MUSIC VIDEO RESEARCH
HIP-HOP MOOD BOARD
I decided to gather the things that make me think of hip-hop, such as Beats headphones, a boombox which was popular in the 90s, and MTV. I also included famous hip-hop artists such as Rihanna, Drake, Beyonce, Big Sean, Nicki Minaj and Aaliyah. I added other things such as Twitter and an iPhone as many artists use Twitter and other forms of social media and apps to connect with their fans and to release exclusive content for them to enjoy; and for fans to connect with each other. I included a YouTube logo as the majority of artists including hip-hop artists release music videos on their Youtube Vevo accounts; however recently this is being challenged with the introduction of apps such as Tidal and Apple Music.
R&B or HIP-HOP SONGS TO CONSIDER
My group and I are considering using an R&B or hip-hop track that is unreleased/unpopular as this is the style of our potential artist and we feel that these genres best suit her. These are some of the songs we are considering using.
Ki Loni Lee - I'm That Girl
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TINK- TREAT ME LIKE SOMEBODY
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chloe & halle - pretty hurts |
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tinashe - little things |
bridgit mendler - you're something beautiful |
justine skye ft. tyga - collide |
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inspiration
I feel as though the music video for 'Bandit' by Justine Skye could be used as inspiration for our music video as I like the shots and locations of the video, such as the rooftop. The outfits Justine Skye uses are similar to our artist's style and it is likely she will be wearing similar clothing. We will also try to find a rooftop in London to film the performance part of the video on top of.
music video theorists
Our music video may display typical characteristics of urban music videos which links to Andrew Goodwin's theory, however some aspects of the video may be different and challenge stereotypical ideas of these kind of music videos. Our video will most likely be illustrative as it will contain a storyline that links to the lyrics of the song. There will be the use of binary opposites as the artist will be competing for the attention of the male she likes, his girlfriend being the obstacle. The music video will be more of a performance video, as Sven Carlson said the video will contain a song performance and possibly a dance performance. The video may contain some fantasy aspects of it as the artist may imagine herself with the boy, replacing his girlfriend, which supports Deborah Holdstein's theory of fantasy in music videos. The artist will have an urban style that fans of her music and this style may be inspired by, therefore they are more likely to consume her content and aspire to be like her. This turns her into what is known as a 'commercial exhibitionist' as she is made into almost a selling item.
types of music videos
performance music videoA performance video simply shows the artist(s) performing throughout the video. This is good for videos that are low budget. A good example of this is the video for Catfish and the Bottlemen's 'Kathleen' in which the band are performing by singing and playing their instruments.
narrative music videoA narrative music video is a video that shows a storyline. In 'Robbers' by The 1975, the narrative follows a couple who are happily in love with one another; they also live a life of drugs and alcohol. Todorov's narrative structure can be seen in this video:
Equilibrium: The couple are happy together and are going about their lives as usual. Disruption: The couple go into a store to carry out a robbery, however the male (Matty) gets shot. Recogition: The couple run out of the shop, Matty holding his wounded stomach in pain as his girlfriend panics. They run to the van and the other members realise he's been shot. Attempt to repair the damage: They go back to the house and the girlfriend attempts to stop the bleeding. New equilibrium: The wound is still there and the audience are unsure of what happens to Matty, but the couple are still in love with each other. hybridA narrative video has both narrative and performance in it. This can be seen in Paramore's video for 'Misery Business' as the narrative follows the story of a bully in high school and shows the band's performance of the song at the same time.
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conceptual music videoA conceptual video typical shows an unusual/abnormal idea that is likely to attract the audience and keep them engaged. An example of this is 99 Souls - 'The Girl Is Mine' in which a man travels backwards/forwards meanwhile the rest of the world is the opposite; which could suggest that the society he lives in is backwards. He tries becoming like everyone else until he meets a girl that is the same as him.
linearA linear narrative goes from start to finish and tells the story without any interruptions from the past or future. This can be seen in Dizzee Rascal's 'Sirens' music video in which he is chased by fox hunters.
non linearA non-linear narrative is one that follows a story but has interruptions during it, for example flashbacks. This can be seen in Beyonce's 'Pretty Hurts' music video, as she is on stage for a beauty pageant but at the same time we see flashbacks of her journey leading up to that moment and what she has had to go through to get there; from this it is evident she is unhappy.
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history of music videos
Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock |
Destiny's child - say my name |
This song and music video are from 1982, the video clearly shows the hip-hop culture through the use of breakdancing, graffiti and the fashion.
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Destiny's Child are one of the early R&B artists that were featured on MTV. It is evident that the video and song focuses on relationships and love/conflict, suggesting that this has always been a common theme in R&B.
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MUSICAL GENRE CONVENTIONS RESEARCH
r&b
conventions of hip-hop music videos
(Hover over pictures to see the names of the music videos they are from)
Low angle shots are used to show the artist's power and give the audience the impression that the artist is superior.
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The artist usually makes it clear that they are wealthy - whether it is through the use of cash, cars, jewellery etc. This also gives them a sense of high status/superiority and distances them from their audience.
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Female hip-hop artists usually shown as empowering and confident which challenges the traditional view of women being submissive and passive. It is also common for them to wear little/revealing clothing.
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Male hip-hop artists are usually surrounded by a group of males that come across as their 'squad' or 'gang', which connotes strength, power and danger if anyone was to mess with them.
