- Iconography
- Illustrating
- Amplifying
- Contradicting
- Voyeurism
- Intertextuality
Iconography
Iconography is relating objects to specific representations. For example, in a hip hop music video, it is likely that the objects relating to this genre is thick, heavy jewelry, (commonly gold) weighing down their necks, women in very revealing clothing such as tight shorts and tank tops dancing in a very promiscuous and provocative manner, the main artists wearing low baggy clothing with perhaps a bandanna in their belts and expensive alcohol (such as Ciroc) being poured in slow motion into a thick shallow glass that holds a few cubes of ice in it. An example of this particular iconography being used would be 'Scream & Shout (Remix) by Will.I.Am, Britney Spears, Wacka Flocka Flame, Diddy, Hit Boy and Lil Wayne'. In this music video, many of the iconography for hip-hop is used.
For example, at 0:23 of the video, there is a clear shot of Diddy with a heavy, thick chain on which supports a medallion, which is a common icon of Hip-Hop. This could perhaps be used to show his wealth to the audience, or that he can afford such expensive items of jewelry and wear them casually whilst dancing.
Another example of iconography in Hip Hop is of the women wearing revealing outfits and dancing provocatively at 1:54, surrounding Will.I.Am. This could be used to show Will.I.Am's attraction that the girls appear to have of him, therefore showing the audience how many girls see him as attractive, therefore perhaps encouraging his female fans to do the same.
Lil Wayne is shown wearing baggy clothing with most of the male artists in the music video at 5:11, again highlighting another common icon in Hip-Hop. This highlights his particular style and taste in clothing. Since he is well known for wearing baggy outfits, he is now known as the 'Skater' since his style of clothing is so baggy and free.
A posh, chilled bottle of Ciroc is being poured into the thick, shallow glass filled with ice cubes by two females at exactly 3:30 of the video, which lasts for around one and a half seconds.
This once again shows the artist's wealth. Diddy is well known for his ciroc, which actually ranges from $40 - $600. Therefore whenever alcohol such as Ciroc is used, the artist is usually branded as wealthy.
This can be used by the industry for many reasons. However the audience can have different views on it. The most common view shared would be admiration. Money is a large part of the industry, therefore if money is a large part of audience's lives they may enjoy watching these particular music videos. In addition to this, the constant reference to women in Hip-Hop music videos can keep the men interested in watching it, however some music videos are too explicit for younger eyes and therefore, there isn't a filter that all adults can use as deciding what is good music and what videos are inappropriate.
The artist, however, sets up an image of themselves that they become best known for, for example P.Diddy had actually made his own alcoholic brand called 'Ciroc', which means now particularly in Hip Hop videos that he is involved in, it's likely that the Ciroc would be shown being poured into a glass.
Illustrating
Illustrating is when the video directly corresponds to the lyrics or to a lesser extent the mood of the song. This is important so that the audience can understand the mood and feel of the song through visuals, as this is essential to make the video more interesting to watch. A good example of this would be Miley Cyrus' music video for 'We Can't Stop'. The lyrics of the song in itself is purely about having fun and enjoying themselves without having any care in the world. Even though the music video doesn't match all of the lyrics directly, the mood of the song is portrayed in the music video in itself by teenagers jumping up and down into pools, stamping on skulls made out of chips and dancing crazily.
One example of when lyrics directly match the music video would be at exactly 1:27 in which the lyrics are 'to my home girls here with the big butts, shaking it like we're at a strip club' and at that moment in the music video Miley is shaking her bottom with three black girls which lasts for around 4 seconds, matching the lyrics.
Another example of when lyrics do not directly match the music video but do match the mood of the song would be at 3:01 - 3:04 and then again at 3:08 where many teenagers have gathered in a room and there is various fast food on the floor such as hot dogs, burgers and chips. The teenagers including Miley are then fighting and biting and wrestling each other, smashing the food into the ground and not seeming to care at all. This matches the exhilarated, frantic mood of the song as many of the cuts in this music video are quick and short, adding to the mood altogether.
In addition to this, the scenes in the music video don't even make any sense. For the audience, the video became annoying and confusing for some and for others it was pure genius. Since the lyrics didn't state anything in particular as they were so vague just being about having fun, the music video didn't have to make much sense either. So it didn't, it was random and it was busy but in that sense the artist did well to prove her point through the music video, which is why illustrating can be so important.
