- 1. Music Video Product Analyses By Drew Middleton
2. Music Video 1:Scouting for Girls This Aint a Love Song
- Mise-en-scene Terminology/Evidence
- - Airport Setting/Properties/Decor; planes, seats, runways,
lobby, passengers, escalator, checkout, flight time board, fire
extinguisher, notice boards, lifts, fire exit sign, suitcase
- - Band Set; microphone, keyboard/piano, drum kit, drumsticks,
electric guitar.
- - Lighting; low key (little fill light, shown by shadows) in
nearly every scene.
- - Facial Expressions/Emotions; frustration and anger (ginger
passenger at desk), anxious and worry and vulnerable (man being
shouted at, at the desk), happy and ecstatic and jubilant
(passengers meeting and greeting), sad (bald man), depressed
(bride) serious and passionate (band signer).
- - Costumes; Lead signer of band (casual, black), angry ginger
man (suit, watch for time, un-buttoned shirt, loose tie), black man
(glasses, shiny Lycra hoodie, white t-shirt, necklace, beanie hat,
watch, ring), bride (white bridal dress, hair bow, pearl/bead
necklace, purse).
- Mise-en-scene Analysis/Meaning
- - Airport setting represents everyday hellos and goodbyes, with
the low key lighting expressing negative emotions such as sadness
and depression (leaving) through facial expressions.
- - The properties of the band, for example, they are pictured
with keyboards and drum kit, present their musical worth and
talent.
- - Costumes (e.g. the bride) show typical situations which
relate to emotions. In this case, being stood up at a wedding.
Casual clothing promotes the realism of the video.
Airport Setting; plane, runway Band set e.g. drum kit Low key
lighting (shadows) Depressed Facial Expression (Bride) Happy Facial
Expressions (Couple) Costume (hoodie, glasses etc.) 3. Music Video
1:Scouting for Girls This Aint a Love Song
- Camera Work Terminology/Evidence
- - Distance; medium close ups/close ups (on singers face, on
passengers to emphasis emotions), extreme close ups (hand on
portable barrier, hand on microphone, some shots of hands playing
the keyboard/drums), two shots (show relationships between
passengers - love), establishing shot (depressed bride sitting on
chairs in airport lobby), over the shoulder shot (meeting and
greeting passengers)
- - Angle; high angle (girl walking up stairs, man playing
keyboard), low angle (man walking down stairs), slight canted angle
(man and little girl on airport chairs)
- - Movement; handheld camera (generally when passengers are
meeting each other), tilt (black man on chair bottom to top),
tracking shots (couple looking at each other whilst walking, links
with eye line match), shallow focus/restricted depth of field
(generally focused on passengers in the narrative, with the
environment and background out of focus), focus pulls (women
walking away/leaving man)
- Camera Work Analysis/Meaning
- - Medium close ups/close ups are shown to express the emotions
of the passengers shown; relates to the contextand narrative of the
video.
- - High angles and low angles emphasis characters coming
together and intertwining their lives. The use of camera angles may
also represent emotions yet again, for example, man feels down as
he is walking down from high angle.
- - Focus pulls keep audience focused on passengers, and their
facial expressions, which present their emotions
Establishing shot (bride) Medium Close Up (Staff) Low Angle
(Singer) High Angle (Passenger) Two Shot (Friends) Shallow Focus
(Bald Man) 4. Music Video 1:Scouting for Girls This Aint a Love
Song
- Editing Terminology/Evidence
- - Pace; longer shots (3-5 seconds) tend to occur during shots
of singer walking towards camera and important characters in the
parallel narrative. Generally, shots cover roughly 1-2 seconds
usually progressing in succession.
- - Transitions; jump cuts (most frequent transition throughout),
eye line match (sophisticatedly dressed couple), shot/reverse shot
(between passengers who keep eye contact with each other),
elliptical editing (occurs in most scenes - as shots transition
between various characters, the narrative is unclear)
- - Synchronising; singer crosses between core music shots and
the interlinking story narrative (love song). The narrative
revolves around people leaving each other, in almost all cases,
couples/relationships dividing or family members separating.
- - Typical pace of shots (1-2 seconds) is common in most music
videos; allows the audience to gain complete satisfaction as there
are many shots/a narrative to follow.
