Music video analysis "Are you gonna be my girl"

Act: Jet

Track: Are you gonna be my girl

Year: 2003

Audience: 16 onwards
Genre: Rock
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuK6n2Lkza0

Visuals and lyrics: The band is singing about a man wanting a girl to be in his life and he is constantly describing her looks and her physique. Throughout the video you see drawings on the walls appearing and disappearing. There is also the shadow of a woman dancing in the video in quite a provocative manner and also in the same way the singer is describing her.

Performance: The entire video is set in a location where the whole band are performing the song so this could give the video more of a lively feeling than ones that wouldn’t have much performance and that would concentrate more on a narrative side of things. Furthermore, the performance shows all the band members dancing and grooving to the music so it could make the audience more excited and on their feet perhaps.

FX: The entirety of the video is shot in black and white and I think that the director has decided to do this because it may represent the blinkered mentality that the singer is in as he is only thinking about one thing (a girl) so it may come together with that idea. He also has made the video look very cartoon like and that may be because the song may be a little comedic in a way.

Male gaze: The whole song is sung from a male’s point of view so the male gaze is quite powerful from beginning to end. As the video progresses you see shadows of women dancing amongst the and however you don’t see them properly so it could actually make the male audience feel more intrigued or excited about the video as it creates something mysterious like a bond film opening.

Location/mise-en-scene: The location is a simple white room used in order to perhaps make the audience concentrate more on the band and the performance rather than think that there is anything else to look at and work out such as a narrative. The drummer is wearing a sergeant’s hat, and this can maybe emphasise the comedic sense that the song and the video may possess.

Shot variety: There are a number of close up shots in the video but also quite a few establishing shots and long shots as well so the camerawork in the video is quite diverse making it come across as more interesting to the audience. There are also some zooms involved to give the video more pace.

Music video analysis "Chasing cars"

Act: Snow Patrol

Track: Chasing Cars

Audience: 12 or over

Year: 2006
Genre: Mellow rock
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemKqzILV4w

Narrative: The narrative in this video is quite evident as it seems that the protagonist is going to a number of places to find someone to be with however he is unable to. The beginning of the video shows him sitting in a café alone and the director has intelligently positioned the shot with him on the far right and not actually in the middle where you would normally position a singular character in a scene. This could’ve been done in order to emphasise the fact that there should be someone (perhaps a woman) sitting next to him and that he is missing something vital in his life.

Visuals and lyrics: The chorus to the song goes “if I lay here” and we can clearly see that whenever he is singing that lyric he is lying in a spot that wouldn’t normally be appropriate to lie in in real life. One of the spots is at the top of an escalator and as he is lying there, people just simply walk over him as if he isn’t present which could convey the fact that he feels very lonely or lost. This is also shown by the fact that he is always alone throughout the entire video. The lyrics to the song are suggesting that the main character is searching for someone to be with and wants to forget about everything else in the world. It’s clear that when he is lying in all of those spots, he seems completely oblivious to the fact that there are other people around him. It is almost as if the entire video is like a dream. This could also be supported by when he sings “chasing cars around our heads”.

Shot variety: The video is quite simply cut so I do not think that a huge number of cameras were used to shoot it. There’s a mix of long shots, slow ups, mid shots and close ups. The slow ups in the video I think are used in order to give it more emotional feeling and I believe that it allows for the audience to connect with the character a lot more easily as the moving camera shots might make the person watching the video feel like they are in the scene.

Pace: The pace of the video is quite slow however this fits in just right with the song, as it is a slow song.

Location/mise-en-scene: The video is set in a city which seems very alive however this contrasts with the main character as it seems that he does not fit in the video due to him feeling alone and upset. The costume is just simple everyday clothing so there doesn’t seem to be much importance towards what is being worn. I think that the director has purposely made it so that the character is in a location that goes against how he is feeling and this creates dramatic effect for the audience as it is ironic.

