Task 4 - analysis of music videos

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The video opens with a shot of some eyes, then cut to a slow track down to match the pace of the intro. As it tracks we see a girl projected onto a dark room. The pace of the music continues to be slow and we see a slow zoom into the girl and cross cuts between the artists silhouette in front of abstract lighting. We also see more slow tracking. This We then cut to extreme close up featuring drake and cuts to shots of him being darkly lit in a doorway. We cut back to the scene of the girl but the lighting is dark and there is shaky movements going over smashed objects to signify this mood of destruction. But the majority of the shots through out the video have been darkly lit. When the chorus kicks back in we see an overlay of a CU and LS of The Weeknd. Also cuts between dark close us of the girl whilst slowly tracking out as apposed to the The video then finishes on the same shot it started with whilst tracking down the same road. This shot lasts for around 15 seconds at the start and end. Through this video we can see that the editing matches the slow tempo of the song. The camera also does this by slow movements and prolonged shots. The video starts and finishes with the same shot, it also seems to follow a narrative that finishes in the middle of the song and then repeats itself but backwards in a different mood. For example at the start we track into a shot of the girl around the balloons which is well lit, towards the end we track away from the same shot but

Transcript of Task 4 - analysis of music videos

The video opens with a shot of some eyes, then cut to a slow track down to match the pace of the intro. As it tracks we see a girl projected onto a dark room.

The pace of the music continues to be slow and we see a slow zoom into the girl and cross cuts between the artists silhouette in front of abstract lighting. We also see more slow tracking. This crosscutting goes on for around 45 secs introducing a mid shot of The Weeknd in front of the projection.

We then cut to extreme close up featuring drake and cuts to shots of him being darkly lit in a doorway. We cut back to the scene of the girl but the lighting is dark and there is shaky movements going over smashed objects to signify this mood of destruction. But the majority of the shots through out the video have been darkly lit.

When the chorus kicks back in we see an overlay of a CU and LS of The Weeknd. Also cuts between dark close us of the girl whilst slowly tracking out as apposed to the beginning were we tracked in to her when she was brightly lit.

The video then finishes on the same shot it started with whilst tracking down the same road. This shot lasts for around 15 seconds at the start and end.

Through this video we can see that the editing matches the slow tempo of the song. The camera also does this by slow movements and prolonged shots. The video starts and finishes with the same shot, it also seems to follow a narrative that finishes in the middle of the song and then repeats itself but backwards in a different mood. For example at the start we track into a shot of the girl around the balloons which is well lit, towards the end we track away from the same shot but this time it is dark and the lights are flickering it creates a mood of destruction. There is a common use of abstract lighting creating silhouettes through out all the scenes.

The video opens on a establishing shot for 4 seconds. It then cuts to a darkly lit shot of the artist implying that it is the night time. This lasts for 15 secs.

We then cut to a scene of him and his friends smoking in what looks like a local area, promoting Toronto's night life. We also keep cutting to the shot of him driving. This scene goes on for around 25 seconds. In the wide shot the camera is arcing around the artist showing his surroundings making you view it from his perspective.

This next scene features some girls dressed in a traditional way being filmed by the artist, we cut between shots of them all and shots from the artists point of view. The cuts get faster to the beat. This scene lasts for about 45 seconds mixed in with cuts of previous group scene and artist driving.

We then cut to a party scene featuring lots of girls and shots of the artist. We also see lots of close ups of the girls showing off their costume. This scene last for 30 seconds. It also featured red lighting, costume and props through out. They also use diegetic sound of feint music and voices to create the atmosphere of a party.

The next scene is a girl moving around a bed undressing but it features a very close movement to hint at this and it moves quite quickly through out. We can hear feint music again from the sound bridge of last scene. We get the feeling this may be from the camera we have seen the artist has been holding all video. It then cuts to a shot of the artist singing slowly the slow track in towards him matches the slow tempo. The girl then appears in shot as he looks at the screen of the camera this may imply he was filming them together this shows his views on women, making people want to view them in the same way as him.

In this video we see constant cut backs to scenes featuring the artist whilst the narrative progresses. All the scenes bar one are darkly lit and imply that they are partying. I read for another task that the video was made promoting Toronto’s night life. The editing through out the video matches the tempo using fast paced cuts when the beat picks up and features slow movements during the slow parts of the song. The video features dark lighting which is a common theme through out this genre. Also the colour red is something I noticed in the conventions task this is evident in this video also with the use of props, costume and lighting.

At the start of the video we see shots of drake sat on a bed the tempo is slow in the intro and there is sound effects that match special effects we see on screen of these flashing silhouettes, they are in time with the effects. When the beat kicks in the cuts get slightly faster but the lashing effects still appear matching the beat.

The scene then changes featuring this effect of flashing lights and visuals being projected on the room around indicating the fast pace of his life as the room symbolises his head. We also then cut between this close up of him rapping in a dark lit studio just lighting his face isolating him as the focal point. This scene goes on for about 50 seconds. The fast pace of the visuals projected around the room also match the tempo of the song.

It then adds in this shot which they cut between the bed shot and dark studio, they all have a thing in common which is that he is always in the foreground and made the focal point of the shot. The scene then changes to this mid shot of him with lots of blurry people in the background the effect of this is to match the tempo and create this idea of everything moving fast around him.

We then change scene and instantly this colour orange is dominant using fire as a connotation for hot representing the girl in the video. There is also the use of titles matching his lyrics this and the cuts are fast paced matching the tempo of the music. This is also the introduction to a bit of narrative as you feel drake may have a relationship between himself and this girl.

The pace of the song picks up at the end and we see a lot of cross cuts to all the settings we've seen through out the video and the cuts match the sounds in the beat and differ in pace. We also see some artistic close ups of props but only for short periods of time. They also use shots incorporating various scenes into one for effect and add to the pace. The shots then decline in pace as the beat does when the song is coming to an end it features slow movements as well.

In this video we see this build up of different shots and a build up of cross cuts, the cross cuts become more as the pace of the song picks up. This is a common thing in this genre and videos in general that the editing matches the pace of the song. The use of dark lighting is also very clear in tis video and through out the genre and the use of abstract lighting such as the projectors I have seen a few times. The use of close ups is something commonly used as it really shows them as the focal point and I believe the idea for this video was to make the artist more idolized and appear very dominant hence the use of dark lighting.