Music Videos – Genre Theory

12/11/13

Starter

Match the images to Andrew Goodwin’s Key Features:

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Starter

Match the images to Andrew Goodwin’s Key Features:

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AG6 AG2

AG5

AG1

AG3 AG4

Learning Objectives3

WALT:Understand and apply Genre Theory to our own

music videos and evaluate its uses

WALB:Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy

Genre 3

GENRE means ‘kind’ or ‘type’. It can be recognised by its features. Andrew Goodwin suggested that music videos have ‘genre characteristics’.

Name the music/video:• Mansion/fast car/dance• Dance/teenagers/high school• High school/eyeliner/long black coats• Long black coats/amplifiers/mosh pit• Mosh pit/shorts/skateboardsExt. What links these together? What does it suggest?

Genre 3

GENRE means ‘kind’ or ‘type’. It can be recognised by its features. Andrew Goodwin suggested that music videos have ‘genre characteristics’.

Name the music/video:• Mansion/fast car/dance• Dance/teenagers/ high school• High school/eyeliner/ long black coats• Long black coats /amplifiers/ mosh pit• Mosh pit/shorts/skateboardsExt. What links these together? What does it suggest?

Semantic/Syntactic/ Pragmatic

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Rick Altman in his book ‘Film/Genre’ suggested there were three ways of breaking down the features of Genre:

• Semantic• Syntactic• PragmaticMake notes on your sheets from each of the

slides

Semantic

SEMANTIC – elements of the genre• This is concerned with the conventions of

the genre that communicate to the audience such as characters, locations, props, music, shooting style and other signifiers

e.g. ‘bling’, HumVs/fast cars, swimming pools in Rap music videos

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Syntactic

SYNTACTIC – the order/sequence of elements• This is concerned with the relations between

these elements and the structure of narratives in genres

E.g. The Rapper sings about his success/wealth, we see others excluded from that wealth or enjoying it (women)

Note: the syntax of music videos is often dictated by the story of the song/lyrics

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Semantic

SEMANTIC – elements of the genre• This is concerned with the conventions of

the genre that communicate to the audience such as characters, locations, props, music, shooting style and other signifiers

e.g. ‘bling’, HumVs/fast cars, swimming pools in Rap music videos

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