I will be discussing what the purpose of Calvin Harris' video of Summer is. I will also be analysing the codes and conventions and whether they are stereotypical or subversive of the particular music genre, dance. I will also be discussing how and why the video appeals to the particular target audience. The purpose of this music video is for the artist to express his jet-set lifestyle through visuals to give the audience a clear understanding of what events occur within his life. This allows for the audience to build a relationship with the artist, with people aspiring for their lives to be like his. The target audience in this video are teenagers to young adults, conveying the message that anything in life is achievable. Therefore, another purpose of this video is to encourage people to work hard, to ultimately achieve the finer things in life. The visuals inspire the teenagers be more motivated and inspire them to work hard. However, the main purpose is to illustrate the artists lifestyle and everyday activities.
When analysing the music video of Summer by Calvin Harris, there are clear indications to the purpose of this music video. Throughout the video, we are given a short narrative/ representation of the artists life. For example, at 1:58 we are shown Calvin Harris sitting around a pool surrounded by girls. The micro-element of the positioning of characters which is included in mise-en-scene gives the audience an understanding and insight to the singers lifestyle, which we believe to be typical and close to real life. Because of what we are shown, we buy into the artists lifestyle. As music videos are only a short duration, they are only given a certain amount of time to portray themselves, within this shot, still, we are shown more about the artist and how he spends his time.
Concept based videos are abstract and generally follow no storyline. A concept based video could be arty or involve other art forms to be abstract and make a statement and impact to the audience however the video is meant to create a mood, a feeling to be evoked in the viewing experience. The main style in which the music video presents is concept based with occasional performance scenes. The concept based video portrays the life of Calvin Harris and the activities in which he does in everyday life.
Within the dance genre, typical conventions are seen within this music video. The codes and conventions are noticed multiple times which defines this video to belong to the dance genre. For example, the first convention noticed is towards the end of the video, when a party scene is shown through the use of panning and fast cut shots. The fast shots add to the sense of realism that there would be in a dance/ club enviornment. There is also long shots and mid shots to show the people dancing to further contribute to the sense of realism. The next convention of the dance genre is the use of bright lighting, again, within the party scene. The bright lighting and vibrant colours are typical conventions of a dance genre music video as they accompany the dance audio, and the sense of liveliness and feel good atmosphere is given off the audience.
The music video appeals to a particular audience being teenagers and young adults. It appeals to this audience as from the clips we are seen, specifically the party scene, the audience can relate to what the are watching to their lives. Many teenagers attend house parties and can therefore understand the enviornment of the video and ultimately the video becomes more appealing for the audience.
A
ndrew Goodwin identified 7 key aspects audiences should look for when analysing music videos, they are; if the video demonstrates genre characteristics, wether there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, if there is a relationship between music and visuals, the demands of the record label will include the need for multiple close ups, a frequent notion of looking, wether there is intertexual references and if the video is primarily performance, narrative or concept based. With the seven aspects of Andrew Goodwin's theory, I will be applying it to The 1975's music video to see if there are any similar key features that are present in their music video.
The first characteristic that Goodwin suggests within his theory is wether the music video demonstrates genre characteristics. Although, The 1975 are an indie-pop band, the video highly demontsrates the pop genre, contradicting the stereotypical indie-pop expectations. The micro-element in which helps to support this view is the positioning of characters and lighting. Firstly, the positioning of characters in this frame shows them performing together. Similarly in most indie music videos, we see bands performing together which represents the genre in which The 1975 are considered. They have experimented with the style of this music video, compared to other ones in which they have produced which are usually black and white. For this song, they have used a very pure white background which represents them in a different, more 'pop-like' way. This shot is very basic as it just consists of the band and their instruments, making it easy to understand. However, the use of the bright white background, gives them potential to have lots of other things going on in the background. Overall, the video challenges genre characteristics. Also, the costumes in which the band are wearing reflects the genre of music that they are, making them seem misplaced in the vido, enhancing the idea they are challenging the typical conventions.
The second idea that Andrew Goodwin puts forward is if there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The song primarily is about girls and the troubles in which they cause within our outside of a relationship. At the point 1:08 when the lead singer Matty sings 'just girls' the visuals immeadatly turn to girls playing instruments. The positioning of the girls in relation to the previous shot of the band performing, it seems to show the girls mimicking what the band are doing, portraying female versions of themselves. This idea put forward by Goodwin, that there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals is slightly proven in this video and is also slightly disjunctive, meaning, that the meaning of the song is ignored.
The next part of the theory put forward is that there is a relationship between the music and the visuals.
Andrew Goodwin believes that the demands of the record label will include the need for several close ups of the artist or band and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur accros their work. The use of the cinematographic element of close ups are seen frequently throughout the video, first seen at 0:33 where the lead singer Matty sings into the camera. The use of the close ups are used to create emphasis on the artist and emotions. The close ups are not only used for this but also to reflect the words of the song with the movements of the lips of the artist. This gives emphasis on the song and what is being said, allowing for the song to have more enjoyment by the audience, also making them feel as if the artist is singing directly to them, enhancing the relationship between the fans and the singer.
Another part of Goodwins theory is that within the video there will be a frequent reference to the notion of looking. Within this music video by The 1975 there are many times where the notion of looking is noticed. The notion of looking is when the artist is looking directly into the camera, there eyes focused on us. This is first noticed at 0:49 when the lead singer, Matty, looks into the camera. The use of this movement makes it seem like he is talking directly to us, making the audience feel they have a personal connection with the the singer, again, this is effective for the audience as they feel that their relationship between the singer and them is getting stronger. The notion of looking directly into the camera allows us to view artists emotions and get an insight into how they are feeling.
Intertextual references refers to the way in which one media is referenced in another. Therefore, in this case it would mean for the music video to include something that is in real life situations, E.G, including headlines of newspapers, TV and radio reports. When analysing The 1975's music video there were no intertextual references to make note of. As the music video is rather basic with it being mainly performance based, there is no need to references to be made to real life.
The last part of Goodwins theory is wether the video is primarily performance, narrative or concept based. It is clear to see that within this video it is predominately performance based. The band are all shown to be playing their instruments and singing. Performance based music videos primarily focus around the artist or group performing the song for the video. This video consists of The 1975 performing their song, looking into the camera. The long shot here, allows us and the audience to see them playing and performing their song which ultimately portrays their talent and what they bring as a band which promotes the band. The generic conventions of the indie-pop band would show a performance of them performing at a gig/ concert, however, here The 1975 have subverted against general stereotypes of their genre to perform the song directly to the audience.
Overall, Goodwin's theory allows for music videos to be analysed successfully and gives a clear insight to what is inlcuded in a music video. It gives clear guidelines in which should be included to make a successful music video.
