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marcus-dias-media · 3 years ago

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Deconstruction of Music Videos

K-pop

LaLisa, 2021, YG Entertainment, Performance.

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The music video creates meaning through the representation of women as strong, beautiful, and independent. This is a progressive representation of women as they aren't being sexualized or is the female lead reliant on a man. A convention of K-pop music videos are beauty shots of their female leads and from Laura Mulvey's perspective, she'd argue that these are done to target the male gaze. However, this music video also targets both western and eastern audiences through the use of Korean and English lyrics, most likely implemented by the record label to maximize profits. This is a very conventional K-pop music video as it is a performance, with several different locations shot at. If examined by Roland Barthes he'd argue that conventional K-pop videos use hermeneutic codes through the crazy visuals and settings, to create clues about the meaning of the video. One example of a convention that was utilized would be the choreograph dancers that appear in each chorus section of the video to create more hype around the beat drop and make the artist appear more amazing.

The nature of editing in this music video is done in a way that emphasizes the louder beats, however, the cuts soon shift focus during the chorus from emphasizing the beat to emphasizing dance moves with camera movements and cuts. The pace of the cuts follows a trend of slow in the build-up to fast-paced during the height of the music back down to slow. However, the director in this music video utilizes a specific technique when they use a camera and editing technique of speed ramping instead of cutting on the beat in the chorus to emphasize dancer movements.

Aspects of mise-en-scene(MES) that I noticed and could try using. The director uses a semantic code to take the literal meaning of the lyrics and translate it into visuals. The line goes ‘just from looking at my back when it gets dark, the light shines pink’ meanwhile the artist has her back to the camera, while the lighting goes from black to pink. It’s an example of how using the exact meaning of lyrics can be very effective for visual aesthetics. Also, in the final shots of the music video the director had the dancers take two different cuts. One with the lighting in the back and one in the front, meaning that in one shot you couldn't see the artist's face. Creating a visual contrast and juxtaposition of good and bad. And finally, I really enjoyed the match cuts that the director implemented through the video to create a smoother feel between each cut.

Kill This Love, 2020, YG Entertainment, Performance

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This music video creates meaning through the representation of women's power and overcoming a toxic relationship. Van Zoonen would argue that the way in which this music video represents women is regressive as the producers are using the women's body as a spectacle for heterosexual male audiences, reinforcing the patriarchal hegemony. However, David Gauntlett would argue that since the audience can pick and mix which ideologies suit them that these could be seen as tearing down the patriarchal hegemony, as many listeners, especially the ‘blinks’(BlackPink fan base) see this as a female-empowering/break up song. As a result, the producers have targeted both the male and female fan base. This music video follows a common K-pop structure of focusing on each member of the group before reaching the chorus making it conventional. It is also a performance video that loosely correlates to the lyrics leaving it open for interpretation. An example of where they utilized a Semantic code to deepen the meaning of the video is when Lisa(a member of BlackPink) where she's in a room filled with ‘love’ branded cereal, but she’s crushing them, tying back to the title of ‘Kill this love’. Another example of a convention being utilized is choreographed dancing at the end with backup dancers. Roland Barthes would argue that the number of backup dancers functions as a hermeneutic code, indicating to the audience that they are all strong women as it is a primal human sense of strength in numbers.

The nature of editing in this music video has a common theme, that the are quite fast-paced cuts in the verse that don't necessarily correlate with the beat, meaning that the producers are trying to create energy with these cuts. Normal a shot would start closer then slowly move away with each cut or start farther and get closer but here you see cuts from a medium shot to a medium shot at a slightly different angle. However, it follows conventions of a music video with face-paced cuts at high energy parts and slower cuts at low energy parts.

Aspects of mise-en-scene(MES) that I noticed and could try using. During the chorus when the tempo and cuts increased the director used a dutch angle that corrected itself on the beat as a way to emphasize the beats. This was done to great effect as it was subtle, keeping the continuity of the video but also had a large effect in hyping up the song. Also in one verse, the director created a juxtaposition by using a symbolic code, starting the scene with yellow lighting, with flowers blowing signifying summer but in the same scene having blue lighting and thunder in the background. The audience could decode this as a chaotic mental statement and this ties into the overall message that the members of this group are ‘killing this love’ signifying a break-up. Finally, in verse 5, there is a small narrative and Vladimir Propp would argue the black pink member is a princess in need of help due to her white dress and her frantic running. However, the big reveal is that she’s chasing herself leading to the audience once again decoding this as either inner conflict, or a deeper meaning of literally killing the love inside herself. This immerses the audience further and helps pique interest in the video.

