Research into our chosen genre

The song that we have decided to use to create our music video is Sonnentanz by Klangkarussell that falls under the genre of Deep House. Deep House is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980's which initially fused elements of Chicago house with Jazz funk and soul music. The genre is well known for its complex melody and use of unrelated chromatic chords underlying most sequences and a soul, ambient, or lounge vibe vocals. 

House/Dance characteristics:


Cinematography:  - Handheld camera work
                               - Rarely any static shots
                               - Large variety of camera shots and angles
                               - Close up of lead singers

Mise-en-scene:     - Night club scenes
                               - Flashing lights
                               - People dancing (street dancing, break dancing, raving)
                               - Modern teenage stereotypes (Alcohol, Drugs)
                               - High key lighting
                               - Fun atmosphere

Sound:                   - Upbeat music
                               - Repetitive drum beat
                               - Produced sounds (techno/electronic style)

Editing:                  - Fast paced/ to the beat
                               - A cut to a new shot usually every 1 or 2 seconds
                               - Usually cut to tell a narrative 

Example of a conventional dance video:

The song Animals by Martin Garrix for example shows a conventional dance music video to complement a typical dance track. It has upbeat music created with produced sounds which is stereotypical for the dance genre. The video however begins by breaking the conventions by using static shots with a slow pace, however this goes with the slower pace of the introduction of the song. The amount of shots used begins to increase which quickens the pace of the music video to reflect the faster pace of the music. As the beat of the song kicks in the night club scene is introduced, showing people dancing (raving, break dancing) with flashing lights. This is greatly conventional as this is the setting that dance music would be listened to and enjoy which leads the viewer to feel as if they are there enjoying themselves with the people present in the video, further adding to the entertainment value of the video. It sticks to the rule of a new shot every 2 seconds within the quicker pace in the middle of the song. This allows the video to follow several stories within the nightclub setting as well as further adding to the drama of the music by making the pace faster. There are also several shots of the artist performing the song to a large audience. This gives the impression that he is a well known artist that is enjoyed by a large target audience and adds to his status within the video and therefore also in the eyes of the audience. 


Example of an unconventional dance video:

Another dance video is Clean Bandit - Rather Be feat. Jess Glynn. This video however breaks many of the conventions that have previously been mentioned. It focusses on telling a narrative to the audience rather than a performance based video. This is shown through its use of longer camera shots, including static shots and slower paced editing to provide more information within each shot - making it easier for the audience to understand. (This is a feature that we have included within our video due to our video being largely narrative based.) This breaks the conventions of the dance genre as the videos usually have a new shot every one to two seconds in order to increase the pace to resemble the fast paced beats. Several of the settings that are used are also unconventional such as someones home, restaurant and a market, however these scenes are necessary in order to tell the story. A club is shown however half way through the video showing a large group of people enjoying themselves, this will keep the audience interested and add an element of excitement and enjoyment as the artist still wants to attract its chosen target market. This setting incorporates flashing lights as well as the group playing to an audience, this is conventional as it is what the audience would be expecting to see within a dance video, and encourages the audience to join in and have fun.