CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO (HIP –HOP)

MUSIC VIDEOS HAVE DIFFERENT STORYLINES AND MEANINGS, WHICH ARE REPRESENTED OVER NUMEROUS MEANS:

• Performance- this is where the band or the music artist is using their instruments by playing the song throughout the video, this is usually done in concerts or live shows.

• Narrative-where the song involves a narrative, which may use the Goodwin theory that the lyrics have some meaning to the visuals of the music video

CAMERA WORKS WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE DEPENDENT TO THE TYPE/GENRE OF MUSIC VIDEO, FOR EXAMPLE;

• Crane shots, these are used when an artist or a band are preforming, giving the audience a better prospective of the stage/ area, thus enabling the audience to be more evolved in the music/better environment. The crane shots are able to hover around the stage from many different angles to capture what is happening. This may also be used in a hip-hop music video in order to create a sense that someone is being chased, for example in the 50cent music video “my Life”.

• Close ups-they focus on the musicians as their mouths move to the lyrics as well as when there is a narrative and there are close ups on the characters to show their emotions, which suit what the song is about. There are usually close ups on instruments and certain, significant props.

• Pans/tilts-these are to move to each performer and can also be used to show the location as it pans around which is very effective.

• Tracking shots Low angle shot-which are shot from a high location to give the effect of a brid’s eye view and establishing low shots

SOUND AND EDITING • Sound and editing are very important in any music video, especially in an animated video,

without editing the project may not attract the target audience hence it will not be successful.

• In editing the shots need to be chosen and formatted to the specific criteria, (length of time). Nearly all a hip-hop music video have an actor singing the words in a video, thus the lip synching needs to be edited so that the musicians look as though they are truly singing the song at the precise phase as the music playing.

MISE EN SCENE• Mise en scene in different genres Many music videos have certain elements that make

them have various vibes to represent the view of the music tribes, such as: Hip hop music videos use quite dark colours, simple settings and there are portrayals of women to show their sexuality, which appeals to males. On the other hand, the majority of hip hop music artists are males and so, females are the fans. Mise-en-scene Mise en scene is important in music videos. All music videos contain props depending on the genre and type of song it is, such as, if it is a performance style video, there would be performance equipment, instruments, and stages and lighting. In a hip-hop genre dark colours are often used to portray negative feelings of the artist, for example in “Not afraid” by Eminem the location was mostly in a basement which lacked light, also fear is associated with darkness, thus is emotions where negative until he broke out of the basement.

COSTUME • The clothing may differ due to the artist’s personality, for example Eminem’s costume is

casual and norm, however in his past he dressed very differently as he had a different personality (the hunger for fame and money). His costume was baggy and expensive, i.e. extreme, lots of jewellery, and bespoke. Items of the Mise-en-scene such as rings, bangles and necklaces /expensive jewellery are all generic for a hip-hop genre.

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