Location List

Location List

 1. Bedroom I decided to use my bedroom at my grandmas for the first verse and second. The bedroom is large so it is ideal for setting up a tripod. The walls are cream and pink, these light colours means the bedroom is a light room as in my video the brighter is it the less 'noise' that is shown on the video. The bedroom also has a vintage and girly theme to it which I thought looks nice for the mise-en-scene. It also has sky lights above the mirror which I wanted to use in the bridge part of the song. There are also fairy lights wrapped around the headboard which I wanted to use in the first verse.

 2. Kitchen The kitchen at my grandmas is large so I can get medium-long shots, it also has sky lighting in-case I need extra lights. For the kitchen scene I wanted the main character sat down at the work bench and the other girl to be dancing around her having fun, but from the image we can see that they don't seem to be in the same 'place' or mind-set.

 3. Outdoor, Back garden I wanted a muddy setting for this scene where the artist can wipe mud on their face and dig their hands into the mud. Because I have a pet pig who has dug up the garden a bit the bottom of my garden was ideal for this scene. Also as it is winter months while I'll be filming I needed to pick a location where the actors can go inside quickly because of the cold.

Audience Research

I created a survey to my audience which will help me gather data on people's opinions and thoughts relating to music videos. 

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SQRDJNL


Response:

Survey: Audience Research from Georgina Fenton

Storyboard

Cinematography

Before filming I researched cinematography techniques which helped develop my story board as it gave me an idea of the different shots available to me. It also gave me chance to practice shooting with the camera, for example, shooting extreme close-up's I could get a sense of how zoomed in the camera could go. It gave me insight into which what shots were appropriate and which wasn't.

Initial Ideas

1. My first idea was to focus on narrative and have two main characters. In the story the 'performer' (girl one) seems to be having a unstable relationship with girl two. Girl one is unable to see why girl two would love someone like herself, because she has this mindset her automatic reaction is to push her away and not accept any love from her. This process will be shown in the two different verses, in the first one girl one will smother girl two as a way of 'blocking' her out. This would be a bedroom scene. The next  verse would be set in a kitchen, girl two is cooking or baking and 'dancing' and 'singing' in the kitchen to girl one, she will appear to be having a good time however girl one will be sat looking 'disconnected' from the 'fun' and 'enjoyment' and instead seems frustrated with herself and the other girl as she cannot understand why girl two likes her. The chorus will be set in a muddy garden and have girl one performing (lip-syncing) the effect of the mud is to show 'inside her mind' and get a visual look at the 'darkness' she describes in the song. At the end I plan on showing girl two to 'break through' to girl one who finally accepts her love and herself. I plan to show this through the 'bridge' part of the song where girl two will remove and wipe away any mud on girl one's face to show she is 'removing the doubt' at the end I intend to have the 'ends' to the two verse sequences in which the first one will end with girl two removing the pillow she was 'smoothered' with and hugging the other girl, the kitchen scene will end with girl two wrapping her arms around girl one to show safety. The final scene will be the two girls laid 'head to head' and for the final chorus the lipsync will change from girl one to girl two. .

2. My second idea was to go for a more abstract concept with no narrative or particular meaning. This would be mostly done with artistic intentions where I planned to use elements such as, water, paint, dye, flowers, crushed makeup and other pieces. I would then use effects like slow-motion, reversing the video and time-lapse to create visually appealing and interesting shots. This would give me a lot of freedom with the types of filming and editing I could use. However when making an abstract video it has to keep the audience’s attention and has to be visually appealing as there is no storyline to become involved in the audience have to like what they are seeing. Also I would have to consider how many different shots and different 'elements' I would need as the beat is quite fast therefore my edits would be quick, to keep the audiences interest I would want a variety of abstract shots.

