Task 2 (Genre Comparitive study)

The two videos i have chosen are 'A Day to Remember-The plot to bomb the Panhandle' and 'We are the Ocean-Nothing good has happened yet'. Firstly, these two bands are from the genre of metal.

These video's follow the generic conventions of this type of music as the playing of the music and the skill of the musician is very important. This is also a way of selling the artist, for example in the video by A Day to Remember it shows them performing so this would entice the target audience of the band to want to watch them live and see them performing there songs live. The same can said for the video by We are the Ocean as the band give an energetic performance despite there being no one around to spectate, this makes you think if there doing this without a crowd, then what would it be like with a crowd.

These two videos both have the typical convention of this genre, and this is that you can see the band playing, however, they are presented in different ways, for example, 'A Day to Remember' are playing in a 'Dojo' with a crowd in there presence whereas 'We are the Ocean' are playing in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse by themselves almost as if they are having a band practice.

In the video by 'A Day to Remember', you can see a big guy who looks like a sumo wrestler showing everyone what appear to be sumo wrestling moves to a large group of people, then come the end of the video, the large group of people are doing these moves along with the music. The big guy in this video raises his eyebrow in beat with the drums. In some cases, the lighting blocks out everything else in shot apart from the band members face, meaning that you are drawn to looking at them. There are some links in this video as, for example, when the singer says "Its proven i can't trust a word you say", he looks into the camera when he says "you". In a way this personalises the video a bit more and makes you feel that he is saying it to you. At the end of the music video, the last shot just shows the guy clapping for the band by himself.

In the video by 'We are the Ocean', at the beginning the screen fades in on what looks like a t.v screen. At approximately 2.07 mins there is a shot of both vocalist' in one frame. When there is 'feedback' at the end of the video, the screen starts to blur and the video slowly fades out until it stops and it finishes on almost the same fade in which it started. There is a link between lyrics and visuals at the beginning as you can see them standing inside, and the singer say, 'Let me in From the rain' and it shows you that they are inside. This video appears to be quite a low cost production which in a way contradicts the stereotypes of most famous bands being rich and having money to waste, and it puts them on a level playing field with all of their fans.

The idea taken up by 'We are the Ocean' is completely different to that of the 'A Day to Remember' video as they seem to have gone for a higher costing video, for example they have lighting and extras hired for their video rather than just the band alone.

In the sense of voyeurism there is very little between them besides the lively performance that they are giving, this makes you want to see them live more as not only is it there music you want to hear but it helps a lot when a good performance is given along side the music band as the have to focus on the extras in the video, however, this has been done well in this case as each of the extras are constantly active and their acting always coincides with the music that is being played at the time. At the end the band and the extras are all brought together at the end and the band carry on they would if they were playing a gig.

Overall, both videos show great contrast on a range of the aspects that would typically be seen in music videos.

Conventions of the genre
It shows chaos breaking out outside of the gig, police are there to break up any trouble that may kick off, not a high tech camera, a live show. Backstage party after the gig with all the other bands that played.

Links between visuals and music
The music is fast paced and all cuts made are quick cuts.

Selling the artist
Shows them when they're not on the stage, just back stage having fun. It shows them doing what they do on the stage aswell.

Voyeurism and the art of looking
Everyone's looking to the camera man, the camera doesn't stay in one place for long. Spot light sticks on person in focus.

The conventions of the genre shown on this video show a live performance on an old non high tech. All from the point of view of camera man. The footage is just compiled together from one gig, the police turn up and are there to break up any trouble that may kick off.

There is little linkage between the visuals and the lyrics in this besides what the people are doing backstage in accordance to the lyrics. This video is very basic in terms of a music video, yet it appears to be effective in what it is trying to achieve.

Actions that are shown are all done with the music as it is footage of a live show, however the backstage footage doesn't fit with the music. The performance is lively and the band doesn't hold back on their performances on stage. The camera work in this video represents the music that is being played. It is shakey and follows the people from the band around.

In the sense of selling the artist, the video shows the band not only on stage doing what they are known for, but also when they are backstage having fun and just chilling with their mates. This sells the artist as it give the viewer a group of people that are just the same as us and in a sense we can relate to them.

POST WRITTEN BY CHRISTIEN MCKEEN, 23RD JUNE '09.