Signs are an integral part of our world and we use them so often, to help communicate with others, that more than half of the time we don't even register using them. Semiotics is the study of these signs and symbols and their use and interpretation. The signs can be divided classified into two parts; the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the “code” we read and the signified is the “meaning or idea” expressed by the signifier.
According to Roland Barthes, “an image is denoted. It has connotations, these may differ according to culture.”
Every music video involves production (camera, lights, post-production tools), consumption(internet, TV) and a target audience - often referred as “MTV Generation” (14-25 years old who are in search of their identity).
A music video consists of two signifiers - visual (imagery, colour, location) and auditive (music, dialogue, sound effect) - to manifest an idea or meaning. Hence, a music video could be considered as a coded text that can be decoded through the assistance of semiotics.
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