3. My third idea was to focus on the performance side of the video. This would include having the main artist lip-sync to the song, for this I would create a bright and 'funky' image for my artist as the song is quite upbeat. I would also look to put a dance performance into the video; this would be two of my friends who have done dance all their life. I intend to not only show a dance but create one which tells a bit of a story whether love or acceptance. However the video would not have much of a narrative story to follow as I wanted to stick to the video being about the artist’s image and the dance performance. For this idea I would use lots of different outfits and 'looks' for the main artist, I would experiment with makeup, glitter and generally outlandish 'get-ups'. This would be to grab the audience’s attention, also regular background and outfit changes would keep the audience’s attention.

Textual Analysis Video 2

Hypnotic by Zella Day is under the alternative/indie pop category, the same genre of my chosen song and the music video I analysed in my other textual analysis.
The music video does have a western theme to it, this is reinforced by the mise-en-scene through location and costumes. Throughout the video this theme is reinforced although the song isn't a country song so therefore we see a genre cross-over. The initial start of the song sounds similar to the 'cowboy standoff' tune which is played in films when there are two characters having a stand-off.
In the beginning we see an over the shoulder shot from the back of the girl in the car (0.5) The effect of this cinematography brings the audience into the car with her as we can see things from her point of view as we are looking past her shoulder out of the dash board. Outside it is just a horizon however in the next shot after her car breaks down (0.12) we are put back in the same position and see a figure, we are seeing this from her point of view so are unaware who it is.

The next shot is a long-distance establishing shot where we see her car and a man on a horse in front of her. It appears like a 'stale-mate' or standoff situation, like mentioned above with the western theme reinforced. I think in this shot it is key to look at the mise-en-scene. Her car is black and his horse is white, however he is dressed in all black. Black is normally associated with villains and evil and white is seen as a pure, innocent and good colour. As he is dressed in black we may assume he is a villainous character however the white horse could make us uncertain in this so at this point the audience may feel confused about whether they trust him or not. We see the stereotypical western items, the bull horns on the front of the car, the cowboy hat, the horse and the cowboy boots. When she gets out of the car we see she is dressed in all black, she wraps a fur coat around her but once she reaches the horse and the man she drops it. This could signify that she is letting go of any protection and revealing herself to him. When she gets out of the car a shot is shown of the horse and man, the camera zooms out, it then changes to her as she puts her coat on and zooms in on her face. This zoom suggests that she is focused on the man and is desiring him. The audience is brought into her face and we can see her smile confirming that the other view was probably her point of view. It can also show how the man sees her and how she sees him.
When he carries her into the tent it is dark and the tent cloth appears slightly red, this could suggest that he doesn't have good intentions or there is danger inside the tent.

When the chorus starts Zella performs and lip-syncs to the song, this is a convention of alternative pop because it means the artist is selling their song through performance and the audience may be more engaged. In the narrative she is also the main character which does conform to the conventions of having the artist as the main character and performer. This is so that the attention and all focus is on the artist and it helps them to sell and create their star image.  This is similar to Melanie Martinez's video as she performs and lip-syncs whilst also being the main character in the narrative. When creating my own alternative pop video this is a convention I will consider as I think it is useful to reinforce the artist's image. [Picture insert]

The lighting used in the video shows how perspective of lighting can really be used to show someones emotions or how we perceive them. When the shot is directly on Zella the lighting circles around her face highlighting different parts of it. Here are some examples how in the same shot she appears differently:

The cinematography while she is lip-syncing shows aerial shots however they are moving to create this idea of hypnoses, which is the title of the song. The lighting also reinforces this with the various colours, creating moods and feelings for the audience.

With both videos they use video footage which appeared to be slowed down, this gives a smooth look to the video and there is more chance to show the narrative develop and give people time to understand it. When she is climbing onto the horse this is used, her movements seem to be slower than perhaps hopping onto a horse would normally be, this exaggerates the movements. In carousel it is also used when she is on the carousel in the bridge part of the song, the slow motion shows her struggle.

