MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

JASON DERULO ft. 2 CHAINZ: TALK DIRTY

This music video starts of with the two artists singing. The mise-en-scene of the artists is that their built up bodies are very attractive to some female audiences and that’s their interests in men. One of the artists is wearing a shirt however you could see his body. This is usually very attractive to females who are interested in built up bodies. However I personally like Jason Derulo and his body therefore this music video engages me in and its eye catching to me. The other artist in this music video is wearing shades belt, and he has golden chains and silver rings. this shows that he is rich and he own a lot of fashionable things which also attracts a lot of women. Furthermore Jason Derulo is wearing a shirt which is open therefore the audience could see his built-up body, and that attracts a lot of women.

This music video does not have a narrative however the lyrics do match up with the video. It is in chronological order. The start of the is off one of the artists showing his attractive body and the other wearing his shades and belt (rich) and then it leads onto him being surrounded by a lot of women and they are all kind of touching him gently and treating him like he is someone special person. Furthermore within the video there are a lot of close-ups of the main artist (JASON DERULO) which attracts the audience. Also the there is a birds eye view of the main artist with a lot of women surrounding him and there is also long shots. This suggests that women are treated as sex objects because they are wearing shorts, belly tops and bras.

Another thing about this video is that the majority of the lighting within the video is dark and the you could only see the artists face and body. This shows us that this video is deliberately making the audience concentrate on the main artists and the way these women are portrayed. Also another thing which is effective is the way the lighting changes, it starts of with really dark lighting and then as soon as the other artist starts singing the lighting changes.

Amira Elmi

 

Lana Del Rey-Born to Die

The target audience of this music video is indie/sad core lovers aged between18-28 because a lot of the content in the video is mature and it would be hard for young people to interpret and understand the meaning of the video, and a lot of the singers fans are young adults. It is mostly aimed at females because the video is about love which most people associate with females and also abusive and argumentative streaks which females can also relate to.

The audience will see the music video as a narrative music because the video tells a story which will interest the audience and if people are in relationships that have similar problems as shown in the one in the video then they can relate to it however it also informs people of the realisation of what can happen in relationships, especially those in young relationships.

The music video is opened with the main character a young female and a heavily tattooed man hugging each other in front of the American flag. The main lead stares at the camera while the man she is embracing, has his eyes closed which could mean that they are in a relationship and could give the impression that she is more important to him than he is to her, or he has done something to possibly jeopardize their relationship.

The next scene is shown in what looks like a palace as the viewers are shown the beauty of the place and then shown a long shot of the lead sitting in what looks like a throne and dressed elegantly in a white dress which is normally associated with the idea of purity and innocence and also looks like she is something like royalty, sitting on a throne with two real tigers by her side giving her an air of power and showing her dominance as the tigers are so relaxed around her as if they are there to protect her and therefore she must have some sort of command over them.

The next shot is completely different from the first two and is showing the protagonist in casual clothing and she is with same man as before and he is also in casual clothing, showing some sort of narrative unveiling giving the impression that there is a story behind it.

The low key lighting suggests a dark atmosphere but also gives off a romantic vibe with the couple there in the night. They are in a deserts, or woods and that also gives off a romantic element as they are a couple, alone and she speeds up to him and he kisses her which suggests a sexual attraction between the two.

The scene then goes back to the artist in the palace like place suggesting that she is having flashbacks to the times when she was with her lover.

The scene then appears to take a turn for the worse as there are abusive traits being used as the man pokes the female’s head and forces her to kiss him and mid shots are used throughout this to show the couple from far away but close enough to see the facial expressions on both characters. This is probably used to show the posture and forcefulness of the man but to also show the two big differences between the man and the women’s facial expressions.

The next shot is a mid shot of the artist lying in bed wearing a white silk gown again showing expensiveness behind it but also a theme of innocence associated with her. The shot is then half faded into black and that connotes that something bad is going to happen and it is then shown Lana and her lover lying beside her stroking her arm and this is still a mid shot and you can see their facial expressions and hers looks a bit like she is somewhat scared and the idea of her facing away from him shows that she is maybe scared of him and wants to hide her pain from him however for him she has become an obsession and he now controls her.

Because she is frowning it shows that maybe she is sad and shows the audience that she no longer wants to be with him, in a relationship with someone whom she feels trapped. With the man smiling it suggests that he is happy and content with how things are going and he does not find his actions wrong in fact it seems the opposite he finds them right.

As the flashbacks continue the man now his hand around her throat strangling her and suggesting that he has authority over her which then shows her as the victim and her face in the shot is shown to have tears in them which leads the audience to believe that she is very badly affected by what’s happening and allows the audience to sympathize with her.

The scene then shifts back to them in the car with their casual clothing on again and as the lyrics in the song between to intertwine with the music video the audience gets the sense that the man is about to commit suicide as he leans over to kiss his partner and the couple approach a bright red light which the audience can identify from the reflection on the car but the couple are too busy kissing, which shows the theme of love and obsession from the man’s point of view, and this alerts the audience that they are approaching something dangerous because the colour is shown to be red which symbolizes hazards and danger.

