Research

Types of music videos

Performance-Based Music Videos

Highlights the featured artist or band singing the song.
Includes footage from live concerts, performances in the studios, or even staged performances.
Example: “Best of You” By Foo Fighters (High energy band performance).
Used to demonstrate the performer’s skill and his her rapport with the audience.

Narrative-Based Music Videos

Depicts a storyline which is sung in the song.
These might comprise a linear or non-linear narrative (having a clear or fractured storyline).
Example: Ed Sheeran – “Thinking out loud” (The Romantic dance sequences showcase a beautiful love story).
Develops audience feeling and engagement while deepening the meaning of the song.

Conceptual/ Abstract Music Videos

Use of symbols, visual allegories, artistic works rather than a clear story.
Extremely experimental, surreal, or even overly stylized.
Example: OK Go – Treadmill choreography with a unique visual concept. “Here It Goes Again”
To make striking visuals for the videos.

4.Hybrid Music Videos

Most music videos take an aspect of performance, narrative, and conceptual types.
Example: Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” is a minimalist performance video with some elements of conceptual choreography.

Genre of music videos

Music videos can be classified as per their music genre, which also impacts their visual techniques, themes, and editing styles. Below are some popular genres music videos are classified into along with their features:

High energy performances that are set to colorful bright visuals.
Usually has choreographed dance sequences that are accompanied with several costume changes.
The tempo is upbeat hence, is edited in a fast-paced manner.
Dua Lipa- Don’t Start Now is one example.

2. Rock

Intense energy is set during the performance, along with live band shots.
Themes of it are usually dark, moody, or rebellious.
Fast cuts and shakey camera movements provide a raw, grit cinematography style.
An example would be Nirvana – Smells like Teen Spirit.

3. Hip-Hop/Rap

Emphasizes on urban culture, status, and luxury.
Expensive jewelry, cars, and clubs flashing in the visuals provides a luxurious setting.
Cuts are synchronized to the beat with smooth camera angles.
Example is Drake- God’s Plan.

4. R&B

Set revolves around romance and emotion hence visuals are smooth.

Soft-focus, intimate close-ups, and dim lights add to the emotion.
Focuses on a narrative like a love story or personal struggle.
Alicia Keys- If I Ain’t Got You serves as an example.

5. EDM (Electronic Dance Music)

Abstract futuristic concepts or concert/ festival footage edited to fast paced vibrant lighting and effects.

• Excessive utilization of neon shades, flashing lights, and other visually waiving effects.

• Illustration: The Chainsmoke

6. Country

These songs behind the visuals are always focused on “love” or “heartbreak” or revolve around “small-town life” stories.
Warm color palettes, rustic settings, and natural landscapes.
Listeners can easily relate to its simple emotional storytelling.
Example: Taylor Swift – “Love Story”

7. Alternative/Indie

Having artsy, experimental, and avant-garde images.

Can have unique storytelling that is creatively shot and low budget.
Vintage styled soft pastel aesthetics.
Example: Lorde – “Royals”

8. Metal

Dark and aggressive intense visual style.

Dystopian imagery with low lighting, high speed editing, and everything else in between.
Utilizing hardcore gothic, horror, or supernatural elements.
Example: Slipknot – “Duality”

9. Reggae/Dancehall

Calm, always in and around beach settings, and tropical vibes.

Relies on rhythmic editing that’s in time with the beat.
Celebratory themes with a mix of freedom and resolve social issue matters.
Example: Bob Marley – “One Love”

Connotation and iconography music videos

Connotation and iconography serve actively in music videos in the effort of capturing the audience’s attention as well as lending additional meaning to a piece through visuals.

Connotation and iconography

Connotation in Music Videos

Put simply, connotation is the set of emotions or associations that a particular image, color, or a symbol projects in a music video. It does not relate directly to any meaning but factors into a host of other elements like feeling, atmosphere, or context surrounding the symbol or image which adds depth to the imagery.

