Gunther Kress

This slideshow about Gunther Kress has helped me to understand his views on the music industry and music videos in particular, because of his beliefs in how genre changes and how new genres arise due to situations in society. Also mentioned is class, age, gender and ethnicity, which is something I'll have to think about when I get on to my target audience and their feedback.

I personally do not agree with Kress when he talks about genre fitting into certain codes and conventions, because when it comes to genre, it is a way to distinguish one thing from another. For example, rock music tends to be a lot louder and heavier than classical music, because the conventions include different types of instruments that make different sounds. 

I am likely to be making a rock music video, so it will be important for me, as a creator, and for my audience to be able to determine what sort of video they are watching. It will be important for me when it comes to the different types of shots and also the editing, because all these little things will help to create a music video that is clearly in the rock genre. By watching other rock music videos, I will be able to see what needs to be included in my own music video. This is why I don't agree with Kress. However, I do think that genres can change. This is why we now have numerous sub-genres of music, including pop-rock, indie-rock, pop-punk, and jazz-rock fusion. These will be aimed towards more of a niche audience, because people may not be as aware of these hybrids. 

-Janet 

Example of Making Videos (Jack Howard)

*Video contains some strong language*

Here is the video behind Jack and Dean's music video called "Consent". Both are YouTubers, and as Jack says, they are not musicians. However, I thought this video was really relevant to the A2 course, as he talks about how he came up with the ideas for the video. 
Jack also talks about the importance of lighting, and how it should be kept in the background, yet also connote different emotions, and it can help amplify the lyrics of the song. Even though this song is meant to be quite funny, there is also a serious message behind it which is mentioned in this behind the scenes video. 
Again, Jack says how they subverted the audience's expectations of the video, to make it humorous and to help illustrate the light-hearted feel to the video and its lyrics. 


This was really useful in my preparation and planning for my music video, as simple things such as the colour of the lighting to emphasise moods hadn't occurred to me. I may not use green and red to imply good and bad necessarily, but I think it's the idea put across to make sure the video and narrative is what the audience is there to see, so it's important to keep the lighting in the background.

-Janet 

Key Media Theories

Music Video Deconstruction

In the music video for "Better Than I Know Myself" by Adam Lambert, he plays two versions of himself which helps to amplify the lyrics. 

The first person we see is Adam as being very angry, alone and destructive, and we get the impression that he is quite uncaring for others. 
The video then cuts to Adam in the "other room" and it's the version of himself who is relaxed, calm, and much happier in contrast to the first impression we get. 



The video is really clever because it illustrates how we don't always want to show our true selves, and we are the only ones who know the deepest darkest secrets of our individual lives. 

The mise-en-scene also helps to create these two different versions of the same person- Angry Adam wears black leather jackets, black eye make-up, his room is grey and black, he has a skull on the wall and the light seems really artificial. This could be a myth about certain people who are antisocial, and unhappy. These things also connote death.
Happy Adam, on the other hand, has clothes which look more comfortable, the lighting in his room is more yellow/gold, which usually symbolizes happiness and purity. The props are all in a certain place, and it's really neat. Normally this is a myth for someone who is probably more organised, or sociable, and connotes all the good things about life.



Eventually, Angry Adam sets fire to his room, which has a bad effect on Happy Adam- it causes his oxygen levels to decrease, and he starts dying. Angry Adam has to make the choice of saving his alter ego, or letting him go. 



In the end, he saves Happy Adam, and we see Adam walking down the street with two different coloured eyes, implying that they have become one person. 



Although the lyrics may make the audience think that the only person who knows you inside and out would be a loved one, this video makes you think twice, and how we are the ones who really know about the deepest and darkest parts of our lives and how it is to face conflict with yourself. 

-Janet