The Beginning of A2!!! (Music Video Analysis)

A2!!!!!

anyway...I will start this year off with some analysis of 3 music videos from 3 different genres.

First, Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me , (Pop)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4em3LKQCAQ

• First, this video has a narrative, and thus tells a story to it's audience, whereas other music videos can just be a compilation of footage that doesn't actually create a plot (the narrative seems along the lines of a boy trying to be with a girl, and her father not approving of their relationship as he is trying to protect his daughter from the possibility of getting hurt emotionally).
• Because of this video telling a story it contains around 2 minutes of footage that aren't actually coordinated with the music, they are just plot.
• The direction of this video not only tells a story but also sets it out like a miniature-movie.
• The video contains a great variety of camera shots and angles, from close-ups to crowd shots, and a good amount of tracking shots as well.
• In terms of editing the video contains straight cuts and mostly short takes, the only time longer takes are really used are when it is telling the story behind the music video (at the start and end of the music video). Also there is the use of ellipsis, both when the story is being told without the music and when the music is playing to signal back to the story.
• The sound is key within the music video and is mainly pop throughout, the only exception are the regular voices when the video is acting more like a film, setting out a plot, and where a guest appearance by 'Big Sean' occurs, where it switches more into rap (as it uses spoken word instead of singing).
• The lighting and colour within the video is mostly very dark, and could be said to be close to low key lighting, although not entirely, as it appears even during some of the night scenes some filler lights are used.
• In terms of Mise-en-scene, the costume and setting could be interpreted as modern day or some point a few years in the past. The use of some vintage cars as props makes it feel more like an aged movie, as does the costume and body language of the girl's father, who might be taken as some sort of gangster or at the very least someone who works in some darker business of sorts. This combined with the girl's props e.g. her suitcase could allow someone to justify why they think it isn't set in modern day.
• Even though this video tells a story, it does actually incorporate compilation within it, it is not a solid time line as it shows events of the past as well as the present, thus allowing it to further tell a story as a result, as it provides us with background as to why the boy is trying to get the girl (they have clearly been in love for some time).
• Whilst this music is going on the video focus is set almost constantly on Justin, as it is telling his story, with a few shots spared for the girl alone and also her father.
• The audience this song is aimed at is likely to be mainly female between the ages of 9 - 16 , I say this because when Justin Bieber started out this was his main audience, as he was younger. Although because he has grown up so may have some of his fans, leading them to not like his music so much anymore, but then again allowing more new fans to become his fans. Even though this seems the main audience for this song, the video could actually be aimed at a more mature audience, due to its slight amount of violent content. This coupled with the fact that many people like different music means that while his main audience seems to be female, ages 9 - 16, he may well have 21 year old male fans, 19 year old female fans, or others, as it all depends on someone's personal taste in music.
• The real selling point here is the fact that it is Justin Bieber, which is most likely why the camera focuses on him the majority of the time.
• In terms of special effects the video actually doesn't contain any. This is most likely because special effects don't really fit in with the narrative of the song and video, although if special effects were wanted it doesn't mean that they couldn't fit in, depending on the effect e.g. explosions probably wouldn't work.
• The only text in this video that appears and is aimed at the audience is the copyright at the very end (the 'VEVO' down the bottom right is actually part of the YouTube video not the music video itself).
• EXTRA INFO: Justin Bieber is signed to 'The Island Def Jam Music Group'. Formed in 1999, it currently is comprised of Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Mercury Records. It's roster of other artists include Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Bon Jovi and more.
• SUMMARY: Justin Bieber's video is clearly high budget, like many pop videos. Noticeable features that denote that it is high budget are, the use of the cars, as they are expensive models. A number of seemingly professional dancers, which would have added to the cost. Justin's clothing, which is very fashionable, meaning it likely cost quite a bit to buy, as well as all the clothing for the dancers, which by the look of it was probably made specifically for the music video (also not forgetting hair and makeup for everyone in the video, as well as pay for the actors who play the father and the girl, especially Michael Madsen (the father) since he is a professional actor who plays in many films, such as 'Kill Bill', and 'Reservoir Dogs').The appearance by Big Sean, which he would have most likely been payed to do. Finally in terms of why it is high budget; a broad range of locations using very high quality cameras, and the fact it is shot and directed very professionally, almost as though it is it's own miniature-film. Within the music video there are actually no occurrences of special effects, as well as no use of CGI or special graphics in any way. The shots are typical of a pop music video; short takes using a variety of angles, and here the fast pace is a lot like the beat of the song, giving it an ecstatic feeling while watching it. The dancing could perhaps said to be somewhat reminiscent of Michael Jackson's 'bad' (due to its range of movements and the fact during it the actors seem aware of the camera, showing its very performance based). Justin Bieber seems very hyperconscious, as he very clearly knows this is his video, and he is the major focus, as the selling point here is that it is Justin Bieber. Finally, there seems to be intertextual-referencing going on, as the entire story seems to echo a Romeo & Juliet style story; that the boy and girl love each other and yet they cannot be together because it is forbidden for one reason or another (although it is not incredibly reminiscent of it, as we have no idea if the families behind the two lovers hate one another, as well as a number of other details, but still it could be said to echo it slightly).

