redundancy and entropy
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Redundancy and Entropy
Florence and The Machine:‘Spectrum’
The genre for this song is Indie Pop.
Redundancy and Entropy
Redundancy in a music video is what we would call predictable or conventional. Entropy is the opposite of this, something unpredictable or
unconventional.
Redundancy• Dance routines are common conventions of pop videos. ‘Spectrum’ contains choreographed routines that
fit to the timing of the music, for example; when there is a constant beat in the music the dancers spin or pirouette in time to the best, or when there is a highlight in the music; the dancers perform a big lift. The dancers wear traditional ballet leotards and tutu’s, or in the men’s case; patterned tights. These elements are redundant because, it’s exactly what you would expect dancers to wear, in particular ballerinas (which is exactly what the dancers are).
Redundancy• Promoting the artist: One of the most common conventions used in most music videos is the promoting of
the artist and ‘Spectrum’ is no different. The singer is shown performing in various different types of shots – this is something that you would expect to see in music videos.
• The artist is being portrayed as being very unique and elaborate; which is something we know is true. She is dressed in extravagant clothing and bold make-up which is something we associate with this artist; it is her brand identity.
Entropy• The mise-en-scene chosen for this video is extremely unique and may even come across a bit weird. The
set designs we see are something we would not expect to see everyday. However, we can relate to the Egyptian clothing that the men wear (as we know Egyptians wore glamorous clothing), the miniature Big Ben and the what looks like a city skyline, in the one location.
Entropy• There is no shots of a band or musical instruments; which for an Indie video is quite unconventional. Indie
videos commonly show a band performing together; this promotes the whole band, not just the lead singer.
• Also, linking to common conventions of a Indie music video; the narrative of Indie music videos tend to link more to the lyrics and have a set storyline, however ‘Spectrum’ doesn’t seem to have a storyline or clear link to the lyrics.
• Also, half way through the video the dancing changes from ballet to a mix or Street and Modern. This contradicts the ballerinas costume, as we would not expect someone who is dressed in a tutu and leotard to start dancing the hard, heavy, strong movements that are commonly associated with Street fance.