Key Concepts 1BMusic Videos & Short Films

Genre

DefinitionA way of categorizing texts through style and form. Why is it important?For the audience: Gives them expectations about a music video/film

in terms of the plot, semiotics and themes.For the producers: Able to market the music video/film to an

audience that is known to enjoy that type of text.

How this links to music videosDifferent genres of music will have different conventions in the style

of music video that is produced for it, in terms of iconography, structure and theme (the three components that make up what is expected from a genre).

Genre

Theories/Theorists• We don’t consume films individually, but in an

intertextual way. This makes film a post modern medium, because we make sense of films through other films rather than reality.

• Robert Stam has listed the ways of categorising film:While some genres are based on story content (the war film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy, melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some are performer-based (the Astaire-Rogers films) or budget-based (blockbusters), while others are based on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Black cinema), location (the Western) or sexual orientation.

Narrative

Definition & ImportanceThe connection between a series of facts or events. We seek a linear structure with a beginning, middle and end that is easy for our minds to connect and make sense of.

How this links to music videosThe narrative of a music video can add extra meaning to the lyrics of a song, or provide meaning to lyrics that were otherwise ambiguous. Narrative can also portray a certain feeling or emotion that the song is intended to create.

Narrative

Theories/TheoristsTzvetan Todorov – all narratives start in a state of equilibrium in which everything is normal. An outside force then disrupts this normality and is fought against to restore this equilibrium. Claude Levi-Strauss – Narratives unconsciously reflect a culture’s beliefs, myths and values of a culture in the form of binary oppositions.

RepresentationDefinitionHow different cultures, social groups (incl. race, age and class) are portrayed by the media, and how this is interpreted by audiences.

Why is this important?All forms of media are artificial recreations of reality – they portray how the creator of that media perceives reality to be. However, the media extends our experience of reality, as without experiencing some things through the media we would not experience them at all.

How this links to music videosIn music videos representation is very important. The main purpose of a music video is usually to visually represent the song and the artist. A music video also represents the genre of music the artist makes. For example, music from the rap genre will have music videos that contain stereotypical and easily identifiable signs the video is for a rap song.

RepresentationTheories/Theorists• Character TypingThere are three types of character typing:

- Archetype – Formed through years of fairytales and storytelling - Stereotype – Cultural stereotypes- Generic Type – A familiar character associated with a particular genre

• Laura Mulvey- Male Gaze: This theory suggests that the audience watch films from the perspective of a heterosexual male. This means the camera sexualises female characters and therefore the audience must identify with the male character in order to experience the narrative.

• The Hypodermic Needle Model – Developed in the 1920’s (when the mass media was relatively new), this model suggests that audiences passively receive the information fed to them through the media without challenging it. As an audience member, this theory suggests that we are manipulated to believe whatever the producers of the media want us to think/believe and our behaviour is easily changed in this way.

AudienceDefinitionThe spectators or listeners at an event such as a play, film, concert or meeting.

Why is it important?Media is created specifically for the audience. For this reason, they are important to consider when producing a media text. Ultimately, the people who view the media will decide if it is successful, interesting and enjoyable.

How this links to music videosAs mentioned above, the music video is being made for the audience. Therefore, what the audience will respond to (what will make them like the song/artist more) needs to be considered in order for the video to be successful.

AudienceTheories/Theorists• The Hypodermic Needle Model• Two Step Flow aka ‘Limited Effects Paradigm’An update on the 1920s Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that social influence effects whether people process and come to believe the ideas presented to them through the media. • Uses and Gratifications TheoryPeople choose to use media for four reasons:

- Entertain- Inform- Social Interaction- Identify

• Reception TheorySuggests that media can be received and interpreted by people in different ways. However, producers can use easily identifiable, pre-determined codes and conventions and genre to try to direct the audience in the intended direction on the intended meaning.

Media Language

DefinitionLanguage that is specific to the media field.

Why is it important and how this links to courseworkUsing media language within my answer to question 1B tells the examiner that I have spent time studying the subject, rather than just having an interest in media itself.

Media LanguageExamples:Micro-Features• Camera

- Shots – CU, LS, MS, OSS- Angles – HA, LA, CA- Movement – Pan, Dolly, Track

• Sound- Asynchronous/Synchronous Sound- Diegetic/Non-Diegetic Sound- Sound Bridge- Motif- Incidental Music

• Editing- SRS- Graphic Match- Action Match- Jump Cut- Parallel Editing- Cutaway

• Mise-en-scene- Low Key/High Key Lighting

• Semiotics – Indexical, Symbolic, Iconic• Mediation• Connotation/Denotation• Audience, Narrative, Genre, Representation