Second, SKRILLEX - Bangarang (Dubstep)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJVmu6yttiw

• After viewing this music video it is obvious it tells a story, the story being of how 3 boys went from petty thieves to serious criminals stealing large sums of cash.
• The video contains literally a few seconds at the end without music, right from the offset the music begins playing and tells the story of these boys, making this music video shorter than some that tell a story, e.g. Justin Bieber's 'As Long As You Love Me' .
• Whilst this video contains a great number of different types of camera shots and angles, it mainly focuses on one person in the shot at a time, since there are really 4 key characters, the 3 boys and the ice cream salesman.
• The editing in this video contains straight cuts and short takes, with some short takes being slightly longer than others, but still considered short takes due to their length of time before changing.The video also contains a number of action matches e.g. the boy firing the small bomb at the ice cream van.
• Dubstep focuses mainly on the mixing of the bass within it's range of songs although this video also incorporates lyrics. Though there aren't many lyrics to the song they are included in a good amount, and do seem to accompany the bass well. Another thing to notice is because of the very limited amount of time without the music playing, there is no diegetic dialogue between the characters.
• The lighting within the video is very high-key, as it reflects, in accordance with the time of day, what the lighting would actually look like. In fact it is very likely natural lighting was used within the video, with the exclusion perhaps of the scene at night (as otherwise the cameras wouldn't be able to film) and the scene when the boys have escaped (as the child's shadow gets larger, although this may be editing after the music video was shot).
• The Mise-en-scene reveals the video to likely be set in modern day, as no particular aspects seem to jump out that it is a particular period in time other than the present, although perhaps it could be said the part where the characters are boys is in the past slightly, though when they are men the use of high tech equipment is showing that now it is most likely modern day.
• The audience seems as though for the music it would be male 12 - 21+ , as this style of music (Dubstep) is often quite liked by male audiences, although this doesn't mean that their isn't also a female audience. The video would most likely also be aimed at this age group (and the violence within it, the losing of the man's hand, is portrayed very restricted in the fact there is not tons of blood everywhere causing the video to be condemned by many for it's content). It also seems that the video, through it's use of the ice cream salesman, is slightly comic (which is probably why the hand concept was included; just as a joke, not to be taken seriously) and also through the whole theme of ice cream thieves becoming masterminds stealing cash from armoured vans.
• The selling point here is mainly the music, since the video to go along with it is just an added touch as SKRILLEX does not actually feature in this video at any point.
• Now this video unlike the other two analysed, does contain special effects. The effects used here include the explosions (both small, with the boys, and large, with the men), the electricity effect when the characters are boys and one of the boys is interacting with the rusted car part and the ice cream van/man and finally the guns firing during the robbery of the truck.
• During the video there is no text that appears on screen aimed at the audience to let them know anything about the music video.
• EXTRA INFO: Skrillex is signed to 'OWSLA' . Unfortunately not much is actually known about 'OWSLA', as even on their website, http://www.owsla.com/,barely any information is on the "ABOUT" page, simply that "We’re not here to spam you w promotions, we’re here collectively to share our passions for music and art.". It has been rumoured that Skrillex is the owner/one of the co-founders of the record  label, but as I mentioned this is only a rumor and so it is by no means in any way definite.
• SUMMARY: The rebellious nature of the narrative of this video seems to suit the genre of Dubstep well, as Dubstep is quite an outside and rebellious genre in itself. The video doesn't seem to be high-budget in any way, the only things that may have cost a relatively moderate amount would be the vehicles used in the video, the high-quality cameras the video was shot using, perhaps the props used by the adult versions of the boys, e.g. the weapons and night-vision goggles/high-tech binoculars, perhaps the special effects used in the video, the makeup worn by the actors and the actors fee themselves (as well as payment for trained animals, although they may have just been ordinary animals owned by those working on the video and not trained animals brought in especially, as they don't play a major part in the video and don't seem to exhibit any specially-taught behavior), and perhaps the style it was shot and directed, as it is cinematic to an extent, as it tells a story, although it doesn't use other incredibly high-budget features of cinematic direction such as aerial-shots, etc. as it doesn't require them to tell its story. Otherwise the props don't seem too costly, such as the clothing, number and style of locations, lighting (which seemed mostly natural, excluding the night scene) and lastly the camera shots and angles, as there don't seem to be any aerial-shots or crane-shots, and therefore the use of a crane or helicopter would not be needed, thus reducing the overall cost of production. This lack of high-cost within the music video may be due to Dubstep's nature, which is a focus on the music, and when using a music video to enhance this, it's through narrative, thus creating a lack of focus on vanity. In terms of special effects and CGI we see the explosions, the use of an electrical effect and the firing of guns. The ice cream van-driver's hand falling off may be an effect or it may just be the use of props. As mentioned previously the shooting and direction can be seen as quite cinematic to an extent, but without a sense of vanity and a real focus on the story associated with the song. Skrillex as an artist, like other Dubstep artists, isn't promoting himself through his videos, as he and other Dubstep artists make music for the music, not so that they can show themselves to the world. For the majority, they enjoy making music and thus do so, and when making music videos, such as Skrillex has here, maintain a focus on the music and not their own personal image, which is a major contrast when looking at pop music videos, such as Justin Bieber's 'As Long As You Love Me', as their main focus is on the image of the artist themselves, and almost seeminglt less so on the actual music, which is slightly ironic.

