Characteristics and motifs of music videos

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LYRICS AND VISUALS

T H E F I R S T K E Y F E A T U R E T H A T I S S E E N I N M U S I C V I D E O S I S L Y R I C S A N D V I S U A L S , A S T H E R E I S A R E L A T I O N S H I P B E T W E E N T H E L Y R I C S A N D T H E V I S U A L S E V I D E N T I N T H E M U S I C V I D E O . F O R E X A M P L E I N T H E ‘ P E R S P E C T I V E ’ M U S I C V I D E O B Y T R A S H B O A T , T H E L Y R I C S A R E B E I N G S H O W N A S T H E F R O N T M A N I S S I N G I N G . T H E V I S U A L S A R E I N S Y N C W I T H T H E L Y R I C S A S T H E S I N G E R I S W R I T I N G O U T T H E L Y R I C S A S H E I S S I N G I N G .

LYRICS AND VISUALS (CEE-REALITY)

O U R M U S I C V I D E O D E M O N S T R A T E S A R E L A T I O N S H I P B E T W E E N T H E L Y R I C S A N D V I S U A L S A S W E L L . T H I S I S S E E N W H E N C E E -R E A L I T Y I S O N T H E S T A G E R A P P I N G A N D T H E R E D L E T T E R S A P P E A R O N T H E S C R E E N .

INTERTEXTUALITY

Another key feature is references to popular culture, as music videos often make references to things affiliated with popular culture such as memorable quotes from popular films and re-enactments of well-known scenes from films and music videos. One example is the ‘Movies’ video by Alien Ant Farm, in which they re-enact scenes from films like The Karate Kid and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Another example is ‘All The Small Things’ video by blink-182, in which the three members parody boy bands such as N-Sync and The Backstreet Boys.

INTERTEXTUALITY (CEE-REALITY)We have done our best to make references to various other rap videos and use their motifs to our own advantage. In rap/grime music videos, we often see rappers wearing hoodies as they are walking and rapping in urban areas throughout the video. For example, in the music video ’P’s and Q’s’ by Kano we see the rapper wearing a hoodie as he is walking down the street. And in our music video, Cee-Reality is wearing a hoodie as he is walking through the park and rapping.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS

Music videos also demonstrate genre characteristics e.g. stage/live performances, concept/narrative based. An example is Green Day’s video for ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’, the video features the band performing on a stage and a narrative-based story about a young couple.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS (CEE-REALITY)

Our video features the rapper telling a story with his song, the concept of the video looks at the glamorous lifestyle of the urban rapper e.g. Cee-Reality is greeting fans and signing autographs.