Comparison of Music Video Genres

The two genres that I have decided to compare is R&B/Rap and Pop. The styles differ greatly, but sometimes find common ground. Pop Music has one of the widest styles that can be classed as Pop Music. The R&B/Rap genre is a very male orientated base for their music videos, often with a lot of underdressed women and narcissistic imagery. 1. Props and Clothing - Kanye West’s music video for the song 'Power', involves mythical imagery and Kanye West as a god like figure. The clothing and columns that Kanye West is walking out from, are based on ancient greek designs. The main contrast between the two music videos is, that in Kanye West's there isn't a performance aspect to it at all. This maybe because most of the instrumental tracks in the video (apart from the drums) would be produced electronically and mixed in a recording studio. Even though the music video is based on mythology, modern influences have been added to the costume and set design, such as Kanye is wearing a large gold chain, and at the end of the video an explosion of phyrotechniques is used, (obviously digitally edited) but similar to those used when a performer makes an entrance onto a stage. Compared to the Hurts' music video for 'Stay' there are large performance based areas with a more melancholic colouring to the shots. In Kanye West’s music video there are very vibrant colours like a classic Degas painting. In this one there is no colour apart from the woman in the music video and the dancers clothing which is an emerald green. Even though there are many instruments used in the song, there is only a piano and vocals used in the music video. The clothing worn by the singers are tieless suits with a bland look not typical to the genre, but pop music is so diverse it is hard to discern what is typical. 2. The Technical Aspect - In Kanye West’s music video it starts with a close up of the artists face and eyes. Exaggerated colouring of the eyes. The camera then loosens all the way to long shot very slowly over one minute fourteen seconds of the song. Until it reaches a point where a succession of five close ups of different areas of the long shot. At the end everyone is taken out of the shot except Kanye West and two people jumping towards him swords in hand. The whole sequence is done in slow motion and sped up with people moving more quickly, like the woman at the top right pouring water on herself. The Hurts' song has a very different approach to their music video compared to the more R&B style of Kanye West. The Hurts' have a long establishing shot in their performance parts of the music video, normally about five or six seconds long followed by a quick succession of close ups while the artist mimes. This keeps the viewer interested in the song as not much happens narratively. 3. Mise-en-Scene and Imagery - During the Hurts' music video they use dancers wearing thin material while they dance, so that the wind machine that is used exaggerates their movements. Most of the footage is of the band performing live. Kanye Wests music video contains a more egotistical style typical of the R&B/Rap genre. The use of woman as objects and them in pure admiration of him crawling towards his feet. Also there is a lot of sexual reference throughout the music video such as the women pouring water on themselves and a woman dancing erotically on the left hand side. The design of the shot for the music video reminds me of the painting that depicts George Washington as a god like figure, it is painted on the interior roof of the Capitol buildings rotunda.