Thirdly, Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flames (Rock)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySdLh_B3HjA

• This music video clearly does not tell it's story through it's visuals, as it contains purely footage of the band playing the song. Funnily enough though, the lyrics to the song actually tell a sort of story in themselves (see link below)

http://www.metrolyrics.com/through-the-fire-and-flames-lyrics-dragonforce.html

• The video, like 'Bangarang' is nearly entirely entirely viewed with the music, but here the music is also synchronous with the visuals, as the visuals are the band playing the song.
• The shots within this music video all stay quite close to the band, as it is likely being shot on a stage indoors in a small space (as it seems from the video). This means that a majority of shots include medium shots to medium long shots, the angles however vary a large amount, for example, very high angle shots, eye level shots, worm's eye view shots, etc.
• The editing in this video, like the other videos, also uses straight cuts and short takes, the only time the take become long/longer is when the camera focuses on a specific instrument for a key part in the song. There is also within this video shot-within-shot, where the two guitarists are playing, which is also where longer takes occur. There is an instance at the end where various angles on the band members appear which is obviously the work of editing as well, which is just worth mentioning. In terms of action matches within the video, it could be said the video is practically one long action match or hundreds of small action matches, as many shots see a band member playing an instrument then in the shots straight after, the same band member continuing to play the instrument, so perhaps more suited to many short action matches.
• The sound, as mentioned earlier, is synchronous in this video due to the content of the visuals. Although due to parts where we can't see the singer of the band the sound here could also said to be asynchronous.
• The lighting used here distinguishes between the light and dark strongly, so it can be said to be very low key, also the light used within this is not white light, but orange, giving a warm feel in accordance with th lyrics perhaps, since it talks about "fire" and "flames".
• The clothing, props and body language is very equipped to the content of the video. The band is playing their song and so are dressed in a way that they would dress, whilst using their instruments and showing their personality and passion for their music in their body language expressed between and whilst playing the music.
• The audience for this Dragonforce's rock music if often mostly males between the ages of 12 - 21+ , although again they are not limited to a purely male audience, in fact they are more open to females than other certain genres (and bands who play the same genre) of music as Dragonforce's rock is admired by many. The content of the video is purely showing the band playing their song and therefore doesn't seem particularly aimed at any specific group. It merely shows the band's love for what they do best and the skill level at which they perform.
• The selling point from this is the music whilst the video is just something extra for the fans, as it allows the fans to see the level of skill the band perform at and their capability with instruments.
• Their aren't any occurrences of special effects in the video, as the focus really is the music, the video really is just an accompaniment. 
• Within the video there is no occurrence of text appearing on the screen to inform the audience of anything.
• EXTRA INFO: Dragonforce is signed to 'Roadrunner Records'. Founded in Amsterdam in 1980, forged a name for itself early on by licensing US Rock repertoire for European release. The company’s early catalogue featured albums from some of the most important names in
  the hard rock and metal genres, including Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. Roadrunner Records also represented some seminal US Punk and Alternative labels including SST, Taang!, Triple X, Twin Tone and Relativity - home to artists as broad-ranging as Black Flag, Jane’s Addiction and Corrosion of Conformity. The diversity fostered in those early years lives on to this day, with successful artists in all the rock subgenres.
