I first started by picking 3 music videos ASAP ROCKY's LSD, Taylor Swift's Bad Blood and Olivia Rodrigo's Vampire, two from the 2010s and one more recent one, to see what conventions I can spot:
Andrew Goodwin's 6 Features of Music Videos
LYRICS/VISUALS - illustrative, amplifying, contradicting/disjuncture
This is when the lyrics to the song are represented within the music video, either by illustration, amplification or contradiction/disjuncture.
This is when the relationship between the music and visuals within the video is effected by the tempo and style of the music.
This is when the music video mainly focuses on the artist performing it in order to help 'sell' them and make the more popular within the industry. It will also reinforce their star image
There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
This is when everything within the music video is angled towards the artist performing. This is more common with female artists.
There are often intertextual references to other films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc
This is when a music video uses the ideas and concepts of other media text and makes references to them. These are often portrayed in pastiche or parody videos.
ASAP ROCKY - LSD
Intertextual details - borrows imagery from Gaspar Noe's 2009 psychedelic art film Enter the Void. We can see the intertextual details through out the whole video.
We can see direct visualisation of lyrical aspects (illustration) in this music video. The opening shot is an extreme close-up with blur and bright red colouring. There is clear denotation of drug abuse from the start. The use of the handheld footage makes the whole expirience much more personal for the viewer.
It follows some of the typical music video codes and conventions that Andrew Goodwin highlighted as there is a definite relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as the song is based around the usage of the drug LSD, and also includes themes of love and sex, all of which are shown in the video, to some extent; there is also a clear relationship between the music and the visuals as the edits and camera movement follow the tune and beat of the song; the video also has a lot of close ups of Rocky, which may have been demanded on part of the record company as suggested by Andrew Goodwin.
The location of the video, Tokyo, Japan's capital, is represented in this video as a busy, bright city with an active nightlife, the exposition is done cleverly through the mise-en-scene, which is heavily focused on colour and, more specifically, bright coloured lights, representing Tokyo as a place at the forefront of technology.
In terms of costume, all of the central people in the video are seen wearing clothes which would be considered at the forefront of urban streetwear fashion, which would make the target audience of the music video younger, 16-25.
A$AP Rocky's 'L$D' music video both challenges and follows the Hip-Hop genre conventions. One convention of a Hip-Hop video is the artist lip-syncing while making direct gaze with the audience. Throughout most of the video this is not shown, as there is more of a focus on narrative and visual effects, which goes against stereotypical conventions. There is a section of performance where Rocky is rapping into a mirror beneath him, making it appear as a low angle shot, a convention of the hip hop genre.
There is quite a positive overall representation of women in the video, contrary to the stereotypes of Hip-Hop music videos as the one female in the video is not objectified by using typical close ups on her body and she does not dance or dress in a sexualised way. However, there is still Evidence of Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey) bright pink lipstick and the woman is still ultimately there to appeal to the heterosexual male viewer.
The video does not tell the story in chronological order, choosing instead to cut between seemingly unrelated images at points, almost in the style of montage editing. The loose narrative structure follows a theory that Carol Vernallis came up with suggesting that music videos do not embody complete narratives. This theory applies very well to 'L$D' as the story of the artist meeting a woman and looking around Tokyo with her is not entirely shown, and the ending, which is edited to make her disappear, does not make logical sense. It also goes along with another one of Vernallis' theories as she states that music videos tend to be a consideration of a topic, rather than an enactment, as the video acts as a consideration of the effects of LSD, with a double meaning of love, but does not tell a coherent story about either.
The incoherent, nonlinear structure of the video is most likely chosen due the fact it is showing the effects of LSD, trying to recreate a 'trip' induced by the drug. The narrative then continues with a series of tracking shots, following Rocky as he moves through the streets of the city in a seemingly aimless manner, taking in the exaggerated lights of the city, made more prominent by visual effects. The effects work to create a quite subjective feel to the whole music video as we are seeing the world as Rocky's drug-addled brain perceives it to be. The narrative story still follows the Proppian character archetype of the princess and hero.
In Olivia Rodrigo's music video for her single Vampire we see a similar shot of a lake's moonlit waters as in her music video for Good 4 U. Having intertextual details with her own content reinforces the simulacrum of her brand identity. The camera pans up to reveal a familiar landscape with clouds and pine trees. There is a close up shot of her head, which is an intertextual detail Bella and Edward lying in a meadow in the first "Twilight”film with a bluish lighting.
The "Twilight" parallels could be interpreted as sinister, given the song's title and subject matter.
Rodrigo is bloodied and humiliated in front of a crowd, recalling the classic horror film "Carrie" another intertextual detail. We can also see a parallel in their outfit as both are wearing a flowy dress.
The film footage effect refers back to the retro mania. It is revealed that she is actually performing on stage at an awards show, she is hit by a falling light. As the pounding beat picks up speed, reinforcing Goodwin's point of illustrative link between music and visuals, Rodrigo, who has a severe gash on her shoulder, keeps performing while spilling blood on her face and white outfit. When security guards surround her and attempt to escort her off the stage, she runs off and begins to feel ambushed as she runs out of the theater. Security continues to chase her into the city, which eventually culminates in her levitating into the night sky, leaving the music video with a cyclical narrative, making the viewer want to watch it again and again.
TAYLOR SWIFT - Bad Blood
The video fits the ‘Pop’ music genre and upholds some of the typical conventions. These include focus on the performance of the artist, direct mode of address and the clear representation of Swift’s star power. •Heavy use of a close-ups of Swift’s direct gaze alongside voyeuristic pans and tilts of the female body are applied to the male gaze theory, this is a reoccurring theme of the video.
This is stereotypical of modern pop videos. This is further reinforced through the sexualised costume choices of the characters. The video fits Goodwin’s lyrics and visual characteristic, specifically the ‘illustrative’ format where the visuals illustrate the lyrics of the song.
The codes and conventions are heavily influenced by those of the Superhero and Scifi genres. The opening establishing shot of a cityscape pays homage to these genres and sets audience expectations. The mise-en-scène of the mundane office in the opening sequence juxtaposes the action as Swift and Selena Gomez fight for the briefcase.
This intertextually references many action film narratives. The characters are introduced through direct address and graphics that communicate their names.
An enigma code is introduced early on in the video where the audience question why Gomez betrays Swift. The tension is built up with a POV shot of Gomez viewing Swift in a compact. The camera cuts to a medium shot of Swift dispatching the last henchman and then arc shots reveal Gomez. She blows powder in Swift’s face and violently kicks her through the high-rise window.
Todorov can be applied easily to the narrative of the video. The disruption to the equilibrium occurs when Gomez kicks Swift from the window. The narrative then builds to a restoration but the audience is prevented from viewing the resolution.
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