Fast Lane

This is a video made by a duet that consist of hip-hop artists Eminem and Royce Da 5'9. I like this video due to its unique and slylish editing but also because of their use of special effects. This video shows how with the right software and careful and creative editing, the clip can become very entertaining and eye catching.

In my opinion this works as the video contains a variety of shots right from the beginning such as low angle shots, middle shots and long distance shots, supported by the fast jusmp cuts. These keep the audience focused as they dont want to miss anything thats in the clip. The video's main feature is animation used, which consists of drawing of islands and words poppong out of nowhere. Th ewords that pop out of the air or the artists hands are relevant to the lyrics, which makes the viewer visualise the lyrics and the actions as well as listening to them. The Lyrics are also of a different colour which attracts the audience and makes the clip stylish.

The artists 'play around with the words' literally, as Royce smashes one word with another in the clip. Furthermore the clip contains humorous references as it features cute images such a s a unicorn in suglasses. This approach to editing and special effects makes the video funny and interesting, kepping the audience's  eye. The idea itself of grown men playing around with the cartoons is amusing, which therefore makes the audience want to watch more of the clip. The editing also creates 95% of the mise en scene, apart form the backdrop. 

The lyrics of the song also feature words and swearings. It is accentuated by the words 'penis' and 'anus' out of Eminem's hands. The pair then get into a cartoon car and cruise the streets. Furthermore the costomes of the rappers are darks and have hoods and flat caps on, which looks stylish and therefore emphasise the videos's style. However the costumes are also stereotypical as at the beginning Royse appears with  flat cap on, automaticaly conveying the hip hop genre and style of the vieo. Eminem's eyes are also made cartoon and big, which once again adds humour to the video.

The video also contains some violence as Eminem drowns the cartoon woman and then tares off her head. This kind of violent behaviour is often present in the rap music videos. At the end of the clip Eminem and Royce keep on standing infront of each other in a child-like manner, This represents the rivelry that men often have and also suggests that they like to have fun too. 

this video is made in a very stylish manner. Quich cuts and imaginative edits and special effects make the audience want to watch more and capture their interest through out the whole video. In my opinion this is what a good video should do.

Thriller Video

This video was made for one of the Michel Jackson's hit singles 'Thriller' and was released in December 1983. This video was originally 13 mins long and tells a story about a young couple who face some night adventures. The video was made at the peak of a horror genre popularity, therefore attracting the audience with its short narrative story. The video contains some of the common elements and cliches of a horror genre such as the girl running through the woods alone and Werevolves. This again interested the audience at the time and cought their breath. 

The mise en scene is cleverly used in order to emphasise the horror genre, the clip features Michael turn into a werevolf at the begining, yellow eyes and rasor sharp fangs are shown to portray the creature's horrid appearance and thereore evoke fear within the audience. The costumes of zombies and the make up are used particularly well at the period in time. They make the creatures look real enough for the audience to be frightened. Furthermore Michael's costume stands out throughout the whole video as it is red. In this video context it could connotate blood and violence which may therefore suggest that he is a villain. The lighting is also dim as the scenes take place at night. The is also fog present, which is a common feature of the horror genre and gives a sence of misteriousness.

The clip contains dolly hots to the right as the couple walk through the streets ans Michael sings. This gives the audience a sence of their presense in the clip, as if they are walking along with the actors. Furthermore as the couple pass the cemetery a gravely, high pitched electronic music starts to play, often associated with the graves and zombies. Also a hand rises up from the grave in a close up shot, which creates a sense of suspence, but also keeps the audience interested. There is also a voiceover done by an old voice which states 'creatures crawling' ; the words are matched with the actions of creatures crawling out of the graves, therefore evoking fear within the audience.

Michael then joins in to dance with the zombies, again standing out from the background in hir red outfit, which makes hi the focus. The editing suits the beats of the song as the zombies dance, alternating between the close up shots of Michael and the long shots of the goup of zombies. This makes the audience want to follow wat's going on in the video, as they dont know which edit is going to come next. However some comical elemets are present, as zombies dont normally dance around, they feast on humans, which in my opinion makes the clip look even better and interests the audience. The video also ends with the girl escaping the zombies and appears to have imagined it all as Michael offers to take her home. However he then turns to a camera and smiles evily as his eyes turn yellow. This is then made a still frame with a cackling non-diegetic laugh. This is a great ending to the clip as it creats suspence and makes the viewers wonder about the truth.

