Post on 18-Jan-2017
In Depth Analysis of Three Music Videos in
the Drum & Bass Genre
Catriona Morgan
Sun is Shining- Axwell /\ IngrossoBegins with a low angle pan shot of a girl leaving
school
High lighting- following Goodwin’s rules of visuals
linking with the lyrics ‘sun is shining.’ (Not typical of Genre
Characteristics.)
Not focused on a specific person –typical of the genre (Goodwin’s rules of Genre
Characteristics.)
The lyrics appear on small pieces of paper all over the urban town, close ups of the random people reading it.Panning up- the girl from the
beginning is centre shot, middle of the street surrounded by all of the paper. Minimalist location. Close
up of her reading lyrics.
Sun is Shining- Axwell /\ IngrossoMatches the pace of the
music- when the beat drops at the chorus, all of the paper
flies up and spins around the girl.
The second verse focuses on the artists
writing the lyrics, which is not typical of the genre, however the
main focus is still on the other people in the
video, which makes the audience focus on the
music. The video spreads a positive message to those throughout the
town.
When the second beat drops, it’s the same location as in the previous one, however there are more people who dance in fast and slow motion as the
lyrics continue to fly around the crowd.
There’s a shot of the artists from behind to represent their dominance, they’re
controlling where the lyrics go, spreading their music
throughout the town.
Stay the Night- Zedd ft. Hayley WilliamsBegins with a close up of the
artist singing (not typical of the genre)
Narrative- Link between lyrics and visuals (following Goodwin’s rules)
‘Draw the blinds’- the blinds close.
Man and woman wanting to be
together but are alone
Focus on the piano through the use of
close ups
Stay the Night- Zedd ft. Hayley WilliamsDancing to beat in
fast and slow motion, editing
matching the pace of the music, as it
gets to chorus, lengths of shots are
shorter.
Low lighting- representing the
confusion, isolationism and
desperation.Artists & dancers
moves match
Eventually end up together, following Todorov’s Three Stage Theory. Begins with
disruption of being alone, ends with the resolution of them
being together. Dancer’s head goes one way, artist’s head goes
opposite in next cut
Gravity- DJ Fresh feat. Ella EyreTime lapse of a
petrol station from night until morning.
Fades to a shot of a car
driving in
Low angle shot of the car with a person getting out, slow motion. From the angle, it is visible for
the audience to see two men in the rear-view mirror, one
dropping dead while the artist sings ‘All hands on the trigger,
all eyes on the gun.’ This follows Goodwin’s rules of linking
visuals with lyrics.
Close up of keys starting the
engine and the pedals, driving away in slow
motion.Tracking shot of them driving.
Gravity- DJ Fresh feat. Ella EyreClose up of the artist singing. Derelict setting.
Follows a narrative as well as part of Todorov’s theory.
Begins peacefully with the empty petrol station, gets disrupted by the murder,
there’s a police chase, and it’s left on a cliff-hanger.
The action on the screen matches the pace of the
music.
‘Gravity can’t hold us’- Artist sits alone up a mountain, high panning shots.
Represents freedom, no attachments to anyone/anything.
Conclusion
To conclude, I have found this research very interesting as it contradicts most of the previous research I have done. For example I have found that the general convents of drum and bass music videos include low lighting, no concentration on the artist, and almost no relationship between music and visuals, all three of these videos contradicting that. However, you could argue that the close ups in the videos of ‘Stay the Night’ and ‘Gravity’ only focuses on the featuring artists rather than the main artists, and ‘Sun is Shining’ only includes the actual artists for a minority of the video, supporting my previous research. Either way I feel this research has been very beneficial in broadening my potential ideas for the creation of our music video as I have discovered that more conventions are acceptable in the genre than initially expected.