Music Video Analysis

The whole idea of this music video is very interesting, as well as visually appealing to the audience. Their target audience are teenagers and young adults, and by choosing to make a video which involves technology and internet, ultimately allows the viewer, their target audience, to relate to the music video. It captures their attention, their interest, since internet and technologies are now a huge part of their world. The concept of this music video is utterly creative and unique, it truly achieves a director’s aim, which is to make people enjoy their creation and watch it again. The video in general is really colorful, I believe this is done for effect, to make the video stand out and engage the viewer.

However, though original, this music video is - at the same time - extremely conventional, since modern music videos usually display a sense of voyeurism towards females, and this is one of them. The representation of women can be seen as quite negative in this, since they are baring a lot of skin throughout the entire video, and there are the actual song lyrics – at one point – written on their semi naked bodies. Therefore women are portrayed to be their sexual objects, only there to give them pleasure.

The video conveys the lyrics effectively, not in a literal way, but not in a complex manner either. The artist’s body language and facial expressions cleverly fit with the beat of the track.

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Directed by Joseph Kahn, “Always” is reminiscent of the music video “The Good Life”, by American rock band, Weezer, however – in my opinion – it is still an unique music video. In the video we are able to see the band, Blink 182, performing, this reminds the audience of their particular talents, which helps promote them and this is highly desirable and conventional.

“Always” is concept driven. It conveys the lyrics as the video clearly reflects on the theme of love and relationships. This is the kind of video that evokes curiosity in the viewer, since - though the theme may be crystal clear - the story, the meaning behind the video, isn’t so obvious. There a lot of different interpretations that can be given to this music video, and the viewer will definitely ponder at the end, what was the meaning of this video, what was the story. This is a clever technique, since it consequently makes the viewer watch the video over and over again.

 The video is displayed as three horizontal panels, and the panels splits the characters in three, this adds a sense of bewilderment to the video, which eventually intrigues the viewer, and it’s another successful technique since it emphasizes how relationships can be perplexing.

Initial Ideas

Our Chosen Song :

Lyrics:

As a young girl
Louis Vuitton
With your mother
On a sandy lawn

As a sophomore
With reggaeton
And the linens
You're sitting on

Is your bed made?
Is your sweater on?
Do you want to
Like you know I do

But this feels so unnatural
Peter Gabriel too

Can you stay up
To see the dawn
In the colors
Of Benetton?

Is your bed made
Is your sweater on
Do you want to
Like you know I do

But this feels so unnatural
Peter Gabriel too

Is your bed made
Is your sweater on
Do you want to
Like you know I do

Idea 1:

- Stop motion technique, to give an edgy feeling to the video, a sense of uniqueness, plus it would be really visually interesting.
- Two different people laying on their individual beds, one of the beds is placed outdoors, in a park, the other in an ordinary bedroom.
- Sense of freedom and randomness is conveyed as the man goes to sleep outdoors, having the nightsky above him and that brings him happiness.

-in progress-

Idea 2

- Two groups of young people
-Cross cutting editing would be used, to show the lives of these two different groups. One of them are partying in a zoo, literally going wild.
The other are partying in central London, hence our music video would display the contrast between young people having a good time in an concrete jungle the other in a natural one.

Idea 3 :

- Quote at the very beginning : "Peter Gabriel wants to save the world." this links to the reference of Peter Gabriel found in the lyrics of our chosen track.
- Road trip, the people in it would be young people, since our target audience are young adults, hence they would be able to relate not only to the song, but also to the video.
- Hand held shots would be used to give a sense of reality, intimacy. More importantly to make it look like a documentary, eg. Day 1, Day 2. We came to the conclusion that this would be visually appealing and very interesting to our audience.
- The group of friends would consist of about three guys and one girl. The reason why there is only one girl is that, the lyrics are about a young girl, "as a young girl"
- They all wear the very same sweater, only in different colours. Which also links to the lyrics. "Is your sweater on?"
- Stereotypes: Teenagers stereotypically portrayed as messy, disorganized, their car gets messier and messier as the days go by. "Is your bed made ?"
- Vampire Weekend is an american band, just like road trips is an stereotypical american thing -> From America, exploring England.
- This group of friends portrayed as geeks, who are trying to break free from teenage stereotypes and have a good time. They get more and more rebelious as each day goes by. -> Idea of freedom, which matches the song.

Idea 4 :

Film a group of young people filming and editing a music video.

