U29.2 Music Videos Codes & Conventions
By Kirsty Richardson
The Script - Science and Faith
Director - Ethan Lader
By Kirsty Richardson
The Script - Science and Faith
Genre & Characteristics
The Script are mainly known as a Pop/Rock/Indie band, as their music is quite in between genres. This song especially, as it is not heavy rock but it does not have a pop feel to it either.
The band are a mixture of genres because their music has charted on the Top 10 in the pop charts, however, they are also classed as rock as they are a band that play their own instruments, write their own songs and the way they dress and look (leather jackets, skinny jeans and designer stubble).
The song has a pop/rock feel as it is very guitar based but also has a 'chanty' anthemic sounding chorus, similar to Demi Lovato's "Made In The USA" (see below). In the video, it shows them playing instruments and the lead singer jumping and dancing around singing along to the song.
Type Of Music Video
This music video for The Script's song 'Science and Faith' is performance based. It is a performance genre as they are performing their song in a studio with their full musical kit, but there is also an overlay over the top of the band playing. It shows different clips of the solar system/landscape/different scenarios and shows an actress playing the girl they have written the song about. This also could be argued as a narrative/concept based video, as well as performance based.
The video type, performance relates to the actual music as The Script thrive on being a band that play their own music live at a gig, and enjoy doing that compared to the 'glamorous' side of the music industry. They care about their music the most.
Conventions Of A Music Video
The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals are very clear, as they use video clips inside their heads that relate to the lyrics e.g. "You can find faith and hope down a telescope, you can find heart and soul in the stars". In this line, they showed the lead singer and the band performing to the song and clips have been overlayed using Adobe After Effects to show clips of stars and telescopes etc. This is clearly reflected in the type of video as two completely different shots have been used in one shot (the band performing and the overlay).
Inter - Textual References
There are not many inter - textual references I can find in this video, however, it does link to the film 'Angels and Demons' have they have similar shots in their film as the overlay in The Script`s video. Also, Angels & Demons mention about 'Science and Faith' in the film and have similar lines to lines in the song.
Techniques
Lighting is cleverly used to give the video footage some more interesting angles and effects. The footage is all in focus to make the video look crystal clear and like it has been shot in a white studio or in a studio with a white screen behind the band performing. Adobe After Effects has been used to create the overlay of other footage over the band whilst they are performing.
They have used these techniques as the video concept is original and a different way of showing The Script performing.
There are many 'star image motifs' of the band, but mainly the lead singer as he is the front man of the group and doesn't play guitar or piano on this songs so he is the main focus of the video of him sing and moving around.
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| The main 'star image motif' is of the lead singer of The Script as he doesn't play any instruments in this song |
There are no voyeuristic elements in this video as all of the members and the actress know that the camera is on them, as shown below. That is why they are playing up to the camera as they know that the camera is on them.
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| This is not voyeuristic as the girl knows that the camera is there. |
Misc En Scene
The misc en scene is the whole look of the video. In this video, it is very simple as it is only the band performing, the overlay an a white background. The lighting is the main focus as well as the overlay as the lighting has been cleverly used. The band fade in and fade out from black in the white background. It is important because the whole misc en scene is simple so there is more focus on the band and their music.
Comparisons
This music video is similar to Demi Lovato's music video for Made In The USA as both videos have busy backgrounds adding to the misc en scene. The Script had an overlay over the band which shows a lot of different shots of backgrounds and sceneries. Demi Lovato`s video has a lot of shots of the fairground at the beginning as it sets the scene and starts off the storyline well, without using dialogue between the characters. The Script's music video also does this as the overlay tells without saying any dialogue apart from the song.
This music video is different to Jessie J's It's My Party video as The Script's has more meaningful relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, whereas Jessie J's is quite obvious and doesn`t have much of a hidden message between the lyrics and visuals like The Script's as it is quite obvious.
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
Director - Meiert Avis
Genre & Characteristics
U2 are a typical rock band that like to push boundaries, and this video definitely shows that. The genre for this song is Rock. The long hair, guitars, amps, cowboy hats, denim shirts and their rebellion characteristics clearly reflects this genre. The whole concept at the beginning of the video with the policeman trying to shut down the video shoot because of the risks have a connection with the artist and genre at U2 are a band that like to push boundaries and do things no on else has ever done before. Their genre (rock) also reflects this.
