Music Video Analysis

VideoMise en Scene Sound Editing

Camera Angles Theory

Mumford & Sons- Lover Of The Light

The folk genre Mumford & Sons focus on is displayed

through the mise en scene by authentic props, for example wooden tables and old china

plates. The actor in the video is also wearing a plain suit and tie

in some scenes, and a plain white t-shirt. This simple clothing represents the

simplicity of folk music. The relevance of the country side and animals in the music video co-ordinates with folk music and the outdoor feel it gives

off. All the lighting and colours is very crisp and clean, which is

often associated with folk music, because of the lack of

editing and technology the use when producing their music.

The sound in Mumford & Sons video begins with synchronous sound to introduce the country

side setting. This immediately identifies the folk genre to the audience. Although in the video

we see a man talking, we do not hear this dialogue over the song, but instead interpret what

he’s saying from the body language we can see from the

wide shots and close ups of his facial expressions. We do not

hear any sound effects or sound over the song itself, because this would distract

from what they are selling. As the song ends, we start to hear noises from the country side again to finish the video, this links back to the start of the

video tying in the whole video.

The editing here corresponds with the beat of the song,

therefore all cuts match the beats of the song. Folk music like this often starts slow and

picks up the pace, this is reflected in the editing. A soft

focus is used often through out in different scenes. This matches the nature of the song, with the softer, less harsh beats that we can hear. By fading shots into soft focus make the cuts less

sudden, matching the softer feel to folk music.

The camera angles range from close ups, wide shots, tracking shots and canted angles. This variety enables people to be engaged with what they are

watching and not get bored. By using these angles we are able to see different expressions from the character in the

video, and different views of the story. This is helpful to us in order to understand what’s happening here because no

dialogue can be used over the song itself. Unusually, this video

only features on character, meaning that the many different

angles must be used because they are essentially showing us the same thing each time. They have also used shots of country

side and shadows to add variety here.

Goodwin’s theory loosely relates to this video. Although the video includes close up’s,

this is not to sell the artist. The band are not in this video,

therefore they are not selling themselves due to the publicity

and fame or their faces, but instead hoping that the music

will speak for itself. Similarly to Goodwin’s theory, they do

create a relationship between the lyrics and the video, by

creating a lonely atmosphere through only including one

character. Rick Altman’s theory on

semantic elements is shown in this video by the use of country

side and an authentic house. These things link to our

stereotypical idea of folk music.

Thursday, 26 September 13



50 Cent - 21 Questions

The mise en scene in this video shows chains, money and police sirens. These things immediately relate to the genre of rap. The setting changes to a jail very

near the start, giving a negative representation of the kind of

people in rap music. The lighting is dark through out the whole

video suggesting the troublesome nature of rap

artists.

At the start we hear sound before the song starts. This

sound consists of sirens which increase the drama of the narrative in this video. This

music at the start introduces the narrative and sets a scene

before the song begins, The non diegetic sound suggests the on edge atmosphere of rap artists or fans that come into trouble

with the police often.

To begin with cuts are very quick here to demonstrate the rush of hiding something from the police. However when the song kicks in the editing begins

to slow down due to the slower beat of the song. By

slowing down the cuts, it meant they matched the best of the song. They have used a split

screen to display to phone call conversation. This adds more diversity into the video and is more interesting to watch for

the audience.

There is lots of establishing shots of the setting and close ups of the characters in order to introduce the narrative. We also see some high angle shots

which add variety to the filming. One shot is a medium

close up through railings, showing that the rapper is in

trouble. This is clever and combines the narrative with

different shots.

Vladimir Propp’s character theory is shown in this video, of

the typical villain. Trouble is something tightly related to rap

culture, therefore the fact a rapper is getting arrested in this

video proposes him as the typical villain. In the video, we also see a typical damsel in

distress when he is arrested. The audience recognise these

typical story and can then relate to the video and

understand that narrative easily.




Avicii vs Nicky Romero- I could be the one

The mise en scene in this video appears slightly spoofy, which matches the energetic light

hearted song. We see a typical life in an office, with grey lighting and plain objects,

contrasted with a party life style with bright colours and clothing. The use of beaches

and cocktails suggests the up-beat, party atmosphere the song is usually played in. This ties in with the genre of the

music and the tendency for the dance genre to remind people of holidays and summer parties.

