NARRATIVE MUSIC VIDEO
media representations
This music video by paramore is a narrative form of structure as well as a performance form of structure.
There are a lot of characters in this music video. The main people being represented are the female singer of the band and the four other instrument players on the bands. The female artist is being represented as the villain and the four boys being the victims. The female is being represented in a negative way because she is given the role of playing the villain by kidnapping and poisoning her guests. The boys are been represented as vulnerable because the camera is using a high shot on them to make the female look more powerful. The institution of the band is Fueled by Ramen who is owned by the major record label Warner music group. The subjects are been represented this way as a narrative function of storytelling and to do a music video what is different to all there others. It gives them a chance to show the audience how fun and creative they are,because of this the representation is not accurate because its made up. There are no opportunities for self-representation because the music video is a narrative form so the artists are playing a specific role.
media language and forms
There are alot of references to god in this music video because of the cross necklace and the stickers with god on them in the car. This could be ironic because of the name of the music video 'playing god'. This shows the high level of meaning in the tiniest things in the music video what associate back to the name of the song.
The significance of the music videos connotations are high because it all links into the narrative of the music video for example the dark lighting in the basement of the house connotates a bad feeling and that something is not right. When it isn't because the 'villian' has tied up the four males. The close up of the singer pouring the drinks is significant because this is the drink what poisons the guests and makes them fall to sleep. The non verbal structures of the music video have a significant meaning because for example the characters facial expressions, in the first 12 seconds the lead singer has a blank worried expression on her face like she is going to do something sneaky. She also acts like she wants the audience to be involved in her plan when she looks into the camera whilst singing. When the boys are tied up their facial expressions are sad and dim just like they should be to express their situation. The clothing has a significant meaning in the music video because the boys black clothes connotate is a mystery,associated with fear and the unknown. It shows they are scared. The females clothing stands out more than anybody because of her red and black checkered dress the red part of the dress could connotate pain,passion,guilt and anger. The black on her dress could have connotations to religion because it is worn by religious figures like nuns and monks. Black also connotates power. All connotations what link with revenge which is one of the music video's theme. The smallest of props have meaning in the texts for example the magnifying glass because she is trying to make them feel smaller. The close up of the scissors and rope which later on are used to capture the boys. Then finally the teapot which holds the poison. The significance of the mise-en-scene is to create the genre of the music video and to creative a structure for the narrative. The Setting is significant because the basement is right under the house and it is the villains house. The soundtrack is helping the theme of the music video because the lyrics use the semantic field of god for example the words holy,believe and second chance. The dominant images in the music video are the shot at the table where it is the big impact of the narrative because its when you see the boys fall dramatically to sleep because of the poison. The shot were the magnifying glass is closing up on the picture is relevant to the text because in the next five seconds the person who she zooms in on,has his own chance to sing in the music video. The visual techniques of close ups are used to convey the meaning of important things in the music video,for example close ups of the god necklace which shows us the theme straight away. The editing techniques helps to keep continuity and make it look professional.
narrative
The music video is based on narrative with a small amount of performance added because of the music generic conventions. The narrative is structured into a beginning middle and end. It starts with the end scene at the beginning then shows you how it happens,it starts with a quite 'cup of tea' around a table what then turns into the poison effecting the drink which causes the boys to faint and fall to sleep. Then we see the boys tied up in the basement with the villain shouting at them with a magnifying class. Then the small performance clip is added of the boys and the lead vocal female singing and the males playing the instruments still with the ropes in the shot. It ends with the boys struggling to get out of the basement but the villain slams the door on them. The audience are positioned to know more then the actual characters because they see the poison been added to the drink and know what is going to happen. The characters are shown as villain and victims instead of heroes and villains. The villain is created by making the poison and the victims are created by been tied up. The techniques of identification and alienation are employed because there is a narrative and in every narrative even in a film you want to continue watching the plot to unfold and see how it ends. The role of the music in the music video is so the sound is clearer then just singing into the camera, It also creates a suspense in the narrative.The role of the iconography in the narrative is to create a theme of the music video. The genre role in the narrative is to make sure that there is codes and conventions what the audience expect of that genre. The mise-en-scene also helps the genre create a narrative. The editing within the narrative is to make the story have continuity and help the audience know whats happening without been too confused. The major themes of the music video are god and revenge because of the props used in the music video,like the scissors,the,rope and the cross necklace. Also the lyrics give us a idea that god and revenge are the themes.
It embodies values that its up to you if you believe in god or not but on the other hand it could embody that its a bad thing if you do not believe in him because that is why the boys are been punished.
genre
The genre of this band and this music video is rock with the sub-genre of alternative rock the major generic conventions within the text are instruments like drums and guitars which the boys play in the basement. Other generic conventions of rock are the the mise-en-scene the clothing worn in a rock video is usually whatever suits the artist best. They don't have to be manufactured like in other genre's they make there own statement like the female singer in this music video she has pink hair but through out the years she has had orange,blonde and even red hair. The major icon-graphic features of the text what related to the genre are the crazy lady gaga themed glasses which is very abstract and weird and describes the whole poisoning situation as weird. The little tea cups that they are drinking from remind me of Alice In Wonderland which could explain how this narrative could possibly not happen in the 'real world'. The major generic theme is revenge because revenge is a negative evil thing and rock is seen 'dark music'. The female is generically determined because of her wild pink rocky hair and weird old fashioned clothing. The audiences generic expectations of the music video are fulfilled because of the type of music,the mise-en-scene and camera shots. This concludes in the music video conforming to the characteristics of the genre
media instiuations
The institutional source of the text is the record label fueld by ramen. It has been influenced by the institution because they are famous for there rock bands and creative music videos for example they have also owned Fall out Boy,Versa Emerge and gym class heroes. Paramore have been the most successful rock band who fueld by ramen own so they will want to promote them and this music video as much as they can. Warner brothers music owns Fueld by ramon which means more promotion from a major record label. The music has been distributed on fueld by ramons YouTube account,paramores YouTube account,facebook and twitter and music channels.
media auidences
The text is addressed to music fans,fans of paramore and fans of rock.
The target audience has a wide range from 14-30 because of how long Paramore have been around and rock was a big popular genre in the 1970's so the people born then will want to carry on listening to their favourite music genre. Also rock is a more popular genre in America,a lot popular than pop. Males are stereotypically big fans of rock music but on the other hand Hayley Williams (lead singer) has a lot of female fans who look up to her as a idol. The SEG of the music video is B-D because of the mise-en-scene of the video it looks like a upper class house,and the clothes they are wearing are very sophisticated. The audience are likely to receive the text in a positive interested way because the music video has a narrative what involved the audience by wanting them to guess whats going to happen next. This doesn't impact upon the formal characteristics because its just a convention of any music video with a narrative. I assume that the size of the audience for paramore is world wide because they have toured in places like Australia,America,the UK and japan. They are one of the biggest rock bands,and most successful for having a rock band with a female vocalist. Analysing this music video influenced me to make sure my character has a distinctive image. Also to make sure there is a small narrative because narratives always involve the audience who is the person you are promoting the video to.
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