Music Video Analysis

Song: “Us”

Music Video Link: Link Here

Song Lyrics Link: Link Here

Artist: Regina Spektor

Director: Adria Petty

Writer: Regina Spektor

Producer: Regina Specktor

Composer: Regina Spektor

Genre: Anti-folk, baroque pop

Length: 4:54

Country: America (though she is from Russia)

Release: 2004 (America) & 2006 (UK)

Labels: Sire, Transgressive

Narrative: It opens with Regina Spektor climbing into a victoria styled, dark, green room and begins to unpack various objects from the Mary Poppins like bag, including a piano, a rug and a chandelier as well as many other objects through the video sequence. The atmosphere is enhanced by the utilization of stop motion in the video that gives it a surreal but atmospheric vibe. As the video continues surreal and strange scenes such as a sudden tinkering flower bed and toy soldiers coming out from her mouth and the ending when she is just pointing objects back into the bag (including herself) before vanishing altogether.

Star Image: As it is still a pop video this video diffidently shows off her presently quirky demeanour in many close ups and medium long sots showing off her unusual clothing taste. Regina Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She also explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beat box-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drumstick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.

Relation of the visuals to the song and thoughts beats and technical aspects of the music video: (analysis of the first minute)(0:01-0:08)The sequence opens in a long shot; the colour, props, setting and décor have a vintage feel to them, the dark navy blue with quite dramatized floor and wall features as the instrumental non-diegetic music begins. The lighting in the scene is kept quite dark setting with the only light in the scene from the large 6-pane window. Spector’s costume also has that vintage feel to it, her navy blue matching jacket and skirt suit fits with the cloture of the room. Her make up dramatizes her piercing blue eyes and pale skin as well as her lips with his shown heavily in this video. Her performance in the video is similar to that of Mary Poppins or a fairy godmother smiling and making magic and it shows that she is having fun with her props in the video with a slight sassy-ness to it. All the props are somewhat oversized or made of cardboard that becomes an objects witch is escalated with the use of the stop motion in the video.

In hastily sped up stop motion which fits in with the high tempo beat of the non-diegetic piano and violin. Regina comes through the window and a bag appears in the room, she opens up the bag and with big over exaggerated movements Spektor takes out from her large bag a fold up cardboard piano. With a gentle tap it becomes 3D and the pushes it over to the other side of the room. She then takes out a rug and puts it down while it unfurls itself while he takes out a wall ornament and chandelier and sends then up to the wall and ceiling respectfully before the scene changes and the lyrics start again. The opening scene showed off the “lively” upbeat tempo of the song as well as the theme is starting to show.

(0:09-0:11)In a high angle medium shot we can see Spektor playing the piano. She sings the line directly into the camera; still with the stop motion showing giving off the surliness of the world of the video. She sings the line “They made a stature of us…”, she smiles into the camera while doing this.

(0:12-0:16)It cuts to a medium close up of Spektor as she looks through a telescope and in the reflection it shows a drawn blimp in a navy sky, this sequence has had stop motion in it. With the instrumental playing. However when Spektor starts singing again the stop motion cuts and she sings again; “Then put it on a mountain top”.

(0:17-0:19)It cuts back to the room in the first shot, as Spektor is back in the bag, rummaging through it as the instrumental plays. She in similar fashion to the wall feature and chandelier throws a monotone painting onto the wall with the utilization of stop motion as well as some photos onto the piano and a stool beside it.

(0:20-0:24)It jump cuts to a medium close up of Spektor as she lifts out a comically large map, the stop motion cuts and she sings, “Now the tourists come and stare at us”, the expression somewhat pained by what she is saying which juxtaposes the upbeat rhythm of the song. The stop motion kicks in again as she flings the map onto the wall.

(0:25-0:35)In a close up, and the jagged stop motion she sings with a crooked smile “Blow bubbles with their gum”; though as she begins to say gum the shot changes to a medium shot of her holding a tranquilizer dart and throws it in a close up on the map of what appears to be Korea in the map with battle ships facing at it. It cuts back to her in a reverse shot and with a quick element of stop motion she has another dart in her hand as she poses with her hand on her hip. She then says “Takes photographs for fun, have fun”, when she sings “Photographs” the shot changes to behind her in a medium shot as we see her throwing numerous more darts at the map with the stop motion element. The shot then cuts to the map, where it has many more battleships, factories, concentrations camps, tanks and fighter planes on it, the dozen of black, white and red darts begin to organize themselves and then disappear. To which point it cuts to a close up of her feet as she walks off from view.

(0:36:0:41)In a medium shot Spektor walks back over to her bag and pulls out a bag clearly labelled “seeds”. It then cuts to a high angle long shot as she sings “They’ll name a city after us”, with that she throws the seeds onto the rug onto the ground. In a medium close up we see the floor littered with seeds and with a strangle sparkle, a small city made from tinker supplies, wires, bobbins, taps and fans sprout up into a small city.

(0:42-0:52)In a low angle medium shot with a use of pull focus we see Spektor pouring a strange light out of a tin watering can, as she does this the foundation below her shivers as she sings “And later say its all our fault”, it jumps cuts and Spektor is smelling from the flowers that have bore from the city still in the same shot, she sings “Then they’ll give us a talking to (x2)”then a series of jump cuts start with Spektor pouring more light onto the flowers.

(0:53-1:03)With a transition from the blimp from the telescope we enter a new world where everything aside from Spektor is either illustrated or a monotone photograph of people dressed in military attire (predominantly Nazi). As the transition happens she sings “Cause they’ve got years of experience”. It cuts to a close up, even Spector’s colour has been muted, and then a series of blimps fly around the shot. It cuts back to Spektor in a close up, she then sings “we’re living in a den of thieves, rummaging for answers in the pages”. With a shaking camera as she wanders through the photos she wanders as she sings through. And finally see her lying on the ground staring at the newspaper clippings that on the wall as she lies on the ground looking over her shoulder.

Conclusion:I think that the lyrics and visuals in the music video suggest that the “Us” is in reference to celebrities and politicians, which is supported by the lyrics in “They made a statue of us and put it on a mountain top”. I think what the song is saying is about how “the people” idolize celebrities and hail politicians when they do as we see is right and beneficial for us, but how also when bad stuff happens like wars and atrocities we blame them though they are people too living I a world which is corrupted.