Music video Analysis, Beating Heart-Ellie Goulding

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Music video analysis:
Ellie Goulding-Beating Heart

Charlotte Hull

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

The music video for Beating heart by Ellie Goulding is of the synthpop/indie genre which is demonstrated through the visuals used in the video. Synthpop is music featuring the synthesize instrument which is a very strong, dominant sound which is reflected in this video. The video features the artist alone in the forest suggesting an independent, strong women with the characteristic of a bold voice that stands up to this instrument. To fit with this genre there are lots of shots of the artist and her alone as it is not until towards the end of the video where we see her interact with someone else. This demonstrates the independent characteristic of this unusual, powerful style of music.

This music video includes clips from a film called Divergent which acts as a narrative to the music video alongside the shots of the artist. To demonstrate the pop genre the video includes attractive characters, both male and female, which is a common characteristic of this genre. There is direct focus on the artist in the video and there are little shots without her in central frame. The only shots that arent, are of the film which is also an on-trend, popular film that is likely to attract the same audience as this video as it follows the same pop characteristics. Another genre characteristic of the pop genre is to focus on a love story, this is shown through both elements of this video. The parts of the film included in this music video show the relationship between the two main characters which tie in with this genre and keep the audience interested. The artist herself meets this characteristic as well at the end of the video where she meets the man she is clearly in love with in the video and so demonstrates this pop characteristic.

As well as synthpop this video could fit within the indie genre as lots of the characteristics shown in this video demonstrate that. The outdoor environment and focus on nature demonstrates an indie characteristic and the artists tattoos and simple clothing demonstrate a free-will attitude and the a sense of being one with nature which is a characteristic of this genre. The shots along the beach and of the trees surrounding the artist demonstrate this further.

Shots of the artist alone, 0.51

Shots of nature/being one with nature, 1.30, 1.18

Love story, 2.55

Attractive characters, 0.58, 1.29

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.

This video is split between the narrative story displayed by the clips from the film and the simple performance given by the artist walking through the forest. As most of it is made up of the artist singing there is a clear relationship between lyrics and visuals as the audience can see her singing the parts of song and portraying the lyrics in her actions. However, there are some links to the lyrics within the film part of the music video and from the artist herself highlighting key lyrics as well.

And I dont know where Im going 0.36

Underneath the trees 1.30

I fell for you 1.35

My beating heart 0.52, 2.20, 3.20

Hold tight 3.18

Bitter sunlight 1.57

There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.

This song starts off slow and calm, much like the visuals of the artist which are of her slowly walking through the forest and the different clips are long and flowing. This creates a peaceful atmosphere that both the music and the visuals represents but as the song builds there are clips from the film where the main character is running towards a fire and the shots are quicker paced, much like the tone of the music. Further into the song fast paced editing is used to put lots of shots one after another to quicken the pace and the panning shots of the artist as the camera goes around her show the change of pace and that she is no longer in control.

The style of this music video is illustrative meaning it is simple and the shots flow well in a basic order. This music video is based mostly on the performance of the singer and not much else happens, it is only the clips from the film that make it more abstract and attention-grabbing. Everything about the setting of this music video demonstrates the illustrative atmosphere from the surrounding of trees, the sunlight and mountains in the backdrop. The birds flying around the sky in one scene show the element of freedom and represent the music showing the relationship between them. The focus in this music video is the voice of the artist so the music and the lack of any backing vocals etc. and the visuals of the artist alone in the forest show demonstrate this focus.

The clothing is also kept very basic so as not to distract from the voice of the artist, all characters are wearing black and there is not many other colours used in the video. The atmosphere created from Goulding wearing a black dress is that it is simple and relaxed which is reflected in the tone of music and the shallow focus shots however; the artist is accessorized with gold jewellery making her seem more luxurious and showing her wealth. This is in comparison to the characters in the film who are all wearing the same thing so it represents a uniform and having to wear black as a lack of any other choice.

Use of nature, 1.15, 0.39, 1.19

Change of pace, 0.42

Black clothing, 0.57, 0.51

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist.

Ellie Goulding is known for being a very soulful, strong female singer who has a unique voice. The record label wants to show this off hence why she is displayed in a natural setting with little special effects or other performers; all the emphasis is on her and her voice. The setting for the video remains simple and stripped back so the focus is directly on the singer herself and there is nothing else for the audience to focus on. However, to ensure the video is not boring or plain there are inserts of a film which help to make it more interesting and to help sell the song to both fans of the artist and of the film. The record label have ensured that the shots of the film are intriguing without giving too much away to entice the audience to want to see the film to find out more.

