Rihanna's musical style has changed during the release of her last three albums. She was originally marketed as a reggae singer since she burst into the music scene in 2005, with styles of pop, R&B and dancehall. Her music includes various styles of musical genres, including contemporary R&B, dance-pop and the Caribbean music styles of reggae and dancehall. With the release of Music of the Sun and its lead single "Pon de Replay", Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described Rihanna's musical style as "synthesize Caribbean rhythms and beats with standard-issue urban dance-pop: Caribbean-inflected urban, if you will."
Rihanna is described as utilizing "dancehall-light beats and a reggae vocal cadence." NME describes the singer as a "heady mix of dancehall, reggae and contemporary R&B." Barry Walters of Rolling Stone considers Rihanna's A Girl Like Me to be "lightweight dancehall and R&B jams." After the release of Good Girl Gone Bad, Allmusic's Andy Kellman credits Rihanna to be "as pop as pop gets." Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times described her hit "Umbrella" as a lightweight pop confection with a heavy hip-hop backbeat, a breezy love song enriched by those unexpectedly goth-sounding keyboards and by the incongruous hint of anguish in Rihanna’s girlish voice.
Her debut album featured production from pop veterans Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken who first discovered her. Sturken and Rogers have collaborated with Rihanna many times, including with her debut single "Pon de Replay", which helped launch her career with the tradition of reggae and dance pop and collaborated on her sophomore album. Rihanna then enlisted into the pop and contemporary R&B working with music producer Stargate and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo on "Unfaithful" and sampling the key section, bass line, and drum beat from Soft Cell's 1981 single "Tainted Love" on "SOS". With songs like "Kisses Don't Lie" and "Shut Up and Drive", her music style became more rock-oriented. Unlike Music of the Sun or A Girl Like Me, her third album contained a more dance-pop sound and less of the dancehall, reggae and ballad styles of her previous albums. She has included various styles of music from uptempo pop-reggae with "Pon De Replay", to an 80s new wave fuelled club banger "SOS" to the whiff of gothic horror in a love song "Unfaithful". Most of her love subject ballads contain a mid-tempo pop sound, with an R&B influences that uses of a gently strummed acoustic guitar with the production of Stargate and the songs written by Ne-Yo. Some of her up-tempo dance-pop songs include production from Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and J. R. Rotem. She has taken to sampling songs from other artist like Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" on "SOS", New Order's "Blue Monday" on "Shut Up and Drive" and '70s original song "Soul Makossa" of Manu Dibango with a part of the chorus from Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" on "Don't Stop the Music".
Rihanna's music contains strong influences of Caribbean music which include reggae and dancehall. The video for "Rude Boy" was inspired by her Caribbean roots.
In an interview, she stated that while growing up in Barbados she grew up listening to reggae music and when she came to the United States she was exposed to many different types of music. During The Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, she did a cover to "Is This Love" which paid tribute to Marley; she would later do a cover song to Bob Marley & The Wailers' "Redemption Song". Rihanna commented that Marilyn Monroe and vintage clothing served for visual inspiration for the music video "Hate That I Love You" and "Rehab"; in contrast, the "dark, creepy" scenes of "Disturbia" have drawn comparison to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The music video ranked number five on the "Top Five Most Paranoid Music Videos" published by MTV Buzzworthy. Jon Bream of the Star Tribune commented "in the tradition of Madonna and Janet Jackson, Rihanna has become the video vixen of the '00s ... Rihanna has perfected the pout, the long-legged strut and trend-setting hairdos that keep women and men alike checking her out on YouTube."George Epaminondas of InStyle considers Rihanna's music videos to be "cinematic" due to her "blend of lush island rhythms and swinging pop and mischievous sensuality."
Rated R
Rated R features a darker and foreboding tone than Rihanna's previous albums. Primarily an R&B and pop-oriented album, it also incorporates musical elements of hip hop, rock, and dancehall. The album's production is typified by a sleek sound and incorporates ominous synthesizers, intertwining guitar licks, tense beats, minor-key melodies, and polyrhythmic vocal harmonies. Songs such as "Mad House", "G4L", and "Wait Your Turn" incorporate elements of dubstep, including brooding synths and grumbling basslines. Rihanna discussed its musical direction in an interview for Glamour magazine, stating "The songs are really personal. It’s rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s really hip-hop: If Lil’ Wayne and Kings of Leon like my album, then I’ll feel good". On Rated R's musical style, music journalist Jim DeRogatis perceived that it only incorporates elements of rock, writing "Though there's nothing inherently rock 'n' roll or 'super-fearless' about lacing slick, synthesized dance-pop grooves with a little electric guitar, some of it courtesy of Slash, a quarter of a century after 'Thriller', there is a more insistent punch and electrifying energy in the 13 grooves on 'Rated R'".
The lyrical content of Rated R features generally bleak views on love and boastful lyrics concerning perseverance and overcoming adversity. The album's lyrics are characterized by grim, raw and angry tones, and songs that contain boastful and persevering themes are characterized by images of violence and brutality. Its lyrics are also distinguished by prominent profanity.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Pitch
I intend to create a performance based music video to the song: G4L by Rihanna
This will be designed and shot in the style of a typical genre r'n'b, fitting in with the forms and conventions as well as challenging stereotypes.
I will focus on a edgey style to the r'n'b genre that hits a niche audience of teenagers/young adults aged from around 13 - 22.
I intend to create a message that portrays the meaning of the lyrics with both; subtle underlying images as well as clear representations.
I will keep documents of the process stage from equipment check lists, to filming diaries and call sheets.
This will be designed and shot in the style of a typical genre r'n'b, fitting in with the forms and conventions as well as challenging stereotypes.
I will focus on a edgey style to the r'n'b genre that hits a niche audience of teenagers/young adults aged from around 13 - 22.
I intend to create a message that portrays the meaning of the lyrics with both; subtle underlying images as well as clear representations.
I will keep documents of the process stage from equipment check lists, to filming diaries and call sheets.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Song Choice/Initial Plan
Rihanna - G4L
I decided on this song due to knowing the genre very well and the edgey and gritty feel to this song is unique and different from most songs and genres.
With the equipment and experience I have, I feel I can produce a better quality video to this song rather than Jack by Pixie Lott.
I feel my ideas were stronger for ‘Jack’ however with my budget experience, and equipment, I do not feel I can pull off my ideas to the way in which I would want to.
Initial Plan to develop my ideas;
- I intend to hold a focus group with my target audience
- Research in to the artist and other music videos of this style
- Research into locations to ensure my ideas can be achieved
I decided on this song due to knowing the genre very well and the edgey and gritty feel to this song is unique and different from most songs and genres.
With the equipment and experience I have, I feel I can produce a better quality video to this song rather than Jack by Pixie Lott.
I feel my ideas were stronger for ‘Jack’ however with my budget experience, and equipment, I do not feel I can pull off my ideas to the way in which I would want to.
Initial Plan to develop my ideas;
- I intend to hold a focus group with my target audience
- Research in to the artist and other music videos of this style
- Research into locations to ensure my ideas can be achieved
Possible Song Choices/Ideas
I decided to choose between a Pop song and an R’n’B influenced song. These are very mainstream and will be a challenge however these are the two genres I have the most knowledge on.
Pixie Lott – ‘Jack’
Initial Ideas;
- Narrative based
- 2 characters – male and female
- Cuts to performance – Female singer based in a white room with a band
- Predominantly outside locations - representing different seasons
The Pop genre allows for a wider range of ideas, either conforming to the music video or challenging the forms and conventions.
Problems;
- Quality of locations
- Lighting outside locations is hard on a small budget
- Having no budget means it is hard to get professional equipment, locations etc. in order to make the outside scenes look professional
- outside weather is unpredictable
- Mainstream genre will make it difficult to create a video that will stand out
Rihanna – ‘G4L’
Initial Ideas;
- Performance based
- Female
- Locations – Dark, ‘lower class areas’, ‘the streets’
- Main location – Prison Cell
- Cuts to shots of the same female outside of the cell – ‘Gangsta’ feel
This genre is a unique genre that is not widely known. It’s very close to R’n’B and mixed with influences of grime. The gritty sound to this song makes it different from many songs and allows the opportunity to create an edgey, dark and creative video.
Problems;
- Finding locations of such a specific idea/appearance
- Music artist is very mainstream
Pixie Lott – ‘Jack’
Initial Ideas;
- Narrative based
- 2 characters – male and female
- Cuts to performance – Female singer based in a white room with a band
- Predominantly outside locations - representing different seasons
The Pop genre allows for a wider range of ideas, either conforming to the music video or challenging the forms and conventions.
Problems;
- Quality of locations
- Lighting outside locations is hard on a small budget
- Having no budget means it is hard to get professional equipment, locations etc. in order to make the outside scenes look professional
- outside weather is unpredictable
- Mainstream genre will make it difficult to create a video that will stand out
Rihanna – ‘G4L’
Initial Ideas;
- Performance based
- Female
- Locations – Dark, ‘lower class areas’, ‘the streets’
- Main location – Prison Cell
- Cuts to shots of the same female outside of the cell – ‘Gangsta’ feel
This genre is a unique genre that is not widely known. It’s very close to R’n’B and mixed with influences of grime. The gritty sound to this song makes it different from many songs and allows the opportunity to create an edgey, dark and creative video.
Problems;
- Finding locations of such a specific idea/appearance
- Music artist is very mainstream
Forms + Conventions/Basic Theories
BASIC FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO
Lyrics: establish a general feeling/mood/sense of subject rather than a meaning
Music: tempo often drives the editing
Genre: might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles
Camerawork: has an impact on meaning. Movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the representation of the artist/band (close-ups dominate)
Editing: the most common form is fast-cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects, which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience.
Intertextuality: not all audiences will spot a reference, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product.
Exhibitionism: The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years have added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze.
Theories
ANDREW GOODWIN’S THEORY
- Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics and music
- Genres often have their own music style/iconography
- Close-ups should always be included
- The artist/band might want to develop their own star iconography, which becomes their star image
- Voyeurism is a common theme within music videos
- Intertextual references are also popular
Goodwin argues that the female performer is frequently objectified principally for display purposes, often through a combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star.
STEVE ARCHER’S THEORY
- There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in music promos.
- Music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band
- A carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor.
JOHN STEWART’S THEORY
- The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the star’s face.
- He sees visual reference in music video as coming from a range of sources, although the three most frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion and art photography.
Stewart’s description of the music video as ‘incorporating, raiding and reconstructing’ is essentially the essence of Intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings.
The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can. The mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle.
Lyrics: establish a general feeling/mood/sense of subject rather than a meaning
Music: tempo often drives the editing
Genre: might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles
Camerawork: has an impact on meaning. Movement, angle and shot distance all play a part in the representation of the artist/band (close-ups dominate)
Editing: the most common form is fast-cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects, which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience.
Intertextuality: not all audiences will spot a reference, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product.
Exhibitionism: The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years have added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze.
Theories
ANDREW GOODWIN’S THEORY
- Visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics and music
- Genres often have their own music style/iconography
- Close-ups should always be included
- The artist/band might want to develop their own star iconography, which becomes their star image
- Voyeurism is a common theme within music videos
- Intertextual references are also popular
Goodwin argues that the female performer is frequently objectified principally for display purposes, often through a combination of camerawork and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star.
STEVE ARCHER’S THEORY
- There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in music promos.
- Music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band
- A carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor.
JOHN STEWART’S THEORY
- The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the star’s face.
- He sees visual reference in music video as coming from a range of sources, although the three most frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion and art photography.
Stewart’s description of the music video as ‘incorporating, raiding and reconstructing’ is essentially the essence of Intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings.
The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can. The mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle.
Friday, 4 March 2011
Mixed genres, Collaborations & Mash up’s
Mixed genres, Collaborations & Mash up’s
Collaborations
Today, there are not the traditional set genres, of pop, rock, country etc. We are introduced to many more sub-genres, and ‘mash ups’.
As the industry is growing and becoming more and more competitive, artists are pressured to find new and fresh sounds, often resulting in collaborations, remixes and the birth of a new sub-genre.
Big artists tend to get together and create new music to get themselves known to other audiences that may not have listened to their music on a solo basis.
Florence and the Machine (contemporary Indie Pop) teamed up with dizzee rascal (A former ‘Grime’ artist, who has recently been influence by more mainstream rap) to remake and release the song ‘You got the love’ renamed – ‘dirtee love’. Florence and the machine covered the classic song ‘You got the love’, gave it a fresh twist and made it one of the biggest selling singles of the year. When she came together with Dizzee Rascal to perform on the award show ‘the Brits’, it caused a massive storm within the music industry and the public showed a huge amount of support. With the popularity of the song being so huge, they decided to record and release it as a single, and it sold more records than the original cover by Florence herself.
Collaborations didn’t just stop at singles, many artists have come together to form full albums in order to attract different audiences and appeal to a wide range of people.
Jay Z and Linkin’ Park collaborated Rock and Rap to form the album: Collision Course
This was a massive success in both the USA and the UK, attracting Linkin’ Parks’ audience to Jay Z and vice versa. This was a well thought out move as they both have larger audiences. They are now generating even more money that they were originally. It has allowed them to reinvent themselves in order to stay fresh and current in the industry.
Nas and Damien Marely mixed rap with reggae and created the album: Distant Relatives
Again this was a success, and allowed two different audiences to mix. Reggae and Rap audiences tend to be very similar, so this wasn’t as hard as Jay Z and Linkin’ Park trying to mix some completely different genres, however the album Distant Relatives has given the influence for other artists to collaborate and give the birth to even more sub-genres.
David Guetta is known for collaborations with some of the biggest artists of today, from Rihanna and Kelly Rowland to Akon and Flo Rida.
He started with remixing songs of other artists and then began to work on collaborations and releasing singles with some of the most popular artists in the industry.
Mixed Genres
Many songs made today are not just one traditional genre they are either mixed with, or influenced by others. This allows the artist/s to appeal to a wide audience and become successful in the ever changing and competitive industry.
Plan B, an original Rap and Grime artist, didn’t have much success with his original sounds, so he changed his style to appeal to a wider audience and is now one of the most successful male artists of today.
He stays true to his rap routes but mixes this with a ‘blues’ sound, the fact he can also sing, allows him to mix these genres together. He states he wishes to explore each genre of music and release an album for each so he can reach out to as many people as possible.
‘The Roots’ had a very mixed genre from the start, they are predominantly Rap but with a mix of light rock. Having this unique spin on their music, allows them to stand out against other Rap artists.
These are just two examples of the many in the music industry today. It is becoming ever more popular for artists to mix up their original sounds to ‘reinvent themselves’ and stay current.
Mash ups
As well as collaborations and the mix of genres, the mix of two different songs is very popular too.
These are these in bars or nightclubs, and are often mixed to form a new ‘dance’ style track. In nightclubs, you either have an adapted version of one song, with an increased tempo or adapted into a dance track, or the mix of two completely different songs to have the same effect. This can help improve the sales of singles. People will hear a remix or a mash up in a nightclub or on the radio and this will attract people to either download the original song, or even the remix/mash up itself, and still in both cases, the artists name gets better known. It will also attract another type of audience, as the audience for dance music, will be introduced to new artists.
Illegal Mash ups
www.soundcloud.com is a website that allows you to search a song, and it will list all the remixes/mash ups of that particular song. It also allows you to upload a version you have created yourself, allowing the public to share music. This can bring up a lot of issues from copyright.
There are many problems like this on the internet that are causing problems to the music industry, from illegal downloading via Limewire and illegal mash up and remix of songs.
This causes a loss in revenue for an artist/s and the music industry itself. Youtube converter is not illegal, as you are simply converting a video file to an MP3 file, however the fact you can easily download songs off youtube.com for free, means that less people are buying the artist/s singles.
Collaborations
Today, there are not the traditional set genres, of pop, rock, country etc. We are introduced to many more sub-genres, and ‘mash ups’.
As the industry is growing and becoming more and more competitive, artists are pressured to find new and fresh sounds, often resulting in collaborations, remixes and the birth of a new sub-genre.
Big artists tend to get together and create new music to get themselves known to other audiences that may not have listened to their music on a solo basis.
Florence and the Machine (contemporary Indie Pop) teamed up with dizzee rascal (A former ‘Grime’ artist, who has recently been influence by more mainstream rap) to remake and release the song ‘You got the love’ renamed – ‘dirtee love’. Florence and the machine covered the classic song ‘You got the love’, gave it a fresh twist and made it one of the biggest selling singles of the year. When she came together with Dizzee Rascal to perform on the award show ‘the Brits’, it caused a massive storm within the music industry and the public showed a huge amount of support. With the popularity of the song being so huge, they decided to record and release it as a single, and it sold more records than the original cover by Florence herself.
Collaborations didn’t just stop at singles, many artists have come together to form full albums in order to attract different audiences and appeal to a wide range of people.
Jay Z and Linkin’ Park collaborated Rock and Rap to form the album: Collision Course
This was a massive success in both the USA and the UK, attracting Linkin’ Parks’ audience to Jay Z and vice versa. This was a well thought out move as they both have larger audiences. They are now generating even more money that they were originally. It has allowed them to reinvent themselves in order to stay fresh and current in the industry.
Nas and Damien Marely mixed rap with reggae and created the album: Distant Relatives
Again this was a success, and allowed two different audiences to mix. Reggae and Rap audiences tend to be very similar, so this wasn’t as hard as Jay Z and Linkin’ Park trying to mix some completely different genres, however the album Distant Relatives has given the influence for other artists to collaborate and give the birth to even more sub-genres.
David Guetta is known for collaborations with some of the biggest artists of today, from Rihanna and Kelly Rowland to Akon and Flo Rida.
He started with remixing songs of other artists and then began to work on collaborations and releasing singles with some of the most popular artists in the industry.
Mixed Genres
Many songs made today are not just one traditional genre they are either mixed with, or influenced by others. This allows the artist/s to appeal to a wide audience and become successful in the ever changing and competitive industry.
Plan B, an original Rap and Grime artist, didn’t have much success with his original sounds, so he changed his style to appeal to a wider audience and is now one of the most successful male artists of today.
He stays true to his rap routes but mixes this with a ‘blues’ sound, the fact he can also sing, allows him to mix these genres together. He states he wishes to explore each genre of music and release an album for each so he can reach out to as many people as possible.
‘The Roots’ had a very mixed genre from the start, they are predominantly Rap but with a mix of light rock. Having this unique spin on their music, allows them to stand out against other Rap artists.
These are just two examples of the many in the music industry today. It is becoming ever more popular for artists to mix up their original sounds to ‘reinvent themselves’ and stay current.
Mash ups
As well as collaborations and the mix of genres, the mix of two different songs is very popular too.
These are these in bars or nightclubs, and are often mixed to form a new ‘dance’ style track. In nightclubs, you either have an adapted version of one song, with an increased tempo or adapted into a dance track, or the mix of two completely different songs to have the same effect. This can help improve the sales of singles. People will hear a remix or a mash up in a nightclub or on the radio and this will attract people to either download the original song, or even the remix/mash up itself, and still in both cases, the artists name gets better known. It will also attract another type of audience, as the audience for dance music, will be introduced to new artists.
Illegal Mash ups
www.soundcloud.com is a website that allows you to search a song, and it will list all the remixes/mash ups of that particular song. It also allows you to upload a version you have created yourself, allowing the public to share music. This can bring up a lot of issues from copyright.
There are many problems like this on the internet that are causing problems to the music industry, from illegal downloading via Limewire and illegal mash up and remix of songs.
This causes a loss in revenue for an artist/s and the music industry itself. Youtube converter is not illegal, as you are simply converting a video file to an MP3 file, however the fact you can easily download songs off youtube.com for free, means that less people are buying the artist/s singles.
Genre Research + Forms and Conventions
Country Music
Country music is one of the oldest genres of music to date. It originated in the 1920s in Southern parts of the US, and it has slowly spread to all parts of the world. Country music is the most popular genre throughout the United States and often wins Grammy awards over the majority of other genres that we would consider 'mainstream'. The defining characteristic of country music is an acoustic guitar, with just the vocals of the singer to accompany it. Country music has changed over the years, adopting a more modern style, mixing with other genres in order to attract a larger and more diverse audience.
Forms and conventions of country music videos
- Tend to have a strong narrative aspect
- Set in very stereotypical locations, such as rural areas
- Mise-en-scen tends to be very traditional or set in an elder generation, e.g. Victorian
- The artist usually features within the video
Modern day country genres, like many other genres are mixing or being influenced by other genres, 'Pop' being a popular choice. The U.S.A seems to stay true the the original country roots, but other countries, such as the UK welcome many songs influenced by pop as well, such as Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift has taken a modern day twist on her country style in order to keep it relevant and popular in the charts.
Hip Hop Music and Rap Music
The primary focus of Hip Hop is on beatboxing and DJ scratching. Rap music is another subset of this genre, and it revolves around the artist rapping to a fixed beat. Though this genre evolved in the ghettos of the United States, today it has spread to mainstream culture all around the world, and has become a multi million dollar industry. This genre of hip hop songs started involving more and more people during the 1970s.
Forms and conventions of rock music videos
You tend to find a mixture of narrative and performance based music videos for Hip Hop and Rap. The majority of music videos for this style tend to be set in a lower class area, on the streets. You find a wide range of different settings and styles for these genres however they are predominantly set in lower class areas.
Artists tend to feature within their own videos.
Rock and Alternative Rock
Rock music came around in the 1960’s, it evolved as a subset of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, classical and folk music, these have been around since the 1940’s. Primary focus in rock music is on the electric guitar and the many solos that can be created with it. Also the bass guitar and drums are highly in focus. The popularity of Rock music had led to combination of rock with various other genres.
Rock music is something that is omnipresent in all cultural references today, and it is no secret that we associate rock musicians with a rebellious lifestyle, substance abuse and huge fan bases all around the world.
Forms and conventions of rock music videos
Usually rock music videos do not have an narrative, they are predominantly performance based, and sometimes they form around a concept.
-display the bands performing on stage
- uneasy camera movements
-hand held shots to represent a frantic/manic atmosphere
( these camera shots and movements emphasise the roughness of the music, as you do not want clean smooth cuts and movements that you would use in perhaps pop music)
-no common to use special effects, for example, green screen or CGI
- usually deep dark colours are used to compliment the style of music
Pop Music
Pop is the largest selling genre today. It signifies any music that is commercially produced, with the sole intention of selling more records and reaching as larger audience as possible. It is also widely assumed that pop music is targeted at teenagers and the youth, though many people associate pop music with the genre of rock, this can be argued. The use of various electronic devices is also widespread in this genre, but this is a very different genre, vis-a-vis trance, which also heavily utilizes electronic sounds.
Forms and conventions of rock music videos
Pop videos tend to use special effects and bright colours, to give a feel good feel, but have the widest range of music video styles with in this genre and can vary between narrative, performance and mixed. This makes it hard to set a list of forms and conventions for this genre as a whole.
Reggae
You tend to find a mixture of narrative and performance based music videos for Hip Hop and Rap. The majority of music videos for this style tend to be set in a lower class area, on the streets. You find a wide range of different settings and styles for these genres however they are predominantly set in lower class areas.
Artists tend to feature within their own videos.
Rock and Alternative Rock
Rock music came around in the 1960’s, it evolved as a subset of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, classical and folk music, these have been around since the 1940’s. Primary focus in rock music is on the electric guitar and the many solos that can be created with it. Also the bass guitar and drums are highly in focus. The popularity of Rock music had led to combination of rock with various other genres.
Rock music is something that is omnipresent in all cultural references today, and it is no secret that we associate rock musicians with a rebellious lifestyle, substance abuse and huge fan bases all around the world.
Forms and conventions of rock music videos
Usually rock music videos do not have an narrative, they are predominantly performance based, and sometimes they form around a concept.
-display the bands performing on stage
- uneasy camera movements
-hand held shots to represent a frantic/manic atmosphere
( these camera shots and movements emphasise the roughness of the music, as you do not want clean smooth cuts and movements that you would use in perhaps pop music)
-no common to use special effects, for example, green screen or CGI
- usually deep dark colours are used to compliment the style of music
Pop Music
Pop is the largest selling genre today. It signifies any music that is commercially produced, with the sole intention of selling more records and reaching as larger audience as possible. It is also widely assumed that pop music is targeted at teenagers and the youth, though many people associate pop music with the genre of rock, this can be argued. The use of various electronic devices is also widespread in this genre, but this is a very different genre, vis-a-vis trance, which also heavily utilizes electronic sounds.
Forms and conventions of rock music videos
Pop videos tend to use special effects and bright colours, to give a feel good feel, but have the widest range of music video styles with in this genre and can vary between narrative, performance and mixed. This makes it hard to set a list of forms and conventions for this genre as a whole.
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.
Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the 'skank'. Reggae is normally slower than both ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar, with the rhythm guitar also either emphasising the third beat or holding the chord on the second beat until the fourth is played. It is mainly this "third beat", its speed and the use of complex bass lines that differentiated reggae from rocksteady, although later styles incorporated these innovations separately.
Forms and conventions of Reggae music videos
It is unusual to find a reggae genre music video with a narrative, however it is becoming more common as pop is mixing with reggae, for example, Rihanna is known to cover various genres of music from R'n'b to pop, electric dance and her song 'man down' is influenced heavily by reggae and has a narrative storyline.
- Locations tend to be set in Jamaica or very similar style places.
- The majority of the videos for this genre are very similar, will feel good lyrics enhanced by a cheerful video with bright colours and basic, laid back lifestyle very stereotypical to countries like Jamaica.
Soul
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying. Soul music has its roots in gospel music and rhythm and blues. The hard gospel vocal quartets of the 1940s and 1950s were big influences on major soul singers of the 1960s. The term "soul music" itself, to describe gospel-style music with secular lyrics.
Forms and conventions of soul music videos
- The majority have a narrative – love/family etc
- mono-tone colour scheme is frequently used
- slow cuts and editing
- no special effects
Electric Dance
Electronic dance music (EDM) is electronic music that is produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centred upon dance-based entertainment. The music is largely created for use by disc jockeys and is produced with the intention of it being heard in the context of a continuous DJ set; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue or "mix".
Electronic dance music is a broad set of percussive music genres that largely inherit from the electronic music of Kraftwerk and 1970s disco music. Such music was originally born of and popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s. By the early 1990s, the presence of electronic dance music in contemporary culture was noted widely and its role in society began to be explored in published historical, cultural and social science academic studies. It is constructed by means of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments, even when mimicking traditional acoustic instrumentation. It sometimes encompasses music not primarily meant for dancing, but derived from the dance-oriented styles.
Many pop and R'n'B songs are often mixed and changed to become dance tracks when used in a club or bar. More and more genres are being used to do this, from soul and reggae, to rock and occasionally country based tracks.
Forms and conventions of dance music videos
- Tend to be set in a club environment with dancing crowds
- flashing lights and features of DJs/music equipment
- prominently performance based, rarely follows a narrative
- fast pace cuts and editing
- special effects
Forms and conventions do not apply to every video within the genre, as some videos tend to challenge the forms and conventions in order to create a fresh and unique style.
Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the 'skank'. Reggae is normally slower than both ska and rocksteady. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar, with the rhythm guitar also either emphasising the third beat or holding the chord on the second beat until the fourth is played. It is mainly this "third beat", its speed and the use of complex bass lines that differentiated reggae from rocksteady, although later styles incorporated these innovations separately.
Forms and conventions of Reggae music videos
It is unusual to find a reggae genre music video with a narrative, however it is becoming more common as pop is mixing with reggae, for example, Rihanna is known to cover various genres of music from R'n'b to pop, electric dance and her song 'man down' is influenced heavily by reggae and has a narrative storyline.
- Locations tend to be set in Jamaica or very similar style places.
- The majority of the videos for this genre are very similar, will feel good lyrics enhanced by a cheerful video with bright colours and basic, laid back lifestyle very stereotypical to countries like Jamaica.
Soul
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying. Soul music has its roots in gospel music and rhythm and blues. The hard gospel vocal quartets of the 1940s and 1950s were big influences on major soul singers of the 1960s. The term "soul music" itself, to describe gospel-style music with secular lyrics.
Forms and conventions of soul music videos
- The majority have a narrative – love/family etc
- mono-tone colour scheme is frequently used
- slow cuts and editing
- no special effects
Electric Dance
Electronic dance music (EDM) is electronic music that is produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centred upon dance-based entertainment. The music is largely created for use by disc jockeys and is produced with the intention of it being heard in the context of a continuous DJ set; wherein the DJ progresses from one record to the next via a synchronized segue or "mix".
Electronic dance music is a broad set of percussive music genres that largely inherit from the electronic music of Kraftwerk and 1970s disco music. Such music was originally born of and popularized via regional nightclub scenes in the 1980s. By the early 1990s, the presence of electronic dance music in contemporary culture was noted widely and its role in society began to be explored in published historical, cultural and social science academic studies. It is constructed by means of electronic instruments such as synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, and generally emphasizes the unique sounds of those instruments, even when mimicking traditional acoustic instrumentation. It sometimes encompasses music not primarily meant for dancing, but derived from the dance-oriented styles.
Many pop and R'n'B songs are often mixed and changed to become dance tracks when used in a club or bar. More and more genres are being used to do this, from soul and reggae, to rock and occasionally country based tracks.
Forms and conventions of dance music videos
- Tend to be set in a club environment with dancing crowds
- flashing lights and features of DJs/music equipment
- prominently performance based, rarely follows a narrative
- fast pace cuts and editing
- special effects
Forms and conventions do not apply to every video within the genre, as some videos tend to challenge the forms and conventions in order to create a fresh and unique style.
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