Three Rock music videos- 'The Weekend' by Modern Baseball, 'Say It Ain't So' by Weezer, 'Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin' by Reuben
One the most conventional features of any Rock video is a performance of some kind. Where as in other genres such as Electronica or boy bands the focus is either on how the crowd interact with the music or the members of the band itself, the genre of Rock is based around real, physical instruments being played by musicians and so the music video of this genre reflects this. In all three videos footage of a live performance of the band playing the track is used. Not only does this link to the genre's focus on real musicians playing instruments but it also provides the audience with an idea of how the band perform live thus advertising the band by encouraging viewers to go and see them play at a show. A performance helps to excite and engage with the audience as it isn't something that is used exclusively with all other genres and furthermore helps create an effective video. Additionally a performance allows the band members to portray how much passion they feel when the play the music. This can be seen in all three music videos- band members moving with the beat of the music and singers singing with passionate looks on their faces. By doing this it portrays the band as being passionate and genuine in reagrds to their music and furthermore helps to sell the band.
Over time Rock videos have evolved and changed and furthermore conventions and characteristics of the rock music video have also changed. Where as in the 60s-80s, Rock bands and their members were portrayed as extremely powerful and typically different to their audiences in their videos, in many modern Rock videos the opposite is apparent; producers want the band to seem as ordinary as possible so people identify with the band. This 'ordinarification' of Rock bands and their members is clear in all three of these music videos but is most apparent in 'Say It Ain't So' by Weezer. The mise en scene of the music video creates this average tone. All the members are dressed in very common, casual outfits (clothes the everyday person could easily have), the music video seems to be set in an ordinary, slightly messy kitchen (hence someone taking something out of the fridge mid-video) and the actions of band members -such as the lead singer scratching his eye during a shot- are very natural and relaxed. By doing this the band are portrayed as ordinary, average people and s a consequence are seen as very relatable. Furthermore this promotes and sells them making the music video effective.
In all three videos, conventional music video editing techniques and camera movement are used to convey an energetic and passionate tone. In almost every genre of music video, quick, synchronised cutting between shots is used to both convey a sense of movement and energy in the video but also to hold the audiences attention. The genre of rock is no different and this quick cutting to the beat of the track is used throughout all three videos. The movement of the camera in the videos is also conventional for Rock videos. By using a mixture of panning, dolly and handheld shots, each music video incorporates movement in its shots. Rock videos typically do this to both tell the viewer that the band is wild, energetic and fun but also to emulate a show, helping to sell the bands live performances. These techniques are especially clear in the video for 'The Weekend' by Modern Baseball. Almost every shot is dynamic in some way, either through controlled panning or dolly shots or through the use of handheld cameras. This links to the songs upbeat and active tone as it portrays movement thoroughly throughout the video. By using camera movement and editing to create a vibrant, dynamic tone in music videos it helps to sell the band as an exciting, enjoyable act.
The Modern Baseball and Weezer videos focus on the alienation and 'geekiness' of the band members to appeal to their target audience. By making the members of the band appear as ordinary and almost nerdy as possible, teenagers (the target audience) will relate to them and feel they can connect with them. For instance the ordinary clothing and everyday location used in the Weezer video makes them seem like a group of normal people. Combine this with a man going about his washing in the background the performance adds a sense of reality. As well as this there is an aspirational aspect to the performance. By making the band members seem like ordinary people, audiences will start aspiring to be like the performers and play in bands such as in Weezer or have great parties such as in the Modern Baseball video.
As a whole, the three videos I chose use conventional techniques and aspects of other modern rock videos. The reason for this could be explained by Andrew Goodwin who stated that "Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics". Furthermore the videos I chose met these conventional aspects as they help portray modern Rock as a whole. for instance there was performance in all of three videos because Rock performers play instruments live on stage, the mise en scene in the videos portrayed the members as ordinary people because that's the aesthetic of modern rock bands and conventional editing and camera movement is used to emulate the energetic real life performances of these bands. Andrew Goodwin also stated that "The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist" meaning that close ups are used to give a clear, unmissable advertisement of the band. This is true throughout all three music videos. Close ups and extreme close ups of band members -especially lead singers- faces are used to clearly advertise the band to potential customers. Music Videos in essence are simply devices used to help promote and sell music and so devices such as closeups are almost always used.
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