Lana is now shown in a white dress which again shows the theme of purity and approaches a door which she pushes open and a beaming white light is shown across it and this connotes the idea of her now being in heaven.

The next shot is close up which zooms out into a long shot showing the man holding Lana and showing the damage that has happened to him. He has cuts on his face whereas Lana is covered in blood and appears to be dead. The look on the man’s face insists that he is sorry and remorseful about what he has done. The flames in the background illuminate both the female and male and with the low key lighting and with them walking in the middle puts all the focus on them, and also suggests that there was a crash but only Lana dies in the man’s attempt to kill himself with Lana failed.

The man is now living in his own hell and she is living in her version of ‘heaven’ and is at peace which is shown in the previous scene. The lyrics of the song fit in with the music video which gives it a narrative for example, ‘we were born to die’ suggests that the relationship was damaged and broken but the two people loved each other that their relationship was doomed from the beginning and also living life on the wild side and loving‘recklessly’.

The video then finishes with the same scene as the first one of the couple hugging which then allows the audience to make their own choices and judgement about what the video meant.

By Farhana Kadir

The Script-The Man Who Can’t Be Moved

At the start of the song the main vocalist, Danny O’Donoghue is walking along a pathway were he then stops at a street corner. At this particular moment the lyrics are ‘going back to the corner, where I first saw you’ are heard which shows a combination of both narrative and performance where the vocalist begins to mime the lyrics to the song which shows a good example of the relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals happening on the screen.

The Script is an alternative rock/pop band, and the song features lyrics that we would typically expect from such a band. This song is particularly telling us a story about a couple who have split up and now the man is waiting for his ex-girlfriend to come back to him and he doesn’t want to move on until she does to.

The main man’s image in the video is of casual appearance as no vehicle or anything of higher status to show the audience that he is of little power due to him walking around on his own looking a bit lost. Because the storyline is of such and the atmosphere is busy we expect to see areas of members of the public being featured with cuts of the band performing together, which we do.

The camera focuses on the main vocalist’s voice a lot throughout the sequence of the music video due to him being the star of the music video, and also him being the narrator of the video, and also actually being involved in the story.

The camera angles and the movement allow more contact and emotion with an audience and that attracts and grips an audience in and entertains them.

After about a quarter of the way through the video the entire band in introduces and shown through a cut between the narrative to the performance.

The band members all experience close ups in order to include them properly within the video. The other musicians also contribute to the song which therefore means that they then require screen time as well. Because of the cuts between the performances that are seen in the music video, a whole narrative is shown.

The lighting is natural daylight when he is walking down the street but when he is in the parking lot with the rest of the band the lighting becomes darker and lower.

The rest of the band are also dressed casually which offers a rough edge to their band image and the appearances of the band playing together offers a sort of friendly authenticity to their music.

The narrative of the song continues throughout the video whether it’s the main vocalist or the band or members of the public looking strangely at the lead vocalist because he is not moving from his seat which again shows consistency of a relationship between the lyrics and the video.
Farhana Kadir

 

LA, LA, LA - NAUGHTY BOY ft. SAM SMITH

 

This music video has a narrative through out the whole video and the story is in chronological order so that the audience could understand what the video is about. Also the story is told on the main character who is a young and what he does when he is in a difficult situation. The video starts off with a man who is shouting at a young boy who is probably his son and as he shouting at him the boy starts to cover his ears and then the chorus of the song starts ‘’la, la, la’’. This shows the audience that the young boy cannot cope with the with the man shouting because he does run away. This makes the audience feel sympathy for the boy. The director does this to show the audience that when you’re in a situation which you cannot cope in and you’re under a lot of pressure the best thing to do is simply walk away from it.

Furthermore as the young carries on his journey he comes across a few troubled people who are in a situation which they clearly do not enjoy. For example when he sees the man playing music for women in a gym the young boy encourages him to cover his ears and walk away, and then the chorus ‘’la, la, la’’ come on again. This is effective because it shows the audience that the point that the director is trying to get across is that when you’re in a situation which you do not want to be in you can simply walk away and cover your ears so you don’t have to listen it. The video is very successful because the director has made the story clear and its easy to understand, and also the audience were not only entertained by the song and lyrics the video was a significant feature of making this video successful.
By Amira

SEAN KINGSTON ft. CHRIS BROWN ft. WIZ KHALIFA - BEAT IT

This music video starts off with a lot of women coming out of a pool next a big mansion. These women are instantly shown as sex objects to the audiences as they are all surrounding one of the thee artists. Also the start of the music video the three artists are singing and dancing whilst they a have a nice silver car and green trees in the distance, and they are standing right in front of the house. Therefore this suggests that the men are rich and they are happy because they feel that they have everything. In addition this shows the audience that women just follow men for their money making and the things they buy and wear, and at the same time they are used as sex objects because there is no connotation with the woman being around the men.

Furthermore the mise- en- scene indicates that the women in this video are again being shown as sex objects. This is because they are wearing bikinis, shorts and short dresses. This shows the audience and the people who are watching this video that the women want this attention, because they have nice slim bodies which is also another thing that is appealing to men usually. Another thing about this video is the fact that there is a massive pool and a mansion and at the same time sun is about and there is a nice breeze. Therefore it is suggesting that everything is ‘perfect’and that there is a happy mood and it seems like a party atmosphere. Within the video the video there are a lot of close-ups to the main artists most of the time, this grabs the audiences attention as they like these artists and will definitely enjoy what they’re doing.

