Diversity of Music Videos

Diversity of Music Videos

 

There are various elements of a music video that can make it diverse and unique. The artists characteristics can have a great impact on how diverse their music video is, as they would generally want to inject their personality throughout the music video, to allow the viewers to understand them as a person. Also the themes and concepts that are included throughout can make a music video diverse and unique. This is because directors and artists take the opportunity to incorporate any unusual ideas they may have into their music video to make it more entertaining and appealing to the viewers. The mise-en-scene of a music video allows the audience to understand more from the visuals. Therefore artists and directors can include diverse elements of mise-en-scene to further portray an unusual concept or theme to the audience. The genre of the song can also determine how diverse a music video will be. A pop music video would typically be more fictional and subtle as it would be aimed at a younger target audience. Whereas a music video that is of the rock genre may be more unique or diverse as the narrative behind the song is usually dark and mysterious. Furthermore, censorship can play a huge part in the diversity of a music video. If an artist or director choosing to break censorship laws then their video will generally be more unique and therefore may not be shown to all audiences, as it may be classed as disturbing or unsuitable.

Chris Cunningham is a British director who produces diverse and unique music videos and therefore does not conform to the stereotypical genre characteristics. Some of the artists he has worked with are Madonna and Aphex Twin. The diversity of Chris Cunningham's directing style is evident in Madonna's Frozen music video. The music video deviates from the typical genre characteristics for an electronic/pop music video. Dark colours are a main focus throughout the duration of the music video. Madonna is seen dressed in all black, presenting a gothic appearance, standing alone in a deserted location. This evokes an eerie atmosphere and presents Madonna as a gloomy person. She then turns into a number of black birds, which signifies a dark and gloomy time and maybe even the aspect of death. The setting as a whole is that of dark colours and therefore further presents the idea of an eerie atmosphere, and the employment of the dog during the music video relates to that of a horror film. Therefore these elements incorporate a sense of fright into the viewers which is extremely diverse to that of a typical electronic/pop music video. Also in the music video visuals of Madonna are duplicated so there are numerous images of her present at one time. This is unrealistic and somewhat unusual and therefore does not follow typical conventions.

Throughout the duration of the Frozen music video Goodwins' Theory is surprisingly evident. Some of the lyrics directly relate to the visuals at that time. 'You only see what your eyes want to see', directly links to the fact the music video contains diverse and unusual aspects. This further represents the idea that it highlights the elements that Madonna herself only wants to see. The lyrics 'love is a bird' further links to the fact Madonna herself turns into a number of birds. This therefore presents that Madonna and Chris Cunningham employed the birds to represent the idea of love during the music video. Furthermore the lyric 'frozen' which is also the title of the song, relates to the aspect of Madonna being static in the music video, and also that she has a pale face. Therefore it may signify the idea that Madonna's life is frozen in her own eyes. All of these links to Goodwin's theory however, would not appeal to the target audience as that all signify the idea of illusions and elements that do not exist.

The Frozen music video is primarily 90% performance and 10% narrative. This is because during most of the music video Madonna is seen singing towards to the camera. Therefore the narrative element of the music video is only made apparent through the employment of the animals i.e. the birds and the dog. The animals are included to be representative of the gothic atmosphere that is present through the duration of the music video. Futhermore the structure and style follows that of a gothic type music video. The use of the dark colours and gothic clothing suggests that Madonna may be significant of someone mourning, maybe even a widow. This is therefore quite a deep and dark topic that would therefore not appeal to many viewers and may even be appropriate for most to view. The employment of this type of style and structure further displays the eerie atmosphere that is evident throughout.

The music video of Frozen provides the audience with a gothic representation of Madonna as an artist. Her appearance is pale and lifeless, and as she is wearing dark clothing it makes her seem somewhat dull and boring. Furthermore her appearance is somewhat frozen, relating to the title of the song. She also links in with the deserted location she is seen standing in and represents the idea of being alone, and almost frozen from the outside, real world. The audience may also view Madonna as holding a scary, evil like personality as her appearance further resembles something the viewers may witness in a horror film.

Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy

Chris Cunningham's directing style is further presented in Aphex Twins', Come To Daddys' music video as he further breaks typical conventions. The Come To Daddy music video is of the dance/techno genre and is constructed like a short film. It is located in a miserable location that is covered in rubbish. The appearance of the location is dark and gloomy and therefore evokes a sense of fear and confusion into the audience. This is because they would feel somewhat on edge and uneasy by what they are presented with in front of them. The audience witness distorted/scary faces which is highly unusual for a music video to include. This further enhances the unusual, scary atmosphere that the music video presents to the audience. The people in the music video resemble men who are midgets, and are dressed as school children. This element is extremely diverse and may be disturbing to some viewers. It also is not conventional to a techno music video and therefore breaks the typical conventions.

The Come To Daddy music video has limited elements that coincide with Goodwin's Theory. The only evidence of his theory throughout the music video is the fact that the music and visuals match through the editing of the music video. This is present when the men are seen running. The fact that Goodwin's Theory is not evident in the Come To Daddy music video presents how diverse and unusual the music video is. It provides evidence for the fact that the music video was not allowed to be shown on music channels as it could be harmful and inappropriate for many viewers.

Aphex Twins' music video follows the style of a short film and therefore has an aspect of narrative running throughout. This means the music video is structured with a beginning middle and end and therefore allows the music video to flow consistently for the whole duration. This is a common element for a music video to contain as it allows the audience to understand the narrative in the music video with more ease. In turn this enhances their experience whilst watching the music video and may entice them to further explore the artist and their music videos.

