Nick Lacey - Genre Theory- 'same but different'

Many music videos offer the audience something that is 'same but different' as it is a tried and tested method to maintain the mainstream audience. This works very well if the artists you wish to make a music video for is an already established well known artist, however it wouldn't work well if you was a new upcoming band. Many artists create something thats inventive and experimental and and now and again you get an artist that creates a music video just to shock and distgust people to get their name known.

Certain artists that follow Nick Lacey's theory of offering the audience something thats 'same but different'. Bands such as 'Fall Out Boy' do this very well. They have a lot of the video based on the performace of the band but also there is a storyline that runs throughout it with Pete Wentz (lead guitar) the main character. Pete is the main character (not the main singer) as he is the member that all the women like therefore appealing to the female fans. Such music videos that do this are 'Dance Dance' and 'Thanks for the Memories'. Another band that follows the conventions are 'Florence and the Machine'. Florence's video however unconventional they may seem, are all very similar to one another. The main focus is on Florence throughout her videos, she is always dressed in wierd and wonderfull clothes and it is either filmed in the countryside 'Dog Days' and 'Rabbit Heart' or completely in a studio on green screen 'You got the Love' and 'Kiss with a Fist'.

On the other hand there are artists that offer non of the above. An example of this is Progidy's 'Smack Your Bitch Up'. This music video has been used purely for the shock factor. The drug use and explicit sex was used to create controversy, the controversy would get the video banned and make it even more popular. The experimental use of POV cam and editing when the music kicks in, the the vision of the women is warped thus breaking the conventions of a music video. Another band that breaks the conventions of a music video is Bloc Party with 'Flux'. This video doesnt have any of the band in it and just shows monsters attacking a city, the monsters are clearly people dressed up in costume and wouldnt be that expensive to re-create. The only editing is laser beams and explosions on a minor scale and that wouldnt be that hard to acheive. The cinematography is very varied and there isnt that many close up shots to create an audience artist recognition.

Callan Wheatcroft