Research - Genre Theory

I have been studying genre theory in class. This post applies the different genre theories I have looked at to music video's I have researched so that I am able to apply them to my own production this year.

Iconography:
In Jay-Z's video for 'On To The Next One', there is a lot of iconography used throughout. The genre of music is Rap/HipHop and Iconography is used to represent this sort of culture. As this specific genre often refers back to wealth/money, women and and general gang/youth culture, Jay-Z has used these as clear icons through the video. The screenshots below show very clear and intended icons of money and cars. Although the shot of the money only lasts very briefly suggesting less importance, the shot of the cars leads on to more shots of the car in sequence. He has also used a lot of the number 3 in this video as this represents the name of his album 'The Blueprint 3'. In the screenshot below, the money is being held together by 3 elastic bands, a subtle icon of the number 3.

Utopian Pleasures:

The video for 'I'm A Bore, Mostly' by Deaf Havana can be seen to show certain 'Utopian Pleasures' theory.  This video can be seen to show both sides of the theory: 'Social Tension' and 'Utopian Fantasy'. Social Tension can be seen through the setting, it is an derelict building covered in graffiti and slowly falling apart. This relates to the themes of 'Exhaustion', 'Dreariness' and 'Fragmentation'. The building is very empty and in the middle of no where, surrounded by fields, with no other buildings to be seen suggesting themes of 'Scarcity'. The colours used for these shots are very dark and desaturated with the lead singer, James, being the only one in shot, again suggesting 'Dreariness'. 

On the other hand, Utopian Fantasy can also be seen in this video. The shots of the band all together is in bright, vibrant colours suggesting 'Intensity', 'Community' and 'Energy'. The shots of the people all runing together suggest 'Community' and 'Energy 'and that they are all running together and are there for each other, like in the shot below of the family.

Repertoires Of Elements:

Young Guns' 'Stitches' can be analysed in terms on the 'Repertoires of Elements' genre theory. This theory recognises elements than can be seen in other products of the same genre. In this example, there are a huge amount of different shots all edited together using fast cuts, which is an element that can be found in many rock music videos. The band members in this video wear quite plain but dark, casual clothing which is an element repeated in this particular genre, often just jeans and a T-shirt. The location used for the performance shots is quite dark with strong/high contrast lighting. This has been shot in quite a basic location without many details or distractions. Below I have compared a performance shot from this video to another video (Mallory Knox - Resuscitate) of a similar genre to show this theory in use.

Macro Genre/Micro Conventions:

The video for 'Into Your Arms' by The Maine is an example of the 'Micro Conventions' and 'Macro Genre' theories. Macro Genre for music videos states that they can be categorised into either Performance, Narrative, Experimental and Animation. The video for 'Into Your Arms' challenges this by falling into both Narrative and Performance categories. However instead of filming both in separate shots, this video uses them both at the same time as the band are playing in the location where the narrative is going on. In terms of Micro Conventions, this video can be classes as a 'hybrid-genre' of performance and narrative rather than in terms of musical genre.

Defining Criteria:

Although I have not researched this video, Weezer's 'I Want You To' is an example of the Defining Criteria genre theory. This theory states that videos are made to fit a certain purpose depending on the genre. The genre of this music video is alternative, meaning that it is a different musical genre to defined genres such as pop or rock. This means that there are no real set conventions to follow. The narrative of this music video follows quite a funny, comical idea. This video follows the 'Intended Affect' criteria of the theory and is intended to make people laugh. This has been done through accidents that happen in the narrative to the band members and editing to exaggerate them as well as putting their heads onto children's bodies.

Research - Barthes' Codes

CODES & CONVENTIONS:

Music videos also follow codes and conventions. In class we have looked at Barthes' five codes: Enigma, Action, Semic, Symbolic and Cultural. The majority of music videos will follow at least one of these codes.

Enigma:

The enigma code is used to keep the audience guessing by holding back information. It makes the audience question what is going on, adding a sense of mystery. The enigma code can be presented in 5 different ways: a 'snare' is when information misleads the audience; 'equivocation' is a snare followed by the truth; 'partial answer' makes the audience want to know the whole truth; 'suspended answer' almost gives the truth (like a cliffhanger) and 'jamming' doesn't explain what has happened in a text at all.

An example of enigma in a music video would be: Tyler The Creator - 'Yonkers' giving a jamming enigma as the video does not tells us why he kills himself at the end or eats the cockroach.

Action:

The action code consists of a series of events that lead into one another with logical consequences. It allows the audiences to follow the narrative and sometimes be able to predict what may happen next. This makes the audience want to watch on and find out what happens next. 

An example of action code in a music video would be: Katy Perry - 'Hot N Cold' with the wedding and chasing the groom through the streets as a result of his response suggesting he doesn't want to marry her.

Semic: 

The semic code is where the text connotes something. Whether is be a prop or setting it allows the audience to make assumptions about the narrative such as where it is set or what will happen between two characters. It can also give the audience hints as to what type of genre or narrative structure will be. 

