Deconstruction Codes and Conventions

Conventions of a music video is the way in which things are done throughout the video to help portray the genre. The codes of a music video is the way they have used the equipment to show symbols, signs or how the person is feeling and how it is shown to the audience, as they help create meaning behind a video. The codes and conventions very much depend on the genre of the video however the general codes and conventions are:

• Representations- stereotypes
• Mise-en-scene- costume, lighting, makeup, setting
• Editing techniques
• Sound effects
• Camera
• Style- narrative, concept, performance

Radioactive:-

For my deconstruction of a music video I decided to choose Radioactive by Imagine Dragons as it is an alternative/indie song which is the genre I will be using for my own music video. The song was released in 2012 as the opening track to their new album 'Night Vision' and is very much done in a 'narrative' style. Throughout the video the genre of the song, alternative/indie, is represented through the use of stereotypical dark, dull colours with there being very little light apart from the toys fighting which ensures they stand out from the video as they play a key roll. The video also links to the typical conventions of a music video as the lyrics are linked to the visuals in the music video the whole way through, for example when it sings 'i'm breathing in' the band member makes a point to exaggerate a deep breath and they have band members hitting instruments and lip syncing in time to the music. 

The music video is made to represent the revolution and reflects this in the lyrics. when it says 'welcome to the new age' and 'it's a revolution I suppose'. The puppets represent people continually being controlled by others, or in this case the 'puppet masters' and the puppets fighting represents war. This is again shown towards the end of the video when the puppets get knocked down but manage to get themselves back up and take back their control. Again representing this idea the band members are made to look powerful and strong despite being locked up and actually being the weaker characters. 

The video has techniques that you would also expect to find in a music video such as lip syncing during the choruses and editing on the beat. To help with the narrative of the story lots of close up shots of the girl are used to show reactions as the video has a strong story line throughout so is based on performance which you wouldn't normally see in music videos. Whenever there is a shot of a band member a medium close up is always used to show what he is doing and so the audience can see their facial expression. At the start of the video lots of cut editing is used as the shots changed to different angles of the girl walking which, along with the fact there is no music playing except for sounds added in of trees creates a dramatic atmosphere. At the start the lighting is natural but dull so automatically gives the impression of it being set in autumn, but when the shot switches to the boxing ring the lighting becomes bright and well lit above the ring. This contrasts with the dark, low-key lighting used when the band members are lip syncing which indicates the audience they are trapped in some sort of cell. When the band escapes lighting is used to peep through the trap door and the band are filmed walking towards it to show the fact they are heading towards freedom.

By doing this research it  helps lot when it comes to us filming our own music video as it is the same genre so we know what kind of conventions and codes to be using in our own. It has made me consider what kind of lighting we need to concentrate on using, as our video too is set in autumn and the types of camera angles and editing we should be using to help get our narrative across.