Textual Analysis Video 1

Carousel is an alternative pop music video and song. Performed by Melanie Martinez it is part of her first album Cry Baby. It was first released on her Dollhouse EP and the second music video she released. The song is based on the character Melanie created, 'Cry Baby' and her first love. She wanted it to be magical to capture those first love feelings, and yet still express the dark side of how toxic a one-sided relationship was. The music video does match the idea and images of the song lyrics which for alternative pop videos can be commonly the case. I'm going to do a textual analysis on the video as it is under the same genre as the song which I am looking to produce a music video for. We can analyse a video in terms of LIIAR: Language, institution, ideology, audience and representation. For my textual analysis I am going to focus on the four key areas, editing, cinematography, sound and mise-en-scene.

When we first see Melanie a long-shot is used to establish the scene she is in and show is her as a character. We can see from here her costume and surroundings. By showing this we can see how the rule of thirds is applied. at one side is blue lighting and at the other pink, she is in the middle of the shot. Possibly this could be showing the pink/blue gender stereotypes that she is in the middle of being herself and falling in love with a boy. Her posture makes her appear very 'lost' and confused. She is looking around like she is out of her depth. Her costume is very girly and makes her appear innocent and child-like (the big bow in hair and frilly socks) This portrays her as an vulnerable character. However looking at her hair, half is black and half is blue, the darkness of these colours could depict something darker about the situation or about the character.
At the beginning we see the editing of the horses in the carousel flashing, carousels are associated with the fun fair and children, having the quick flashes and dark background makes the audience feel unnerved and that there is a darker edge to the music video. The horses are lit up blue which could symbolize the male gender or connote sadness, coldness.

In this scene she is looking into a fun house mirror, the editing has duplicated the image and copied it onto the other side. This is effective as it confirms the idea that she is in a fun house, it also shows possible delusion, confusion and mystery from the 'warped' image. The lighting also adds to this image because it is dominantly pink/purple it sets a dark tone which matches the tune of the song.
Editing is used to make Melanie appear like she is 'floating' and chasing the man. The way this is used creates the idea that she has no control over where she is going but she is attracted to him and naturally follows him. Normally when you walk your feet go first however since her head and arms are first it shows how may not be thinking straight and is compelled to follow and reach out to what she wants.  

The editing here shows the man on the left fade out as she says 'It's like you disappear, where'd you go?' Which matches the lyrics. Also I like the effect of the fading out of him but the rest of the scene is the same, for my music video I am potentially looking at doing a similar edit in one of my scenes.  

In the carousel scene we can see that it relates directly to the lyrics with the song describing love as going 'round and round like a carousel' in the previous scene a ticket was offered to her. Now she is on the ride and he is stood in front of her, no matter how long they went on it for he would always be out of reach. The camera shows close-ups of her face and his while they are on here to show the emotion, she is almost speaking to him however his reaction shows that he isn't giving her anything back.

A close-up shows her hands bound in this scene. The colour of the rope, red, suggests love or danger or even both.This is because red is commonly connoted with these. The ropes show how she is stuck on the 'ride' in this case to him, she cannot leave him as she's fallen in love with him. 'Why did you steal my cotton candy heart'. Another theme of the idea of 'fun fair' with the 'cotton candy' there are also two girls on the carousel who are shown to be eating cotton candy. Throughout this song the lyrics commonly are matched in the imagery.

There is diagonal shot used in this image, it is part of a montage showing other diagonal shots and quick paced editing. This gives the audience a sense of unnerving and a dystopian feel. It has also changed the theme of editing where the bridge (or middle eight) occurs in the song. The bridge is the part where a conclusion or outcome of the narrative is generally shown and gives the audience time to reflect on the story. This is shown in the music video as we are beginning to see the ending to the story that she is stuck on the act of loving him and 'You threw it in this damned coin slot' gives the audience the idea that he was careless with her heart.
At the end of the bridge she throws up a pink luminous liquid. This shows how she feels like the love is making her physically sick a similar feeling to that of riding on a 'carousel' for so long that it makes you feel sick. It is almost like the video has been leading up to this point throughout the video, developing the idea that she is falling for this guy and eventually it has overwhelmed her.
The lighting changes after this point and the fun-fair lights have gone out. She is alone and gets off the ride looking around. The lighting is dark and has a blue tone, the lighting makes the audience feel as though she is lost and alone from the darkness. The blue can show a 'cold' and depressing feeling to the fair and her situation.The change of lighting to darkness reflects the creepy fairground theme which has been reoccurring throughout the song. Perhaps this shows a metaphor that love isn't always rosy and 'fun' there are dark parts to it and in her case there is.