Boys with love, 2020 YG Entertainment, Performance

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Meaning is created by the physical representation of happiness through the mise-en-scene. Van Zoonen would argue that this representation of grown men enjoying themselves in the playful setting would be moving away from the traditional stereotype of men. The video also hints at challenging toxic masculinity through the lyrics ‘nothing stronger than a boy with love’. Although the video may appear to be targetting men, mostly of the new generation the video also appeals to the female fan base with the use of conventional beauty shots for the male leads. After watching the MV(Music Video) it is clear to see that it follows the conventions of K-pop. Having many different set designs roughly over 15 something that is common in K-pop whereas in western MV’s you normally see 4 or 5. Also, the use of colorful mise-en-scene in conjunction with choreographed dancing shows that conventional K-pop MV’s have a structure that they follow. Andrew Goodwin would argue that due to K-pop’s emphasis on performance instead of narrative, they are able to keep audiences attached increasing interaction for fans. The use of a hermeneutic code when a member was on stage singing ‘i want to be with you for everything’ could be decoded by the audience as the members referring to their love for fans. However, this can act as Symbolic code, changing the meaning of the whole video, where some could decode it as an appreciation video for their fans.

The nature of the editing through the video deviates from the conventional K-pop editing. Instead of having the editing speeding up when the beat speeds up the director chose to utilise camera movements and shifts in the frame to make up for the lack of editing. For examples members of the group would enter frame on the beat instead of cutting to keep the energy up without breaking up the shot. Furthermore, during the chorus, the scene would change to retain the viewer's attention by constantly changing the visuals, however, they would utilize conventions of Beauty shots to fill In the gaps when the bass came in.

Aspects of Mise-en-scene that I noticed and could try using. The simple but effective use of vibrant colours allows the audience to be drawn in by the visuals but also intrigued by what the boy band is wearing, as they are always in different clothing with different colours in each scene. An example of this is in the first chorus of the song when the boys move from one set to another in a somewhat seamless transition. However, you can tell that this was cut due to the band changing clothes when they crossed the border to the other set. In the last minute of the video, the director tries to break the fourth wall between the audience and the boys in the band by portraying one boy as a ringmaster on stage and the rest of the band in the audience listening to him like the viewers would in real life. This adds a level of intimacy between the audience and the man singing, emphasized by the slower pace of delivery and slower tempo of the song.

Summary of Genre

After studying K-pop shortly I've noticed that most, if not all performers are good-looking and the directors utilise this by using beauty shots as a stop-gap when there's no real action in the song, portraying them as alluring, mysterious, bold, and demure. Also, another thing I noticed was the number of different sets used to keep the audience guessing, an average of 25 different sets is used per every high production k-pop MV. Finally, the use of cuts to a similar shot builds energy in the chorus. For example, it would cut from a mid-wide shot to the same shot type but at a slightly different angle.

Pop

Heatwave, 2020, Republic Records, Performance

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Meaning in this music video is created through the representation of different perspectives through camera angles. The intro of the song, which lasts around 1 minute is broken up by the different camera angles. However, what's unconventional about this is the fact that each and every shot is filmed on a different device. You can tell by the difference in camera quality in each shot, creating a sense of intimacy between the fans and the artist. It is also important to look at this music video contextually as it gives it deeper meaning. This was released during the first Covid-19 quarantine, meaning that by having people in their homes filming the artist on the street, creating a sense of unity when everyone has become isolated. In the final location of the music video the artist begins to sing to an empty crowd with the rest of his band being presented through a TV screen, once again alluding to Covid-19 and how it affects our society. This links to the use of a semantic code when the artist sings ‘sometimes all I think about is you’ which can be decoded by the audience as thinking about loved ones during covid. However, David Gauntlett’s theory of identity suggests that the audiences could also decode it in a different way, completely unrelated to covid if the viewer wasn't aware of the context of the music video. Furthermore, Andrew Goodwin would argue that the visual type is Disjuncture due to the fact that the visuals have nothing to do with the lyrics of the song.

