D.I.Y.

Generic Analysis

General

What genre of music video is the text?

The music video is of an alternative/experimental pop genre.

What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
The basic themes of the text contain elements of disjuncture, narrative
and performance combined, whilst discussing the subject matter of a girl
expressing her emotions of distressed love.

How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

The text in terms of its content appears very typical of the genre,
expressing visuals through a psychedelic, hallucinatory narrative. It also
features an expected female artist singing about her emotions of love for
another human whom she isnt or cannot be with. The idea of minimalism
within setting, combined with a strange array of effects allows the text as
well to reflect others within its genre through its experimentation of
contradictory standard pop conventions that have been rebelled through
alternative matters.

What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

Within the genre of alternative/experimental pop, you would expect a
music video to either appear very minimalistic with a hidden meaning that
may not be understood by a generic pop audience, or you would expect a
music video that appears to contain absolutely everything, contrasting
other genres that believe you can only stick to one thing/convention
within a video in order for it to work. Experimental videos are supposed to
get the audience to experience something that doesnt blend with the
mainstream, and allow them to understand something that a mainstream
pop audience would not believe works and appears to be all over the
place.

Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text?
For this particular text, the formal generic labels disjuncture, narrative and
performance fit the music video well, as the video contains a storyline that
is blended with an artist performing a contemporary dance/splurge of
emotions alone in a room, losing herself in a disjunctured 3D land.

Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?

Multiple conventions of the alternative/experimental pop genre can be
recognized within this text. These include a female artist, a psychedelic
approach to visuals, a lyrical theme of love and despair and mise en scene
including an emphasised use of makeup and costume design.

Find three examples of this text using the conventions of its

genre?
0:09 first appearance of the CVI (being a female artist).
1:17 a lyrical theme of love and despair blended into the psychedelic
discomfort of emotions expressed through the CVI.
1:49 a psychedelic approach to visuals through 3D effects.

Find two examples where the text challenges the conventions of

the genre?
1. Colour changes to black and white and back to colour multiple
times in random spurs.
2. Specific shots come across a lot blurrier than expected to be
within effects.

Find three examples of familiar motifs or images used?

1. Tears of blood streaming down the CVIs face.
2. 3D glitches emphasised when the CVI is in distress.
3. TV glitches appearing around the end of sections within the
music.

What relationship to reality does the text lay claim to

(verisimilitude)?
The reality of love and emotion is laid claim to within the text. The
relationship of intensified emotions through the CVI reaches out to the
audience and connects them.

What purposes does the genre serve?

(Entertainment/information/self identity)
The purposes of the experimental/alternative pop genre are purely to
serve entertainment, but in a more unusual and less straightforward way.
It requires more thought within what the motives are within both the
songs and the music videos, and sometimes this can have no explicit
meaning whatsoever. It also creates a sense of self identity, leaving the
power of information and music to be interpreted however you want it to
be, without having to stick to generic pop conventions that everyone else
listens to in the mainstream and on the radio, which require one
straightforward meaning towards it all (mainly expected, clich love
stories).
What predictions about events did your generic identification of
the text lead to (and to what extent did these prove accurate)?
The generic identification of the text provided the predictions to be fully
accurate by making a disjunctive, narrative music video entailing an
attractive girl flaunting herself in front of the camera, singing about love
and relationships.

Mode of Address

What sort of audience was your text aimed at (and how typical
was this of the genre)?
The target audience for the text was young adults, slightly reaching out to
adults (around 15-30). The main audience featured were young
alternatives, alongside potential D.I.Y. fans, who like to rebel against the
mainstream and take their own creative path.

How does the text address your audience?

The text addresses the audience within the lyrics and the emotional
distress of the CVI throughout the music video. Attempting to relate to a
young adult audience through the lyrical content of love, the CVI
expresses her despair of loneliness, reaching out for a lover whom she
does not have, something that you would say a majority of teens and
young adults can relate to. This is greater emphasised through the CVI
rolling around on the floor and reaching out to the camera etc,
personifying emotions and turning them into something physical, almost
so the audience can try and reach out to her because they understand her
pain.

What sort of person does it assume they are?

It assumes they are a character who likes to perceive the inference in a
slightly different perspective. The audience are designed to think outside
of the box and discover something that can come across as easily
delivered, but in an unusual manner that wouldnt be expected for that
particular meaning.

What relevance does the text actually have for you?

The relevance of the text comes through the unexpected. The text is
supposed to stand out and appear unclear within the first watch/glance. It
is supposed to be relevant in terms of eclecticism, crossing boundaries of
multiple other pieces and genres.

What knowledge does it take for granted?

The text takes the knowledge of the expected for granted. The storyline
isnt straight forward and has to be watched a few times in order to gain a
real sense of interpretation within the piece.

Are there any notable shifts in the texts mode of address (and if
so, what do they involve)?
Within the texts mode of address, there is a shift in the emotion of the
CVI. As the song progresses, the artists physical actions increase in
intensity, to emphasise the intensity of the music and the lyrics being
sung, building tension within the piece of text as a whole. This changes
the mode of address as it aims to build tension within the audience as
well, clutching them further into the texts meaning of despair.

What responses does the text seem to expect from your

audience?
The responses the text seems to expect from the audience are actually
silent, but also reflective. The audience are supposed to finish the video
and just sit there and feel almost sympathy for the CVI after watching 4
minutes worth of her rolling around on the floor in despair over her love
issues. The text also expects multiple interpretations due to the
uncertainty of the narrative displayed.

What is the preferred, oppositional and negotiated reading of

your text?
The preferred reading of the text is that it stands out from the mainstream
and comes across innovative and interesting.
The oppositional reading of the text is that it makes no sense and it comes
across weird, therefore they dislike it.
The negotiated reading of the text is that they understand where the
director was coming from with their ideas, but they dont connect to it.

Relationship to Other Texts

What intertextual references are there in the text you have

created (and to what oher texts)?
In the text, two main intertextual references are featured, the first being
from Calvin Harris How Deep Is Your Love and the second from Zayns
Pillow Talk. Recreation of the 3D glitch idea of a woman in distress,
shaking her head and hands around occurs, just like the CVI does in How
Deep Is Your Love, alongside the idea of crying tears of blood from the
CVI in Pillow Talk.

Generically, which other texts does the text you have created
resemble most closely?
The text particularly resembles the majority of music videos created by
BANKS. This can be seen closely within the choice of mise en scene e.g.
costume and makeup design. The text also resembles a very minimalist,
laid back setting to emphasise the CVIs actions more over whats going
on around her, similar to BANKS who always appears to be in some kind of
dull house or plain studio setting.

What key features are shared by these texts?

Key features shared by these texts are costume design, makeup, setting,
the CVIs address towards the audience and the camera and the use of
particular camera shots at specific moments in the music video.

What major differences do you notice between them?

The text differs slightly to BANKS videos however as she doesnt include
the use of 3D glitch effects like this text does alongside Zayn and Calvin
Harris, however the location changes around in Calvins video which also
differs to the text in this way.