In terms of editing the video uses a mixture between slow-motion edits and speeding up the shot. By creating a slower image it allows the audience more time to take in the narrative and see what is happening. From 2.55 onwards we can see that by slowing down the clip it emphasises how she is stuck. Slow motion can also be used to create a visual effect, throughout the video clips of fairground rides are used in slow motion, the fact the rides are empty gives a 'creepy' and 'disturbed' look. It is also aesthetically pleasing for the audience to see the mise-scene of the rides and location.

Overall the lyrics and the video match very well, the way it is presented is engaging and colourful. It does follow the conventions of alternative pop, we see the bright costumes which she wears including pinks, purples, high heels. All her clothing items are quite bold along with her make-up and hair appearance which makes her stand out. It follows the conventions that the narrative is the same in the lyrics and the video. Lip-syncing is also regularly used in alternative pop videos, throughout this video in some scenes it develops the narrative without her lip-syncing and in others she does lip-sync. There is also a performance part in the song where she is directly lip-syncing to the camera and not taking part in the narrative. These elements are what I can consider as I am creating my own alternative pop video. Therefore I will have to consider the structure when it comes to showing the story, lip-syncing and performing.
Close-ups show Melanie throughout the song which draw to her as the main focus and character, commonly in alternative pop videos there is lots of attention drawn to the artist and the appearance of them. We can see this in Carousel as Melanie's style as an artist is shown throughout the video and we see her as an image. This is always shown across all her videos as she has quite an unique style.

History Of Music Videos

A music video is a short film or video clip which accompanies music often called 'promos' as a main function is to promote the song with the use of visual imagery.

The first step towards musical videos was in 1894 when Edward B. Marks an Joe Stern sheet music publishers, as part of promotion for their song "The Little Lost Child", they hired electrician
George Thomas who used a magic lantern (an early model of a image projector) to project still images at live performances. The method became known as 'Illustrated Song'. Although not a music video as such, it was using media image to accompany a song in a live performance which to this day many artists have imagery and visual elements during their live performances.



There is debate surrounding when the first music video was produced. Some say Bob Dylan was the first music video as it was a promotional 2 minute video dedicated to a singular song and had no other purpose than to be a 'trailer'. However other artists had also taken this idea and created small promotional clips like The Beatles. To fully understand how music videos developed we have to recognise what came before which was the idea of promoting music through the use of film and how it progressed into today's modern day music videos.

In the 1950s Elvis, who never played outside of the USA, featured in a film as a way to reach out to fans internationally. It featured his songs but Elvis did not act as himself but a character. It was played in cinemas across the world however was not very highly rated. But this was an introduction to music and moving video imagery being played together for a purpose of selling the music unlike in the films industry where music was created for a certain film to help sell the film. More artists began to take to this idea as a way of promoting their music.

Cliff Richard in 1963 took the same idea where he created a movie called Summer Holiday, using 16 songs and musical numbers within the film. The film was the second most popular movie at the British box office in 1963, however this was not so in the U.S. Within the film Cliff also did not play himself and played a character.

After staring in their first feature film in 1964,  A Hard Day's Night , The Beatles starred in two more feature films and had begun to create promotional videos for their music to be distributed among the US and other countries so they cold promote their work without having to make appearances, this led to The Beatles stopping touring in 1966. Their work was highly thought of and in 1967 they released two colour promotional videos which 'took the promotional film format to a new level'. They used clever editing techniques like slow-motion, reverse camera, dramatic lighting and added colour filters in post-production. Later in the year they released their third film 'Magical Mystery Tour', written and directed by the band. It was shown on the BBC on boxing day however many of the film had colour as a main effect of the film, but unfortunately was aired in black and white. The film received a lot of criticism for its weak narrative however it still shows The Beatles as creative and innovative music video creators.




