top of page

GENRE RESEARCH

Definition: Kind or sort of a particular media text, texts grouped a loosely defined set of codes and conventions

 

A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Averagely they last 3 minuets long and is usually used for marketing purposes but they also tie-in into other promotional media products such as posters to become more than a song. Music videos date back to first appearing in 1920 but became popular in the 1980's when MTV based their format around music videos, prior to the 1980's they were called "illustrated song" or "song video". 

Alternative/indie - A style of music emerging from independent music backgrounds (small record labels) becoming popular in 1990. Alternative refers to the genre being different and distinct from mainstream music (the charts).

Indie rock - A genre of alternative music originating from America and the UK in 1980's. Originally indie meant independent record labels, indie was often interchangeable with alternative music. This style of music is low budget and is based on a "do it yourself" attitude towards the bands, but this leaves them freedom to explore sounds and different subject matters. Examples of bands include Nirvana. 

Indie pop - A music genre and a sub culture  originated from the UK, it relies heavily on the club and gig circuit. The style differs from its partner indie rock to an extent that it is more melodic and less aggressive than other indie songs.

 

Upon beginning the research section of our project we began researching some main areas of which would have to be included in the construction of our music video and all other music videos. The areas to consider are: genre, narrative and representation. Genre and narrative can be seen to link closely to one another which is why I've decided to evaluate them together. Genre also dominates over how narratives of music videos and almost all songs that we hear today are portrayed, genre can also help to enhance the narrative structure in press releases across the wide spread music industry. 

 

After having a look back through my AS work and the research I did towards it, I've decided that the most listened to and current music genres are: 

 

Pop music - this is possibly the most common genre of music that we have where all songs will have the same kind of feel good vibe to them and are easy to copy which is why a lot of pop songs can sound similar. 

 

Rock music - this is also a popular genre as it has done well to keep up with current pop music throughout the years to appeal to new audiences, whilst still keeping its original style for the excusing audiences that it has formed. 

 

Indie music - this genre is a specific one that tends to have fewer loyal fans and the majority of other fans being more unsteady with their feelings towards the genre, this can mean they go from loving it one minute to hating it the next.

 

Indie pop is now a developing sub genre in the music industry that I would like to look into further. During 2014 and 2015 this sub genre began to be more recognised with the public and it began to receive the legitimacy of genre that it deserved. People would argue that indie pop cannot be considered to be a genre by itself but just an almost hybrid of indie and pop, therefore does not quite fit perfectly into either genre. In the last 2-3 years this slowly developing genre has come into the public eye more and more, and even though people argue it cannot be classed as its own genre, it is still a style of music that is current and likeable. This developing sub genre is just a cog in the works of a growing inventory of genres and various codes and conventions of the genres. I would like to continue my research into this and apply it to my own work. 

 

After choosing indie pop as my choice in music sub genre to go along with my music video, I then decided to focus on the main artists that can be allocated to that genre.

 

In my research I will be looking further into a few of the previously mentioned artists, and how they use anticipated narratives and the genre to attract the expected target audience. Later in my "representation research" I will look closer into the demographic of people who make up the target audience. My "Main task - Textual analysis" will explain how most music videos will follow a story or be based off a live performance. Compared to even just 10 years ago, we have so many more technological advancements and editing software that allows for the development of music videos and genre as a whole.  As "indie-pop" is still very fresh in the music industry, taking this combined approach would most likely have a good outcome as audiences have been attracted to this approach to in many popular longs with coinciding music videos such as "Summertime sadness" Lana Del Rey being one of the most successful examples.

 

The expectations for an audience of alternative music would be a variety of shots for the cinematography such as long shots, mid shots, close ups, and also possibly some establishing and master shots. The expectations for the mis-en-scene would be costumes that could include edgy denim jackets and leather, also most artists may wear ripped jeans to again give off the "edgy" vibe. For lighting you may expect it to be very low key lighting or a concept we explored drying the preliminary FOR he construction task was using silhouette lighting, this was where a lighting box was lit behind the "artist", this could also be expected in alternative music.

 

For acting/behaviours/posture you could expect folded arms and a laid back posture, this would mostly be from a male but we want to break that stereotype by having a female. In terms of make up you would expect to see makeup that is not too heavy like in the rock genre but not superficial looking like pop, it would be somewhere in between. For props, you would likely expect to see guitars, cigarettes, microphones and alcohol, but as the alternative Indie pop genre covers such a wide variety of styles there is a chance they could use anything as a prop. For setting the same thing applies where anywhere could be an appropriate setting, however I have mostly seen fields, houses and cars used as the setting. 

