be a cheap alternative to up and coming artists as appose to paying for a production they can just videos one of their gigs and edit the music over it.

Animation

Animation is when they use cartoons instead of people in the music video. One example of this would be Daft Punk – One more time where they have used cartoon characters to portray the different band members. One reason for having a music like this is that it can be more eye catching it can also be used if trying to attract a younger audience, also allot of things the artist may want to do in the music video may not be possible but with animation anything can be accomplished.

Interpretive

This is how the music video director may try and convey the lyrics through the video for the person watching to understand. For example Eminem-Stan is a good example of this the music video takes what Eminem says and makes the actor say it. This is done really well so it makes it look like the actor is really saying it not the artist which is what is done because the artist is speaking from another persons point of view. The reason why this is done is for they’re to be more of an impact when the lyrics are delivered.

Narrative

Narrative is essentially the way the story is told within the music video. There are four stages to this type of music video, Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, Recognition, Reparation, and New Equilibrium. For example in I need a Doctor by Dr dre and Eminem these four stages are clear.

Equilibrium – Dr Dre is relaxing and thinking about different event and people he has met throughout his life though something seems to be troubling him.

Disequilibrium – While driving down the road in his car he has a car crash and is now in a coma.

Recognition – Eminem realizes this and wants to wake him up.

Reparation – Dr Dre wakes up and is recovering.

New Equilibrium – Dr Dre is now fully recovered and moves on.

Pastiche/Parody

A Parody is basically a humorous version of a video one type of parody is the scary movie films which have the plot of a movies and implement other plots of other movies within there film and often make fun of serious themes for comedic purposes. Although they have become quite successful in the movie industry the music industry has not seen quite the same impact often artists who make these parodies don’t have much success other than on YouTube.

Referencing/Homage

There are many examples of artists referencing or paying homage to a person or another artist they respect. One example of this would be Kanye West – Touch the Sky where he pays homage to Evil Kanevil. This was done for more comedic purposes another reason for this would be to pay homage to someone who the artist was influenced by.

Conventions

Lyrical Interpretation

Lyrical Interpretation is basically how the music video conveys the lyrics. With lyrical interpretation the music video matches the lyrics in the song. For example the song Dear Mama by Tupac is a great example of lyrical interpretation because throughout the video the scenes are directly linked to the lyrics in the song, an example of this is when he states how him and his mother used to have fight it actually shows him having fights with his mother. Another example is when he talks about him and his younger sister being poor it shows them struggling.

Extending or Consolidating

Extending or consolidating is when there is a deeper meaning to the song or more than one meaning to the song. It is used to male the audience aware that this is the case, for example certain imagery in love the way you lie by Eminem and Rihanna clearly suggests that there is a deeper meaning to the song. Things such as abusive couples and domestic violence seen in the music video, something they have both have been a part of is clearly portrayed in the music video.

Allusion

Allusions are essentially references, but they are done in a more subtle way so they are harder to spot this makes them more hidden and they can be seen in many music videos but are hard to spot. An example of allusion would be Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly that have some subtle references to the movie Airplane. At first watching it you wouldn’t relies that it is a reference to Airplane unless you are told. Scenes in the music video such as the pilots being poisoned are an example of this.

Techniques

Cutting to Beat

Cutting to the beat is a technique that can be used in music videos to emphasize a change in the beat. For example when a beat starts thumping you can cut to a shot of someone tapping his or her foot. This is used to keep people interested in the song and to bring out bits of the production people may otherwise not know was there. A good example of this is Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools is a good example of this the beat cuts a the start to emphasise his mood.

Effects

Effects are used to make the video more attractive. I have personally used editing techniques to do various things such as cut the clips and put them in order to make a series of scenes look like a story. Other things you can do are add effects like black and white to add a tone to the music video. Beyoncé’s music video If I were a boy is a good example of how the black and white parts in the song are there to show her mood as upset, there are also slow motion effects to slow down the scene and make it more understandable this is also used to show her confidence in this video. In contrast the black and white is to show her sad mood and the slow motion is used to show her confidence this is a good example of how these effects can be used to set a tone and tell a story.

Miming and Lip Syncing

Miming and lip syncing is another editing process the filming audio is cut out and the actual high quality song audio is put in to make the video look professional. If the artist just sang the song while filming then the same audio was used it would look cheap and the music video would not be as good because the artist would not sound right. One example of this would be the music video I created it was very important that the person that was miming absolutely looked like he was singing the song otherwise it would have looked like a flop.

Camera Movement/Angles

Camera movement and angles are used to make the video more interesting to watch from different perspectives. If you want to show the artists emotions you may want a certain shot like a close up of the artists face. One good example of this is ASAP Rocky Wild for the night where there is a shot where the camera pulls out from a huge distance this is makes the music video look big budget and give it a cinematic feel.

Chroma-Key

Chroma key is a very useful and time and money saving tool used in music videos. Chroma key is techniques were a green screen is used then in the editing process it is taken away and replaced with something. This is apparent in the Black eyed peas – Don’t lie where in some shots when Fergie is walking this adds a great effect of making it seem that they are somewhere they actually aren’t it also adds some great visual effects which attracts the viewer.