- Jasmine Gill - A2 Media Studies Blog

Avicii - Wake me up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrbM1l_BoI

Conventions of Genre:
This music again belongs to the "dance music/dubstep" genre, and has many different conventions which set this apart from other types of music. Of course the idea that this is a fast paced piece of music with a very catchy beat, makes it perfect for dance/rave music. Normally this type of music is coupled with a seemingly random music video, which at first appears to have no connection at all to the music, unless of course you explored deeper into the song and the meaning of that music. This music video almost goes against these conventions because the idea behind the music video is almost transparent and clear to see, however you do get music videos of this genre that tend to go down this route as well, it's just not as common.

Use of Cinematography:
There is an emormous use of cinematography throughout the music video, throughout we see lots of close-up shots of the woman (00.23) as she walks through the town, this is to show the idea that she feels all the eyes of the town are on her and that all the pressures are on her back, it almost isolates her considering it's only her in the frame, and portrays the idea that she feels she is alone. We see a pan (00.36) starting from the two females legs which then pans up towards their faces, normally this idea of panning is normally used in a sexual sense in most media texts and is normally used to create the idea of the male eye looking upon a female, however this is different in the sense that this is communicating the idea that the little girl and presumably her mother don't fit in and the way that the locals are looking them up and down in disgust, or as if to question who they are, giving it a negative twist. We then see a mid shot of the little girl and the woman (00.41) however this shot is from behind them, while a dolly shot is used to follow them as they walk, again this increases the idea of intimidation from the locals and again exxagerates the idea that they are being followed and watched, suspiciously by the people around them, this idea of being watched and scrutinised again allows us to see how isolated and intimidated they both feel, and it makes us feel uncomfortable too.

Use of Editing:
The use of editing thoughout this video is extremely interesting in the way in which it uses lots of cuts. This creates the idea that this video has a narrative and that the action is moving quickly. The fast pace of the cuts basically portrays the way that the people in the video feel, and the way that they feel everything is quickly changing, and the way that they feel so alert and cautious, because they dont feel they can trust anyone because of the way they are being isolated. The cuts however do get slower the further the video goes on, this is to show the way that they are begining to calm down and be happier when they find people who evetually accept them. We also see cuts and shot reverse shots near the begining of the video (00.38 - 01.04) these shots occur in a quick succession, this is to again portray the panicky behaviour of the different people in the video, because they are clearly suspicious of the two females, and the quick shots show the way that again the two females feel as if everyones eyes are constantly on them, allowing the audience to feel quite uncomfortable too.

Audience/Connotations:
This music video is quite universal, however it's context is probably aimed at a more teenage mature audience, it shows the ways that even the loneliest people will find people who will accept them. It uses the idea of finding acceptance to perhaps link in with the audience and the modern day attitude towards popularity/social circles etc.

Ideology/Connotations:
In this video I think the general idea is that there will always be people in your life who will judge you for being you, but eventually you will find people who will accept you exactly how you are. Again if we look deeper into meaning of the video we see that the young girl is with presumably the mother, this is exploring the stereotype of how the mother is always the one largely resonsible for the children again showing the idea of the stereotypical "house wife". Again the mother seems quite young considering the child also appears 9/10 years old, again this is showing the way that in todays society being a young mum, isnt something out of the ordinary, and is quite common with teenage pregnancy rife, the way that we clearly see the mother protecting her daughter is used to perhaps challenge the idea that young mums are bad mothers, which is also a general misconception, because just because someone is young, it doesnt mean they're going to be bad parents.

Representation/link in with theory
The representation of this music video is quite clear to see. Its

Knife Party - Centipede

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSemARaqGqE

Conventions of Genre:
Once more this music video belongs to the dance/dubstep genre and as already mentioned has many different conventions which make this type of music stand out. Again as mentioned the music is fast paced and has a catchy beat/bass which along with the music video is designed to literally make the listener want to get up on their feet and dance. Again this genre of music is normally coupled with an abstract video, with a very obscure message, however lots of music videos can be different.