Music video analysis "Seen it all"

Act: Jake Bugg

Track: Seen it all

Year: 2012

Audience: 15 onwards
Genre: Singer songwriter 
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_est5zPL6eo

Narrative: The story of this music video involves a young man (perhaps in his early to mid 20’s) wandering aimlessly around a city as if he is up to no good. You could almost say that the character is running away from something due to the news that was on the television in his flat (involving a police related crime) and when he spotted the police in the streets and decided to avoid them. It also seems like the character is finding it difficult to fit in with society for example he fails to catch the girl’s attention when he knocks on the window of the café that she is working in. It can also be because he is constantly going to different places around the city that the video’s set in but keeps leaving again due to a difficulty fitting in. Perhaps he has done things in the past that he regrets and he is trying to start fresh again.

Visuals and lyrics: The chorus to the song goes “I’ve seen it all” meaning that the singer has been to places and seen quite a lot of perhaps haunting and traumatising moments in his life. I think that the same principle applies to the protagonist in the video as he looks like the kind of guy that wants to start fresh and forget about all the bad things that he has done or seen in the past. Furthermore, the fact that he seems like he is unable to fit in with the society around him is explained when the artist sings “I felt a little out of place”.

Shot variety: A number of different shots were used in this video such as pans, close ups, establishing shots and mid to long shots. The mixture of all these shots gives the video a lot of diversity and it makes it more interesting and appealing to the audience.

FX: The main effect I spotted in the video was that the director produced quite a bit of the video in slow motion. I think that this was done in order to show to the audience how difficult and slow the character’s life in the video is. The lighting in general is quite dark and not particularly happy, and this comes together well with the song and the character. The ending of the song shows the character looking at the television in the back of a bar and seeing his own name on the news as a victim to violence that occurred the night before, we then see him slowly fade out of the picture. It seems that the entire time he was a ghost to everybody in the video but he may not have realised it.

Pace: The pace of the video is quite slow moving due to the slow motion effect used throughout the sequence, however this does not tie in particularly well with the song as it isn’t a particularly slow song so that could emphasise the confusion in the protagonist’s life perhaps.

Location/mise-en-scene: According to my research, the video is set in Glasgow which in general isn’t the safest of cities in the United Kingdom so therefore that comes in well with the story that the songwriter and the director is trying to tell the audience. The costume used is normal everyday clothing to show that the song doesn’t possess anything unnatural or magical. I think they are trying to tell the audience that this is a very down to earth song and video so the director has attempted to put as little magical elements into it as possible.

Music video analysis "Summer"

Act: Calvin Harris

Track: Summer

Year: 2014

Genre: Electronic dance music

Main audience: 16+

Director: Emil Nava
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebXbLfLACGM

Narrative: The concept of this music video seems quite simplistic as it is set in an area that reflects the idea of what a typical summer would be like for youngsters. However, the song does have some lyrical meaning and from my research on the lyrics I found that the lyrics are most likely talking about a relationship that was established during the summer and that it gradually decayed as the summer was ending due to the girl constantly lying to the guy and this is clearly supported by “you act so innocent now, but you lied so soon”. It is again quite difficult to see if there is a direct resemblance between the video and the lyrics as it seems like quite a positive video with many happy faces and happy people.

Genre characteristics: The video clearly shows what genre the music is. This form of music is very adequate for places such as clubs and parties so the director has cleverly inserted some people having a party and dancing to the music in the summer.

Audience in video: The audience are clearly shown at the point where everyone is dancing at the summer party to the song. This is in order to perhaps illustrate to the people who are watching the video what kinds of situations the song may be played in.

Male gaze: The male gaze in this video is extremely evident due to the women dressing up in provocative clothing to give off a sexual vibe to the audience. Furthermore, there are very few male characters in the video almost as if they are trying to attract a bigger male audience to the song as it would have already attracted a female audience immediately due to the style and genre. The lyrics of the song are also sang from the perspective of a man (from what I have researched) so that also gives the male gaze more relevance.

Shot variety: There are a lot of mid to close up shots in this video in order to perhaps show the beauty of the women and their faces to show their emotions. There are also some establishing shots for example at the beginning there is a zoom and an establishing shot in the same place in order to set the scene and make it clear for the people watching the video.

