Video analysis

Gangnam Style

Gangnam Style is a kpop song by Psy, a Korean artist that just came back from a two year break. The catchy beat and rhythm are what makes the song highly recognizable to this day. Unlike the average music video, Gangnam Style is mainly unconventional but it does follow some conventions.

The lyrics to the song are respectable, about a woman who is able to present herself modestly and doesn’t show off “too much.” The music video is abstract as there doesn’t seem to be any sort of relation between the lyrics and video, apart from near to the end where it does seem to have some resemblance. In the beginning of the video, it starts off with Psy sitting in what appears to be sitting in a beach chair in front of a children’s playground with a child doing break dancing next to him. The amount of unusual content is one thing that makes the music video so striking and memorable.

There are some parts where the music does relate to the visuals but that’s mainly during the performance parts. Psy’s “horse riding” dance falls in rhythm and beat to the music and there are a few parts where he sings “oh,” the camera quickly zooms in and then back out, like a quick jolt of the camera.

There doesn’t seem to be any obvious demands of the record label, the only possible identification selling through the artist is probably just the number of times the camera does a close up of Psy’s face.

There also doesn’t seem to be any intertextuality either however as it is a Korean music video, there may be some Korean references in there that Koreans understand but the rest of the world doesn’t. The music does feature another famous kpop singer, Hyuna. People who listen to kpop and follow the news of it will be able to identify her in the music video.

Korea is a very modest and respectable country so any hints of voyeurism are highly frowned upon. The only slight hint of voyeurism is when Hyuna is doing a dance on the subway train, she spins around a pole but it’s very minor and almost unnoticeable, the camera isn’t zoomed in on her figure. Korea highly respects each others being so it’s rare to see any tip of close up on a female apart from the face. Hyuna is wearing modest clothing and doesn’t show a lot of skin, apart from her legs as she is wearing shorts. However, there is a scene where the camera is zoomed in on the lower half of a woman and Psy is shown screaming at it, this is a comedic effect that is nicely done as it rids any thoughts of voyeurism that comes to mind.

The genre characteristics are performances, as it is a pop music video.

The general feel the music video gives out is very upbeat, bright and vivid. There aren’t any dark or harsh colours, everything is soft and vibrant.

Jessie J – Domino

Domino is a pop song by Jessie J.

Just like Gangnam Style, the music video is unconventional. The music video is very abstract, the lyrics doesn’t appear to relate to the visuals however, the lyrics are about life and love, Jessie J is singing how she’s reacting so wildly to it, this is shown in the music video through the mise-en-scene, her costume, make up and the setting she is in is very bright and vibrant, reflecting the effect she has from the lyrics.

The music doesn’t reflect the visuals through instruments, it’s mainly just a music video of Jessie dancing around and just having fun, there are any shots of instruments. Her dance moves and actions do go with the beat and rhythm of the music video. The video does also cut on beat in some areas in the beginning, when she looks up, there is a beat and it quickly cuts.

Also similar to Gangnam Style there doesn’t appear to be any demands from the record label apart from lots of close ups of Jessie’s face.

There doesn’t seem to be any form of intextuality.

Unlike many female artists out there, Jessie J’s Domino is very modest. There is almost no voyeurism apart from the skin shown on her stomach from her top and her legs from wearing shorts. She is a very famous role model for teenage girls out there so she is setting an example saying that girls don’t have to show a lot to give an impression. In majority of her scenes, she is almost completely covered up, the costumes are however very eye-catching which makes up for the lack of voyeurism. Due to the lack of voyeurism, the video is therefore aimed to a much wider range group as anyone will be able to view it. Many female artists give off a lot of voyeurism for example NickiMinaj and Katy Perry.

The genre characteristics that appear in the video are Jessie’s small dance performances.