The nature of editing in the video follows the more general pop genre conventions such as changing shot in time with the beat and sticking to fewer locations. When filming outside using the main camera there is a filter that gives the video a warmer feel, because the song is about summer, taking the lyrical meaning literally. Due to the different devices that were used to film the coloring isn't consistent but it works as the director purposely chose to use this footage encoding a homemade feel to the video. Also during the bridge towards the end of the song editing started at a slow pace matching the music and continued to match the pace as it built up in order to create energy for the final chorus.

Aspects of mise-en-scene that I would like to use. The use of different camera angles when the artist was walking down the street really interested me. It was a creative way to connote a sense of togetherness between the artist and I could try to utilize this in my music video to give it a different perspective. Also, the fact that the videos used were raw clips adds to the feelings of looking through someone else perspective. Also in the final scene on stage, the empty stadium with the TV that represented the rest of the artist band linked really well with the context of the video, giving it a deeper meaning. Especially when the camera pans to the empty stage to fill the space when there are no lyrics, denoting emptiness without the fans to watch them perform.

Triggered, 2017, Warner Records, Performance/Narrative

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Meaning in this music video is communicated through a combination of Visual effects and MES. Utilizing Steve Neale’s genre theory, he would argue that the first 40 seconds have purposely got no lyrics to establish the type of music video through repetition and difference. With the genre being pop/alternative and contemporary Hollywood. This is reinforced through camera cuts that are perceived as smooth by the audience due to the regular intervals between cuts. Also, the also ambient sound of the music adds layers of verisimilitude to the establishing shot of the artist standing outside. The establishing shot serves as a way to show the audience the setting and location of the shot but also introduce the artist to the fans. Furthermore, flashbacks of a beautiful woman immediately connote to the audience that the song has something to do with either a current or past girlfriend. The representation that the group is trying to portray is a ‘bad boy vibe’ with low-level lighting and lots of flashing lights, that amplify their stereotypically ‘edgy clothing’.

The nature of editing in the video follows the more conventional pop rhetoric, such as more regular cuts on the beat instead of irregular cuts. Also, the use of locations is something that is very conventional and commonly seen in pop as a formula that achieves success. With each verse happening in a different location and the chorus happening in the same location, where most of the budget is spent. And the final chorus is the most ‘expensive’ location. Where they cut between different choruses’ to add variety as western pop songs don’t have the same amount of different locations as eastern pop. There is also a blueish hue/tin over most of the video which is associated with Hollywood and western action films. This was used by the director of the music video to make it feel familiar to the audience. Another common theme amongst western pop genres is that the editing pace maintains the regular interval during the verses but during the chorus the speed of the cuts increases. Another common theme is that with shots that involve movement, the camera seems to be hand handled to add more energy and authenticity to the shot.

Aspects of mise-en-scene that I would like to use. The seamless feel of the cross-faded women who come into view. This aspect looked visually interesting and added more to a plain shot, giving it more underlying meaning. Also, in this MV during the verse, there is a change from the artist singing the lyrics to a narrative shot of them standing there doing some action or a shot of them looking ‘cool’. This connotes a sense of continuity in the narrative story and gives the MV a more professional look. Another apsect that i would like to encorperate it the narrative/performance structure of this video. As throughout the video there is a clear structure that vladimir Prop wouldn argure falls with the narratology theory. This gives the video added depth when it comes to meaning of lyrics and visuals.

Summary of Genre

After studying Pop ive noticed that, a mixture of narrative and performance type videos is conventional for pop songs. This is because it allows the producer to encode deeper meaning of lyrics through visuals and MES. Another aspect of pop that could be utilised is the use of less locations\select locations or each section of the video. As each verse is unique in lyrics hence different locations used however, each chorus is similar. Creating a feeling of familiarity for each chorus. Finally, the use of regular intervals between cuts in the verse help the views focus on the lyrics, and also that in the pop genre the visual translation of lyrics are conventional literal, helping the produce get the preferred meaning according to the audience.

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