Type Of Music Video
This video is performances based and is a direct reference to The Beatles as they did this too. This video is not really a mix, however you could say it is also narrative with the police story as the beginning of the video, so it is telling a story of how U2 shot this video, like behind the scenes footage.
This video being performance on top of one of the roughest streets in America relates to the music as it is on a street I.e. where the streets have no name. The images shown on the video were common in rough areas of America in the 80's, and still are now.
Conventions Of A Music Video
The lyrics of this song link to the visuals on the video well. In the song, U2 sing about poor areas of places where streets are empty because of poverty etc, so the visuals show what the rough area in America in the 80`s was like when something like a big rock band playing on top of a roof happened, and also shows how the police dealt with it all. Mainly, the video shows the poverty and how rough the area is in the video, and this links in well to the message of the song. This is reflected in the video as I said before, U2 liked to push boundaries, and still do to keep their typical 'rock rebel image'.
Inter - Textual References
In this video, it clearly makes a comment on what southern America was like in the 80`s. The idea behind the video (U2 performing on a rooftop) was something similar that The Beatles had done before. I think U2 decided to do this for their music video as it also worked well for The Beatles, and it potrayed the message of the song well.
U2 performing on the rooftop
Techniques
There are a lot of 'star image motifs' of the lead singer Bono, as he is the front man of the band and doesnt play an instrument so he can play up to the camera. The guitarist also has quite a few close ups, however, not as many as Bono, but more than the other two members of the band, the bassist and drummer.
There are not a lot of effects in this video as it has been filmed in a 'point and shoot' way, to get the real life aspect of the setting. Especially at the time this video was shot, there were not as many as effects as there are now as they had not been invented or were just not in the 'music video fashion' at that time.
Voyeuristic Elements
There are 'looking' elements of the video, as some of the passers by do not realise that they are being filmed. For example, the man that is dancing to the other people, he would`ve been dancing up to the camera if he had realised that the cameras were on him.
One part of the street looking up to see U2 perform on the rooftop
Misc En Scene
This video being performance on top of one of the roughest streets in America relates to the music as it is on a street I.e. where the streets have no name. The images shown on the video were common in rough areas of America in the 80's, and still are now.
Conventions Of A Music Video
The lyrics of this song link to the visuals on the video well. In the song, U2 sing about poor areas of places where streets are empty because of poverty etc, so the visuals show what the rough area in America in the 80`s was like when something like a big rock band playing on top of a roof happened, and also shows how the police dealt with it all. Mainly, the video shows the poverty and how rough the area is in the video, and this links in well to the message of the song. This is reflected in the video as I said before, U2 liked to push boundaries, and still do to keep their typical 'rock rebel image'.
Inter - Textual References
In this video, it clearly makes a comment on what southern America was like in the 80`s. The idea behind the video (U2 performing on a rooftop) was something similar that The Beatles had done before. I think U2 decided to do this for their music video as it also worked well for The Beatles, and it potrayed the message of the song well.
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| U2 performing on the rooftop |
Techniques
There are a lot of 'star image motifs' of the lead singer Bono, as he is the front man of the band and doesnt play an instrument so he can play up to the camera. The guitarist also has quite a few close ups, however, not as many as Bono, but more than the other two members of the band, the bassist and drummer.
There are not a lot of effects in this video as it has been filmed in a 'point and shoot' way, to get the real life aspect of the setting. Especially at the time this video was shot, there were not as many as effects as there are now as they had not been invented or were just not in the 'music video fashion' at that time.
Voyeuristic Elements
There are 'looking' elements of the video, as some of the passers by do not realise that they are being filmed. For example, the man that is dancing to the other people, he would`ve been dancing up to the camera if he had realised that the cameras were on him.
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| One part of the street looking up to see U2 perform on the rooftop |
The misc en scene is quite natural apart from the rooftop. The rooftop has clearly been set up for the band to perform on and also the cameras so they were in position. At the beginning of the video, it is in more of a 'documentary' behind the scenes style as you can see all of the cameras set up ready to shoot the video, and you can also see the band setting up ready to perform. This is effective as it gives the video more of a natural look and doesn`t look too set up like a music video usually is.