Examples of Connotation in Music Videos:

•   The Weeknd - Blinding Lights: Red lighting is passionate, but can denote danger or rebellion as well. 
•   Adele – Someone Like You: Nostalgic and timeless scenes in black and white gets accompanied with sadness.
•   Rihanna – Stay: Drowning in a rain scene can be a very emotionally intense image and brings cleansing but also sadness.
•   Billie Eilish – Everything I Wanted: Broken mirrors correlating to identity is painful and difficult, like a shattered feeling.

The use of connotation by music videos aides in shaping how audiences should interpret the song’s most important message.

Iconography in Music Videos

The term iconography is used to identify a genre, artist or theme comprising a set of symbols, objects, or motifs. All such components aid to provide further context, assistance, and association with the cultural or individual identity the music video attempts to convey.

Instances of Iconography Across a Variety of Music Video Genres:

Pop – Multi color scheme, conceptualized dance, glitzy attire (Katy Perry – California Gurls)

Rock → Guitars, dark outfits, live band music (Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine).

Hip-Hop → Lavish vehicles, gold jewelry, city streets (Jay-Z – Empire State of Mind).
Country → Cowboy hats, rural scenery, acoustic guitar music (Luke Bryan – Play It Again).
EDM → Neon, futuristic images, rapid cuts (Calvin Harris – Summer).

Icons are also created by personal personas. For example:

Michael Jackson → A white glove, moonwalking, military jackets.
Lady Gage → Surreal avant-garde dresses.
Beyoncé → Empowering women images, queenly outfits.
Stereotypes and representations in music videos

In one way or another, music videos usually reinforce or undermine societal norms and values through stereotypes and representation of diverse social groups. These portrayals shape audience perceptions and can either reinforce or subvert cultural expectations.

A stereotype refers to an oversimplified notion or idea about a specific group of people. Many music videos rely on stereotypes to create easily recognizable characters and settings.

Common Stereotypes in Music Videos

a) Gender Stereotypes

•   Women: Portrayed as hyper-sexualized figures (for example revealing costumes and suggestive dancing).
•   Example: Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke (singer has been blamed for giving women the title and objectifying them). 
•   Male: Showed as powerful, rich, and aggressive most of the time.  
•   Example: Most hip hop videos show men with expensive cars and lavish items which supports the notion of male dominance and success.
•   Against Gender Stereotypes:
•   Run the World (Girls) – Beyoncé (shows women to be independent, strong females).
•   Bad Habits – Ed Sheeran (gives more feminine and vulnerable image of a male).

b) Racial Stereotypes

•   Black performers in Hip Hop and R’n’B: Presented as rich, wealthy with expensive cars and jewelry.
•   Example: Many rap videos promotes the “gangster” or “hustler” mentality.

Representation of Asians: Notable underrepresentation has changed because of the increasing popularity of K-POP. K-POP videos are generally known for their extravagant visuals.
Representation of Latinos: Usually viewed through the lenses of passionate cultural beats and rhythm and appreciation for the exotic.
Example: Shakira – Hips don’t lie (Includes fetishes of Latin music and dances).

Some artists, like:

Childish Gambino – This is America (Dedicates the song to critiquing how black culture is copied and overexploited.)
Lizzo – Juice (Praises people for being body positive and loving themselves unlike other artists who body shame.)

c) Stereotypes in Different Music Genres

Pop: Artists are never shy to show off their unrealistic beauty and appear in perfectly edited videos.
Rock: Never ceases to reinforce and encourage destructive traits such temper, violence, and pure destructive masculine behavior such as leather jackets and broken instruments.
Country: Typically illustrates people living in areas away from cities, their old fashioned morals, and Americans dressed like cowboys.
EDM: Focuses more on the party with bright colorful lights, rave like dancing in major festival locations.

The representation on music videos

How people, different communities, and problems are represented in the media is defined as representation. While some videos portray the people inclusively and positively, others may be negative and further promote stereotypes.

a) Having Female Roles in Videos

A lot of videos attention is drawn for not including women in a positive light especially in hip-hop and pop.

