M3: Codes & Conventions

 M3: Codes & Conventions of my Music Video

Codes and Conventions of the Music Video:

The song I have chosen for my music video is 'All For Us' by the artist 'Labrynth', his music follows the genre of hip hop, grime and electronica demonstrated throughout many of his tracks and other music video's. The style of my music video was a narrative, showcasing a story of the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse; this was something I was inspired to create from the show 'Euphoria' in which the song was first distributed on. However, many conventions within my music video are symbolic and are open to interpretation, such as the character changing her outfit into the prop of a hospital gown, this could evoke the idea they have died or have been in hospital due to the drug and alcohol abuse previously mentioned and clearly orchestrated throughout the music video. I feel I have met the client brief as I have clearly displayed a full narrative music video that include the needed codes and conventions, aspects of the Andrew Goodwin theory and numerous varied shots, camera movements and editing techniques. However, for this project I worked on my own, this was because I felt I could create a well filmed and clean music video through my own vision of what I wanted it to look like as well as the restrictions of COVID I felt doing it on my own was safer; I did however, have help from friends and family who are inside my support bubble, ultimately though I took the roles of Director, Script Writer, Actress and Editor. Moreover, the full music video runs to the end of the songs audio and fits with the context of the song as well as this all of the footage was original and produced by myself, I used the editing software of Filmora and audio of the song from the 'music' app, however if I did use any copyright footage or techniques I would have made sure to reference it. Overall, I feel I met the clients brief fully and created/edited a professional music video.

Codes & Conventions:

To fit the style and convention of the hip hop genre fo the music video, this originated from the 'ghettos' in New York, thus a stereotypical convention of this genre is to use crude language, vivid imagery of wealth and success and showing deviance in some way. This genre is normally popular in the eyes of a teenage and young adult audience, this being a reason in which I labelled my music video's target audience as 13-20 millennials; their demographic also being lower to middle class, they would then taking a liking to the concept and themes within my music video and possibly relate to them. Taking this into consideration I edited the music video to fit the fast paced audio of most hip hop songs, using cuts and mash cuts repeatedly to mimic the timing and lyrics of the song; this was followed by typical close ups and pans that are used in these times of music video's as well as following the Andrew Goodwin Theory. When first starting filming I chose to showcase the character walking down a dimly lit, almost abandoned road, this is a typical starting point in which most hip hop music video's originate, this showcases the character and sets the theme of the coming music video, in my case this being dramatic and melancholic. When filming this I used many medium or long shots in a dolly movement, demonstrating to the audience the character and their body language. I then added neon blue lights to foreshadow the next upcoming scenes in the music video, this also added to the melancholic and depressing ambience.  Moreover, his sub genre of 'grime', this originating in the UK in the early 2000's, this being a development of garage and drum & bass, I felt worked well with the music video as many of the shots consisted of the character in the streets or showcased to feeling addicted or reliant to drugs & alcohol, a common theme that is stereotypically talked about in this genre. 

Furthermore, at the very beginning of my music video I used a title screen, this showcasing the name of the song this also being a convention of the drama genre; the use of 3D in bold and larger font, acts as the music video's unique selling point, and is therefore highlighted to the audience by doing this. The flashing neon colours displayed in the background of the opening contrast with the character as each clip smash cuts on screen in time with the music, this creates a feeling of pace for my audience, thus showcasing the narrative will be fast paced also. I also used props of alcohol bottles and cigarettes as well as using sugar that mimics imagery of cocaine, these were all fake or never used off screen, only explicitly used on screen to showcase the theme of drug and alcohol addiction (no real drugs or alcohol was consumed in the making of the music video), this gave the solemn, melancholic tone I wanted. 

Moreover, the fashion used for the music video I feel fits with the age group of my target audience, this being leggings and an oversized jumper in which has become the majority of clothing worn in quarantine over the course of the COVID 19 stay at home restrictions. The drab-bed clothing the character wore has connotations of the character possibly being mentally ill through their uncaring, unbothered clothing style that fits comfortably on them almost like pyjamas. This is then contrasted later in the music video with the hospital gown she wears, this holds symbolic imagery that the audience can identify to be a metaphor for the character either bing or dying in hospital, this having connotations of illness and despair. To further this, I feel the setting shown was typical of the lower/middle class demographic as well as 13-20 age group, the houses featured in the shot being council houses and the atmosphere being rugged and unkept with rubbish, unkept streets and buildings. This sets a realistic tone that my target audience can relate to. 

Within my narrative, there is little to no form of anagnorisis for the character (character recognises or discovers another character's true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances), as they are seen still drinking at the very end of the music video in the hospital gown, thus showing even though the character had been deeply effected by them their unwell mental health still takes advantage of their mindset, thus showcasing a character that has no hope. This I feel is powerful as creates a meaningful message of the angers of addiction and how when you start it can be incredibly hard to stop; the protagonist acts as a symbol for the consequences of this. As well as this, I feel the story line is realistic and could happen to anyone in our society. 