Location/mise-en-scene: The location of the video fits the title “summer” perfectly as it is set in a summer like area with people wearing clothing that is normally associated with the idea of summer. The events occurring in the video also fit the title perfectly such as the cars racing in the desert and the girls in their provocative clothing hanging about the area. A lot of the mise-en-scene seems to me as quite stereotypical in this video. 

Music video analysis "Crazy in love"

Act: Beyoncé ft. Jay Z

Track: Crazy in love

Year: 2003

Director: Jake Nava

Genre: Pop hip hop dance

Main audience: 15 onwards
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViwtNLUqkMY

Performance/Narrative: The video does not seem to concentrate particularly on a narrative and seems to be a lot more focused on the dancing and catchy side of the song. However, it is clear that there is a little bit of narrative involved in this video as since the song is titled “Crazy in love”, you can see that Beyoncé’s behaviour in the video matches the title of the track. An example of this is when she is dancing around with a load of water surrounding her and she seems careless of the state she may end up in afterwards. Another example of “Crazy” behaviour is the scene where Jay Z blows up the car and this can give out good dramatic effect to the audience as it gives the video excitement and it gives the video a masculine side as well.

Shot variety + No. of setups: The majority of the shots in this video are of mid to close up ones of the musicians themselves. This is done in order to show off how they look, how they move and what they wear. The video starts with a fast paced tracking shot which reflects the rhythm and pace of the music. There are also a lot of close up shots to the faces of Beyoncé and Jay Z. This again I think is in order to show off the looks of both performers to the audience and the expressions on their faces also could help with the mood of the song.

Male gaze: The male gaze in this video is extremely evident from the moment Beyoncé first appears in the video. Her dress code is immediately provocative and sexual as she is wearing very short shorts and a tight white shirt. The dance moves performed in the video are also evidently aimed at a male orientated audience as it involves sexually provocative movement.

FX: There isn’t a huge amount of effects utilised in the video however at the start there is a good use of high lighting which gives it a dreamy or heavenly atmosphere.

Mise-en-scene: The costume throughout the video varies from very girly and sexy too quite tomboy like and this also depends on the setting and location. There does not seem to be much irony in the clothing that is chosen and the location as it seems to fit well together. The difference in costume at different points in the video could also reflect different personalities that Beyoncé has. This gives the video some versatility and diversity.

Music video analysis "Say Something"

Song: Say something

Act: A great big world ft Christina Aguilera

Genre: indie pop

Main audience: 15-30

Year: 2013
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U0Ivkn2Ds

A very emotionally dark song with an extremely dark video setting. A simple setting with a piano in a room with one light over it. People of all ages and generations are used as actors to show that people of every generation can be equally affected by the message that the lyrics in this particular song are giving out.

The pace of the video is quite slow moving as the song itself is a slow and sad one, therefore the pace of the video reflects the mood of the song.

 The shots of the video are either mid or close up shots which can mean that the director wanted to make the audience understand what the characters in the video are feeling in relation to the song. There are also a lot of zooms in to character’s faces to enforce even more emotion.

The difference between all the characters in the video is that they are all experiencing very sad moments but in different situations such as the elderly man losing his wife as she dies in a hospital bed, the young woman seems to have a cold relationship with her partner and the little girl is hiding where she can due to her parents’ fighting perhaps.

 One of the significant props featured in this video is the water on the hands which can perhaps represent the idea of tears being shed and therefore there is again a reflection on the mood of the song.

The room that the video is set in is quite empty with few items in it which can represent emptiness and sadness, as if something is missing.  You begin to notice towards the end of the video as well that all the characters used in the video are all actually in the same room and that even though they are all experiencing different problems, the idea that they are all in the same room and setting can mean that they can all relate to each other and that they are all experiencing very similar emotions.

The music video is a mix of performance and narrative which could enforce the idea that the performers are also in the same boat and situation as the characters. As if they are all stuck in one prison together.

The prime meaning that this video is conveying to the audience is nearly entirely emotional and with the close up shots and zooms, the audience can really begin to understand what the director intended them to understand.