Codes and Conventions

In class today we had a brief look at codes and conventions and established the different kinds that we would be taught about. The introduction  to this was not long due to the previous experience we had from the AS course.

Codes

Codes in a media text are the way to establish a meaning in texts. There are three types of codes:

• Technical codes: The way the text is constructed technically  camera angles, framing, typography etc

• Verbal codes: Everything to do with language either written or spoken.

• Symbolic codes: Codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level. These are things that draw upon the audiences personal experiences and understandings of other media texts, cultural frame of reference.

Conventions

These are commonly understood ways of doing things in a media text which are the easiest points to identify the genre of a media text. There are two types:

• Technical: This would be something such as the narrative of the music video as it easy to identify and would most likely be associated with indie music 

• Generic: Generic conventions are the features shown by media texts that allow them to be put into a specific genre for example In a rock music video you'd expect to see a drummer or lead guitarist.

DJ Fresh VS Diplo Feat. Dominique Young Unique - Earthquake

I had come across this song a few times prior to the film however I never knew the artists behind it so i was not able to find it until I saw "Kick Ass 2". It was heard at some points during the film which I liked, as to me, the beat of the song is great. As I wanted to hear it again I went and looked it up on You Tube and came across this interesting video. Initially I thought the film was promoting the song but looking at the video I realised i was wrong. The video shows a group of presumably ordinary people who have become vigilantes who wander the streets looking to stop crime which is the concept behind Kick Ass. What I also came across in the video is that not only are there characters referencing Kick Ass 2 but that they are almost crushed by a Kick Ass 2 billboard that is seen by the audience long enough for them to notice what they are being seen. This was a smart way for them to subtly promote the film as many people like this song so the visuals seen are more likely result in more customers for the film. This however works both ways as I found the song through the film and as soon as I found out that same evening I had to listen to that song

Importance to a music video

This is what me and my classmate Brandon thought of as the most important to a successful music video, the bottom ones are not necessarily unimportant but rather that we just thought that the top 4 tiers had a higher importance but this is based solely on opinions. 

Purpose of a Music Video

 In order to create our own music video we needed to understand why they were created and in order to do so we were given some information on the topic, enough to give us an insight so we knew what it was which encourage me to do further research into the topic and it has broadened my knowledge as initially I believe it was solely to make money and promote the artist however it was also used to promote other businesses goods if they paid to have their goods showcased by popular artists.

Summer Homework Music Video

Mordecai and the Rigbys perform Alice Coopers Schools Out

I used a clip from Regular Show where the main characters form a band, originally the clip was around 1 minute. I used the song Schools Out by Alice Cooper. This was not that hard to make however there were some parts that needed to be slowed down, reversed etc as the lyrics were sometimes too fast for the video to keep up with and other parts needed to be filled. There were some parts for example the close-up of the birds face on using the mic were the lip syncing worked really well as the timing was good and it seemed as though the words were actually being sung.

The task above was a summer homework which was to create a music video using a set playlist and finding footage that I thought would work well with my song choice. The majority of the task we pretty straightforward however the actual editing of the piece was a lot trickier as it involved various editing techniques such as slowing and reversing clips which I have not used for quite a while so the this task helped me get back into editing slightly as I have been out of practice.

Abstract and Hybrid Music Video Structures

Abstract

Abstract music videos tend not to show much or any relevance to the song. They normally are quite colorful and random.

My example of a abstract music video is: Passion Pit - The Reeling

 

I picked this video as the video and the lyrics had little to no connection with each other, even the style of special effects didn't portray the song, it was all quite random and slightly confusing which is what abstract videos are usually like so this video became my choice.

Hybrid

A hybrid music video is made of a mixture of 2 or more different structures. A music video could be a combination of performance and narrative. This would be the case if the video told a story and had focus on the singer performing in the video.

My example of a hybrid music video is: LMFAO  - Sorry For Party Rocking

LMFAO's song is a mixture of performance and narrative and a very good example because the video focuses on the artists heavily but in the opening it shows narrative as it follows the story of how the "neighbours" want the to stop party rocking.

Performance and Narrative Music Video Structures

Performance

A performance structure is when the music video focuses solely on the delivery of the music and in terms of a pop video it would normally show dancing and having a good time. Where as, in a rock video the performance is more that likely going to be the band or artist showing off the musical skill. 

My example of a performance music video is: Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You

I chose this video as it is one of my favourite performance pieces as the majority of the lyrics are signed (sign language) to the audience and I think it is very effective way to keep the audience engaged as i have never seen a music video that uses sign language the signing was in time with the beat and matched the lyrics extremly well and It made me want to see the whole video.

Narrative

A narrative structure is when the music video tells a story however the story does not have to run parallel to the song. Narrative videos are normally associated with indie music as they tend to show a personal journey.

My example of a narrative music video is: Rudimental - Waiting All Night feat. Ella Eyre

This music video was chosen because it is a very good example of a narrative music video and it shows the journey of a BMX rider who loses a leg and it shows his recovery and how he manages to live with his inhibitor. This video has a strong narrative which is why i chose it as it gives the audience the message that if you put your mind to it you can overcome anything.