There are lots of close ups of the artist both when singing and when moving around the setting. This not only shows of her voice as she sings but also her body and her attractiveness to the audience. There are close ups of just her head but also of her boots, legs and chest to show off the artists body. The artists performance appears effortless which is supported by her environment and lack of props or over-dramatic setting. The artist looks natural and as though she is enjoying her performance which appears effortless making the artist look more talented. There are also close ups of the actors in the film which need to be included to try and sell the film and to fit with the criteria of the collaboration between the artist and the film company.

Little colour is used in the music video; the artist and the actors from the film are wearing black. The only colours come from the natural environment which again are muted, only showing greens and browns, but also props in the film such as the punching bags which are red and the mysterious liquid at the start which is blue. This makes these parts of the video more interesting and the audience wants to know more about this. The lack of colour allows the artist and the characters to remain the main focus with features such as the natural sunlight creating different effects and accentuating the artists looks.

Showing the artists body, 0.41, 1.26

Lack of colour and use of sunlight, 1.55, 0.26, 2.00

Close ups, 1.29, 2.55

There is a frequent reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

The use of the forest and the natural environment in this music videos allow the audience to focus solely on the artist and her singing which references the notion of looking. She is framed by the trees in the background and is placed as the focal point throughout the video. Goulding will often reference her tattoos by looking at them herself or by placing her hands over them which references the notion of looking for the audience. Also this links to this part in the film where the girl is studying the tattoos on the boy and references the notion of looking and being intrigued by them.

Ellie Goulding is wearing a simple black dress in this music video which is filmed against the artists bare legs to show that its short so shows of her body and the audience can see she is not wearing a bra which gestures towards voyeuristic treatment of the female body. This is highlighted by the artists use of her hands on her bare skin to reference to the notion of looking at her body. These characteristics reference the male gaze as she is shown to be something beautiful to look at to make the video more attractive to a wide range of audience rather than just her traditional female fan base. The male body is also displayed in a voyeuristic manor as frequent shots of the male characters topless are included in this video to reference the notion of looking and to show the strong, tough stereotype of males.

The clips from the film references the notion of looking by showing the boy looking at the girl on many occasions. As she first gets on the train he appears to look directly at her as though he has seen no one like her before and this is shown again later in the video when he stares directly into the camera as though he is looking at her. Also, to reference the notion of looking there are shots included of his hands on the girls body to show the connection between the two characters and foreshadow what happens later in the film.

Framing of singer 0.51, 2.15, 2.49

Voyeuristic treatment, 0.41, 1.00

Use of hands on skin, 1.26, 1.37, 2.03, 2.36,

Reference looking, 0.56, 2.53

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across
their work.

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Anything could happen


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Ellie Goulding has some motifs that we see recur throughout her music videos. In her music videos there is normally a heavy reliance on beautiful, natural scenery which reflects her soulful voice well. Shallow focus is also normally used to put different characters in and out of focus. Sunlight, fog and smoke are also sometimes used to hide parts of the action and to work with the sun to make the shot more interested and highlight the variation of colours.

Burn

With the artist herself we see her use of hands in slower parts of the music to reflect the lyrics and to reference the notion looking. Also, there are nearly always close ups of the artists face and hair to show off her voice and her person without any of the other effects and with minimal make-up.

There are often intertextual references.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/01/01/article-0-0F4F55B900000578-860_634x759.jpgThere are some intertextual references seen within this music video. The first is of course with the film that is being represented in the music video, Divergent. The clips used in the music video are taken from the film and so there are similarities there.

The second is with a similar film to Divergent, The Hunger Games. Intertextual references to The Hunger Games appear at the start of the music video where the artist drinks a blue liquid which looks dangerous and the artists expression confirms this. This references the point in the first Hunger Games film where Katniss and Peter display the poison berries they would rather eat than be without each other. The second reference to this appears with the film clip in the music video where the birds appear to chase the female character towards the fire. This links to the part in Catching fire (the second Hunger Games film) where the Mockingjay mutants imitate Katniss family and make her believe they are in trouble and then torment her.

There are also intertextual references to the first Twilight film where a lot of the film is set out in the woods where the layout if very similar to the one that this music video is shot in. As the vampires run through the forest the trees pass by them quickly and the same effect is present in the music video where the camera films Goulding as she spins round.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JcJiM28XHmU/UEyXUadzBRI/AAAAAAAAcFw/e5HJ-rLRrQo/s1600/HungerGames_376Pyxurz.jpghttp://media.hollywood.com/images/638x425/1925036.pnghttp://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/7700000/Forest-wallpaper-twilight-series-7768791-847-479.jpgClick to edit Master title style

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Music video Analysis, Beating Heart-Ellie Goulding

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Transcript of Music video Analysis, Beating Heart-Ellie Goulding