Genre music video analysis

Genre Music Video Analysis

Nickelback – Photograph

Nickelback – Photograph

• I am going to analyse the music video for the song Photograph by the band Nickelback. The song is a slow rock song, much like the song we are using for our own music video.

What is the genre of the music video?

• I know that it fits the genre of rock mainly because there is guitars and drums as the backing track, and this is a very important generic convention of the rock genre. Also the lead singer, Chad Kroeger, sings with a very husky voice which is often how rock singers will sing. Also many rock songs are performed by bands, and in the music video the entire Nickelback band is performing together, though most of it is based around Chad performing to the camera.

Analyse the setting and decor of the music video.

• The majority of the music video is set in a school where the band is performing, this gives the audience an idea of nostalgia as the song is mainly about memories and even mentions “this is where I went to school.” The director has probably chosen this setting in order to give the audience the feeling of nostalgia and the feeling that the band is singing about actual memories they may have. Other parts of the music video are set in a street and a field, though the field shots do not always show the band, instead they show a group of young kids drinking and having fun. The director could have chosen to do this in order to again give a feeling of nostalgia and the memories of youth that the band may have and are singing about. The music video fits the genre of the song because it is mainly decorated with rock instruments, a generic convention of the rock genre, and settings that are sometimes filmed in slow motion to match the speed of the song, which is a slow rock ballad.

Analyse the costumes of the music videos.

• The costumes in the music video are not smart or fancy, instead they are simple and casual, as the band and actors are wearing clothing such as t-shirts and jeans, this gives the audience the feeling of reality, and it goes against being fake with fancy clothes that people wouldn’t normally wear. The director has most probably chosen these costumes as they are what people would wear normally, so they give the idea of reality and that the band are singing about real things, as they do not choose to wear fancy clothing. It fits the genre of the music video as in rock songs they generally wear casual clothes, mainly t-shirts and jeans, and do not wear things such as suits, and they fit the generic look of rock stars. The band is dressed the same as the young kids that are shown in some scenes, this gives the audience the idea that the band could possibly be remembering, and matching the song by singing about the memories they’ve had together, and so wear the same clothes as the other actors in order to show this.

Analyse the props in the music video.

• Most of the props in the video are musical instruments like guitars, drums, microphones etc. These are used by the band during their performance, it connotes to the audience a sense of realism as the band are playing the music they are listening to, along with the music in the narrative. It is necessary to the music video as it is a rock song, and so there need to be rock instruments playing in the music video as it is a convention of the genre. I think the director has chosen these instruments to keep to the generic conventions of rock music videos, most of them have the bands playing the music in them, and so they did this to keep it relating to the genre. I also think he did this to show the audience the sense of realism in relation to the lyrics, they are singing about being young and dreaming to be in a band, and now they are. Yes they do fit the genre of the music video as the generic conventions of rock music videos are guitars, drums etc.

Analyse the body language and movement in the music video.

• It connotes the feeling of the genre that the music video is. It is a rock song and so they would be performing using rock instruments, to connote the feeling of the genre. I think the director has chosen this to show the audience that Nickelback are the ones that are remembering back to their younger days, and that they are now rock singers and so wouldn’t be performing whilst partying, they would be performing with their instruments to fit the rock genre. It does fit the genre of the music video as in rock music videos you wouldn’t normally see the artist partying or performing in other ways, you would mainly see them performing with their instruments. Different audiences can interpret this in different ways. The ones that are familiar with Nickelback and their style of performing will be used to them singing in the video with all of their instruments to the audience, which is a generic convention in most rock music videos, instead of partying as the young kids do during the narrative scenes. Audiences that are not familiar with Nickelback will interpret them as being the artist as they are performing to the audience. The band acts differently to everyone else as in one part they are performing the song on their instruments, whereas through most of it the narrative group of friends are enjoying themselves and having a good time mainly partying and not playing instruments, also the artist walks through the town slower as if he is remembering things, not running around enjoying himself like the young people in the narrative are.

Performance

• The artists are important in the music video as they are in the majority of it performing the song, they are also in some narrative as well but not most of it. They go to their old school and perform to the audience after being involved in the narrative. The performance adds a story to the music video and the feeling of realism to the lyrics, it also makes the video more interesting as the performance features the band Nickelback.

Narrative• There is a narrative of the music video. The narrative is young kids enjoying their

youth in the video, and the artist singing about memories of their youth. The band does take part in the narrative as they are singing about the memories of their youth. The narrative does link with the lyrics as they are singing about all of the things they did when they were younger, and remembering things through a “Photograph.” For example when the lead singer sings “this is where I went to school,” it shows the band going into a school. The narrative adds more to the idea of memories that the band has of their times during youth, they sing about their memories but having a narrative that shows youthful kids together having a good time simply adds to the idea of the band remembering their youthful time.