In 1967 Bob Dylan released a 45 minute film 'Don't Look Back'.   At the beginning of the film he included a 'trailer' which was unrelated to the plot and film. The song was "Subterranean Homesick Blues" a 2:18 clip yet was the first, many would argue, individual music video concept. Although the original idea was to be a promotional film, the music video was recognised by Rolling Stone in 1993's October Rolling Stone magazine in October 1993 in their list of  "100 Top Music Videos" showing even years later the stamp that this video has left on music video history. The video is one shot, Bob Dylan is famous for his lyrics therefore the video is focused on the lyrics of the fast paced song. Below is the trailer.


This video many argue was the pioneer of music videos, which I understand why people would think this. In the shot we have the rule of thirds, the workmen and scaffolding are to the left, the lyrics are central and Bob is to the right, highlighting the lyrics as the most important aspect, however I think the scenario to the left with the work men and scaffolding is still there to represent the working class and to be noticed. After researching I found it is set in the back alley behind a hotel. Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in Westminster, London still to this day. The irony in this video is that Dylan is filming at the back of the hotel, not the front which is a music video we would expect artists to take advantage of glamorous locations however Bob Dylan uses the back of the hotel which can represent Dylan's anti-establishment views.  Although not given a visual developing narrative with a plot the video through the use of mise-en-scene is still creating an ideology we cannot ignore. Bob Dylan is in a back-alley of city which appears quite dirty and like a rough area, from the clothing and the work man to the left generally this conveys the idea of the working class. Bob Dylan's outfit isn't over the top which I think helps him to relate with the audience particularly young males, his image isn't trying to say he's better than anyone because he's famous, like many people may feel is present in modern day music videos. On the cue cards which Dylan helped write, there is deliberate miss-spellings and puns. This could have multiple interpretations, perhaps Dylan waned to intentionally involve some imperfections to spark the audiences attention or it could be to go along with the 'rebellion' idea which is reflected in the lyrics. The pace of the song and movement of the lyrics keeps the audience engaged throughout the whole video therefore there is no need for any editing or different shots as the lyrical work alone is so effective and it has to be said it is impressive how the cue cards are in time with the lyrics. The monochrome video also creates this working-class look because the production company may not of had the money to create the video in colour however I think the lack of colour is effective means the bright white of the paper allows the bold black writing to stand out to the audiences eye.

1975 Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen released the first music video to be taped on magnetic video tape. This was a cheaper and quicker way to make music videos as there was no process of developing. The song spent nine weeks at number one showing how big of an impact their video had. This was played on television programme Top of the Pops which was based around live performances and miming. As the song was deemed hard to mime the band produced the video this also meant that the band did not have to make physical appearances on the show and could still reach their audience. After the success of Bohemian Rhapsody it became more regular for record companies to produce artists promotional videos in order to accompany single releases. Impressively the video was filmed in four hours and cost £4,500. As there was such a rush to get the video to the BBC for broadcasting the editing process was only a total of 5 hours and all special effects was done while recording. Following the first few weeks at number one a more in-depth edit was created of the video with alternative camera angles and superimposed flames over the introduction scenes.


MTV 1980s
With an increase of bands creating videos the question was how people could view these. As the Top of the Pops was mainly artists miming to their songs live there wasn't a platform for people to see all the music videos artists was making. MTV launched in 1981 which was a television programme which had special 'video jockeys' (VD) who picked music videos to air. The first music video shown was 'Video Killed The Radio Star' by The Buggles. So to speak the song could be interpreted to be saying that the invention of 'video' and music videos affectively made radio stars less popular and to have asuccessful hits music videos were needed as a visual.


