Analysis of music video genres

Music videos engage the audience by using three main styles, these include a narrative, concept and performance. Furthermore they use a variety of mes-en-scene and editing to catch the audiences attention and it also helps to break up the video. Different genres of music use different styles and Mes-en-scene techniques in their videos so that they can appeal to their target audience. 

Drake - Over

In the video over by Drake a plethora of camera shots are used to help engage the audience. This includes close ups of the artist Drake. These close up are used to help to portray to the audience the emotion of the artist and make them feel the same emotion. It also helps the audience to understand the lyrics as the emotion that Drake is showing in the close ups mirrors the lyrics. By showing this real emotion it helps to build up a relationship between Drake and his audience as it shows him as real person instead of just a star. It is conventional for rap artists to have many close up in their videos as it shows there passion about their music, as most rap music is based on real life events that have happened to the artist, meaning they feel very strongly about the lyrics that they are singing. 

Furthermore, through out the video, low angle shots are used. This specific low angled shot shows the camera looking up at Drake as he is sitting on the bed and it appears he is looking backdown to the camera. These make Drake appear superior to the audience, also he is the only artist in the video so it highlights his importance. This is helpful to Drake to include these shots as although he wants to make himself relatable he also wants the audience to think of him as a star and more important and talented than themselves. Conventionally, in rap artists come across as quite aggressive and the low angled shots help to portray this as it shows him as a dominant person, it gives the impression to the audience of him standing over them and looking over them.

Also in the video a variety of editing techniques are used. Fast and slow pace editing to used to mirror Drakes emotions when his rapping and highlights his passion for the song as he is becoming very emotional about the lyrics that he is rapping. This engages the audience into the video as it makes them more aware that Drake is a star but still has real feelings and emotions. When Drake becomes

very passionant and aggressive with his rapping the fast pace editing is used and when the rapping slows down and his not as aggressive the slow pace editing is used. The faster paces increases the intensity of the song and makes the audience not want to look away. The slower pace helps to break up the song and keeps the audience on their toes of when the next intense fast pace section will be. This benefits Drake as it maintain the audiences attention through out the song, and if the video is enjoyed and maintains their interest then this could make them want to listen to other songs by Drake.

Another editing technique that is used in the music video is mirrors, showing mirrored images of Drake while he is performing the song in the video. This amplifies the intensity of the song, which helps to engage the audience for the video. In a music video the artists has to entertain the audiences attention for the whole 3-4 minutes therefore a variety of editing techniques help to break up the video and maintain the audiences attention.  

Additionally, mes-en-scene, specifically costume show Drake wearing quite causal clothing such as quite baggy jeans, sweat shirts, plain white tops and trainers. He wears a range of different outfits during the video and again they are all quite casual but Drake accessorises his outfits with a single silver chain. This simple accessory shows Drakes wealth but it also implies that he doesn't need to show it off and wear over the top chains. This jewellery could also signify Drake's status. However, the lack of chains though could be seen as subversive to the genre and could make the music video slightly diverse. It is highly stereotypical of rap artists to wear baggy clothing, and the causal look of the clothing makes the artist more relatable to the audience as they most likely share similar clothing.
Another element of MES that can be seen in the video is the setting, throughout Drake uses quite causal everyday settings such as a bedroom and some of the other shots appear to be with a green screen in the background and they have plain black or white background. However, the main setting is in a bedroom. This can be shown through a long shot of Drake sitting on the bed singing into the camera. This makes the video quite causal and it also makes the audience feel like they are getting to see him in quite a personal and real way, as the bedroom can be seen as quite an intimate place. This makes it quite a personal place for the video to be set. This is beneficial to Drake because if they feel like they know him on a more personal level then it will encourage them to listen to more of his music and learn more about him as an artist.
Another MES feature that can be seen in the video is the lighting. Throughout the lighting is quite dark giving the impression his in a pitch black room, however there are quite a lot of flashing lights and harsh bright lighting that allows the audience to see the artist properly. The dark lighting implies to the audience that Drake is quite an emotional and this reveals a darker side to him, this is because the song shows him as passionate by the lyrics and tones he sings, therefore this is mirrored in the lighting. The flashes of harsh lighting could represent that he is trying to get out of the darkness and speak about his emotions which will reveal more about him, as the lights reveal more of his physical body.
Another element, specifically facial expressions can be seen through this close up of Drake, this shows him singing and looking quite aggressive and intimidating as he is staring directly into the camera. His aggressive looking facial expressions mirror the quite angry tone and lyrics that his singing. This helps to build up the realism of the song, which therefore helps to audience to build up a story for the song and may share the same feelings as the artist when they listening to the song. By having his audience match his emotions when listening to the song it benefits Drake because it will help his relationship with his audience to be stronger.
This element can be closely linked to the next which is the positioning of characters. This long/close up of Drake shows him dancing around during a performance style of the video. And a close up of him sining and pointing his fingers is faded in large over this. This gives the impression that he is completely the centre of attention in the video, and implies he doesn't actually have to be centre in the middle to focus the audiences attention on him. By doing this is connotes him to the audience as being quite a dominant character and this allows him to be on the audiences mind throughout the video. Which helps to maintain a buzz around him as an artist. Which obviously benefits Drake as it helps to keep his audience thinking about him and talk about him.

