The first video I have analysed is called ‘On Fire’ by the artist Lil Wayne. The director of this video is Chris Robinson. Even though Lil Wayne is known for being a HipHop / Rap artist this song is of the ‘rock’ genre and follows its characteristics. Rock music videos are mainly performance based sometimes with a narrative. There are lots of instruments such as guitars and / or drum kits and they tend to have a dark and gothic theme. There are a number of ways that this music video has followed the ‘rock genre’ characteristics, for example most of the video is performance based. We see alot of the artist, Lil Wayne, and a rock band performing with guitars and a drum kit. A dark tone is created from the first scene of the video where we see a mansion which is overlooked by grey storm clouds. There are other ways in which this dark tone is amplified such as when a white rabbit changes to a black rabbit and when a black feather falls from the sky to the floor. These scenes not only add to the dark tone of the video but also create a gothic feel. When we see the artist for the first time he is in a room which is filled with musical instruments and candles. The candles, along with the stain glass window which is usually found in churches add to the gothic theme of the music video.
Throughout the song there are many examples of the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. An example of this is when the artist says ‘shes on fire’ we see a black silhouette of a woman dancing against a red background. The colour red could indicate danger which is generally linked to fire. During one of the cuts from one scene to another there is a glimpse of fire and whenever the artist tries to touch the woman sparks come off her. Further along in the video we start to see scenes of a woman dancing with fire in the background. This scene tends to be shown when the artist says ‘shes on fire’. Another example of the relationship between the lyrics and visuals is when the artist says ‘shes how as hell’. At this moment in the video we see a girl dressed in a dark angels costume with black wings dancing with flames surrounding her. However the lyrics also contradict themselves sometimes for example when his talking about hell and devils we see images of angels.
There is a link between the music and the visuals in this music video as well. When the video first starts the scenes are much longer, this is because there is no music. Once the music starts the scenes become much shorter and we get more cuts which matches the tempo of the song. Most of the cuts in this music video do not match the beat however there is one scene where we see the drummer playing the drums and it actually matches up with the song. Even though the cuts do not match the beat they do change to keep up with the pace of the song.
There are many close ups of the artist in this video because it is him that they are trying to sell. Throughout the video there are a lot of women displayed sexually with him which means that the record company could be trying to show that he is ladies’ man. In this video a rock image of the artist is being created, since this song is not aimed at Lil Wayne’s usual HipHop target audience. This music video is very different compared to most of his previous videos simply because it is a rock song. However it is similar to a video that the artist jus released call ‘Prom Queen’ which is part of the artist rock album.
The woman in this video are displayed sexually, for example the woman dressed in her underwear with black wings, to attract a more male audience. The camera is also mainly focused of the woman’s body and not her face. The record company has chosen to use the conventions of a rock music video in order to promote his current album.
Evanesence - My Immortal
The second video that I have analysed is by a rock band called Evanesence. The song is called ‘My immortal’. Even though Evanesence is a rock band this song is of the alternative rock genre. The characteristics are very similar if not the same as those of the rock genre. The video was directed by David Mould. The characteristics of the genre are that the video usually looks gothic and dark, we see the band/artist playing the instruments and that it is performance based. This video creates the gothic feel through the mise-en-scene. The setting is in a gothic part of Barcelona, and in the video we can see that the buildings are very gothic like. There are lots of dead leaves and old buildings. The dark mood is created because the video was shot in black and white. This amplifies the emotion of sadness, grief and sorrow.
The lyrics in this song are not really illustrated in the video; however the video does portray the emotion of the artist and the lyrics of the song as we can the band walking around almost emotionless and the main singer laying down lifeless.
The cuts in this video do not match with the beat. The song is very slow paced and therefore we have longer scenes and fewer cuts. The solo instrumental parts are in the last section of the video. Here we see the band actually playing their instruments, during this part of the video there are more cuts to match the pace of the music.
Since this is one of the slower songs from Evanesences album ‘Fallen’ i believe that the record company are trying to show a different side to the band. The image that is created of the band from this music video is showing us that everyone can experience pain and sorrow. This video is very different to previous videos by the band since is it much slower and calmer and less drums and guitars being played, it is mainly a piano that you can hear until the last section. This video represents a change of image because it is the last song that the band made together with their lead guitarist.
There is no reference to the notion of looking in this video nor are any of the artists on sexual display. This video just shows the raw emotion of each member of the band. There are also no intertextual references. This music video is mainly performance based which sticks to the convention to a rock video.
0 comments:
Post a Comment