1980s-2000
MTV created fast proliferation within the music video craze. The 1980s produced memorable music videos like, Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics), Thriller (Michael Jackson), Hungry Like The Wolf (Duran Duran). As the years progressed it became more normal for an artist to release a single along with a music video. The most common theme among them all was that all their music videos always contained a story. This theme started to change during the 1990s as more inexpensive advanced equipment and editing techniques were developed, this allowed artists to experiment with different visual effects and filming techniques. Thus, leading to more advance music videos.

2000s Onwards
From here technology advanced and brought a whole range of new, exciting and complex ways for music videos to be created. When artists release music it is unusual for them to not release a music video especially if its the artists single. Sometimes it is the music video that can create 'talk' and attention around a song, for example Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball video was extremely controversial and caused a lot of media attention around it. Some may say the video was more popular than the song and will be memorable for a very long time. With many indie bands rising into the music industry there are a lot more conceptual videos. Too Much by Pale is one shot of a girl covered in 'goo' the shot is reversed backwards in slow motion and her face is revealed at the end, there isn't a story to it and it is purely an abstract modern music video.

Lyric Analysis

Media Language: Semiotics

Charles Sanders Peirce (1931)
Philosopher Peirce, inputs that 'we think only in signs'. The culture which we live in effects the meaning that society gives to things. When culturally we accept meaning without societies agreement on this they are meaningless. The audience creates meaning through signs we see and unconsciously interpret. Signs take the form of words, images, sounds, odours, flavours, acts or objects, but such things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning.

Ferdinand de Saussure (1974)  

Linguist Ferdinand created a dyadic or two-part model of what a 'sign' is. The two parts to the dyadic are:

1. A 'signifier': this is the form which the sign takes

2. The 'signifier': The concept which it represents 

Pierce extends on his point with three types of signs: 

1. Icon/Iconic: The signifier is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified (recognised by looking, sounding, feeling, tasting or smelling like it) through being similar in possessing some of its qualities. For example, portrait, a cartoon, a scale-model, onomatopoeia. For example we can recognise that a crown is a symbol of royalty. 

2. Index/Indexical: A mode which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way (physically or casually) to the signified - this link can be observed or inferred: e.g. 'natural signs' (smoke, thunder, footprints, echoes, non-synthetic odours and flavours), medical symptoms (pain, a rash, pulse-rate), measuring instruments (weathercock, thermometer, clock, spirit-level). 

  3. Symbol/symbolic: a mode in which the signifier does not resemble the signified but which is fundamentally arbitrary or purely conventional - so that the relationship must be learnt: e.g. language in general (plus specific languages, alphabetical letters, punctuation marks, words, phrases and sentences) numbers, morse code, traffic lights, national flags. 

Building on the subject of semiotics the way in which we describe the relationship between the signifier and the signified are as connotation and denotation. We make an analytical distinction between the two types of signifieds: a denotative signified and a connotative signified. The meaning includes both denotation and connotation. 

Roland Barthes (1967) Roland analysed covers in terms of symbols and how small details become symbolic to ideology. He argued how in photography connotation can be distinguished from denotation. He describes to connotation as 'myth'. For Barthes, myths were the dominant ideologies of our time. The orders of signification called denotation and connotation combine which produce ideologies. 

Paradigms and Syntagms Roman Jakobson (1956) and later Claude Levi-Strauss developed the idea that meaning arises from the different between the signifiers, which come in two kinds:
Syntagmatic which is concerning how the audience is positioned
Paradigmatic concerning the substitution Film and televisions have paradigms which include ways of changing shot (cut, fade, dissolve and wipe). The medium and genre are also paradigms and particular media texts derive meaning from the ways in which the medium and genre used differs from the alternatives. 

When evaluating media language it is an evaluation of all the micro elements and how they have created meaning to inform us about genre, narrative, representations/ideology, targeting of audiences through these micro elements. To evaluate we have to use semiotic terminology to explain the encoding of these elements and the codes and conventions within the media texts. Looking at preferred meaning that we would ideally want our audiences to decode based on what we encode can link to the reading of texts. 

Micro Elements
Mise-En-Scene: Creates the diegetic world/diegesis which is the fictional space and time implied by the narrative, so, the world in which the story takes place. 
Key areas: location, character, cinematography, layout and page design.