Activists who contest these claims most noteworthy include the following:
Beyoncé – Formation: pays tribute to Black womanhood and culture.
Taylor Swift – The Man: speaks about feministic issues.

b) Representation of LGBTQ+

In the past, the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals was limited, however, figures such as Lil Nas X, Troye Sivan and Sam Smith brought more attention to it.
Montero aka Call Me By Your Name by Lil Nas X: openly queer and pushes boundaries regarding his sexuality.

c) Representation of Diversity

A lot of music videos reinforce cultural stereotypes, however, there are those which accept diversity and realness.
Michael Jackson – Black or White: promotes family of all races.
Despacito by Luis Fonsi: highlights Puerto Rican culture as opposed to the mere fetishization of Latin culture.

d) Representations of Other Issues

Some music videos tackle social and political topics. Take for example:

Racism → This Is America: Childish Gambino.
Mental Health → 1-800-273-8255: Logic raises awareness for suicide.
Body Positivity → All About That Bass: Meghan Trainor.

Typography music videos

n any music video, typography has a significant impact in advancing the visuals, as well as improving the themes, storytelling, and aesthetics of the video. Below are explanations that highlight the use of Typography in Music Videos:

Lyrics Videos & Kinetic Typography

Certain songs take advantage of lyrics being converted into text and animated in a format that makes use of text on the screen. The text is so extravagantly animated that it becomes choreographed to the music.
Example: Kanye West lyrically leads the audience into moves the beat thickens to “All of the Lights” (2011) and uses fast, bold letters throughout the song to emphasize what is already a powerful song.

Subtitles and Visuals Augmentation

There are instances of videos that want to either use words to start telling a story or just super impose the dialogue in an appealing manner.
Example: Billie Eilish’s dreamy animation blended well with the soft, handwritten-type subtitles in “My Future 2020” which is the perfect example of words not taking away from the visuals.

Retro & Vintage Inspired Typography

A lot of music hits borrow from the title sequences of classic films or stylized advertising.
Example: With the retro feel to the lyrics of Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak – Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open” 2021, it only makes sense that an elegant ’70s style script font is used for the Video’s title.

Branded Self Identity & Typos

The work of an artist can be easily distinguished from that of other artists by theirsie signature style or branding.
Example: Tyler The Creator is unapologetic when it comes to his distinct style across the board. He does not hide from using the same typography all over his videos, albums, and promotional material which other artists tend to avoid.

Experimental and Minimalist Approach

A few creators have deliberate but limited usage of typography, placing it as part of the video’s design.
For instance, text overlays in Frank Ocean’s song “Nikes” (2016) complement the dreamlike and surrealistic vibes throughout the song.

Audience Response Surveys

The connotations ,representation iconography of the original music video

he music video for “São Paulo,” a collaboration between The Weeknd and Anitta, is a rich tapestry of connotations, iconography, representations, and typography, all contributing to its haunting and experimental aesthetic.

Connotations and Representations:

The video delves into themes of transformation, discomfort, and the surreal aspects of identity and creation. Anitta’s portrayal of a pregnant woman with a singing mouth on her stomach introduces a visceral body horror element, challenging traditional representations of femininity and motherhood. This unsettling imagery aligns with the video’s release around Halloween, enhancing its eerie atmosphere. (NME.com)

Iconography:

The video’s iconography is laden with surreal and disturbing visuals. Anitta’s use of a “Rejuvenique” massage mask adds to the unsettling ambiance, creating a faceless, anonymous figure that heightens the video’s horror elements. The transformation of her pregnant belly into a mouth that sings The Weeknd’s verses serves as a powerful symbol of unconventional creation and communication, blurring the lines between the beautiful and the grotesque.

Typography:

While the video primarily focuses on its striking visual narrative, any use of typography would likely complement its dark and experimental tone. The absence of prominent textual elements allows the viewer to immerse fully in the visual and auditory experience, emphasizing the video’s surreal storytelling.

Overall, “São Paulo” stands as a bold artistic statement, utilizing disturbing imagery and surreal iconography to challenge viewers’ perceptions and evoke a strong emotional response.