Exam Practice

Q: Explain in one way in which music videos use media language to differ from each other. Refer to one example of contrasting media language in two music videos you have studied to support your answer.

The two music videos,  Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars and If I were a boy by Beyonce differ through the editing. To start with, the colour of the videos fully contrast each other. In Uptown Funk the colour is very saturated which gives the impression that Bruno and Mark aren't taking themselves very seriously, and the song and the music video is just for a bit of fun. Also to make the people watching the video laugh. However in If I were a boy, the colour of the video is monochrome all throughout. This gives the impression that the video comes with a more serious tone and a certain message that boys are treated differently from girls.

Another way the two videos differ through editing, is the pace of the cuts. The pace in Uptown Funk is very quick due to the cuts fitting the beat. This gives shows that the song is made more for entertainment and for people to dance to rather than bring a message because if it did bring a message, the editing would be slower so people could understand. In contrast throughout the video in If I were a boy, The cuts are very slow and only some fit the beat, the rest usually fit the lyrics. So for example when Beyonce is singing about the theme of ignorance it is a scene of her being ignored but when she is singing about the fact she is practically getting cheated on it goes to a scene of her husband flirting with other girls. Again the brings a message that is easy to understand due to the song being slow and the dieting being slow.

The post production effects used also differ throughout. The video of Uptown Funk has no post production effects as the soundtrack is only the song. Again it shows that the song and the video were made more for fun as there are no extra sound effects to show a message of some sort. However in If I were a boy, there are post production effects all the way through the video. These effects help get the message that boys are treated differently than girls as it is usually the two arguing.

A theory that could apply well to Uptown Funk would be Butsch's theory from 1992. he said that males are often presented as 'Incompetent and ineffectual, often a baboon'. This fits well as throughout the video Mark and Bruno don't really take themselves seriously and represent themselves as a bit incompetent and ineffectual due to having no message. On the other hand, a theory that could apply well to If I were a boy would be Mulvey from 1995. She argued that women are shown as 'Erotic objects for desire of males'. This fits well as the message of the video is that girls are treated worse off than boys, and Beyonce represents herself as an erotic object to show this message.