Camerawork: Four elements come with camerawork which are shot types, camera composition, camera movement, camera angles
. 
Editing: Post-production technique in which the footage shot during production is cut up and reassembled in such a way as to tell the story. TV shows and films are not filmed in chronological order, after filming the 'takes', post-production edits in the correct order.

 - Long takes are takes which are of long length whereas short takes only last a few seconds. Two basic types of editing are continuity and non-continuity.

Media Language Introduction

All media has its own language in which is used to express and communicate meaning. Television is a prime example which uses verbal and written language as well as the languages of moving images and sound. It is called 'languages' as it uses similar codes and conventions which are recognisable and understandable, similar to how languages has certain features which we know are associated and represent that particular language. The messages which media deliver are constructed through using a creative language and each form of communication uses this, horror movies use scary and atmospheric music to heighten tension and fear, camera close-ups draw on apprehension and show emotion. In a romance film, scary music would be out of place and is not part of that creative language. It is important for people to understand the grammar, syntax and metaphor system of media language which increases appreciation and enjoyment of media text but also makes us less susceptible to manipulation by media. The language of sound and visuals mostly impacts this as it reaches to our emotional core.

An example of where being aware of how media language
is used, the chances of this story being true is extremely slim
therefore being able to recognise when a media text is 'lying' the
audience will not fall for manipulation.

Genre Conventions

Genre Theory Applied

Genre 5: Hybrid Genres

Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) suggests that: 'the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable'

This is the creation of the idea of hybrid-genres. Which have become more popular in modern times. This is the idea that genres are using parts of others genres and no longer one specific genre.

Abercrombie is concerned with modern television, which he suggests seems to be engaged in 'a steady dismantling of genre’. By this he explains that overtime we are seeing a break-down of genre as codes and conventions of different genres are becoming more complex, perhaps they're no longer as recognisable as specific genres. 

David Bordwell (1989)
Bordwell states that 'any theme can appear in any genre' expanding on the idea of hybrid genres and crossing-themes. His argument is that there is no set of sufficient conditions which can mark off a genre from other sorts of groupings in ways that all film-goers or experts would find acceptable.

David Buckingham (1993)
In addition to the above theories Buckingham adds that genre isn't just a 'given' by a culture it is a constant  process of negotiation and change. Genres are not fixed and therefore this allows for genre-crossover. A good example of this is Kylie Minogues, "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" 

In this video we can see the genre of 'Pop' and 'Sci-Fi' merging and crossing over. It has dancing and performance which is typically seen as a pop convention however the setting and theme is sci-fi therefore we can see how the genre isn't fixed and has got elements of each of the genres.

Genre 4: Postmodern Style

Short Films - Eco (1981)
Short films are a medium which do not have to have a specific genre. However feature films and short films differ in that they generally focus on one or few characters and a single strand narrative. Short films can also be anti-narrative, surrealist and are often experimental, meaning they can have ambiguous or open meanings for the audience to interpret and process. Postmodern theorist, Jacques Derrida said "the law of the law of genre . . . is precisely a principle of contamination, a law of impurity". In relation to genres she believes that music videos are currently in 'genre-crossover' with short films. Many narrative videos use conventions from short films and in fact can be classed as short films. Below is Portishead - To Kill A Dead Man which is a short ten minute film including the song. We can see how it uses different conventions like a beginning, middle, end and characters to create a short film. 