Comparisons
This music video is similar to The Script's as they are both performance based and are in the same genre. However, U2's also has a narrative storyline whereas The Script's doesn`t really have a big narrative like the video for U2's song.
This music video is different to Jessie J`s as it is in a different genre, video wise and music wise, so you would expect it to be. Jessie J's has a lot more voyeuristic elements and the main focus is her singing, however, U2's does have performance, but the main focus is on the scenery and what is going on in the area and the chaos they are bringing to the town.
Comparisons
This music video is similar to The Script's as they are both performance based and are in the same genre. However, U2's also has a narrative storyline whereas The Script's doesn`t really have a big narrative like the video for U2's song.
Demi Lovato - Made In The USA
Director - Heather Heller
Genre & Characteristics
Demi Lovato is a solo singer in the Pop genre. Her song Made In The USA is a pop song as you can tell with the video. You can tell that this is a pop song as you can dance to this song and has a big chorus that you can sing along too. The song is anthemic and the video reflects the message of the song well. As a performer, Demi is patriotic to her country (USA) so this song definitely reflects her style.
Type Of Music Video
This music video is a mix of performance and a narrative based video. The video tells a story, almost like a short 3 minute move using quick fast paced shots to get across the story in a short space of time. It relates to the music as American people are proud of their armed forces, so this music video also tells a story of what real people go through, even though it is quite fairy tale like as there is a happy ending. There are a lot of typical american imagery such as their armed forces, a typical american fun fair and an american flag at the end. This links with the song well as it fits with the title 'Made In The USA'. This is quite unusual for a pop video to have a storyline and for the artist to be involved with the behind the scenes aspect like Demi did.
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| The main characters waving the american flag in the middle and at the end to fit in with the theme 'USA' |
Conventions Of A Music Video
The lyrics and visuals go really well together as it has been edited so that the visual matches the lyric. E.g. 'hair blowing in the wind' and shows a typical american scene from cheesy romantic movies with a man and a woman in the car and the woman`s hair is 'blowing in the wind'. This would usually happen in a pop video, as they are stereotypically meant to be seen as quite cheesy and can push the boundaries using cheesy story lines.
Inter - Textual References
In the video, you can tell that the director is trying to go for a typical American romantic movie look as the woman and the man see each other at a carnival and it is love at first sight. For example, the woman is sat on top of the car with an american flag. Even though this is quite popular in music videos, it is also popular in films too. This enhances the video as the woman is holding an american flag so it keep the American theme going in the video.
Techniques
Demi Lovato is not featured as much as she normally would in a music video as she also helped behind the scenes setting up the shots, as she had a vision of what she wanted the music video to look like. The main characters, the man and woman have the most close up shots as they are the main characters that are telling the story.
There has been a lot of thought about the lighting in this video as most shots have an interesting lighting angle and makes the whole video look more cinematic. There are a lot of settings for this video, even if they are appeared for 2 seconds, so they made the lighting different on each shot so that they would get a mixture of light (dark to really light) in each shot. It makes the video look a lot better and more cinematic as Demi is not in the video a lot and is more like a storyteller as well as the main characters.
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| Lovato did not feature in the video as much as she usually does as she co - directed the video |
There are no veoyeuristic elements in this video as all of the characters and Demi know that they are being filmed. There are no voyeuristic elements as Demi co directed the video and chose the shots she was using, so everybody knew that the cameras were going to be on them.
Misc En Scene
There is a lot going on in the misc en scene of this video as there are a lot of different settings for the amount of shots they have used. Mainly, people are dressed quite casually at the funfair so it looks like the actors are just going out for the night with friends. The two main characters are dressed casually too so they blend in with the crowd. The man is working at the fair but is still wearing quite casual clothes and the woman has an american flag top on that reflects the message of the song/video about people being proud of the USA. The only time the clothes style changes a lot is when the man is in an army uniform and the woman is missing him and getting upset in one of the shots so she wears his old shirt.
The set looks like a typical american fair so this makes the video more realistic but cinematic at the same time. There is a lot going on in the misc en scene of this video as there are a lot of different settings for the amount of shots they have used. Mainly, people are dressed quite casually at the funfair so it looks like the actors are just going out for the night with friends. The two main characters are dressed casually too so they blend in with the crowd. The man is working at the fair but is still wearing quite casual clothes and the woman has an american flag top on that reflects the message of the song/video about people being proud of the USA. The only time the clothes style changes a lot is when the man is in an army uniform and the woman is missing him and getting upset in one of the shots so she wears his old shirt.