This video has made a great impact on the way other videos were made, as other artists had to compete with it on the same level. The mise en scene, special effects, sound all were used creatively and well in order to produce a succesfull music video.

Different music genres

RHYTHM AND BLUES 

Rhythm and blues is a name for black popular music tradition. When speaking strictly of "rhythm 'n' blues", the term may refer to black pop-music from 1940s to 1960s that was not jazz nor blues but something more lightweight. The term "R&B" often refers to any contemporary black pop music. A notable subgenre of rhythm 'n' blues was doo-wop, which put emphasis on polyphonic singing. In the early 1960s rhythm 'n' blues took influences from gospel and rock and roll and thus soul music was born. In the late 1960s, funk music started to evolve out of soul; by the 1970s funk had become its own subgenre that stressed complex, "funky" rhythm patterns and monotonistic compositions based on a riff or two. In the early to mid 1970s, hip hop music (also known as "rap") grew out of funk and reggae. Funk and soul music evolved into contemporary R&B (no longer an acronym) in the 1980s.

ROCK

Rock, in its broadest sense, can refer to almost all popular music recorded since the early 1950s. Its earliest form, rock and roll, arose from multiple genres in the late 1940s, most importantly jump blues. It was first popularized by performers like Bill Haley, Dan and the Huberettes, and Elvis Presley, who fused the sound with country music, resulting in rockabilly. In addition, gospel music and a related genre, R&B (rhythm and blues), emerged later in the decade. R&B soon became one of the most popular genres, with girl groups, garage rock and surf rock most popular in the US, while harder, more blues-oriented musicians became popular in the UK, which soon developed into British blues, merseybeat, mod and skiffle.

COUNTRY MUSIC 

Country music is usually used to refer to honky tonk today. Emerging in the 1930s in the United States, honky tonk country was strongly influenced by the blues, as well as jug bands (which cannot be properly called honky tonk). In the 1950s, country achieved great mainstream success by adding elements of rock and roll; this was called rockabilly. In addition, Western swing added influences from Swing and bluegrass emerged as a largely underground phenomenon. Later in the decade, the Nashville sound, a highly polished form of country music, became very popular. 

PUNK MUSIC 

Punk is a subgenre of rock music (see below). The term "punk music" can only rarely be applied without any controversy. Perhaps the only bands always considered "punk" are the first wave of punk bands, such as the Clash and the Ramones. Before this, however, a series of underground musicians helped define the music throughout the 1970s -- see Forerunners of punk music.

After 1978, following the collapse of The Sex Pistols, punk could go no further. However, the space that had been created in popular taste and in the distribution system facilitated a number of successors.

HIP HOP / RAP

Hip hop music (also commonly referred to as "rap") can be seen as a subgenre of R&B tradition. Hip hop began in inner cities in the US in the 1970s. The earliest recordings, from the late-1970s and early 1980s, are now referred to as old school hip hop. In the later part of the decade, regional styles developed. East Coast hip hop, based out of New York City, was by far the most popular as hip hop began to break into the mainstream. West Coast hip hop, based out of Los Angeles, was by far less popular until 1992, when Dr. Dre's The Chronic revolutionized the West Coast sound, using slow, stoned, lazy beats in what came to be called G Funk. Soon after, a host of other regional styles became popular, most notably Southern rap, based out of Atlanta and New Orleans, primarily. Atlanta-based performers like OutKast and Goodie Mob soon developed their own distinct sound, which came to be known as Dirty South. As hip hop became more popular in the mid-1990s, alternative hip hop gained in popularity among critics and long-time fans of the music.

POP 

 

 As a genre, pop music is very eclectic, often borrowing elements from other styles including urban, dance, rock, Latin and country nonetheless, there are core elements which define pop. Such include generally short-to-medium length songs, written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, melodic tunes, and catchy hooksSo-called "pure pop" music, such as power pop, features all these elements, utilising electric guitars, drums and bass for instrumentation in the case of such music, the main goal is usually that of being pleasurable to listen to, rather than having much artistic depth. Pop music is generally thought of as a genre which is commercially recorded and desires to have a mass audience appeal

The first "music video" (by today's definition) was made in 1929: Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a two-reel short film called "Saint Louis Blues" featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. It was shown in theatres until 1932.

This video produced of the UK rock band Queen in 1975, was the innovation in the music video making. A variety of footage layering and other effects presents made their then new music video one of the best at the time.

One of the 1st music videos

This video is one of the 1st music videos made, where sound is combined with film using old technologies.

History of music videos