Genre
Research
About
Music Genre:
A music genre is a classificatioon of music into a category or type. Genre tends to have identifiable codes and conventions which have developed particular expectations, which may either be fulfilled or denied/diverted by the producer. Each genre has its own set of characteristics which are recognised and identified by the audience. Music can be categorised in different ways depedning on its artistic nature. This means that classifications are often subjective and controversial, and hybrids (genre crossovers) tend to occur.
Key Components:
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Relationship between music and visuals
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Relationship between lyrics and visuals
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Particular music video style and iconography pertaining to specific music genres (e.g. live performance for Rock video)
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​Shots of main artist(s)
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Intertextual references of other music videos, films, etc.
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Narrative and performance
Genre Audience:
Audiences develop an understanding that certain expectations may be fulfilled and they may find pleasure in predicting what will happen next.
Music Video
Codes and Conventions:
The style of music videos differ greatly depending on the genre of music. There are many different codes and conventions that show the difference in the style of video, which resembles the music video genre.
Rock:
Rock music videos often have a dark and eerie theme to it. For example, videos are usually filmed in a black, dark room with flames and broken glass occassionally seen in the scene. Dark colours; infrequent use of special/visual effects; hand-held camera action; little to no narrative.
Imagery is also a key element of Rock videos. Some may consist of religious iconography as well as blood, violence and some other controversial and graphic content.
Most Rock music videos are performance based; artists or members of the band (most commonly a band) are seen actually performing their music on-camera, rather than just having music playing in the video. Artists can also be seen jumping and dancing about vigorously, expressing themselves through reckless behaviour. They also tend to wear dark clothing.
The target audience of Rock music videos can be quite vague; nothing in most videos are directed to one specific demographic, there are a lot of references, influences and aspects of Rock videos that can appeal to almost any demographic.
Pop:
Pop music videos are commonly bright, fun, and light-hearted. The mise-en-scene seen in most Pop music videos include: light and vibrant colours; make up and fashion accessories; good-mood locations such as the beach or a friend's house.
In terms of narrative, Pop music videos aren't the most creative or innovative. Videos tend to show a story that may involve a mix of these key elements: girl meets boy; falls in love; best boyfriend ever; gets heart broken; gets drunk with her friends; drunk texting; back together; it's Friday.
To compensate for the lack of narrative, Pop videos include an excessive amount of performance. These music videos focus entirely on the artist and nobody else. Female Pop artists often behave in extremely voyeuristic manners, sometimes even young artists. Male Pop artists act fun, cute, and adorable (young artists) or overly sexy in mundane situations (older artists).
Pop music videos supposedly have a target audience of young girls for two reasons: girls want to look like female Pop artists; girls want to date male Pop artists. However, the content in most of these music videos seem to have a different target audience; 18+. This is because there is a lot of sexual content included: half-naked women; sexual lyrics; love-making; and others.
Hip Hop:
Hip Hop music videos focus greatly on opulence: excessive expensive jewellery; flashy cars; branded clothing; attractive women dancing; prestigious alcohol; and massive mansions. The location of most Hip Hop videos is a club or party environment, to resemble popularity and status. Then again, there rarely ever is a storyline in these videos, only occassionally. The party setting is usually just for show.
Low angles are paramount in Hip Hop music videos. Artists use this angle to show themselves at a higher level, giving them superiority and power.
Close ups are a main aspect of Hip Hop videos. As the artist's face takes up the majority of the screen, you get a sense of narcissism; the artist makes it all about them.
The target audience of Hip Hop music videos can range between teenagers and middle-aged people. This is because Hip Hop videos tend to contain explicit content such as strong language, drugs and alcohol, so would mainly appeal to a mature audience; also young rebellious teens who feel that they relate to the music.
