Rock – AC/DC ‘Back in Black’

‘Black in Black’ is a song by AC/DC, for their 1980 album of the same name.

This is a good example of a rock music video and contains many of the genre conventions seen in many other rock music videos. This includes the band performing their song on stage, with their instruments, which are the only props in the video, they include, the guitars, the drums and the microphones. By having the band perform on stage in the video, it allows the audience and fan to experience and understand what it would be like to see them perform live at a concert and it could help adverse and sell concert tour tickets, as the audience know what to expect. Therefore this video is a performance based music video and doesn’t involve a narrative. Other genre conventions of a rock video, which are evident in this includes  include the use of dark deep colours and no use of advanced special effects.

The Mise-en-scène of the production, includes quite dark lighting, as it only uses artificial stage lightening, spotlighting on the band on stage. The different strobe and colours change to the rhythm and beat of the music. Each band has their own individual costumes, which is unique to each  members image and together helps to establish to overall image of the band.

The technique codes of the music video links with the rock genre conventions, by using the hand held technique and having close ups of each member of the band, focusing closely of their faces while also showing them perfuming their instruments. Many low angles are used in the music video, showing the band from below like it is through the concert audiences vision, which links with promoting the band live events as the video is evidence of the experience that they will encounter.

Dance – Fedde Le Grand ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’

This electronic dance video is produced by Dutch DJ Fedde Le Grand at was released on 26th June 2006.

This is an electronic upbeat music video. The narrative of the video features a Kubrick-type of science lab where gynoid technicians create multiple androids.

The video includes many genre conventions such as woman dancers half naked, in this video they are all wearing sexy doctors lab coats that are too small, showing to underneath pink bright undergarments, and later on in the video one go the androids take off the coat and give the android a lap dance. Other conventions include dance routines and bright lightening and colours.

The mis en sene of the music video link with the narrative and includes electronic props such as computers and a hospital location with hospital equipment and furniture. All the women in the video have the same doctors costumes and undergarments, which are bright pink allowing them to stand out, and all the makeup in the same to give the illusion that they are identical androids.

There are many low angle shots in the video to capture and focus on the undergarments of the women of the video. The whole music video features around the music’s electronic theme and sound. The lyrics are really represented within the music video but, the way the androids move and the dance routines are all to the beat of the music, and the editing jump cut are done performed to the beats and rhythm of the music.

Narrative- Beyonce ‘If I Was A Boy’

In 2008 Beyonce released her video for the song ‘If I was a Boy.’ The video tells a narrative of a relationship between a man and a woman, and shows different emotions that the couple are feeling about each  other. The video was directed by Jake Nava, and stars Beyonce as the main character. The short film is fully shoot in black and white and has a unique role reverse theme, similar to the 1976 film Freaky Friday.

This video is a good example of a narrative music video, and portrays the message of honestly and jealously within a relationship. The video opens with the artist saying the three themes of the narrative ‘intimacy’, ‘honesty’, and ‘commitment’ the video follows Beyonce’s characters as her boy friend becomes jealous and believes that she spends to much time with her co- workers, although as they co- front each other, the video shifts and shows that the feelings are actually the other way round and Beyonce is the one who is jealous. Having this role reverse technique makes the video very unique and stand out from other narrative videos. It also plays on the relationship stereotype, as some people may believe that it’s more usual for a woman to become jealous and a man to see other woman, and after the role reverse, we find out that the relationship is completely the other way round then we first thought. This stereotype links with Beyonce’s political views of society, being a large follower in feminism, her music and video all show a message linking with equality to women, and with the role reverse she tries to prove that a relationship is an equal bond and what we see in the media and texts only shows one side to every argument, and real relationships has two equal sides and two point of views. The narrative fits in with the nature of the lyrics, even more so with the role reverse is revealed, as the lyrics are about a jealous woman stating about what she would differently if she was a boy, as she would get some revenge, from the way she was treated. Beyonce stars in all of her music video including this one. Having the artist in the video will help advertise the video and the record, helping the video to become more successful. The music video also has a performing aspect, as it cross cuts between the narrative to the Beyonce singing to the camera, this adds to the emotion of the video, as the from the facial expressions and the way she sings, we can clearly see the pure emotion within her, similar to Sinead O’Connor’s video ‘Nothing Compares 2 You,’ where the artist performs down the camera and purely shows all her emotion in her face and the way she projects her voice. Emotions is a large aspect to this video, which is shown in the narrative, the way Beyonce sings, but also in the technique aspect of the video. By having the whole video black and white suggests that the relationship is on and off, and clearly tells the audience straight away that the video and the song isn’t an all happy dancing pop songs, instead it’s a soul narrative about people struggling to stay together and the black and white colour really helps to add the atmosphere and emotions.