Comparisons
This music video is similar to Jessie J's music video as both videos are upbeat and use bright colours and interesting settings as they are in the pop genre so you would expect that. However, Jessie J's doesn`t really have a narrative storyline whereas U2's video does.
However, U2's video is also different to Demi's video as some people believe that the beginning part of the Where The Streets Have No Name video, is made up and is only a storyline to create tension and drama in the video, instead of being natural. Demi's video is clearly set up as it is a story and almost like a short hollywood film.
Jessie J - It's My Party
Director - Emil Nava
Jessie J - It's My Party
Director - Emil Nava
Genre & Characteristics
Jessie J is a female solo singer. Her genre is Pop and you can tell with her eccentric style, music and past music videos. For example, her Do It Like A Dude is very eccentric and is mocking R&B videos that are quite serious, dark and have a 'grime' feel to them. Jessie is not afraid to try new looks and styles with her music videos and It's My Party is an example of this. It has crazy characters, bright colours and mainly focuse on Jessie J; like a Jessie J video usually is.
Jessie J is a female solo singer. Her genre is Pop and you can tell with her eccentric style, music and past music videos. For example, her Do It Like A Dude is very eccentric and is mocking R&B videos that are quite serious, dark and have a 'grime' feel to them. Jessie is not afraid to try new looks and styles with her music videos and It's My Party is an example of this. It has crazy characters, bright colours and mainly focuse on Jessie J; like a Jessie J video usually is.
The video looks like it has been choreographed, even though you can tell tried to get the video look quite natural and un - choreographed too. The dance moves, crazy sets and outfits match the song well as it is upbeat and a track you could dance too.
Type Of Music Video
This video is performance as Jessie is singing all the way through it. It relates to the song well as the song has a party vibe so the video reflects this well. It is a song you would sing to so because the type of the video fits ell to the song. Jessie goes into different rooms with different types of people e.g. Posh 'party' people in one rooms and rockers in another and starts dancing and the mood changes when the song hits the chorus and everyone dances and mingles and it turns into one big party. This gives the video a different look and gives it more of a story. It flows better and doesn't get boring or repetitive There is a slight half hearted storyline in this video, whereas Demi Lovato's Made In The USA is quite unusual for a pop video in the meanings that it has more of a storyline that is serious compared to Jessie's.
Conventions Of A Music Video
The visuals link well to the actual song as the song is about being independent and standing out from the crowd, and Jessie does this in each room and shows this in the visuals. The background is vibrant and links to the party atmosphere of the video. It enhances the video as it makes the video just as upbeat as the song. If the video was quite slow and didn't have things like different shots and sharp cuts in the edit, the video would look boring and not suit the song very well.
Techniques
There are a lot of close ups of Jessie as she is the only singer and the video is about her, since it is her song. The lighting has been cleverly used throughout the video, especially in the middle, as everyone in each room come into the main corridor where Jessie was and start crazily dancing like Jessie did before. The lighting flashes on and off to create a strobe light effect, but it is not as heavy as a strobelight, it is more like someone switching a lamp on and off a few times. This enhances the video a lot as it doesn't make it as repetitive and continues on the light hearted concept.
Voyeuristic Elements
Again, like the Demi Lovato video and The Script video, there are no voyeuristic elements. Everyone that is included in the video knows that they are being filmed just like the other videos.
Misc En Scene
There are a lot of different shots in this video. The main misc en scene is the corridor as Jessie spends the first part of the video there and then the other people from the other rooms come into the corridor in the last half. The corridor has turqoise blue walls, purple doors and window panes and palm tree wallpaper. The settings looks quite crazy as there are a lot of bright colours going on at one time, but it is modern looking and this goes with Jessie's style and the aim of the video. This is a good comparison to the other rooms as the corridor stands out, so when Jessie goes into the other 3 rooms with the 3 different groups of people, the corridor reflects Jessie J's style, and the other rooms reflect the other groups' style.
