Daniella's A2 Media Blog

This is a prezi of all the conventions of a music video and what I should consider before filming my own music video.

Lyrics 

The music video for Californication is very obscure and doesn't connect with the lyrics whatsoever. It is often thought that a music video that connects to the lyrics emphasizes the meaning behind the lyrics. In this video, although the lyrics don't fit with the lyrics the music video has been made to look like a game. In many games, on all platforms there is background music which may not fit the lyrics exactly but it simply compliments the game. For example in the Grand Theft Auto games music is constantly played in the background, weather that be rock, pop or R&B it is simply there as background noise an make the experience of the game more enjoyable. I think this is what the artist has aimed to make. The audience doesn't concentrate on the song but rather on what is happening on screen and though out this subconsciously enjoying the song.

Genre

The genre of the song is a mix of classic and modern rock. Being in this genre the video depicts many of the conventions such as the band being shown all together and have their instruments with them, there are close ups of the lead singer and the band member and they are all shirtless. The fact they have no shirts on displays the rebellious nature of the rock genre. Furthermore having instruments like guitars, bass and drums further exhibits their rebellious nature as these instruments have a reputation for being loud and very 'in your face'.

Although these instruments have this reputation the ones used in the video are of a good quality and are clearly looked after rather than a band playing in a garage with half broken instruments. This make this type of rock more grown up and sophisticated.

There are several close ups of the lead singer.              The band shown together.

Characters and Settings

In the video the members of the band are turned into the characters of the game. This allows the characters of the game to perform impressive stunts that would not really be possible or be to dangerous to perform in real life. Although this is impressive at the same time it is somewhat funny as the graphics are quite bad and the song isn't that old so better graphics are available but the band has chosen these graphics. This adds a retro feel to the music video and further represents the need to rebel against society.

The background behind the band itself goes against the conventions of the genre, as rock is associated with dark, colours, flashing lights and obscure art. The band has chosen to have a time lapse of the blue sky and clouds. This once more shows the rebellion to what is expected of them. Furthermore they appear to be in a field, this contrasts the type of song as this is a mixture of nature, which has connotations of tranquility and quiet, and rock ,with these conventions.

Comparison

 Comparing Californication, which was released in 2006, with an earlier song by Queens Of The Stone Age called No One Knows. We can easily make comparisons between the two regardless of the age gap. Firstly they are both in the same genre or rock. Secondly they use very similar shots, the band always appears together and there are various close up shots of each of the band members. Thirdly its been designed to be funny. A deer, driving a car, beating up and tying 3 humans to the hood of the car is very unlikely. this is funny and is alike to the first video as the stunts the band members pull in the 'game' are unlikely. Lastly the lyrics of the song do not match the video whatsoever, but it is for different reasons. unlike in the forst video the music was there to compliment the video but in this video the lyrics describe a rebellion against convention as it says "we got them rules to follow, that and this, these and those". This rather odd video represents this rebellion a lot like the first video.