An example of semic code in a music video is Kanye West - 'Power'. This video put him in the center, surrounded by angles and women. There is a halo above him and he appears to be in the clouds. This video is representing him as a God like figure and connotes he is all powerful.

Symbolic:

Symbolic code is a bit like binary opposition. A narrative may use a character or object that may not be the expected or typical first thought. It allows the audience to question why it has been used instead of something else. It breaks the expectations and gets the audience interested and actively thinking throughout the text. 

An example of symbolic code in a music video can be seen in Kanye West - 'Monster' as women are shown to be the 'monsters' or evil whereas usually we associate bad, evil characters to be primarily male. 

Cultural:

The cultural code is where the audience viewing the text must know of a previous event/person/text in order to understand the new text they are viewing. An example of this would be having seen a film the watching a spoof film of that film. It can also refer to specific people or eras in time and even events in the real world. It requires background knowledge from the audience in order to fully understand the text.

And example of cultural code in music video would be: All Time Low - 'I Feel Like Dancing' as it refers back to famous music videos already made at the end (Katy Perry, Lady Gaga etc). It also refers to the music video for Cobra Starship's 'Guilty Pleasure' by having the desk and board coming up with music video ideas however this video is lesser known.

Research - Narrative

Narrative Research
In class we have been studying narrative. We have looked at the different genres of music videos and the different codes and conventions that narrative has. 
GENRE:
The three different genres music videos can be are performance, narrative and experimental.
Performance: 
In music videos performance genre is where the bad or singer is seen to be performing the song whether it be singing and or playing instruments. This genre is usually added with another genre to make a hybrid genre of two or even three combined. An example of a performance only music video would be The Dangerous Summer - 'Work In Progress'.
Narrative:
Music videos often use narrative to show a story or act out a seres of events. Narrative in music videos often matches or is cut to the beat of the song to make sure that it doesn't look like a short film. To help this, narrative is often mixed in a hybrid genre with performance to reinforce the fact it is a music video. However, an example of a narrative only music video would be Ed Sheeran - 'The A Team'.
Experimental:
Experimental genre is probably the most rare to come across. Experimental genre means having no real meaning or story like narrative genre has, it's just a series of random events or objects that don't relate to the song. It is usually mixed with another genre, mainly performance or both to create a hybrid genre. An example of the experimental genre in a music video would be Red Hot Chili Peppers - 'Can't Stop'.

Research - Media Theories

Media Theories:

Two Step Flow: First introduced by Paul Larzarfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet in 1944. It suggests that media travels in two individual stages. Firstly, individual people who look closely at the media/specific text absorb it and the information it is conveying. Next, they pass on their own interpretation as well as the media text themselves. 'Personal influence' is the term used to describe the intervention between what the media is directing and the audiences reaction to the message of the media text. 'Opinion leaders' (individuals who give their personal influence) influence a wider audience to change the way they behave towards the text or their attitude towards it. The people they influence often have similarities in their characteristics. This theory has improved the understanding of how people can influence a mass audience and their decision making. Using this theory it is easier to predict audience behaviour towards a text and helped to explain why some media messages failed to change audience behaviour. 


Reception Theory: This theory provides a better understanding about how texts are read by audiences. It can help to understand the experience of going to the cinema or reading a certain text etc. and how meaning is created through that. A main concept of the reception theory is that the media text has no permanent meaning. Instead meaning is created by the interaction between the viewer and the text as the viewer processes the text. It argues that contextual factors rather than textual factors influence the viewer more. These contextual factors include where and when the viewer is viewing the text, the viewers identity, thoughts about the text before viewing, the genre or production of the text and social/political/historical issues. This theory places the viewer in context and considers all other influential factors that might change the way the viewer creates meaning from the text. 


Hypodermic Needle: This theory is also described as a 'Magic Bullet' or 'Hypodermic Syringe'. It is a model of how media communicated with it's audience and how the audience is affected. This theory states that the media text intends to send a specific message to it's receivers and that the people receiving the message instantly accept that message. It is described as a needle shooting the information into the mid of it's receiver. It has never been accepted very widely, however. This theory was based on assumptions of human behavior rather than study and research. The assumption was that humans were controlled by biological instincts in which they would then react to instantly. This theory applies to more of a passive audience who are more vulnerable towards media. 


Uses & Gratifications: This theory looks at what people do with media rather than what the media does to them. It focuses on the consumer of the media text and says that audiences are responsible for choosing what media they decide to view as it is done to meet their own needs. Audiences take an active role in what media they want to have in their lives and use that media for specific gratifications. The media compete with each other who provide similar information or messages so that they make sure the audience view their piece of media rather than from an alternative source. In todays society, people have a slight sense of pressure to know facts from the media which motivates the media to provide them to fulfill these needs. Media dependency happens when a text meets more needs than one that many only meet a few. The more alternative sources of information reduces the amount of media dependancy.