Music video Genres

Music genres:

There is a style and category for everything especially music. In this blog post I am going to introduce and analyse different music video genres.

HIP HOP MUSIC:

The audience for this is unisex. The age range is from 12 -40. The genre tends to be quite negative and rebellious.The genre was started in the streets of new York in the 1970's. Over time hip hop has become one of the most popular music genres in the world. The genre has produced some of the most influential musicians of all time. Rappers like: Tupac, Eminem, Nas, Krs One etc.


The music videos of hip hop usually portray strong violence. This could be because of the background of the genre. There are elements within the genres music videos that makes it conventional.  The audience for hip hop music videos will start from teenage years or younger, 11-40 at least. The cinematography that will be used mainly is a close up shot, it helps to emphasise the artist image or what is being rapped about.` A pan shot will also be used to show the hip hop audience what is occurring in the music video. The sound of the music video will usually be upbeat and mellow, it depends on the rap artist. Slow editing is usually used  to build up tension of what is going to happen in the music video. Low-key lighting will be used to represent the background of the music genre, which is quite depressing. The character in the hip hop music video will be a young rapper as the main attraction. The common themes that will be violence,drugs and women.  Usually the music video will be performance based with the main focus being on the artist. At times it could be narrative or concept based.

 

 

POP MUSIC :

 

 

Pop music means the music that is popular among a global audience. The audience for this would be unisex, in some cases it could be just girls(in the case of one direction).

 

 For the music video, the cinematography that will be used for the pop music videos is close up shot. This would be for the star image motifs as the artist face is being recognised in the pop music video. The usual sound for pop music will be upbeat as the genre is usually cheerful and optimistic. The editing will be normal for this genre. Within mise en scene , the artist would wear bright coloured clothing  to connote the background mood of the genre. Also, there would be high key lighting to suggest the upbeat mood in the music. The characters in the music video will be a young good looking artist, this goes back to Goodwin's theory of notion of looking (especially female artists). The themes that will be mainly sung about in pop music videos will be love, fame and sex. This would be a performance based music video usually. Focus is mainly on the artist.

 





 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Music:

 

 

Jazz music has been a well respected genre that originated from the New Orleans. Jazz music for the audience is very relaxed and laid back, which is the reason for it's attraction. The genre has produced legends like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and so on.

 

As for the music video, the target audience would be 40 years or older. The music video will usually include the musicians. A panning shot will be used to emphasise the jazz band playing. A close up shot will also be used so that the musician will be recognised. The sound of the music will be mellow usually as it will reflect the mood. The editing will be slow. Concerning mise en scene , suit clothing will be worn by the male musician while long gown dress will usually be worn by the female jazz musician in the music video. The character will usually be elderly male or female performing on stage. The common themes that will be sung in jazz music videos will be: love, childhood, and society.  

 





 

 

 

 

ROCK MUSIC:

Rock music is a global and well respected genre that has grown in the 20th century, when it started in the 1950's. Different forms of rock have been formed in the last century. Heavy- metal, death metal, rock n roll etc. The music videos would fulfil it's generic conventions.

 The audience for this genre will be unisex. The age range will be from 14 to 40.

 

The cinematography for the music video will include a panning shot to view the artists and to view what is occurring in the music video. The editing will be fast to combine with the fast tempo of the genre. The sound will be noisy and upbeat. In mis en scene (modern days), the costume of the artist will be dark clothing to represent the gothic side of the genre. The character will usually be a band playing, which features a actor or actress. The common themes that will be portrayed is love, pain and anger. The music video will be performance based as the band is performing. At times, it could be concept for the genre can sound quite surreal.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: 

Artist have to stick to their generic conventions, or else they risk losing their fan base. In conclusion, this has shown me the way in which music videos operate and how they are used to promote the genre as well as the artist. The genre I would like to do is hip hop music.