- - Longer pace shots (3-5 seconds) allow specific characters to
be focused on and paid attention to, for example, the lead singer
of the band spends more time on screen.
- - Eye line matches create the relationship between passengers.
As the song revolves around a love song, the eye line matches
produce necessary, emotional connections which may represent the
audience watching.
- - Synchronising shots deal with emotions, allowing the audience
to passively interact with characters; feeling sympathy, sharing
feelings
Jump Cuts and Shot/Reverse Shot 5. Music Video 1:Scouting for
Girls This Aint a Love Song
- - Hartley and Fiske; rural music (Indie Rock), British-specific
audience yet has the potential for global appeal.
- - Burton; socially grouped audience, young age
(teens-thirties), both genders, followers of Indie Rock and Pop
music.
- - Dyer; expresses a community solution, representing hellos and
goodbyes to loved ones.
- - Maslow; focused on love and belonging.
- - Gender; both genders present both positive and negative
emotions males (happy, angry, anxious) and female (jubilant,
depressed) emotions which are common in everyday life. No gender
appears more dominant throughout, as power shifts between
situations.
- - Age; young people appear to be vulnerable (girl waiting for
mother, young man being shouted to at the desk)
Genre Indie Rock genre, with influences of Popular (Pop) music.
Narrative - Todorov; the music video begins with very little
equilibrium - apart from sophisticated couple smiling/happy
together. Most of the narrative then is situated around a switching
periods of disequilibrium (heartbreaks, break ups, leaving,
sadness, negative emotions e.g. anger, stress, worry, sadness) and
new equilibrium (meetings, hugging, kissing, comfortable touching
between individuals, positive emotions e.g. happy, love, jubilant,
warm relief) - Propp; not much can be mentioned about Propps theory
in this music video, as all 7 proposed characters are not clearly
defined. Institution- Label; Epic Records (owned by Sony Music
Entertainment)- Recorded; Heliocentric Studios 6. Music Video
2:Jason Mraz Im Yours
- Mise-en-scene Terminology/Evidence
- - Vegetation settings/properties; flowers (sunflowers), long
grass, bushes, trees (e.g. palm trees), fields.
- - Water based settings/properties; lake (with waterfall and
vegetation), sea (with cliffs, beach, waves), beach (pebbles, sand,
surfboards, boat).
- - Other Settings; skate park (ramps, rails, skateboards etc.),
vehicles (airplane, car/truck, bus/coach)
- - Lighting; naturalistic lighting in outside shots (e.g. when
singer is in the back of the pick up truck, on the boat, at the
lake), low key (little fill light) in many shots, recognised by
shadows seen on the singers face.
- - Facial Expressions; happy, ecstatic, jubilance, enjoyment,
freedom etc. positive emotions and expressions are
dominant/continuous throughout the music video.
- - Costumes; Lead signer (extremely casual clothing bright
multi-coloured t-shirts, sunglasses, straw hat, shorts, sandals,
back pack, top off occasionally), gathering/friends (swimwear e.g.
bikinis, swimming trunks, also casual clothing such as multi
printed/coloured clothing)
- Mise-en-scene Analysis/Meaning
- - Vegetative, natural settings; such as water e.g. lakes and
plantse.g. forests (elements) emphasis the luxury and importance of
life.
- - The various vehicle properties shown create a journey
situation; the singer travelling from A to B (a day-to-day activity
for the audience as well)
- - The lighting represents the context of the scene, for
example, naturalistic lighting is used outdoors (creating a
vibrant, fresh atmosphere)
- - Costumes (casual) and facial expressions (happy) conjoin to
represent a free world; no restrictions on emotions, events and
actions as everyone is part of a community.
Vegetative settings; lakes, waterfalls, trees, plains etc. Low
key lighting Happy facial expression Casual clothing; sunglasses,
bright t-shirts, shorts etc. 7. Music Video 2:Jason Mraz Im
Yours
- Camera Work Terminology/Evidence
- - Distance; establishing shots (scenery and settings e.g.
fields, roads and highways, beach, mountains, lakes and rivers and
waterfalls), medium close ups/medium shots (especially on singer,
but not always i.e. on other characters), three shot (three women
jumping into pool in succession), long shots (beach, groups of
people), extreme close ups (running finger alongside fish tank, on
singers eyes/nose/mouth in opening shots)
- - Angle; low angles (singer in back of truck, singer making
signs with hands/expressing body language, at the top of the ramp
in the skate park. High angles (girl in bikini jumping off cliff
into lake/pool)
- - Movement; pan (walking outside house), tilt (out of grass,
onto skate park), aerial shot (of waterfall and lake), handheld
camera (occasionally, for example, partying on the beach), zoom
(onto signs e.g. speed limit 35).
