In Depth Analysis of Three Music Videos in

the Drum & Bass Genre

Catriona Morgan

Sun is Shining- Axwell /\ IngrossoBegins with a low angle pan shot of a girl leaving

school

High lighting- following Goodwin’s rules of visuals

linking with the lyrics ‘sun is shining.’ (Not typical of Genre

Characteristics.)

Not focused on a specific person –typical of the genre (Goodwin’s rules of Genre

Characteristics.)

The lyrics appear on small pieces of paper all over the urban town, close ups of the random people reading it.Panning up- the girl from the

beginning is centre shot, middle of the street surrounded by all of the paper. Minimalist location. Close

up of her reading lyrics.

Sun is Shining- Axwell /\ IngrossoMatches the pace of the

music- when the beat drops at the chorus, all of the paper

flies up and spins around the girl.

The second verse focuses on the artists

writing the lyrics, which is not typical of the genre, however the

main focus is still on the other people in the

video, which makes the audience focus on the

music. The video spreads a positive message to those throughout the

town.

When the second beat drops, it’s the same location as in the previous one, however there are more people who dance in fast and slow motion as the

lyrics continue to fly around the crowd.

There’s a shot of the artists from behind to represent their dominance, they’re

controlling where the lyrics go, spreading their music

throughout the town.

Stay the Night- Zedd ft. Hayley WilliamsBegins with a close up of the

artist singing (not typical of the genre)

Narrative- Link between lyrics and visuals (following Goodwin’s rules)

‘Draw the blinds’- the blinds close.

Man and woman wanting to be

together but are alone

Focus on the piano through the use of

close ups

Stay the Night- Zedd ft. Hayley WilliamsDancing to beat in

fast and slow motion, editing

matching the pace of the music, as it

gets to chorus, lengths of shots are

shorter.

Low lighting- representing the

confusion, isolationism and

desperation.Artists & dancers

moves match

Eventually end up together, following Todorov’s Three Stage Theory. Begins with

disruption of being alone, ends with the resolution of them

being together. Dancer’s head goes one way, artist’s head goes

opposite in next cut

Gravity- DJ Fresh feat. Ella EyreTime lapse of a

petrol station from night until morning.

Fades to a shot of a car

driving in

Low angle shot of the car with a person getting out, slow motion. From the angle, it is visible for

the audience to see two men in the rear-view mirror, one

dropping dead while the artist sings ‘All hands on the trigger,

all eyes on the gun.’ This follows Goodwin’s rules of linking

visuals with lyrics.

Close up of keys starting the

engine and the pedals, driving away in slow

motion.Tracking shot of them driving.

Gravity- DJ Fresh feat. Ella EyreClose up of the artist singing. Derelict setting.

Follows a narrative as well as part of Todorov’s theory.

Begins peacefully with the empty petrol station, gets disrupted by the murder,

there’s a police chase, and it’s left on a cliff-hanger.

The action on the screen matches the pace of the

music.

‘Gravity can’t hold us’- Artist sits alone up a mountain, high panning shots.

Represents freedom, no attachments to anyone/anything.

Conclusion

To conclude, I have found this research very interesting as it contradicts most of the previous research I have done. For example I have found that the general convents of drum and bass music videos include low lighting, no concentration on the artist, and almost no relationship between music and visuals, all three of these videos contradicting that. However, you could argue that the close ups in the videos of ‘Stay the Night’ and ‘Gravity’ only focuses on the featuring artists rather than the main artists, and ‘Sun is Shining’ only includes the actual artists for a minority of the video, supporting my previous research. Either way I feel this research has been very beneficial in broadening my potential ideas for the creation of our music video as I have discovered that more conventions are acceptable in the genre than initially expected.