Throughout the music video a representation of the artist is not provided to the audience. This is because the artist is not present throughout the duration of the music video. Therefore the audience can only build their own personal representation of the artist through what they perceive from the music video. In turn the fact that the music video is so diverse and also inappropriate for some viewers it may entice them to build a negative and somewhat uncertain representation of the artist which may mean they do not explore more of their music or watch more of their music videos.

Chris Cunningham's directing style differs to that of the director Michael Gondry. Chris Cunningham produces music videos that evoke a dark, gloomy and almost scary atmosphere which may in turn be inappropriate for viewers to witness, as they resemble the ideas of scary films. Whereas Michael Gondry creates music videos with the idea of using illusions and incorporating unusual visuals that are however not frightening in any way. Gondry likes to include multiple images of the same focus in his music videos to create an unusual and diverse element to his music videos.

Michael Gondrys' directing style is evident in the Kylie Minogue, Come Into My World music video. The song is of a pop genre however the music video does not follow typical conventions of a pop music video. The music video begins with there being one visual of Kylie and her surroundings but then this multiplies each time the camera makes a full revolution. This is unusual and is almost like an illusion as it provides the audience with a number of elements to keep their focus on. This may therefore reduce the entertainment value that the audiences receive as the music video may confuse them and therefore not entertain them. The music video is also diverse as it is independent music video which is unusual for a big artist to have to showcase their music to fans.

Goodwin's Theory is evident in Kylie Minogues' music video as some of the lyrics directly relate to the visuals. Kylie sings the lyrics 'Come into my world' which is also the title of the song, and at this point the visuals presented to the viewers are that of Kylie and her surroundings being multiplied. This therefore signifies the idea that Kylie is enticing people into her way of life and her ideas, in turn the reason she has decided to create a diverse music video, to seem unique in the music industry and to attract potential viewers.
  The overall structure and style of the music video is based around elements of performance and narrative. The music video is constructed with 80% performance and 20% narrative therefore the audience are given the opportunity to build a relationship with Kylie as an artist. Throughout the music video Kylie is seen singing towards the camera and therefore highlights to the audience that she is a talented singer and that's what she is most known for. This element of the music video is common in any type of music video.

A representation of Kylie is illustrated to the viewers through her diverse music video for Come Into My World. The music video allows the audience to view Kylie as having a preppy, girl next door type personality. This is because in the music video she is seen as a happy and bubbly individual as she scales the streets. Her representation also links into the theory of Richard Dyer. Kylie is seen wearing plain clothes and picking up her dry cleaning. This therefore presents her as an ordinary person, however she has extraordinary aspects about her due to the diverse music video that has been produced.

The White Stripes - The Hardest Button to Button

The song, The Hardest Button to Button is of an Alternative, Rock genre. This is further presented by the red and black clothing that the artists are seen wearing and the fact that they are playing a guitar and drums. The music video also follows typical conventions to a certain extent i.e. the main colours in the music video. The main shots included in the music video are straight cuts, therefore the shots are extremely jumpy. On each of these transitions the amount of a certain item is increased. This is an extremely unusual element for a music video, but however follows the style of Gondry.

Goodwin's Theory is partially evident in The Hardest Button to Button music video. The music of the song is directly parallel to the straight cut transitions and the adding of objects. The incorporation of this elements increases the effect the illusions have on the viewers. Therefore it may attract a smaller audience as many viewers may not find this entertaining or intriguing to watch. Also viewers may see the directing style of Gondry on this occasion as too diverse and therefore loosing the entertainment quality of the music video for the viewers.

The music video is structured as mainly all performance. This is because there is no clear narrative or concept running throughout the music video. The artists are seen performing; the woman playing the drums, the man playing the guitar and singing to the camera. This is consistent during the music video. This element therefore allows the audience to build a relationship with the artist, but however it may further decrease the entertainment factor of the music video as the audience have no narrative to connect with whilst watching the music video. As the music video is so diverse the narrative aspect that is not included may be crucial to making it a more entertaining music video.

A representation of the artists is presented in the music video. The representation illustrated may not be extremely positive. This is because the artists are only seen performing and therefore the audience can only build a relationship with them based on this. Also throughout the music video the artists are quite static in their expressions and body language, therefore not seeming very interesting to the viewers which may entice them to not watch the music video as the artists do not seem very interesting to watch.

Within the music industry an artist may choose to create a diverse and unique music video to gain attention from the viewers. This may be down to certain reasons such as; a change in image, a change in the type of music or if the artist is making a comeback in the industry. The production of a diverse music video will therefore entice audiences to watch it as they may feel intrigued as to what it may be like. This in turn may increase the artists fan base and therefore make it easier for them to create music that would appeal to the viewers in the future.

For the creation of our own music video I think I would include elements of Gondry's directing style. This is purely because I find it more appealing and entertaining than that of Cunninghams'. Also I think that the dark and gloomy atmosphere that Cunninghams' directing style presents to the audience would not coincide with the indie genre of our music video and also the narrative throughout. Whereas elements of Gondry's directing style, such as the use of duplicating objects could be effective in our music video if used on a smaller scale. For example in our music video, when one of the characters is disorientated we could employ duplicate visuals to illustrate to the audience how that character feels at that specific time. Therefore I think including an element of Gondry's directing style may increase the appeal and entertainment factor of our music video.