Now, however, Miley Cyrus since she was first portrayed as an innocent little pop star being brought up on Disney Channel and now she appears to be wild, loud and confused, that is now the image that has stuck with her. It gained her a lot of popularity but it also gave her a lot of negative attention.
Amplifying
Amplifying is when the video is designed to enhance the style and the mood of the song. An example of this would be Ellie Goulding's 'Burn'. The song itself is about lighting up the world with love and positivism, therefore the music video would have to be appropriately exciting and encouraging as it does. The video is full of people including the artist (Ellie Goulding) dancing and jumping up and down on a runway or in a large field, with strobe lights everywhere and by the final chorus the whole field lights up with little balls of lights that they had placed into the field.
For example at 1:58, Ellie is shown on a runway with the sun blaring behind her and she appears to be having an energetic time. This scene went very well with the song and amplified the idea of having fun and lighting up the world with positivity.
Another example is 3:09 in which the whole field had lighten with people dancing and having fun together, which then enhanced the mood of the song well and made the audience who were watching want to dance with them and be apart of the positive movement.
For the audience this song was enjoyable enough on the radio, but with the actual music video to fit the song it enhances the song a lot since seeing other people enjoy a song naturally makes anyone else want to enjoy it just as much. Therefore amplifying in this sense was successful.
Contradiction
A contradiction is the video deliberately goes against the lyrics and the mood of the song, therefore contradicting itself. An example of this would be 'The Popular Song' by Ariana Grande and MIKA. The song is about being popular and finally climbing the ladder of success to get to the high status that they are now, however in the video instead of having flashing lights and expensive clothes, they are in gothic, ragged outfits, the lighting is dark and dull and they don't look happy at all whereas the mood and tone of the song is bubbly and energetic.
An example of this is if one were to take a still from 2:20, they would not assume that the song to that music video was so exciting and bubbly to such a miserable looking song.
Also, at 3:03 there is a shot of both MIKA and Ariana together, holding goblets of what turns out to be a deadly wine that turns their enemies into stone. The lighting of the room as it pans out is like a deep shade of navy blue with a chandelier with candles placed on them instead of a normal bulb, which made the setting gothic, once again not matching the song, Ariana and MIKA are wearing dark grins and evil smirks on their faces.
For fans and the audience on the whole, creating a contradiction allows them to think more about the lyrics and since the twist on the video was so unexpected it's better to watch as it creates more depth to both the lyrics and the song.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is the idea that a female connection to the male's eye or vice versa is used particularly when they are attractive. It also can include close ups of the artists' face and maintaining eye contact. The most recent female example of this would be Miley Cyrus' video for 'Wrecking Ball'. Even though this song is controversial, there is more than one point in which both voyeurism and close ups are used.
Already, from the beginning of the video at 0:03, there is a close up of Miley's face in front of a white background, and there is particular focus on both her eyes that look stunning in the lighting used and her lips which are such a deep colour of pink that it contrasts with the rest of her face and the background. There is also a soft focus from her face outward therefore her face is the main item of the screen. Even if the viewer was male, they would still feel sympathy toward her. This scene lasts for 30 seconds from the beginning of the music video which obviously keeps the male viewers interested since Miley does not once break eye contact (when she does it is either to blink or to release more tears), therefore already making the video more personal. For men, when she is blinking she does it so often it's almost like she is batting her eyelashes in a flirtatious way, even though she is in tears. For women, or young girls that admire Miley Cyrus, her constantly looking into the camera and crying makes it almost seem like Miley is revealing a secret of hers therefore making the viewer feel apart of her life and her secrets.
At 1:25 however, Miley started licking a hammer to symbolize pain but then looses interest from one area of the audience. Most girls that watched the video for the first time felt uncomfortable at this point however many men still found it attractive. The video had quickly swerved from being heart felt to slightly sleezy, and this just got worse at 1:29 when shots of Miley completely naked on a wrecking ball. Once again, this was probably shot to keep the male viewers interested therefore loosing the female viewers.
But, even though the video was quickly turned from emotional to emotionally seductive, this still caused controversy. For males, the naked Miley Cyrus and the maintaining of eye contact would keep them interested so they would therefore tell their friends who would then want to see the video themselves. For females, once again the naked Miley Cyrus and Miley Cyrus crying would appeal to them more and would therefore talk about it with their friends would then encourage them to watch the video also. Altogether, the video has over 380 million views on YouTube even though it was released under 3 months ago.
