Illustration, Amplification & Disjuncture

Synaesthesia - A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualisation of a colour.

So this basically means in a song what sort of emotions do the lyrics/music generate for the audience to experience when listening to the song. 

We all look for a beginning, middle and an end in a narrative, however a narrative in a song can sometimes not run to how we think it will. In songs narrative is rarely complete and therefore fragmentary. Fragmentary narratives may help the repeatability of promos.

Andrew Goodwin: This man suggested that music promos could interpret the meanings created in the song in the following ways:

Illustration - Illustrates the idea of the narrative in the song lyrics. A good example of a music promo that uses illustration is ‘Stan’ by Eminem:

‘Stan’ by Eminem is a good example of illustration because it copies what the lyrics are saying but puts it in a visual form for example, when the song gets to the part where the character is writing the letter in the promo, the lyrics being rapped are actually what the guys writing. This helps to make a good promo because the visual part the song is directly linked to the auditory part. This means that the promo is mainly narrative based with little to no performance.

Amplification - Uses key ideas from the lyrics and develops it into a concept within a promo, keeping the link between the song and the promo. A good example of a music promo that uses amplification is ‘Photoshop Handsome’ by Everything Everything:

‘Photoshop Handsome’ by Everything Everything is a good example of Amplification because the title of the song is used through out the promo as the idea of people being made better than what they actually are. Throughout the song there is performance from the lead singer but as the song go’s on, animation is used to change his appearance from being normal at the start and adding effects on, like extra eye’s and different coloured skin. This message behind the promo is looking at how everyone has to look good in the world, but this song does the opposite and shows them for there real ugly selves.

Disjuncture - The promo bears no resemblance to the lyric or it’s meaning; abstract, often seen as unconventional/ 'arty' videos; creates new meaning for the song. A good example of a music promo that uses disjuncture is 'Can't Stop' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers:

'Can't Stop' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a good example of disjuncture because it makes no reference to the lyrics of the song or the narrative that the audience can see. The music promo is mainly composed of random shots that show the band members hold item in different rooms, this creates a feeling of unorganisation. Although in the music promo, there are parts of performance that are shown, especially during the solo of the song.