Ed Sheeran Give Me Love

The music video has many elements of a narrative video. The most common theme used theme throughout a lot of narrative videos is love and this video has a narrative theme of love throughout the video hence the title‘Give Me Love’.

The target audience for this video are the younger generation between the ages of 15-25 which is also similar to the age of the singer, Ed Sheeran, and also his fans that listen and buy his music. The song is about love and about a person who can’t forget his old love. The music video appeals mostly to females because the video though it may be about a man or women, the video itself speaks mostly towards females.

The video starts with a female in a middle shot that appears to have an arrow in her neck, surrounded by blood which gives the connotation of death or injury. Then it carries on to the next shot, another middle shot of a police officer walking forwards which adds more to the connotations of there being death and the police being the bearer of news with loud sirens surrounding him. This makes you want to find out more about the girl and what has happened as the video starts from the end and then goes backwards to start from the beginning and show what has happened and this also makes you feel sympathetic towards the girl as you think that a big tragedy or something happened that ended up in her dying.

There is then a cut to a shot of a couple kissing which is a very common theme within a lot of pop videos. It then cuts to a medium shot of female looking very sad and depressed. She is dressed in a white vest and has blonde hair which is mostly used to show innocence and purity, which is stereotypically what a young female character is supposed to look like in a pop video. The low key lighting throughout the video creates a gritty feel and the positioning of the young girl in the long shots, by herself, gives the impression that she is very lonely and isolated from the world. This creates a sense of realism which shows that there really are people like that in the world and that breaks the conventions of what is normally shown and associated with in a music video that is shows the theme of love.

There are two shots which show a variety of tools which could potentially be shown to show that there could be a tragedy happening later on in the video because those tools are very dangerous. It then shows a shot of two wooden model’s, a man and a women, holding hands and embracing each other which again shows the theme of love which is shown consistently throughout the video but then the way it is shown in the video isn’t what would normally be shown in a pop video to show the theme of love.

The video then cuts back to a bunch of medium shots showing what looks like the girl trying to scratch or hurt her back and then is shown to be pulling a feather out of her back. The feather is white again showing the theme of innocence but is covered in red blood going back to the idea of a sort of tragedy or injury. It then cuts to a long shot of the girl standing facing away from the camera so you can’t see her face and it shows her standing in the spotlight with a pair of wings. The low key lighting surrounding the spotlight that shines on the girls’ wings makes the shot more clear and shows the audience that she has wings. The wings are white and represent an angel and purity again showing the idea of innocence.

It then cuts to a medium shot of the girl carving arrows with the tools that were shown earlier, and then is shown in a full shot of firing an arrow at one of the women walking past her window. At this point we get the idea that the main lead is cupid as she has wings and is carrying a bow and arrow, also the fact that when she shoots her arrow into people they find love with another. This relates back to the narrative as cupid is a connotation of love. The song is based around love so this meets the audience’s expectation of a video based around a song which is about love, however this shows a more darker and wicked side of love, as the low lighting gives the video almost a dull, sinister feeling and the protagonist herself is shown to be melancholy which plays with the stereotypes in pop genre which shows that love is meant to be a happy, euphoric feeling.

There are then a few shots of people being hit with an arrow and frantically falling in love with the first person they see which lives up to the story of cupid’s arrows. It then shows the girl waiting for a train and then is cut to show her on the train making the audience aware that she has boarded the train and is probably going on to carry on with her job of being cupid.

There is then various close up and medium shots of the people who have been shot by cupid’s arrow kissing showing the more obvious theme of love which is normally shown in a pop music video with the theme of love, but with the dark lighting it seems more intense. However it is then cut to show the girl standing on top of a building perhaps suggesting the power and dominance she has. It also gives the impression that maybe the girl is a bit lost. Even though in this shot she is shown to be wearing white and supposed to be angelic the dark lighting and dark clouds contrasts with this and it creates a feeling of her somehow being forceful and somewhat sombre.

As the song reaches the climax and the pace of the music starts to become more fast the video cuts to showing close ups of people dancing and the girl now stabbing people and them falling in love with the first person they see. There is a blue tint to the lighting now and it makes the video seem more gritty and more harsh. This creates a sense of truth and authenticity which you wouldn’t normally associate with a video about love.

The editing in this sequence is fast and hectic feeling like the time is going fast and like its being fast forwarded, and also keeping with the fast tempo and music of the song.

Once the music starts to slow down the fast pace the video is moving at starts to slow down too and there is a close shot showing the female holding an arrow to her throat and then it cuts back to how the video started with all the police cars going off, and the same police officer shows in the beginning. The end shot is the same as how the video started with the girl with an arrow in her neck except this time her eyes open and the arrow disappears followed by a blurred image of the officer looking at the girl, and is shown in her point of show showing us what she sees, suggesting that she has found love, showing that steadiness and stability has been restored.

By Farhana Kadir