Music videos are a medium to directly appeal to youth sub-cultures by reinforcing generic elements of musical genres. Music videos are used as a way of pop-promotion which are used to raise the profile of the song and the artist. Dyer would agree with this idea however believes it is more focused on the artists promotion "Music videos are postmodern texts whose main purpose is to promote a star persona (Dyer, 1975)." To do this they do not need to be literal representations of the song or lyrics but just include the artists performance in order to sell the star as an image. 
In terms of genre, narrative and performance some videos choose to combine both. Others include themes which may fit around the lyrics of the song or society which is open to experimental and controversial content. Generic conventions stay the same however the style (which is the look of the video) changes between music genres. Relating this back to the idea of music videos aiming to directly appeal to youth, certain  common themes apply in videos to do this: 

Teen angst
Rebellion
Romance
Nostalgia
Nihilism
Coming of age rituals (e.g. the prom, falling in love, losing your virginity etc.)
Tribalism: Popularity verses unpopularity, e.g. cliques
Bullying

Juvenile Delinquency: Moral panics and the teenager as a folk devil

The currency of ‘cool’

Hedonism: living purely for pleasure

Friendship

Avril Lavigne is a prime example of a artist who appeals to youth subcultures. In her earlier videos, rebellion was a main theme in her videos and not conforming to society. In her video 'Complicated' it shows her and a group of friends causing havoc at a mall, possibly conforming to what society thinks about teenagers. The video shows themes of: friendship, 'cool', shows youths as folk devils, rebellion and teenage angst. The lyrics are relating to romance however which isn't shown in the video as much as the rebellion side.

Genre 3: Rich Altman

Rick Altman argues that  genres offer a 'set of pleasures'. These are in effect the reactions that are offered to an audience.

Emotional Pleasures: Emotional pleasures offered to audiences of genre forms are significant when they generate a strong audience response. This can be a wave of emotional reactions ranging from happy to sad to angry.


Visceral Pleasures: This is a physical reaction feeling from the audience. Referring to 'internal organs' and 'gut' responses which are defined by how the film's stylistic construction elicits a physical effect on the audience. Often these are related to feelings of revolution, kinetic speed or a 'roller-coaster ride'.




Intellectual Puzzle: These pleasures offer the audience a media text
which urges them to use their brain and mind to concentrate and work out plots. Films such as thrillers or 'whodunnit' are an example of genre's which the audience can feel pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or a puzzle. The audience can feel satisfaction which derives from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or finding themselves surprised by the unexpected.

Genre 2: Jason Mittel

Styles and treatments are different from genres as they do not have a specific 'look'. For example comedy and animation are not genres but a 'style'.

 Jason Mittel (2001) believes genres are cultural categories which surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience and cultural practices. Industries harness and use genres to sell products to audiences. Media producers use familiar codes and conventions that often make cultural references to their audiences knowledge and society. This creates a genre, which allows audiences to make choices what products they want to consume.

Genre 1: Steve Neale

Barry Keith Grant (1995) believes that all genres have sub-genres, which is a genre within a genre. With this in mind he argues that they're divided up into more specific categories which allow audiences to identify within them specifically by their familiar and what becomes recognisable codes and conventions.

Here we can see a range of genres and what is counted as a 'sub-genre'
of that genre. 

However as opposition Steve Neale (1995) states 'Genres' are not 'systems' instead they are processes of systemisation'. This idea is that genres are dynamic and evolve over time to have different iconography such as location and props. The main contributors to genre are institution, text and audience. As throughout time these factors change media products must adapt to this. Below we can see how the film 'Cowboys Vs. Aliens' is a cross-over of the Western genre and the Sci-Fi genre. The lighting shows this. In the alien picture the lighting is blue, in the western picture we can see oranges and yellows representing the western sunset. In the mixed genre picture we can see how the both oranges and blues have been used to show a contrast of genres. We have the traditional 'look' of a cowboy on the poster (gun, cowboy hat, brown pants and a shirt) however we can see on his left arm a futuristic looking device which glows blue. Signifying the sci-fi element to the film.

Genre Introduction

Genre is useful to study texts and audiences responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements. Genre is a paradigm which uses codes, conventions and iconography which the audience can recognise. Daniel Chandler (2001) puts forward that the word 'genre' comes from the French and means 'a kind' or 'class'.
Different genre characteristics:
- Mise-en-scene
-Narrative
-Generic types and archetypes
-Typical studios/production companies
-Typical personnel
-Typical sound design
-Typical editing

Audience Theory 3: Uses and Gratification