Conventions

Conventions

Lyrical Interpretation is any way that a director chooses to interpret lyrics into a music video. Different lyrics could be interpreted in different ways by any one, so by interpreting them in a certain way in the video creates a visual interpretation. In Dizzee Rascal- Sirens, the director has made a clear difference between what is heard in the lyrics and what is seen in the video. This would be done to make the audience think about the song in a different way, compared to what they originally thought.

Extending/Consolidating Meaning is two very different things. To extend meaning in a music video is to take the audience past what they originally thought the song meant, by adding another layer of meaning into the music video. This would be done to make the audience re-think their first ideas, and could be said to happen in Dizzee Rascal’s Sirens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPpxxrl0xhM In this video, you think its about young people being arrested, but its about the way young people are viewed in society and that becomes clear in the video, especially between 3:11 and 3:20. Consolidating meaning is the opposite of this, and is a music video, which cements what you originally thought about the song in the video, showing the same thing. An example of this is K Koke’s I’m Back video, where he sings about coming out of prison and having fun, and that’s what’s shown in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpt6zhdlgGk

Allusion means making an indirect reference to another person, piece of work, place or object in your music video. An example of this is on the radio show Fire in the Booth, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqgtYHlKhqA  where K Koke makes references to Stonebridge, the place he grew up throughout the whole song. This could be done to show respect for the place/person being referenced, or in a negative way to make fun out of them.

Links to Other Artists are links made from one artist to another in a song or music video. An example of this is Eminem, who makes links to Dr Dre in many of his songs. This could be done for different reasons, either to associate

with this artist or to disassociate yourself with them. Eminem uses this to associate himself with Dr Dre, as he is an influential person in the music industry, and being known to associate with Dr Dre would be good for your career. On the other hand, Eminem often links with Michael Jackson, making fun out of him and therefore disassociating himself with him. This could be done if the artist is being viewed negatively in the media, so by disassociating yourself with them you are popular with current public opinion.

Interpretive are those that allow the viewers to watch it and make different interpretations of what the video is about, gaining different meaning of it. In Pink’s music video for Try, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTCDVfMz15M she sings about a break up, but shows a dance where she attacks her partner with paint. This could be seen as a dance, or fighting depending on how the audience see it. Making an interpretive music video allows the audience to make their own decisions about what the artist is singing about, and sometimes they want to watch it again and again to understand it.