Intertextuality
Intertextuality is a cross relationship between two media texts. This can be used between music videos, books and films. A recent example of this is Iggy Azalea's new music video for 'Change Your Life', her new single featuring T.I. The music video is an intertextual reference to the film 'Showgirls', in fact it is a modernized version of the film in itself.
For example at 0:35 there is a shot of Iggy in a large, pink expensive looking room on a big bed with pastel satin covers, which is an exact remake replica of the room in the film 'Showgirls'.
At 1:44 there is a shot of Iggy Azalea as a show girl with different girls around her dancing on a stage with large headdresses and bikinis, once again directly taken from 'Showgirls'.
At 3:14 she is shown in the back of a police car struggling but still looking rather clean and tidy and glamorous. She is then shown walking away from a club and a car on fire casually which is another twist on the iconic scene from Showgirls.
Naturally, since the video was based on a film that was rated 18 for sexual nudity and graphic sexual violence, Iggy Azalea could not use the whole film to base her video on since then this would not be able to be shown on televised musical channels and would have to be age banned on YouTube, so she made the video but put her own twist on it.
The good thing by using a different media text in a music video is that it allows the audience to feel a sense of self-esteem to understand the link. For the audience that had watched Show Girls, they are able to watch the video and automatically understand the video that it had been based on. However since most of Iggy Azalea's fans are between 16-18, it would be unlikely that they had seen the film to connect it to, but the video wasn't as linked that it would make no sense whatsoever to those who hadn't yet seen the film. Therefore for both audience that had watched the film and those who hadn't, the video would still be effective and would make sense to view.
The artist, however, sets up an image of themselves that they become best known for, for example P.Diddy had actually made his own alcoholic brand called 'Ciroc', which means now particularly in Hip Hop videos that he is involved in, it's likely that the Ciroc would be shown being poured into a glass.
Illustrating
One example of when lyrics directly match the music video would be at exactly 1:27 in which the lyrics are 'to my home girls here with the big butts, shaking it like we're at a strip club' and at that moment in the music video Miley is shaking her bottom with three black girls which lasts for around 4 seconds, matching the lyrics.
Another example of when lyrics do not directly match the music video but do match the mood of the song would be at 3:01 - 3:04 and then again at 3:08 where many teenagers have gathered in a room and there is various fast food on the floor such as hot dogs, burgers and chips. The teenagers including Miley are then fighting and biting and wrestling each other, smashing the food into the ground and not seeming to care at all. This matches the exhilarated, frantic mood of the song as many of the cuts in this music video are quick and short, adding to the mood altogether.
In addition to this, the scenes in the music video don't even make any sense. For the audience, the video became annoying and confusing for some and for others it was pure genius. Since the lyrics didn't state anything in particular as they were so vague just being about having fun, the music video didn't have to make much sense either. So it didn't, it was random and it was busy but in that sense the artist did well to prove her point through the music video, which is why illustrating can be so important.
Now, however, Miley Cyrus since she was first portrayed as an innocent little pop star being brought up on Disney Channel and now she appears to be wild, loud and confused, that is now the image that has stuck with her. It gained her a lot of popularity but it also gave her a lot of negative attention.
Amplifying
Amplifying is when the video is designed to enhance the style and the mood of the song. An example of this would be Ellie Goulding's 'Burn'. The song itself is about lighting up the world with love and positivism, therefore the music video would have to be appropriately exciting and encouraging as it does. The video is full of people including the artist (Ellie Goulding) dancing and jumping up and down on a runway or in a large field, with strobe lights everywhere and by the final chorus the whole field lights up with little balls of lights that they had placed into the field.
For example at 1:58, Ellie is shown on a runway with the sun blaring behind her and she appears to be having an energetic time. This scene went very well with the song and amplified the idea of having fun and lighting up the world with positivity.
Another example is 3:09 in which the whole field had lighten with people dancing and having fun together, which then enhanced the mood of the song well and made the audience who were watching want to dance with them and be apart of the positive movement.
For the audience this song was enjoyable enough on the radio, but with the actual music video to fit the song it enhances the song a lot since seeing other people enjoy a song naturally makes anyone else want to enjoy it just as much. Therefore amplifying in this sense was successful.