• SUMMARY: In terms of budget, this video seems very low. The only costly items would seem to be the use of a high definition camera, the set in which they are performing the song and perhaps the slight editing effects of frame-within-frame when the band members are playing the guitars and when we see te band members from multiple angles at once towards the end. Besides these nothing seems to scream "high cost", the outfits seem to be casual clothing worn by the band members, meaning even if they don't belong to them (which they most likely do) they wouldn't cost much to buy. The instruments are obviously owned by the band already, so it's not as though new instruments had to be bought especially for the video. Due to the lighting it can't be told whether the band s actually wearing makeup, although it isn't likely, (due to the lighting not showing off their faces often and the focus being on the music not them so much) also they are not a band which routinely wears a vast amount of makeup as part of their image. The shots vary in pace and length with a number of different angles, which coupled with the rumble effect in some shots can really keep the viewer involved, really energizing them about that they are listening to and watching (also here no high cost shots are used, much like in Skrillex video i.e. no crane or aerial shots that require extra equipment). Within the video there are no special effects, CI or special graphics, there is a slight effect, as mentioned earlier, done through editing of frame-within-frame and a point towards the end of the video where band members are seen at various angles at the same time, but besides this there is nothing in terms of effects, adding to the sense of this being low budget, as these two effects don't seem to have cost much to produce, due to nothing have to be done whilst recording and the effect being created through editing (it is mentioned earlier perhaps this may have cost slightly as its unknown whether these effects can only be produced on at least mildly decent editing software. Although really this doesn't seem it would be an obstacle for professional editors, but still I included that it may have cost extra just in case, which is why I'm clarifying that here). The lighting in the video really caused a contrast between light and dark, meaning it was low key, the number of lights could also said to be costly but creation of the set as being costly was mentioned earlier, by which I meant light included. The lighting really puts and emphasis on those playing the music, as the stand out in the dark, although the video still remains greatly focused on the music, so this focus on the band doesn't seem filled  with vanity. The video seems to be shot differently to Skrillex and Justin Bieber's video, as it isn't cinematic at all. It is far more performance based, but in a completely different style to the kind of performance Justin Bieber was doing through his dance routine, as here its giving a performance through the creation of music by the band members playing. A video like this is typical of the Rock genre; a very heavy focus on the music (much like Skrillex through his video for 'Bangarang', although his holds a story through the visuals whereas this does not) by showing a montage of footage of the band playing the song on a set. Especially in this video though, as the lighting and camera angles/shots really hide the band's faces at points with the main focus being on the instrument their playing itself, e.g. when the frame-within-frame occurs (as the frames completely focus on the instruments). This makes this video much like Skrillex's, as previously mentioned, and a lot less like Justin Bieber's, as there is no/very little focus on vanity (the only slight vanity may be that the band members themselves could be said to be showing off, but then again they have to appear in order to play their music, and the lack of a story in the video shows a real emphasis on the music). Funnily though, even though this video doesn't give a story visually through the lyrics their is a sort of story/journey being told, which doesn't drag us away from the focus on the music, but is actually part of it, as it is the lyrics to the song (which can be seen by clicking the link given above). There is perhaps some intertextual-referencing occurring here, as the music telling a story of a journey could even be said to allude to minstrels, and how they, through song, would tell stories of journeys, distant places and imaginary or historical events. 

Unrelated to the music video analysis, here are three links to  music related websites I like using. They are here simply for anyone who's interested:

• NME, for music related news (http://www.nme.com/)
• Last.fm, which is great for finding new artists based on what you like (http://www.last.fm/)
• iTunes, an obvious one but one I like all the same, for downloading music. This couple well with Last.fm as once I find new artists I often use iTunes to download their songs and find more of their music (http://www.apple.com/itunes/)

Anyway that's all for now :) see you all soon :D