The video does feature dialogue which supports the narrative, making the video

more comical. The song stops for these bits of diegetic

sound, which means none of the song is missed. This is

important because the song is what is being sold here,

therefore the audience should be able to have a clear listen

when watching the video.

At the start of this video the editing repeats certain actions of the girl to show the boring,

repetitive life style she has working in an office. By

repeating every day actions, the video does not match the fast pace up beat feel of the song. This irony adds to the spoofy video by being slightly ironic.

In the second part of the video, out of the office, the camera angles immediately

become more interesting. Each shot often moves with the

subject of the shot, making it more upbeat to match the song. This movement shows

different angles in one shot and shows more excitement in her

life as part of the narrative.

Stuart Halls theory of ‘preferred reading’ applies to

this video. The way we interpret repetitive editing and grey

lighting is negative, therefore the video is teaching us that working in an office is not

fulfilling and we should go out and live our lives. Even though the video does seem spoofy, I

think that this is the underlining message from the video.

However this is done in a subtle way, because the type of people watching this video and interested in this genre is often young and careless, therefore

they do not want these messages pushed at them, but instead suggested in a subtle

way.




The Script- If you could see me now

The mise en scene in the video is concert settings from the

artists, and backstage shots. This shows the realism of the band and the appreciation they have of the position they are in. By including shots of fans and gigs

means people watching the video can see something they

may find familiar, creating more of a relationship with the band. The use of piano identifies the

pop genre, and draws your attention to the music playing. With this band, the music they

make is very important and serious to them, therefore we see themselves in this video promoting the band itself as

well as the song.

We hear the song in this video, with the some shots showing the lead singer, singing these

lyrics. This is called lip synching, as the song is not live. This does not appear through the whole

song, as this would get repetitive, however some shots having this feature in them gives the audience an idea of who in

the band is singing.

The editing here cuts between live concerts and recorded

sections through out the video. This gives us some variety to the video, and also makes us

familiar with what the band are about. The editing matches the song beats exactly, which gives it rhythm making the overall

feel of the video more professional.

There are many close ups in the video to sell the artists

themselves. This also makes the video feel personal because the real artists feature in it, building

more of a connection with audiences. Amongst these close

ups, there is also many wide shots of big performances they

have done with many fans stood watching. If audiences were to see this they would

believe the band are very popular and would want to find

out more about them.

Andrew Goodwin argued that videos must always link to the lyrics of the song. This is done

in this video because of the way they are showcased how far

they have come by using shots of concerts. Goodwin also

mentioned close ups must be used to sell artist. The Script

have used plain black and white close up’s of all band members. This is a simple way of showing

their faces so audiences can recognise them easily.




Rudimental- Waiting All

Night

The video is based in a busy city, which relates to the genre

of music that Rudimental produce. The electronic genre

is one that is most popular amongst busy cities which is

why this is appropriate for the video. As the characters are

riding through the back streets we see settings that also relate closely to the genre. Although theyve mainly focused on the narrative in the video, the way they film the narrative relates

also to the genre. They use bright lights to create a party

atmosphere.

The sound here is mostly the song, however at the start they use sounds of traffic and riding

bikes to set an atmosphere.

The editing in the video is quick to match the beat of the song. A variety of hand held shots

and straight head on shots are cut together create a frantic

atmosphere that relates to the nature of the song.

The camera angles are interesting in the video and

mostly feature hand held shaky shots. This could suggest the

raw, stripped back nature of the band and genre. The shots are

mostly constantly moving which creates a fast pace in between cuts that keep up with the fast beat of the song. This links that song and the video together,

giving it a professional feel. They also use different lenses to add

variety to the video, for example a fish eye lens is used which creates an interesting shot that audiences will find

interesting. This relates to the electronic genre, of pushing boundaries and trying new

things.

Blumler and Katz talk in their theory about how audiences

follow music videos and pick up on things that they can copy in

order to become more involved in the genre. This video features a sport that many fans

may want to try out after watching the video. Now that it is featured in the video many

fans my want to try it out because its connected to the

genre of electronic music Rudimental produce.


Music Video Analysis

Entertainment & Humor

Transcript of Music Video Analysis