Contradiction
A contradiction is the video deliberately goes against the lyrics and the mood of the song, therefore contradicting itself. An example of this would be 'The Popular Song' by Ariana Grande and MIKA. The song is about being popular and finally climbing the ladder of success to get to the high status that they are now, however in the video instead of having flashing lights and expensive clothes, they are in gothic, ragged outfits, the lighting is dark and dull and they don't look happy at all whereas the mood and tone of the song is bubbly and energetic.
An example of this is if one were to take a still from 2:20, they would not assume that the song to that music video was so exciting and bubbly to such a miserable looking song.
Also, at 3:03 there is a shot of both MIKA and Ariana together, holding goblets of what turns out to be a deadly wine that turns their enemies into stone. The lighting of the room as it pans out is like a deep shade of navy blue with a chandelier with candles placed on them instead of a normal bulb, which made the setting gothic, once again not matching the song, Ariana and MIKA are wearing dark grins and evil smirks on their faces.
For fans and the audience on the whole, creating a contradiction allows them to think more about the lyrics and since the twist on the video was so unexpected it's better to watch as it creates more depth to both the lyrics and the song.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is the idea that a female connection to the male's eye or vice versa is used particularly when they are attractive. It also can include close ups of the artists' face and maintaining eye contact. The most recent female example of this would be Miley Cyrus' video for 'Wrecking Ball'. Even though this song is controversial, there is more than one point in which both voyeurism and close ups are used.
Already, from the beginning of the video at 0:03, there is a close up of Miley's face in front of a white background, and there is particular focus on both her eyes that look stunning in the lighting used and her lips which are such a deep colour of pink that it contrasts with the rest of her face and the background. There is also a soft focus from her face outward therefore her face is the main item of the screen. Even if the viewer was male, they would still feel sympathy toward her. This scene lasts for 30 seconds from the beginning of the music video which obviously keeps the male viewers interested since Miley does not once break eye contact (when she does it is either to blink or to release more tears), therefore already making the video more personal. For men, when she is blinking she does it so often it's almost like she is batting her eyelashes in a flirtatious way, even though she is in tears. For women, or young girls that admire Miley Cyrus, her constantly looking into the camera and crying makes it almost seem like Miley is revealing a secret of hers therefore making the viewer feel apart of her life and her secrets.
At 1:25 however, Miley started licking a hammer to symbolize pain but then looses interest from one area of the audience. Most girls that watched the video for the first time felt uncomfortable at this point however many men still found it attractive. The video had quickly swerved from being heart felt to slightly sleezy, and this just got worse at 1:29 when shots of Miley completely naked on a wrecking ball. Once again, this was probably shot to keep the male viewers interested therefore loosing the female viewers.
But, even though the video was quickly turned from emotional to emotionally seductive, this still caused controversy. For males, the naked Miley Cyrus and the maintaining of eye contact would keep them interested so they would therefore tell their friends who would then want to see the video themselves. For females, once again the naked Miley Cyrus and Miley Cyrus crying would appeal to them more and would therefore talk about it with their friends would then encourage them to watch the video also. Altogether, the video has over 380 million views on YouTube even though it was released under 3 months ago.
Intertextuality
For example at 0:35 there is a shot of Iggy in a large, pink expensive looking room on a big bed with pastel satin covers, which is an exact remake replica of the room in the film 'Showgirls'.
At 1:44 there is a shot of Iggy Azalea as a show girl with different girls around her dancing on a stage with large headdresses and bikinis, once again directly taken from 'Showgirls'.
At 3:14 she is shown in the back of a police car struggling but still looking rather clean and tidy and glamorous. She is then shown walking away from a club and a car on fire casually which is another twist on the iconic scene from Showgirls.
Naturally, since the video was based on a film that was rated 18 for sexual nudity and graphic sexual violence, Iggy Azalea could not use the whole film to base her video on since then this would not be able to be shown on televised musical channels and would have to be age banned on YouTube, so she made the video but put her own twist on it.
The good thing by using a different media text in a music video is that it allows the audience to feel a sense of self-esteem to understand the link. For the audience that had watched Show Girls, they are able to watch the video and automatically understand the video that it had been based on. However since most of Iggy Azalea's fans are between 16-18, it would be unlikely that they had seen the film to connect it to, but the video wasn't as linked that it would make no sense whatsoever to those who hadn't yet seen the film. Therefore for both audience that had watched the film and those who hadn't, the video would still be effective and would make sense to view.
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