- Camera Work Analysis/Meaning
- - Establishing/long/aerial shots are presented to mould an
unlimited area of space, of which the singer and his friends can
roam, explore and enjoy; once again, relating to a sense of
freedom
- - Low angles (especially on the singer) allow the audience to
view a spectrum of happiness; laid back personality, possibly
portraying the lifestyle of a pop star
- - Camera movements show the social aspect/appeal as the singer
is constantly on the move.
Long/Establishing Shot Extreme Close Up High angle (girl
jumping) Low angle (apartment) Zoom In (onto speed limit 35 road
sign) 8. Music Video 2:Jason Mraz Im Yours
- Editing Terminology/Evidence
- - Pace; frequently, shots cover only roughly 1 second, with the
maximum length on screen for any shot in the entire video being
just 3 seconds.
- - Transitions; jump cuts (most frequent transition throughout),
shot/reverse shot (between signers feet and singer improvising body
language in low key light for a low angle), elliptical editing
(occurs in most scenes interlinking paths during the journey the
singer takes)
- - Synchronising; there is one clear narrative throughout the
extract, following the singer on a journey of freedom to meet with
friends, have a good time and be happy. Camera shots synchronise in
order to present this element of free life, fulfilment and
enjoyment.
- - The pace of shots keeps the audience excited, and presents a
professional look (at distribution and production stages).
- - The transitions also refer to the synchronising of shots;
representing the happy narrative of the music video and spontaneous
freedom of the singer.
0.5/1 second pace shots (in succession) 9. Music Video 2:Jason
Mraz Im Yours
- Genre Pop, with Rock and Reggae influences
- - Todorov; the music video has no disequilibrium only
equilibrium and new equilibrium - meetings, hugging, kissing,
comfortable touching between individuals, laughing positive
emotions e.g. happy, enjoyment, jubilance etc.)
- - Propp; the only character that can be identified in this
music video according to Propp is the hero, of which is the lead
singer Jason Mraz.
- - Hartley and Fiske; mostly rural music style, but some urban
influence (Pop), worldwide appeal, no restricted region/political
allegiance/religion.
- - Burton; socially grouped audience, all ages, genders,
followers of Pop and possible Chart music.
- - Dyer; expresses a community solution, representing meeting up
with friends to party and have a good, enjoyable time
- - Maslow; focused on self-actualisation and esteem
- - Gender; the male sex appears most frequently mainly due to
the singer being male and in almost every shot. The male singer is
represented as being liked by everyone and the centre of attention
(typical social person). Both genders are portrayed as being in
close friendships/relationships, striving off each others laughter
and happiness.
- - Age; young people appear to be out-going and free; the
representation goes against normal stereotypes, as teens and people
in their twenties are usual held back by parents etc.
- - Label/Recorded; Atlantic Records or Atlantic Records
Corporation (partnered with the Warner Music Group)
10. Conclusion
- - Mise-en-scene; it is unusual for a music video to be set in
one specific location (there appears to be at least two or more
settings), properties used usually relate to context, emotions are
played around with by the producers/writers of the video (via
facial expressions) and generally represent the song, or the song
lyrics, costumes worn are a portrayal of the theme of the music
video.
- - Camera Work; all music videos are not restricted by camera
distance almost all music videos incorporate shots varying from
extreme close ups (ECU) to wide/establishing shots, to aerial/dolly
shots etc. Angles are used sometimes, but only when necessary or
for specific effect. Movement is a common element of camera work
used, whether it is handheld, steady cam, pan, tilt, tracking etc.
it is nearly always used.
- - Editing; on average, the length of shot in any music video is
roughly 1-2 seconds long however, this is not a requirement and
longer shots are used. The most frequent transition are jump cuts,
in quick succession with shots; elliptical editing is also
frequently used. Synchronising of shot, although there is
elliptical editing, is present as there is usually a narrative
presented in music videos