-In progress-

Idea 5 :

A wealthy woman, really wealthy, posh.
her daughter, at first she is like her mother, like her copy - luxurious, rich.
As the music video continues she becomes trashy.
Continuous editing likely to be used.
The young girl, goes off to college, she meets four hobos on the way, becomes trashy, parties with them.
Cross cutting between the hobos and the girl and her mother.
Idea behind : Freedom. Breaking free from conformities. Hobos are free.

Idea 6 :

"The pursuit of happiness"
"Peter Gabriel wants to save the world"
- Day time
Posh girl, manipulated by society and the media, to be unnatural. she is oppressed. -> Plastic. -> High heels, make up, short skirt, low cut top, perfect hair.
Close up of her face, lots of hands all over her. Brushing her hair, puting make up on her. The background of the studio dissolves and suddenly the young girl is outdoors.
She gets fed up and goes into the woods, takes off her expensive clothes, throws them aside in an agressive way.
she takes off her shoes, as she cries she rubs her make up off, messes her hair up, and starts to make her way into the woods, as she walks into the woods, close up of hands offering her different things are shown. A masculine hand offers her a ring, she waves it away and carries on walking. another hand offers her books which symbolises university options, again she waves this away and keeps walking. along the way she if offered money, drugs and pregnancy tests. she denies it all, which conveys the fact that she doesn't want to make any decisions at this point of her life. there are muffled voices of people telling her what to do. at the end of her path she accepts a tissue that she is offered to wipe her tears, and a long white t-shirt, she puts it on, she is barefeet, and then the viewer learns that a group of hippies are waiting for her as they celebrate and sing, she accepts them, holds their hand, joins them and celebrates with them, she is now free and happy, natural, having a good time. Lastly she lays down on the matress "is your bed made ?"


The End.

Simon: Music Video Analysis

Lady GaGa: "Alejandro"

The music video starts off with text screens saying "GAGA", gives away the artist, then a male in fishnet tights and heels. The man seems to be a part of the army but it is contradictory that he is in female clothing and you would usually see army men in a more manly light. Shortly you see "KLEIN", the name of the director for the video, this establishes the artist and director to the audience. From the next few shots, you can already feel that the music video is going to have a dark theme. The soldiers in the first scene remind me of the Russian army. The marching scene also seems to represent strength and determination. You later see GaGa sitting in a chair, almost omniscient, watching over these soldiers perform. I feel like this music video reflects on the way homosexuals are seen by society and how they are fighting for their right. However, the song doesn't have much relevance to the video. You see GaGa swallowing beads and dressed in very religious outfits, this could also reflect on the way religion sees gay people. The video portrays many touchy and sexual themes, from when the guy is groping her on the bed to when all the aggressive men are pulling her. 

Controversy is caused from this video since it dives into subjects that artists don't usually explore.

 Alicia Keys: "Unthinkable"

This music video is a good example of historical reference on racism since it's about a relationship between a black girl and a white guy struggling to keep it going with feuds occuring between the girl's family and the boy. It jumps between decades and portrays all the symbols of that time period. The song fits perfectly with the viedo and it has a good message with in the video.

 Röyksopp Feat. Robyn: "The Girl & The Robot"

I really like the editing in this video and how the colour schems are blue and red. The shots in this video are visually interesting and 3D effects are used. The video has a range of smooth tracking shots. It also fits perfectly with the song.

Music Video Review

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSYiSqx--7o&ob=av2n

In this essay, I will be analysing a music video called "Drive" performed by the american rock band, Incubus. Characteristics of the genre of rock can be seen in this music video, for example, close ups are used on each and every member of the band; as they are playing their instruments. It's very conventional to display bands performing in their music videos, I believe this is done in order to remind the audience of their individual talents, of their creativity. Also to emphasize the fact that they are a band, they are able to play instruments.

The music video begins with cartoonized hands drawing the rest of its own body, this conveys not only the lyrics of the single "Drive" but it also illustrates the name of the album the song came from, which is "Make yourself"; this links to the famous quote "Life is not about finding yourself, is about creating yourself." Though the music video may illustrate the name of the album quite literally, it does not convey the lyrics in the same way. The song, the lyrics reflects on the theme of life and decision making, and this is conveyed through the metaphor of driving. I believe this works since it is more appealing to the viewer, watch a music video that is not literal, that can make them reflect afterwards, make them ponder what message this particular media text tried to convey.

The editing is quite basic, it is slowpaced which matches the rhythm of the song. However, as the song develops, it becomes more of an upbeat track ( chorus ) the editing follows and also becomes fast paced, it synchs up with the track. Again this is very conventional when it comes to music videos in general, they look sharp and attractive when the pace of the song matches the pace of the editing of the video.

