The first music video I have chosen to analyse is Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' which is a spoof or parody of a horror film. 'Thriller' uses the codes and conventions of the the horror genre, such as it being set when it's dark, fog being used and also the use of zombies in some scenes. The form of this text is both performance and narrative. The video is 14 minutes long which is unusual for a music video, and is made out to be more of a short feature film. The video is also shot in the style of a typical 50/60's horror film, and we can see this through the mis-en-scene used. An example of this would be the costumes used to dress the zombies, but also the use of the graveyard. Although this video is a spoof, it uses dance sequences which is a typical music video feature.
The narrative of this video is mainly based upon two intercutting storylines, one being the boy who turns into a werewolf in front of his steady girlfriend and proceeds to chase her, which then turns out to be a film that the boy and girl are watching. The boyfriend then turns into a zombie and performs a dance for the terrified girl. The girl in 'Thriller' is stereotypically portrayed as being the damsel in distress of some sorts, and is a binary opposite of the evil that keeps chasing her.
Micheal is dressed in red throughout the song, which could connotate danger, and we also see the events through what appears to be a point of view shot when Michael is dancing. From my own knowledge I know that this video was broadcasted on MTV and was made for that reason, so focusing on the artist would promote not only the song but Michael himself, and by not making the main character the protagonist like other music videos, the music video would be easily remembered.
The next video I chose to analyse is REM's 'Losing my religion'. The ideology of this video is men becoming false gods and therefore people losing faith in their religion. This can be seen in the scene in which men make angel wings, destroying god's divinity, and also when the old aged angel has his wig taken off; it ruins the illusion and destroys people's beliefs.
The narrative is based around the lyrics and is a projection of desires from the audience to the people on the screen, which is conventional of a music video, and takes the form of a post modern, narrative text.
The video begins with a long shot of two members of the band, and includes diegetic sound of water dripping. There are then numerous pans to the other members of the band, and the sound of the roof shaking. Throughout this piece medium close-ups are used to promote the artist/s, and the editing cuts to the beat, using fast transitions. The cuts used are also based on the narrative, such as cutting to scenes of men, gods and angels. The mise-en-scene is very bleak, using an abandoned house that perhaps connotes abandoning religion itself, and the rain and the beginning could be a form of pathetic fallacy, reflecting the mood of the characters. Additionally, the background used for the scenes in which the men are building the angel wings is red, which connotes danger, evil and possibly hell. This is a binary opposite to the parts in which the Gods are shown, which are vibrant and have lots of gold and silver colours, which connote good and heaven.
Lastly, I am going to analyse Madonna's video 'Vogue', shown below that has mostly dance genre characteristics. Madonna is an American singer/songwriter and entrepenuer. Her debut album was in 1983. The ideology of this video is portraying the famous faces of Hollywood, (shown in the mention or reference to famous old Hollywood stars) and also about being beautiful and enjoying fashion which is also portrayed by using the word 'Vogue' itself, a successful magazine that is on the forefront of fashion. The text is in black and white which reflects the classic Hollywood theme but also an element of art-deco, and is in performance form, which then gives pleasure to the audience.
The hand gestures used during the chorus are also used to seperate the frame and the white character on the black background seperates the artist, and is binary opposite.
From the beginning the audience are shown pieces of art and both men and women dressed glamorously which is typical of the classic Hollywood genre and connotes class, this is then followed by fast cuts which are on time with the song to the artist and numerous close ups. Throughout the years Madonna has changed her image many times so using the music video is a good tool to promote her, and using close ups is a good way of making the audience focus on the artist more.
This text includes dance sequences which is a convention of music videos but also brought a new dance style to mainstream exposure called 'Voguing'.
Lastly, I am going to analyse Madonna's video 'Vogue', shown below that has mostly dance genre characteristics. Madonna is an American singer/songwriter and entrepenuer. Her debut album was in 1983. The ideology of this video is portraying the famous faces of Hollywood, (shown in the mention or reference to famous old Hollywood stars) and also about being beautiful and enjoying fashion which is also portrayed by using the word 'Vogue' itself, a successful magazine that is on the forefront of fashion. The text is in black and white which reflects the classic Hollywood theme but also an element of art-deco, and is in performance form, which then gives pleasure to the audience.
The hand gestures used during the chorus are also used to seperate the frame and the white character on the black background seperates the artist, and is binary opposite.
From the beginning the audience are shown pieces of art and both men and women dressed glamorously which is typical of the classic Hollywood genre and connotes class, this is then followed by fast cuts which are on time with the song to the artist and numerous close ups. Throughout the years Madonna has changed her image many times so using the music video is a good tool to promote her, and using close ups is a good way of making the audience focus on the artist more.
This text includes dance sequences which is a convention of music videos but also brought a new dance style to mainstream exposure called 'Voguing'.
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