Use of Cinematography:
The cinematography is highly errotic and slightly crazy, at first the cinematography appears structured however the further the action descends into chaos as does the cinematography to almost allow the audience to experience the maddness that occurs. We see at (00.39-00.42) that the camera uses a high angle shot from above the man who appears to be walking up the stairs of an apartment, a crane shot is used as the camera slowly moves at a very disorientated angle above the man, to almost make the audience also feel quite unsure, confused and disorientated, this creates the effect of fear and caution and makes us realise that something bad is lurking within the apartments, it makes the man seem small, and emphasizes the idea that the man is powerless against the things he is about to fight. In the shot (00.43-00.45) we see a medium shot of the man as he walks past a door with glass windows, he is almost silhouetted against the dark glass, and the use of lighting behind him, this creates the idea that someone or something is watching him, this creates the idea of paranoia again a theme which is carried throughout the whole of the narrative. We then see a tracking shot (00.46-00.48) which creates the similiar effect of being followed, again makig the audience feel uncomfortable because it makes it seem as though the narrative is leading up to a huge climax, and combined with the ever growing loud bass and the increasing speed of the beat in the background, the audience is assured that something will happen. When the man is in the apartment setting fire to the room, we see a quick succession of close up shots, this is to show that the man is alert and cautious, and it certainly not willing to be caught of guard by the killer centipedes which have appeared to infested the apartment. Again we are starting to see a very familiar look on females. We see a low angle shot of the female in the bath at (01.44-01.47) this makes her seem weak and vunerable, because it makes us think that the centipedes have come to attack her, the way that a zoom is used also supports this idea, she appears to be completely unaware of this, unlike the audience. At (01.47-01.48) we see a close of shot of her neck, while she is lay in the bath, this is a very sexual image of the woman and again shows the way that females are portrayed in a very sexual, object-like way. The way that at (01.48) we see a close up shot of the man, smoking a ciggarette, creates a very manly "macho" image for him, showing that he has all the power, since he takes up two thirds of the shot while the female in the bath merely takes up a third again communicates societys view on male and female sterotypes and the way that a male will always be portrayed as the powerful one, while the female will always be portrayed as the vunerable sexy one again if you watch the video further, we see that once she gets out the shower she is wearing a revealing red silk dressing gown, again this communicates sex, passion, and love again other things explicitly associated with females, again showing the way that females are seen as objects from a male point of view.

Use of editing:
The use of editing throughout is again used in a very peculiar way, which then creates the desired confused and disorientated effect, which then allows the audience to also understand and experience the fear and uncertainty that takes place within the narrative. We once more see the use of lots of cuts all put together in a very fast succession which then communicates the way that the man, who is presumably a pest exterminator of some sort, is constantly alert and looking for the killer centipedes, it also communicates the paranoia that he must be experiencing, but also emphasizes the way that the action is moving quickly.

Audience/connotations:
This type of music video is again universal but it is more strongly aimed at older teenage males, judging by the very boisterous, action, violence filled nature of the narrative as well as the highly sexual intimiate features of the video that appear when the female is in shot.

Ideology/connotations:
There is no real ideology behind this particular music video, it is highly abstract to a certain extent and it is very difficult to see any kind of meaning behind the action filled narrative, it is simply there to entertain more than anything else. Despite this we do see the idea of the male having more power than the female, with the use of the camera shots and angles, which is a very common stereotype within the media.

Representation/link in with theory:

The Wanted - We own the Night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8piAL5rD6wI

Conventions of Genre:
Once more this music video belongs to the dance/rave music genre, which is slightly different from the electro/dubstep music above however it generally follows the same idea. Again the music uses a heavy bass, with a fast catchy beat, which makes you want to dance. Again music videos like this do sometimes follow a narrative as there are actually more lyrics in songs such as these, with which the music video must relate to. With a dubstep/electro song there are very few lyrics and there are more beats and music which allows the music video to be much more random but still of course meaningful.

Use of Cinematography:
The use of cinematography in this music video is very fast paced, this is to show and represent the exciting atmosphere of the party that they are in, which automatically would relate to an older teenage audience. We see lots of use of tracking shots and hand held shots throughout the music video. The tracking shots are effectively used to make the audience feel as though they are part of the action whilst the use of the hand-held shots merely make the action seem like live-action rather than something previously filmed, making the music video in itself more exciting to watch from an audiences point of view, it also imitates the young males, who the video revolve around, and their crazy, young party lifestyle, which is exciting, and constantly changing and exciting. Further on we see a mid shot from a low angle, this was done when the camera frame was on three girls legs. There is almost a tracking shot, and a pan used to move down the girls legs, again this imitates the way the male eye would look a girl up and down, and it is done in a sexual sense.

Use of editing:
There are once more like the other two videos a strong use of editing, more specifically the use of lots of cuts, by simply stringing all the cuts together to make it appear in a fast succession before us, it creates a crazy almost confused effect, showing that the action within the video is moving very quickly. perhaps showing how a young persons mind works and the way that they don't really think things through before they do it. This again is simply to imitate what a young persons life is like and the way that it is constantly changing, and the way that its stereotypically full of parties and fun, basically emphasizing the perks of being young and free.

Audience/connotations:
The audience for this music video is evidently young adults and teenagers in general. We see that there is clearly lots of loud music, a huge crowd of partying/dancing young people and lots of alcohol, and a definite sexual point of view whenever the camera is directed at the females who all appear to be wearing revealing outfits, which again connote a sense sexual attraction. This all relates to a young teenage audience, and represents the type of lifestyle that stereotypically many young people follow.

Ideology/connotations:
The ideology of this music video, is evidently just that while you are young you must make the most of it and enjoy yourself. This is the basic message which in itself stereotypes young people to be 'party animals'.

Representation/link in with theory: