A2 Media Coursework - Research - Music Video Analysis 6X

Music Video Analyse 6X

A2 Media Coursework – Tolu Awojobi

The first video I analysed was Los Angeles based Hip-Hop recording artist ScHoolboy Q’s single ‘Collard Greens’, the lead single to his upcoming debut album ‘Oxymoron’. The song features fellow Black Hippy member & Hip-Hop artist, Kendrick Lamar.

The audience for this video is likely to be a majority male, late teens to late 20s black demographic, with an urban background.

Being that both these artists are well known and successful commercially, particularly in the last year, there are a number of conventions in both the lyrics and visuals for this song that conform to the genre characteristics of a more commercial side of Hip-Hop and Rap; namely, glamorous lifestyles, partying and drinking. Also, a main convention of this video conforms to Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory, as seemingly the sole purpose of the women in this video is to appeal to the men in a sexual manner; these women only appear for male pleasure.

ScHoolboy Q – ‘Collard Greens’

There is a covert but direct relationship between the lyrics and the visuals for this video. The lyrics contain numerous references to drug use and drinking through the use of slang, something that is evident even through the title of the song. The majority of the lyrics in the first and third verse refer to getting high and drunk, and this is conveyed to the viewing audience through the use of inverted colours, zoom in and enlargement of eyes and other conventions that make the video appear as if it is being viewed by someone who is either drunk or high. The lighting also comes into this, as the use of a dim lighting in a party setting has the connotations of an area in which drinking and drug taking is likely to take place. There are also numerous fades during the first and second verse, which can be interpreted as a visual presentation of the slang word ‘faded’, which is used when someone is high. The music is also related to the style in which the video was shot and edited, as there are a number of quick cuts to go along with the fades, which conveys the confusion when being high or drunk. Also, the melody of the song itself is in a lower register, which could be linked to a number of shots taken either at a high angle look down on the people or close to the floor. The combination of the low register of the beat and the people in the video being shown as lower than the audience may connote that there is something going on that is not supposed to be, such as drug taking or alcohol consumption.

Lyrics, Music & Visuals

There are a number of close ups of both the main artist and the featured artist across this video, which may have been an attempt to get the target audience to identify (Katz) with the artist, as the audience may take part in these activities often, and therefore can now picture this artist doing the same. However, in this video there is a lack of voyeuristic qualities. Instead there seems to be a more boastful quality in which the artist does not need to look for anything, as he has everything he needs to make him happy already. There is also a lack of intertextual references, which will tie in with the above point to convey to the audience that the artist is trying to keep the attention on himself and what he has. This may be a marketing tool, in order to keep focus on the artist in anticipation of his upcoming album, which this single is promoting.

Close Ups

This video is mostly a performance video, in which there is a sort of concept. It is mainly the artist performing the song but there is a conceptual setting, which is the viewing of the video through the eyes of someone that is either high or drunk.

Performance, Narrative & Concept

The second video that I analysed was by another Los Angeles based artist, this time Alternative Hip-Hop Odd Future Collective front man Tyler, The Creator’s music video for his song ‘IFHY’ from his album ‘Wolf’.

The audience for this video is going to be a younger audience than the last, mostly teenagers from round the age of 14 to 19, from a majority white, lower middle class background.

This video is almost in binary opposition (Strauss) to the last video I analysed, due to the different style of music and artist. In comparison to other videos of the wider Hip-Hop genre, there are next to no genre characteristics to speak of, which immediately connotes the difference of this artist in comparison to his peers, which may be a reason for his popularity. The one genre characteristic that may be slightly relevant to this video is the clothing, in which the artist can be seen wearing a baggy shirt and a snap back hat, something that is increasingly common in this genre, which will then convey to the audience that the roots of this artists music are in the genre, though there may seem to be many foreign influences evident in the video.

Tyler, The Creator – ‘IFHY’

The lyrics and visuals have a very clear relationship in this video, and is quite simple and clear for the audience to understand. Tyler, The Creator’s lyrics talk about the frustration in a relationship; specifically both loving and hating the person that you are committed to. This frustration is evidently presented to the audience through the portrayal of two dolls in a doll house, one being the artist and the other his girlfriend, and the artist constantly yelling these lyrics at the doll, as if they are in an argument. This would lead the audience to begin to believe the hate the artist has for his girlfriend, but the love is shown through the artist’s persistance to talk to his girlfriend, which is conveyed through him following her throughout the doll house when she tries to move to different rooms. The frustration and confusion between love and hate in the lyrics is summed up in one moment in the video; the artist’s girlfriend has locked herself in the bathroom as the artist stands outside it. At first he angrily tries to open the door and fails, and steps back and begins rapping the lyrics while smiling to himself as he talks about how much he loves her. This tender moment which conveys his love to the audience is immediately followed by him kicking down the toilet door to get to her. This confusion also conveys this lyrics portrayal of near obsession, and almost wanting to control the girl, which presents irony as they are dolls in a doll house, and in reality have no control over each other. The tempo of the music itself is slightly slower than the average song in this genre, which is connoted through longer shots which have more focus on the artist rather than his possessions, something else which differentiates him from the rest of the genre.


There are many close ups of the artist and his girlfriend, but instead of using these close ups for star motifs, they are used to convey the emotion of the video in an attempt to build an empathy for the characters in the video. There also seems to be notions of looking for a happier life with the girl he is describing in the lyrics, as the video shows a moment where after all the shouting he embraces the girl while looking at the camera and rapping ‘but I love you’, which may connote to the audience he is wanting to be happier with her. There is one main intertextual reference in this video, which is the setting. The windows in the doll house show a forest outside, but these are actually cut outs of the album covers background, which has a forest and a lake. This could possibly have been a marketing tool.

Close Ups & Intertextual References

Though this is also a performance video, it is clearly also concept based in which there is also a narrative storyline, with the video seemingly ending with the girlfriend leaving him.


My third video analysis was Neo Soul singer Erykah Badu’s 2007 release ‘Honey’ from the album ‘New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)’. Due to the genres wide range of characteristics both its music and videos, it is hard to specify visual elements that are solely found in Neo Soul, however there are some common themes that appear in this genre, such as love and an homage to the genres origins in Jazz, Soul & Hip-Hop.

The audience for this video is likely to be a lot older than the previous two, but with a wide range; from the mid teens to late 30s, with the majority of the audience being found around their mid to late 20s. This audience is again likely to be majority black from an urban background.

Erykah Badu – ‘Honey’

In this particular video this is evident through the very concept of the video, which portrays the genre characteristic of homage to origins through the video being set in a record store, and the video itself being centred on the showing of the artist in these influential records. The lyrics themselves talk mainly about love, something typical to the genre. Of this love, Erykah Badu is telling the person she is in love with about how sweet the love is, and how good they are to her. Though this is what the lyrics could be taken as at face value, this meaning could be interpreted with the use of the video as the artists love for old music, with Erykah calling the old music ‘Honey’ instead of assuming it is someone she is in a relationship with, and saying that it is the old music that sounds sweet to her, and is good to her. This is visually represented through the records that she picks up to look at, which connotes her idolization of these records, and how she enjoys them. This is further connoted through her being in the records themselves as if she were the artist, which shows both her paying homage to her inspirations and how she has styled herself after them. Musically, there is a difference in what is expected from a beat like this. With the song possessing a fairly upbeat track, you would expect there to be numerous cuts to match the speed, but instead there are extend tracking shots of the artist moving through the store and picking up different records, placing this video in binary opposition (Strauss) to other songs of this tempo. In relation to the point made about lyrics and visuals, the video is shot in black and white but when the records are shown with Erykah Badu in them, there is colour on the records, connoting to the audience that the records are the subject of the lyrics.


Though the subject of the video is other peoples records, there are many close ups of the artist, as she is featured on every record cover she picks up, impersonating the artist’s album cover. This video shows a more carefree side of the genre, one that is not often seen, due to the impersonations that Erykah Badu does of these numerous artists. However, Badu does manage to incorporate a star motif into the video, in the last shot of her leaving the store. This shot shows Badu wearing a ring with a symbol on it that she is known to wear, which helps the audience build familiarity and identity (Katz) with the artist, especially since her face is not seen throughout the entire video other than on the records. This of course means there are many different references to other people’s music, which can also be considered as intertextual references as they are mainly references through records, whereas CDs and digital downloads, are more commonly used nowadays.

Close Ups & Intertextual References

This video is a performance through a conceptual setting in a record store, as she is performing her own song through different artists album covers. There is also a small narrative, which shows the artist shopping for records.


My fourth video was a classic song in both its genre and modern day culture. The Verve’s lead single of their 1997 album, ‘Urban Hymns’, ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ serves as the bands signature song and one of the most well known songs of the Rock & Britpop genre. The video itself conveys The Verve in the typical style for the Rock/Britpop genre of that era; long hair, leather jackets & all black.

In this case, the audience is a lot more universal than the previous three videos I analysed, however the main audience is likely to be mid to late teenagers, around the age of 17, of a white, upper working class/lower middle class background.

The Verve – ‘Bittersweet Symphony’

The lyrics also follow this typical style, as they talk about their view on their life in that day. The lyrics speak on how life is bittersweet, which is visually conveyed through The Verve’s front man Richard Ashcroft’s emotionless and almost careless expression throughout the video. He is shown ignoring the world, but also seems too drained to show any emotion, possibly connoting that he has been drained by the bittersweet stresses of the world. The lyrics also say ‘I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down’, which could connote either his boredom of life, and further connote his careless expression, or the reason he is walking down a road in the video. The music itself is a slower beat in a lower register, which helps set the tone for the videos dreariness. The video itself connotes the style of song through long shots of the artist, with relatively few cuts away, and the only cuts are used as transitions, further connoting the simplicity of the melody, as if there is no extravagant editing needed to get the songs message across. Though there are numerous close ups of Richard Ashcroft throughout the video, there is a lack of star motifs. A reason for this may be because it does not fit in with the mood of the song, which speaks on the stresses of life, and his feelings because of it.


This videos simplicity is something that helped its popularity skyrocket. With absolutely no intertextual references of voyeuristic qualities, this video has itself become subject to numerous intertextual references for many different media products since the time of its release. The video itself purely a performance, as it seems to lack either narrative or concept. This is because it simply shows someone walking down a street singing a song, which if taken either literally or as a metaphor does not convey conceptuality or a narrative.


The fifth video I analysed was Acid Jazz group Jamiroquai’s 1996 single ‘Virtual Insanity’, which was the second single released from their album ‘Travelling Without Moving’, which was released in the same year. Something that is evident with this group is their individuality, which is one of the main components concerning their popularisation. Something common in the genre of Jazz & Funk is the stress on individual creativity, and this characteristic is evident in this music video through lead singer Jay Kay’s style of dress, including, what became a signature look for him, his top hat, a star motif that became popularised by him in this era, and helped the audience form a mental image of him and his band’s music by associating this star motif and a promotional video.

This genre generally has a very wide appeal, which means the audience will reflect this. Jamiroquai’s audience for this video would have been a mixture of races, but a slightly older age than the other analysed videos, roughly 20-30 years old.

Jamiroquai – ‘Virtual Insanity’

The lyrics to this song seem to contain numerous metaphors and descriptions of modern life; however the chorus is a reference to what will happen in the future. This is conveyed in the video by what seems to be a set that is created to look futuristic, with an all white room designed in a way that the media overtime has made the audience associate with the future. Other than this setting, the lyrics and the visuals for the song do not have any particular relationship; however the music has many different elements to it, with an unusual chord progression and bridges. This is unpredictable style of music represented through the main feature of the video, which is the movement of the floor in the video. The floor and furniture on it moves in a multitude of directions throughout the video while the walls stay still, but these different moves and what is moving in different shots seem to be dictated by the music and where the track is going. For example, when the song comes to a stripped down post-bridge melody, arguable the simplest part of the song, the floor pulls Jay Kay forward towards the camera, connoting that this is a straight forward part of the song, but as the song comes back into the chorus, the floor begins to move in many different directions again.


Much like Bittersweet Symphony, there is a lack of intertextual references; however this video has since been referenced in many different media texts due to its influence and individuality, something encouraged in the jazz genre that this song comes from. This video is a conceptual performance, with Jay Kay performing in a futuristic setting with a moving floor.


The sixth and final video that I analysed was Belgian singer Gotye’s internationally successful single ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, which was released in 2011 as the second single from his album, ‘Making Mirrors’, released in the same year. This video is an innovative video, which is connoted through the distinctive lack of genre characteristics, other than the long hair that is common in indie music.

The audience for this video is likely to be younger than Jamiroquai’s; again teenagers to about early 20s, from a middle class background. This audience will be majority white, due to the artists origin and style.

Goyte – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’

The lyrics in this song talk clearly about the pain of breaking up with someone you were deeply in love with, and the hurt that is felt when trying to deal with them after. This pain that is described by Gotye is conveyed by the artist through his facial expressions, which are distinctively sad and at times distraught, setting the mood for the song and video. When the girls perspective is introduced into both the lyrics and video, this pain is portrayed the artist movement; as the girl, who is portrayed by featured artist Kimbra, tries to move towards Gotye, he moves away without acknowledging her, which leads to more pain conveyed to the audience through Kimbra’s facial expressions. They end up moving away from each other, which then conveys the literal meaning of the songs title, as they go on with only the memory of each other as it is too painful to actually be with each other. The music itself is reflected quite clearly through video, as when the music builds up from a simple start to the use of more instrumentation and louder, more passionate singing, the video builds up in the form of stop motion art. This art begins on the wall and eventually appears on the artist themselves, and begins to layer, increase in detail and get even brighter as the song continuously builds to its climax. Close ups are used to further connote the emotion to the viewing audience.


There seems to be a notion of looking for something throughout the video, as both Gotye and Kimbra seem as if they are looking for some honesty in the case of their past relationship. It also seems as if they are still looking for each other, however through the videos portrayal of their hurt it seems as though they are refusing to let each other find each other, leaving them in a constant state of voyeurism.

Voyeuristic Qualities

The performance follows a narrative of a couple that has either just broken up or broke up recently, and our just confronting each other about it for the first time.


Education

A2 Media Coursework - Research - Music Video Analysis 6X