The music video explicitly shows the intake of drugs (props) repeatedly, this being of the drama convention I used dramatic over the shoulder, extreme close up shots and zooms of the character and or props. This also shows the codes and conventions of the 'notion of looking' giving the audience a stereotype of a drug addict they can easily recognise in the dragged clothes and uncaring manner. The purpose of the music video is to move the audience emotionally which is achieved in the dramatic ending which is further enhanced by use of the powerful music. At the very end of the music video we see the reverse of the characters life events, using the footage I had shot but instead putting it in reverse. This is a typical convention used in many Drama films, series and music video's as it leaves a lasting powerful effect on the audience. The music video also includes conflicts which is an essential convention of the drama genre. The conflicts include both inner and out realistic struggles such as struggling with addiction of alcohol ands drugs, her corrupt mental health and ultimately herself. Moreover, even though the song used is of the hip hop/grime genre, I wanted the music video to have a melancholic tone and look, thus these two genres contrast, however many other artists before hand have done this in their songs and music video's: 'Lucki Eck$ - count of me pt 11, Kendrick Lamar- collect calls & sing about me, Big K.R.I.T. - The Vent & Red Eye and Drake - The Ride (Most intensely during "Faded to long" Weeknd outro). [Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1yyks4/can_we_make_a_list_of_melancholy_hip_hop/].

The music video has also been structured with climaxes and anti-climaxes, for example the fall the protagonist encounters at the very start of the music video in which she then falls on to her bed in a new setting, this then evokes a feeling of suspense to my audience. There is an over all anti-climax at the very end of the music video as we still see the character drinking in the prop of the hospital gown, this has connotations of death and illness, this displays the character to be lost in the conclusion of the music video, thus displaying a sense of no hope.

I exported the music video in a typical way a hip hop/grime music video would do, I constructed  the music video through the platform software 'Filmora' so I could make edits and adjustments to the visuals, this including, smash cuts, cut away, zooming in/out what we see on screen (mise-en-scene), adding filters or changing the saturation, hue, brightness and contrast of the colour values. From here I then exported it to Youtube, the main platform in which music video's are distributed as its fundamental purpose of this app/website is to watch video's - this was in a in an Mp4 in HD-1080p, this being the best exportation of the music video so it has a high and professional quality. This was then made available to my target audience.

In addition to this, a repeated and popular shot used in hip hop music video's is the low shot close up, because of this I made a priority to include this within my own music video. This can be exemplified through music video's such as 'Ms. Jackson', 'The Real Slim Shady', 'Ignition' and 'because I got high'. This shot is used to imply power over the audience, looking down on the audience generates this as well as the close up evokes a sense of status as it demonstrates they are important in the music video to have a frame to themselves. To add to this, in most hip hop music video's there is normally a party or club setting, this evokes a sense of people liking the music they are listening to, giving credibility to the song/artist. However, this was something I could not include due to the COVID 19 restrictions in which you cannot see people outside of your support bubble and family, this was an implication I faced as was a main and important aspect of the music video in my first draft script, I wanted to include a party/rave like scene to demonstrate that night life to character lives in, showcasing she feels more alive in social situations with others than on her own.

In most music video there is usually numerous references to wealth and money through the use of mise-en-scene of cars, jewellery and women, etc. This was something I didn't want to use in my music video, as although it fits with the hip hop genre, it didn't follow the theme and tone of my intended music video. However, in my music video I tried to create a link between the songs lyrics and visuals you see on screen, such as "mama making ends meet, working like a slave", is when the main protagonist is seen hugging her mother in an affectionate and loving way, demonstrating their easily readable relationship. Later on when the lyrics, "daddy aint at home no" appears, the character is seen at a graveyard, crying and or sitting in a melancholic tone in an over the shoulder shot of a grave, this suggests the gravestone is her fathers and she is weeping for him out of grief. This is a rule in 'Andrew Goodwins Theory', something I made sure to include within my music video. As well as this, I have included many close ups or extreme close ups of the character, this establishes power or importance which was relevent to my music video as the protagonist is the focal feature pf the narrative. Within my music video I used the convention of intertextuality, this being from the show, 'Euphoria' this being the main inspiration for the music video. This convention of intertextuality can be seen in my references to the main character 'Rue' of the show, who is displayed as a mentally ill drug addict, my character displays this character trait as well as wears similar clothes to the Euphoria character; to further this, I used the classic, neon look from the show that has now primarily become its trade mark, this can be seen repeatedly throughout my music video in harsh, drastic bright lighting of the character in close ups and dolly's. 

The music video portrays a 'behind closed doors' insight into the lower class and how difficult life can be, especially when some areas are surrounded by the use of drugs. The target audience may experience similar issues as the video was aimed directly for them, the character holding relatability to them as they may be facing the sam issues the character is. The music video portrays a worse case scenario to encourage others who are struggling from drug abuse to seek help and guidance before a situation unfolds that is like the main character from my music video. This then provides security through knowledge as it makes my young target audience aware of the fatal consequences of drug abuse.