 

Editing can vary depending on the band, but most likely discontinuity or continuity editing is used, but this again can vary depending on whether the music video has a narrative or not. The sons you would expect from alternative music is a rougher sound compared to other music and also a louder sound, similar to but still softer than rock. Fonts, if used, would most likely be in an edgy font, with almost an eroded/eroding look to it, and colour what it would usually be in either black and white or less commonly but still used it may be in a pastille colour, usually a colour that won't stand out so much. 

 

For a general music videos cinematography you may expect to see shots of the artist singing to the camera (audience) and then contrasting shots showing the narrative of the video, if it has one. The mise en scene for music videos as a whole usually depends on the genre. Costume will always depend on genre, for pop music videos you may expect to see the artists in more main stream cloths similar to what most teenagers may wear, this is usually the norm of what people will wear. Or contrasting to this for rock you may expect to see leather jackets and dark clothing, possibly metal on the clothes and rips in the clothing. For lighting again it will vary so for pop you may expect very bright lighting and more colourful, but for rock it would most likely be dark and low key lighting. For acting/behaviours/posture, it varies again, so for pop you would expect the artist to be energetic, to dance or move more and be smiling most of the time, however for rock their posture may be more twisted or upright for the tension that comes along with the genre, and they are more likely to have a blank expression or to come across as angry. For make up it varies further, as for pop you expect possibly colourful eyeshadow and lipstick, a very polished and superficial look, but for rock it is very heavy black makeup which is usually either made up into shapes that surround the eyes or it will be smudged. Props used again varies depending on the genre, for classical you may expect to see a piano, or another classical instrument being using in the song, and for rock you may expect to see electric guitars. 

 

 

Theorists - 

 

Steve Neale - steve Neale speaks about iconography as a tool of the media industry, for example, he talks about how using symbolism and visual imagery helps the audience to understand the genre, for example by using a gun and cowboy hat in a western movie we understand that these equal the western genre. 

 

Therefore we will aim to use this within our own work, we plan to use the iconography from the indie genre within our work, for example, the indie genre uses a lot of indie symbolism, for example, the costume codes and conventions of demin jackets and ripped jeans.

 

 

Hybridization - the fusion of more than one genre, whilst we do not plan to use more than one genre within our music video, it may be that the audience identifies more than one genre within our work through codes and conventions the audience sees. but this would not be the main genre within our work it may perhaps be a meta-genre (a genre within a genre) or a sub-genre (in the case of one genre being more dominant than another) for example ROM COM (romantic comedy). or movie Warm Bodies which would be a zombie romantic comedy or lord of rings which is a action adventure fantasy.

 

The process of mixing and matching visual and audio signifiers to create a hybrid is called bricolage.

 

Film genres come in and out of fashion but never really die cause they repackage and conventions become cliche and therefore genres undergo natural evolution and audiences get bored an example of this in today's film industry is sequels, prequels and reboots.

 

This process can be split into 4 categories/stages:

 

STAGE 1 - PRIMITIVE GENRE

Without primitive (can't have parodic)

Earliest type of genre

establishes conventions to follow

this is usually a powerful film of its time but might seem slightly naive now

 

STAGE 2 - CLASSICAL 

Genre rules established with in public conversations and conventions add richness to narrative and filmmaker is unlikely to question or manipulate them, these films are never cheesy and always work. EG GANGSTER MOVIE - GODFATHER

 

STAGE 3 - REVISIONIST

The filmmaker uses codes and conventions to question and undermine the genre itself, play with the codes and conventions of the genre and can subvert them for the pleasure of the audience. EG GANGSTER MOVIE - LOCK STOCK or within music R+B which was primitively slave music but now entertains the likes of Rhianna.

 

 

STAGE 4 - PARODIC

films in this stage fully recognise genre conventions as cliche and mock them for this reason. the results is that the audience must fully understand genre conventions to be in on the joke and enjoy the film EG SCARY MOVIE OR AIRPLANE.

 

Daniel Chandler - 'The Problem of Definition'

 

Chandlers theory is there is so many genre's now days that it is hard to define the end and beginning brackets of each genre for example war and action are so similar where does one end and start another issue chandler highlights is the issue of some audiences counting some hybridizations as their own genre now like rom com therefore its hard to define what is a sub genre or a genre on its own.

 

Henry Jenkins - Hybridisation

 

Jenkins believes it is important for genres to become more diverse by the use of hybridization and that genres should expand and the word genre should not be understood as rules and restrictions but as a guideline that does not have to be stuck to.

 

 

 

 

 

bottom of page