#108 Laura's Genre Music Video Research

The videos I have chosen to anaylsis, from the dance/rap/hip hop genre, are:

Example - Won't Go Quietly

and

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem 

Example - Won't Go Quietly

I chose this first video to anaylsis, not only because Example is the singer of our chosen song, but because I think its a good example, of a good, dance video.
Its, unlike some of his other video's, like 'Kickstarts' and 'Watch the sun come up', a rather simple video. There isn't much narrative to it, but, the lyrics from beginning to end, link back to the images on screen. Throughout the video, even though its set in a club and there is a lot of movement and dancing going on, the camera is mainly focused on Example himself, and a girl in the crowd (persumingly the girl being sang about in the lyrics). 
No natural lighting is used in the video, but this is made up by lots of white bright lighting inside the club, and lots of flashing lcd lights. 
Throughout the video we follow the girl, from entering the club, to walking through it, constantly switching back and forth from her, and example. A lot of fast past editing is used, which works well with the fast pased beat of the song.
Another type of editing is used, at the start of the video, and towards the end. What looks like an x-ray screen is used. 

When watching the video, we see the girl and example in the club. The images when matched with the lyrics, make you think that the video is based around her. But really, at the end, she wakes up, from what was all a dream, so really, its the other way round. As if Example wasn't REALLY thinking all these things, and singing all these things about her, and that it was all just one of her dreams. 
This could also show, how appealing Example, and other artists like him, are to young girls. 
The video in itself, is a very typical dance/hip hop video.
I think this because of the amount of dancing, the types of lighting, and how there is lots of live shots of Example preforming, as if it was an actual gig. 
Since rap artists usually are artists in themselves, with no contributing band, mentioned in their name or shown in images of them, the amount of long, medium, and close up shots of him, is not surprising. There are still a good amount of shots of some of the band members in the background, but not nearly as many as there are of Example. The only other person, with as much attention as him, is the main girl in the video, who would probably apeall to his male fans.  This video would probably apeal to his fan base very much, as because of the lack of much narrrative, and lack of a range of setting, the viewer can focus all their attention, on Example, and what he's saying. 

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem

Unlike Examples video, with hardly any narrative, LMFAO's video for Party Rock Anthem, is completely different. Not only is the song AND video extremely long, but it also has a huge and pretty in depth narrative. 


 I'm not sure if it was intentional but the setting of the video (some empty streets), kind of reminds me of the video for 'Rock that body'.
But the main intertextuality reference, is the fact that the whole video, is a whole parody of the horror film '28 Days Later'. It even states, at the start of the video, that it is linked/about 28 Days Later.

The film 28

days later, is a horror film. The film is based in London, Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable rirus spreads through the UK. A handful of survivors, try and find sanctuary. 

The same narrative is used in the music video, simply replacing the survivors with the band LMFAO (Redfoo and Skyblu),

and replacing the deadly rirus, with a dance move, called the 'shuffle', which is kind of like, the move that got the band famous, and is

the main part of the song ("Everyday I'm shufflin').

Following the caption of "28 WEEKS LATER", both Redfoo and Skyblu, are seen in a deserted hospital, waking up from their coma, in  simalar style

to that of Cillian Murphys character in the origional film. So basically, the video uses the same narrative as the film, but just changes a few things.

The lyrics and specifically, chorus, definitely fit with the images on screen, and the beat of the song. Lyrcis such as:

"Booty move away like she on the block" - They are walking down a road/block.
"Everybody just have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind" - Every body looks like they are having a good time, and the lyric "And we gonna make you lose your mind" also kinda links back to the film again, being about a virus, that makes you turn into a brainless zombie.I think one of the best examples of where the images on screen fit with the lyrics, is after the line "No lead in our zeppelin". After that line, the shot cuts directly to the side of a building similar to the cover of Led Zeppelin's 1975 album Physical Graffiti.


The band LMFAO, in this video, their first video really, they use the mis en scene, to advertise them even more. Not only does the video itself advertise them, and their music, but also, the costumes that everyone is wearing, from things like hats, sun glasses, jewelry, shirts, shoes and pants, they are all LMFAO merchandise.