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Another convention of male hip-hop artists is that they are surrounded by women behaving seductively. This suggests their dominance, especially if they are in the middle of the shot and the women are on the side. The camera also tends to focus of the women's bodies (Mulvey's 'male gaze'). This could also suggest that women are seen merely as sexual objects/props used for the pleasure of men.
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It is also common for the visuals to link to the lyrics. In this instance, the artist sings "girl I love them heels and yeah I love that dress" at the same time a pair of high heels are shown. There are other examples in this music video, such as a dice being displayed when the artist sings "like I'm at a casino" and a cockroach when they sing "tell the creatures just to beat it now". This displays a clear link to the song, especially if there is not any special narrative then objects will be used instead.
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representation of gender in music videos
Selena Gomez's music video for pop song The Heart Wants What It Wants is entirely in black and white, thus making the tones more subtle and displaying more emotion. This is different from Gomez's other music videos, which are more colourful and show her more confident, happier side. This music video on the other hand shows her vulnerable side towards the audience; firstly through the use of the monologue at the beginning. She talks about the pain she has gone through and her loss of confidence due to her previous relationship; as she continues talking it is evident that she begins crying from her voice. This gives the audience the impression that this song is very personal to her, and that sharing this part of her life with the world is not easy for her. In the parts of the video where there are close up shots of her singing to the camera, she is in tears, showing that she is heartbroken and she has let down her guard. This shows females as emotional and vulnerable; which is a traditional view of them. The narrative follows Selena as she is unhappy but she fakes a smile in front of the public, and her unhappiness as her lover ignores her and gives other girls attention. Another traditional view of females is that they care a lot about love and relationships therefore they are easily hurt, but they also easily go back to the person that hurt them, which this video reinforces. This will appeal to people who are also going through breakups and complications in their relationships, especially females as they may feel as though they can relate to Selena Gomez. People may decode this music video in different ways which links to Stuart Halls' reception theory; for example some may see the video as her finally coming to her senses and leaving the man that has hurt her, and that the smile at the end shows that she is now happy. However, others may think that the video and songs showed she has still not learned to leave him and she is still hurting.
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The pop-rock/grunge song Red Lips by Sky Ferreira features close up shots of Sky's lips as she puts on lipstick, it could be thought that this was done to appeal to males as they may be looking at her lips for some form of pleasure; however red lipstick on females is also a sign of confidence and power. As the video continues, she is lying on the floor in only underwear; but it is difficult for viewers to focus on her body as there is a large tarantula walking all over it. Instead of finishing after putting the lipstick on her lips, she beings roughly rubbing the lipstick all over the rest of her face and the rest of her body. This is likely to make people feel uncomfortable rather than pleasured, therefore it challenges Berger's theory that a naked woman in media is automatically a sign of the woman's submission and she becomes an object for men to own and dominate sexually. It both reinforces and challenges Mulvey's theory, as the camera focuses on intimate parts of Sky Ferreira's body, but it has not necessarily been made for male viewers to appreciate visually/sexually, and it is not made to show her as a pop star with sex appeal. A more passive viewer may find this too unusual to be enjoyed and may therefore reject Sky as an artist, however a more active audience may see this video as her expressing herself and showing the public her real personality, and acknowledge her intention to not be moulded into a typical 'pop princess'.
The music video for song Love Me by alternative rock band The 1975 shows shots of lead singer Matthew Healy walking around drunkenly surrounded by cardboard cutouts of famous celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles and Elvis Presley. At parts of the video he is also carrying a bottle of wine and a glass, further reinforcing the idea that he is drunk. It is common for males to be displayed as people who drink a lot and are drunk a lot, however it is more likely that they are shown as aggressive whilst drunk, but in the video Healy does not act aggressive - only silly. The use of low angle shots suggests power and superiority, which is a traditional stereotype of men. This music video in comparison to their other music videos is much more colourful than before. Matthew Healy is even wearing bright blue eyeshadow, which challenges gender stereotypes about only women wearing makeup. However, the fact he is shirtless is a common convention of male artists, although he has not got the stereotypically muscly body that males in music videos with their shirt off usually have. The music video features some females dressed in bright leotards with huge bows wrapped around them. Although it is common for male artists to have many attractive females dressed in little clothing, the women in this video are conventionally attractive but styled in a way that will be seen as more 'ridiculous' instead. Additionally, their dancing and body language are also more childish than sexy, and the camera does not focus in on their body parts; challenging Mulvey's theory of the male gaze and voyeurism.
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AUDIENCE RESEARCH
I have asked some friends and classmates to fill in a survey I made for audience research on what they would like to see in an R&B/hip-hop music video and their expectations, as they are my target audience therefore it would be helpful to hear their opinions and views.
results
The results from my survey show that people have similar expectations of hip hop and R&B videos, such as cars, dancing and money. I have also seen that the majority of people watch music videos on youtube, and they prefer watching music videos that have storylines rather than all just performance of the song. Different things appeal to different people in a video, but they all seem to be around dancing, a narrative and a powerful message behind it. People also mostly prefer music videos that are a mix of different things or location videos. This will help me to plan my music video, so far I am planning for it to be colourful and a mix between performance and narrative, I am also planning for there to be a wide range of locations used and some dancing.