 Calvin Harris - How deep is your love

This song by Calvin is from the dance/house genre. In the music video cinematography, specifically a high angled shot is used showing the main female character walking in and dancing in a club with lots of people around her. It is conventional in a dance music video to have settings like this, with a lively atmosphere and lots of dancing and partying. This allows the audience to relate this setting back to their own lives and experiences. The bright lights and many people in the shot also help to set the scene as it creates an atmosphere, and mirrors a real club scene, which creates a good atmosphere for the audience and makes them feel like dancing. This also conventional to the genre because dance/house music would commonly be played in a  club therefore if the audience heard it played in a club they could rate it back to the video. 

Another shot that can be seen is a high angled establishing shot showing a boat in the middle of the sea with jet skis around it. The boat is rather large and you can see even from this distance the people on the boat. This shot creates a sense of the environment and life style of the artist/character. It shows that the are use to quite a luxurious life style and have expensive things e.g. the boat and  jet skis. The audience will be able to relate to similar experiences they may have had, like a jet ski ride, but it unlikely that they have experience the particularly luxurious experience of being a their own or a friends boat and on jet skis. This highlights to the audience that although the artist is relatable, they are still a star so are higher up of the hierarchy then the audience. This is beneficial to the audience as the insight into the type of life that the artist lives will engage the audience and make them envious of them, which will engage them and make them want to get to no the artist more. Pop videos conventionally use luxurious items and settings as they like to show their artist as a star for their audience to look up to. 

Also in the video a variety of editing shots are used, slow editing is used when the female character is getting out of the swimming pool and undressing into her underwear. This is used to highlight the females body and slowing down this clip intensifies the situation and the audience are clearly aware the girl is undressing. This 

also breaks it up from the faster pace dance/club shots. This helps to maintain audiences attention as it breaks up the video and regains attention by stretching the shot out for a longer period of time. The intense focus on the female body is conventional is dance/house music videos, as they often choose to highlight body movements as it shows people are dancing to their song and the female body is also resembled as something to be lustful toward for men when watching the video. However, women will draw their attention to her as she is attractive and they could aspire to be like her. 

Also used in the video are filters, we can see this when the girl is dancing and playing with her hair. She is looking directly into the camera which creates intensity as the audience will feel like they are being directly addressed by the female. Her playing with her hair is a way to make her look quite innocent as this is something that young innocent females do. This makes her relatable to the audience and they will feel like she is more approachable. The bright red filter that is used in this shot could resemble club and party lighting. So again relates back to the fact the audience will be able to relate past clubbing and partying experiences and this engages them further into the video. The constant relating back to clubs and parties is conventional to the genre, specifically the use of the bright lighting. 

Mes-en-scene, in particular positioning of characters shows the female in the centre of the scene with other boys and girls around a similar age dancing around her looking excited and happy. This helps to maintain the audiences attention on the main female charter instead of getting distracted by other dances in shot. Here they are trying to imitate a club scene and make the audience relate themselves to the situation and think about similar experiences they've had, which they then will relate back to the video when they see/hear it again. This is conventional of the genre as the song is highly likely to be played at parties and in clubs so the song will become relatable to the audience when they hear it in a club.
Another MES element, in particularly facial expressions shown in a close up of the main character pouting her lips with her eyes closed and slightly tilting her head. This portrays he as looking quite seductive and also as if she is quite drunk, as she can't hold her head up. This helps to build up a relationship with the audience as it helps them to understand how she is feeling while in the music video. By gaining a better understanding of the character it helps the audience to relate to her.
MES, specifically lighting is seen in the video through this head shot of the female character in the club. The lighting is the same of that that you would find in a club, its bright and flashy with a variety of colours to colour the lighting. As this song is highly likely to be played in a club by mirroring this lighting it helps the song to build up an image around the song and when they hear the song they will be able to link it back to certain places e.g. a club.
Another MES, in particular costume is seen throughout through a variety of different outfits that the main female character is wearing. However, all of the outfits are quite minimal and revealing.  This mid shot shows the female spinning around wearing a small black dress that is quite see through and revealing. Through the dress you can still see the shape of her body. This make her appear quite seductive to the audience, this then helps to engage them into the video and pay attention to the female. A little black dress is also a very common outfit for young girls to wear when they go out clubbing therefore this allows them to relate to her through this. This benefits Calvin because this appeals to men and women for different reasons which appeals to all of his targeted audience.

Taylor Swift - Shake it off
This song by Taylor is from the pop genre. Some camera shots that can be seen in the video include, a long shot showing Taylor and a group of other dancers in ballet outfits doing  a dance routine. This is conventional to the genre because pop music videos are generally very dance orientated and fun, and this dance sequence portrays the ideas of fun and makes the audience want to dance. This is one of the main aims of pop music. Also her dancing shows Taylor as a regular girl as many girls took dance lessons when they were little which would make this relatable to them as they will try and imagine themselves in her situation. However, it does also show an extraordinary side to her as she is the centre of a massive well put together dance routine.


