Genre Study: Pendulum - Watercolour

Pendulum is a drum an Australian drum and bass, electric rock band, who were inspired to delve into the drum and bass genre after attending a club called "Messiah". In addition their album "Hold your colour" is a true example of the drum and bass genre, a genre that possess distinctive codes and conventions that are required for an artist of band to fit that style of genre. Furthermore Pendulum is one of the drum and bass artists that have been compared to our chosen song "Fire in your eyes".

Digipak:

When it comes to the digipak they usually consist of very dark elements, whilst being combined with more vibrant visual styles, and also posses very apocalyptic and destructive concepts connoting aggression, passion and power. Furthermore the album cover doesn't always have a direct link to the lyrical themes of the songs, and can sometimes have alternative perceptions, which allows the audience to interpret multiple meanings. An example of this is Pendulum's "Hold your colour" album cover which has a wild, random structure along with a combination of dark shades of the more vibrant colors as it begins to span to the edges of the cover. Furthermore the lighter colors start from the middle in order to draw focus onto that section connoting that its the most important part of the album. In addition the combination of the dark and lighter elements helps to create a more modern feel, and makes links back to the club, rave scene, which is wear drum and bass originally stemmed from. As well as having a plethora of colors the use of the eye creates a mystic effect, stopping it from directly anchoring the album title. Drum and bass as a genre has become a lot more mainstream, and bands like Pendulum and The Prodigy have helped insure that, and this has therefore allowed artists of the drum and bass genre to have "randomness" on their album cover giving them an infinite number of possibilities.Therefore making it almost expected for a band/artist to not have a direct link between the album cover, and the title of their song.

Artists' image:

When it comes the the artists' image they can be a band or an artist. The band usually consist of a lead singer, drummer and guitarist, and they're overall theme of clothing is usually connotes a sense of uniformity.

                                                                              
When it comes the image of the artist they usually are depicted singing into a stand microphone. In addition the artists clothing never seems to be branded fashion, and is quite plain and dark, and possibly relates back to the themes shown on the album cover. Furthermore the artist usually wear one outfit throughout the majority of the video, connoting that the band or artist focus is one their music rather than their image. An example of this is the main vocalist from the band Pendulum in their music video for Watercolor. We can denote him wearing an all black outfit, standing on his own in an unknown location, singing into his microphone. This connotes once again that the band focuses more on the music they produce rather than what they wear. In comparison to other genres such as hip hop, RnB and Pop as they would have multiple costume changes, whilst in this video there an none.

 When it comes to the drummer, they never tend to be the main focus within the music videos as they usually help further enforce that sense of the band being focused on the music rather than their image. For example the drummer in Pendulum's music video Watercolor is always seen drumming, and isn't never seen doing anything else within the video and their are more shots of him playing the actual instrument rather than of him. In addition the clothes that he wears tends to always be the exact same in color and theme as the main vocalist creating a sense of uniformity. Furthermore artists' representation within the drum and bass genre isn't always the prime focus, and therefore it allows them to able to wear what they like depending on the themes of their song, and can potentially relate back to the album cover.

Themes & Editing:

Obviously the themes of the drum and bass genre are purely up to the band or artist but their connotations usually are all the same within the genre. These connotations usually consists of things such as aggression, passion and power all off which are conveyed through conceptual performance based videos. In addition despite the name of the song it will usually contain elements of action or destruction as a way of making the video more visually exciting, and that is then made through the addition of various effects within post-production. Furthermore there is usually a gradual build in that sense of passion and aggression throughout the music video until it reaches a climax.
     

                                                                                            

 Within this shot we can denote a space and mystic theme, which has most probably been made using some editing software, and it connotes the notion that there is a gradual increase when it comes to the level of passion and aggression throughout the music video, and within the drum and bass genre both thee music and their video start in a quite tranquil and calm manner. Furthermore it shows the conceptual elements within Pendulum's music video, and there is no clear link between the song title and the events taking place.

 At this point within the video you are able to denote the sudden change in pace and energy, and it has connotations of danger, power and passion, but also in looks as if the effect used it in rhythm with the music, evident through pulsating effect on the black liquid; this then shows that the bands focus is more on the music instead of their image. Furthermore the use of the black liquid relates back to the dark themes explored within this genre of music but also helps to relate back to that futuristic concepts that are explored as its more mainstream drum and base rather than underground drum and bass.

In addition within the drum and bass genre they tend to consists of very dramatic events that may very well juxtapose the more tranquil lyrics reinforcing the elements of "raving" and "clubbing" that appeal to more of the mainstream audience. These elements are evident within the drum and bass genre and are portrayed through the use of high scale visual and effects e.g. light particle effects or the destruction of structures which are present in Pendulum's music video.

Mise en scene:

Location

When it comes to the locations usually seen within this genre due to the fact that it's a conceptual video. Therefore the locations seem to be focused around a stage with the artist or band performing to large group of people. Furthermore the area that they're in may not be made completely clear to the audience creating a sense of mystery. This can be denoted in Pendulum's video when the camera cuts between the artist and the audience.

Within this picture we can once again connote elements of the rave and club scene that more modern drum and bass seems to divert towards. In addition it once again reinforces that idea that the music is the focus and that its main aim is for the enjoyment. In addition it helps to show that feeling of a performance by both the band and the audience.