Another convention of rock music videos which is displayed in this music video is the fact that the camera's focus is on the lead singer, he is the main star, so the close ups are all on him. A sense of voyeurism is found in this media text, as the majority of the lead singer's shots are of him shirt less, this is also a convention of modern music videos.

Music Video Analysis

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Rubber Johnny


Rubber Johnny is a six-minute experimental short film and music video directed by Chris Cunningham in 2005, using music composed by Aphex Twin.

Even though this isn't an official music video, it is a great piece of work. The theme is really important, and the way the visuals relate to the audience is also relevant to discuss. I believe the abiltiy to create a sense of hysteria amongst the audience shows how successful a piece of visual art is, and even though it isn't the easiest thing to watch, it is probably more interesting than a typical RnB video... ofcourse I am being biased, because I like the video and I think it represents an element of mankind which we hardly ever see being portrayed in the media- and that is people with deformities, physical disabilities. Having said that, I can understand how someone may argue "But this isn't representing people with deformities/physical disabilities in a positive way" (which is what my friend just said as we were both watching the video). I agree with her in some ways, and this is because I think it exposes this type image to a somewhat, ignorant audience who by the use of dark dramatic effect and sepia lighting, is almost forced to first be quite scared or even disgusted when confronted with "Rubber Johnny" for the first time.

Showing visually or in any other media form, images which are perceived as "different" can shock people because we are confined to the "normal" people in our media- from attractive TV hosts, to models and cute kids in christmas adverts- its ridiculous that the media seem to completely eliminate any form of disability/skin defect/wheelchair user from our music videos, films, newspapers, news programmes... the list goes on.
The truth is, the media is scared to show people like that. I dont necessarily think that all writers and TV executives or whatever are all complete idiots, but they exist in a world that is (at the moment...) ruled by the aesthetic beauty of anything and everything.

Then you get Chris Cunningham who gives us "Rubber Johnny", and we don't know what to think. We are like babies again, not able to decide what we think or feel about it. But I think it is such a interesting and brave and fun thing to do. And moreover, it toys with the audience and this is what I find most appealing. The way he constructs this represention of a type of person and makes us choose, lets us make up our own minds and gives us something to think about, like "Why have I never seen anything like this before?" or "Do people really look like that"... etc etc

In conclusion, any visual art form (like the "Rubber Johnny" music video) that can make the audience question their media intake, struggle for an opinion on it and challenge eachothers perceptions, rather than being passive lumps on a sofa infront of screen, defines the word "success" for me.

Vampire Weekend- Oxford Comma


This music video by the vampire weekend is a good example of continuity editing. I really admire the time and effort it must take to produce a video in just one shot.
I also like how they've tried to give it a narrative starting with "Chapter One", because it makes the audience feel as though they need to pay attention, maybe to try and understand it.
It's been organised very well, its not just improvised. When they get out of the car, they all know which directions to go, and they go swiftly to keep with the pace of the music. The camera is tracking, and moving slightly to keep the main performer in shot. I think the performance shots in the video is also really good because the main singer looks relax and laid back, which makes the whole video look effortless and it is watchable. There is a nice pace, whereby three camera/journalist people kind of rush into shot then fall out of the shot. This makes the whole shot flow well and makes the progression of the events seem natural.
There is the element of randomness again as this Indie band "Vampire Weekend", are known for having interesting and concept driven music videos, like many other music videos in this genre.
The random scene (one of them), is when the man who gives the main singer his guitar gets shot and falls down. This performance is nicely acted out, and remains in the theme of a laid-back movement which doesn't take away or destruct the tempo of the visuals.
The setting of the music video is in a field and there are some animals wondering around. This reinforces the natural reality of the setting and then the intervention of the camera crew also walking around.
There are a mixture of shots, even though the whole thing is one shot. Towards the end there is a medium shot of the singer as he makes his way to his car, but is facing the camera.

Another video which uses continuity editing effectively is
"Open your eyes" by Snow Patrol...

When you watch the video, it feels realistic, like your strapped onto the front of the car or something.
The car seems to get faster as the tempo of the song increases around 3:11 and onwards.
The car keeps driving into pigeons, and its quite cool how they fly around and over the car (none of them get hurt).. but little details like that enable the audience to believe in the video and the situation.
I think this is narrative driven because at the end you see a guy getting out of the car and meeting this girl, like he was racing to get there. I don't think it has a concept as such. But I guess it is performance based as well, because of the driver.
I like this video, its a very simple idea but is effective because of the song choice it is put with and the location it is filmed in.