Another camera shot that is seen in the video is, a close up showing Taylor singing into the camera. She is looking directly into the camera, which helps to involves the audience as it will feel like she is directly singing to them and involving them in the song. This makes the song therefore feel more personal and this will engage the audience. This benefits Taylor as it makes the audience want to buy more of her music and watch more videos so that they can get to know her better. Close ups are conventional of the pop genre because it allows the audience to get to know the artist and why she looks like.

Also we can see a variety of editing techniques used in the video, such as slow editing when two of the ballet dancers are doing a dance move in the air. This helps to draw attention to how impressive the move is and the highly athletic look of them. Although the dancers are not Taylor herself, it still gives the audience someone to aspire to be as dancing in the background of Taylors videos is still a big deal, therefore the audience could set a more realistic aspiration of being like the dancers instead of Taylor herself.

Another editing technique seen is slow editing again, but when Taylor is performing a ballet dance move. However, the move is much less impressive then the move done by the actual ballet dancers. This is beneficial to Taylor as it shows her and ordinary and relatable as she cant do everything perfectly, this will encourage the audience to like Taylor as it shows her as a real person. And then the audience members who follow her work will see that she is constantly trying to tell her fans to do what makes them happy and not worry about others opinions or looking stupid. This is mirrored in the slow editing here. It is conventional to show the artist getting involved in the different talent shown in the music videos as it shows them as regular people even though they are famous, making them more relatable to the audience.

Mes-en-scene, specifically facial expressions are seen in this video through a mid shot of Taylor squishing her face together as if she is really happy and excited. By having this it implies she is content with herself at that current moment, also it suggests she is encouraging her audience  to be happy as she is looking directly into the camera as if she wants them to join in with her. This could encourage the audience to feel positive when listening to the song, this is conventional to the pop genre because they are normally feel good songs that are positive and people like to dance around to and are happy when they listen to them. This benefits Taylor because it achieves her aims for how she wants her audience to feel when listening to her music.

Another element of MES, that is seen in the video is the positioning of characters. This long shot of the dance group shows Taylor positioned in the centre of the frame, her loose and comfortable stance shows her as confident in what she is doing and that she is not shy as she's happy dancing around in front of a load of people. Her being in the centre is a common feature throughout the video, as shown again in this long shot of her in the centre of the ballerinas. This shows her as important as she is constantly in the middle of each frame. Implying her to be more of a 'star' to her audience because it is clear everyone is more talented than her (better and more technical dance moves) but she is still the centre of attention. This is a common feature within pop music as they are very focused on advertising the artist and trying to make them appear more important than the rest of the dancers.
The lighting in the video is quite bright harsh lighting, this can be seen in this mid shot of Taylor. The lighting is very bright and natural looking, making Taylor very clear and it is easy to see all of the different features of the video. The bright lighting could resemble Taylor's bright and bubbly personality, which would assist the audience in building up a representation for the artist. Also as it makes everything in shot very clear it shows her to the audience as being very confident and loves to be seen. It is conventional for pop artists to use this type of lighting in their music videos as they are always shown to confident and enjoying them limelight.
The setting of the video appears to be in dance studio, however i think a green screen could have been used because the background colour of the setting is being changed for each of the different dances groups/styles that appear. This implies to the audience that the song is for dancing to and that Taylor literally wants people to get up and "shake it off". Therefore the use of a dance studio effect encourages the audience to do this.

Taylor uses a variety of different dance costumes throughout the video. These include a ballerina costume for when she is doing ballet, a more hip hop/street styled outfit (leather look trousers, over sized top and jacket and hat) and a street dance styled out fit (gold sparkly suit). Each outfit that is used matches the type of dance that she is doing, and she uses very extreme and expensive looking outfits for clearly a beginner at those particular dance styles. This could show her to her audience to be quite wealthy, however it does help to add to her performance element of her video. It is conventional for pop music artists to be quite over the top and professional in their performance elements of their music videos as it shows them as serious about their work and performing to their audience.

All three of these music videos have different conventions which show the genre that they are from.  Drake's video is quite intense with lots of close ups of him and low angled shots showing him to be superior to his audience. This makes his audience see him as a star and someone to look up to. Whereas Calvin's song is more about getting the audience to want to join in with the song and dance, as it is a dance track. He achieves this by having a variety of shots showing people partying and socialising with friends, this helps the audience to relate to the video. Taylor's song is also to get the audience up and dancing around but it also to make her look relatable and allow the audience to get to know her as an artist. This is done by Taylor by showing her mucking around and not taking herself to seriously. From looking at these videos I have learnt that It is highly important for the music video to be relatable to the target audience as this is what keeps them engage throughout the video and makes them want to follow an artist. From doing this research i have decided that i am going to use many close ups of the artist because this is a common feature through all three of the genres that i have analysed, as this will allow my audience to get to know the artist and feel like they are having a more personal relationship with them. Also i had gotten that i am going to use fast and slow pace edition in order to break up the video and match the change in the speed of the video, this is also something that is common within all of the videos that i looked at.