Comparisons
This music video is similar to The Script's video, as Jessie is the main focus in the video, just like the band are in The Script's. This gives the video more of a personal touch and it looks like they are singing the song to the person watching it (voyeuristic). It is also similar to U2's video, as visually, there are a lot of people involved. In Jessie J's, there a lot of background people that you see half a second of, but it gives the feel that it is a 'party' atmosphere, like the song says. There is also a lot of people visually in U2's video as the whole town are watching the performance that U2 are doing on the rooftop. There are people on other rooftops, cars etc at great heights to watch U2 perform, so it makes the video look more extreme and the people are visually doing more extreme things to watch it.
However, this music video is also different to U2's as Jessies video is clearly set up and is in different settings (e.g. the corridor and different rooms). Jessie J's video looks quite built up regarding the set and the people as there is a lot going on. However, U2's is quite 'natural' and they have tried for a natural 'film' look. However, some people have said that U2's video is set up for the cameras.
Type Of Music Video
This video is performance as Jessie is singing all the way through it. It relates to the song well as the song has a party vibe so the video reflects this well. It is a song you would sing to so because the type of the video fits ell to the song. Jessie goes into different rooms with different types of people e.g. Posh 'party' people in one rooms and rockers in another and starts dancing and the mood changes when the song hits the chorus and everyone dances and mingles and it turns into one big party. This gives the video a different look and gives it more of a story. It flows better and doesn't get boring or repetitive There is a slight half hearted storyline in this video, whereas Demi Lovato's Made In The USA is quite unusual for a pop video in the meanings that it has more of a storyline that is serious compared to Jessie's.
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| One of the rooms that Jessie J goes into with one group of people.... |
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| ...and other group of people. During the video, the two groups merge and turns into one big party. This creates more of a narrative storyline |
Conventions Of A Music Video
The visuals link well to the actual song as the song is about being independent and standing out from the crowd, and Jessie does this in each room and shows this in the visuals. The background is vibrant and links to the party atmosphere of the video. It enhances the video as it makes the video just as upbeat as the song. If the video was quite slow and didn't have things like different shots and sharp cuts in the edit, the video would look boring and not suit the song very well.
Techniques
There are a lot of close ups of Jessie as she is the only singer and the video is about her, since it is her song. The lighting has been cleverly used throughout the video, especially in the middle, as everyone in each room come into the main corridor where Jessie was and start crazily dancing like Jessie did before. The lighting flashes on and off to create a strobe light effect, but it is not as heavy as a strobelight, it is more like someone switching a lamp on and off a few times. This enhances the video a lot as it doesn't make it as repetitive and continues on the light hearted concept.
Voyeuristic Elements
Again, like the Demi Lovato video and The Script video, there are no voyeuristic elements. Everyone that is included in the video knows that they are being filmed just like the other videos.
Misc En Scene
There are a lot of different shots in this video. The main misc en scene is the corridor as Jessie spends the first part of the video there and then the other people from the other rooms come into the corridor in the last half. The corridor has turqoise blue walls, purple doors and window panes and palm tree wallpaper. The settings looks quite crazy as there are a lot of bright colours going on at one time, but it is modern looking and this goes with Jessie's style and the aim of the video. This is a good comparison to the other rooms as the corridor stands out, so when Jessie goes into the other 3 rooms with the 3 different groups of people, the corridor reflects Jessie J's style, and the other rooms reflect the other groups' style.
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| The main setting to most of the video, the corridor. |
Comparisons
This music video is similar to The Script's video, as Jessie is the main focus in the video, just like the band are in The Script's. This gives the video more of a personal touch and it looks like they are singing the song to the person watching it (voyeuristic). It is also similar to U2's video, as visually, there are a lot of people involved. In Jessie J's, there a lot of background people that you see half a second of, but it gives the feel that it is a 'party' atmosphere, like the song says. There is also a lot of people visually in U2's video as the whole town are watching the performance that U2 are doing on the rooftop. There are people on other rooftops, cars etc at great heights to watch U2 perform, so it makes the video look more extreme and the people are visually doing more extreme things to watch it.
However, this music video is also different to U2's as Jessies video is clearly set up and is in different settings (e.g. the corridor and different rooms). Jessie J's video looks quite built up regarding the set and the people as there is a lot going on. However, U2's is quite 'natural' and they have tried for a natural 'film' look. However, some people have said that U2's video is set up for the cameras.
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