Analysing Music Videos - Part 2

3 Music videos from my chosen genre

Ella Henderson – Yours (Soul Pop)

In this music video the camera shot begins off from a bird’s eye view showing the reflection of a building in a puddle, this emphasises the feel of the music as it begins off quiet which tells us this will be a slow moving song. The camera shot is then changed to a different angle which shows a view of the buildings, as the sun rises which tells us the music video was taken in the morning to portray how morning is for America. The camera shot instantly changes to the artist who is looking out the window showing her reflection, this then changes again giving a view of Ella playing the piano of the beginning of the chorus. The opening of the song starts off in a calm and smooth form. The camera shots within the music video are continuously moving which emphasises a strong cinematography of not only the location but the artist herself. The camera focuses on different aspects of the music video, showing pictures on the fridge of Ella and her partner and then it gradually moves to showing her partner sleeping in bed giving a view of his back. This slowly links the lyrics of the song to the music video for the audience to put together and understand the concept.

Camera movement is vital within a music video as it tells different interpretations of the music which portrays a story for the audience to understand. The symbols of hearts and the saying ‘I love you’ is represented in the opening of the song, this tells the viewers that love, compassion and care is interlocked with the music video. The whole theme of the music video is put in black and white form, as we know black and white is a simple and basic colour, therefore, she reflected the black and white effect on to her music video to highlight her love for her partner to show that love is beautiful and simplistic which does not need to be complicated. Ella does not use much effect in her music video except having her whole music video being based in a black and white filter. I believe the whole point of this is for the audience to focus on the lyrics formed and the story the music video tells.

The mise-en-scene is combined in a very intriguing way, as the symbolic hearts and sayings of ‘I love you’ communicates with the audience in a very formative way. This is shown through the objects and items used within the music video such as CD’s, pictures and the character (Ella’s partner). This portrays the image of love and compassion; the clothing which is worn by Ella is simple and intricate as the music and the video does the story telling.  The cardigan Ella is wearing is falling off her shoulder, showing the worry that she is going through just to tell her partner the love she has for him. This is shown in the music video as she mentions in her music “And I will find my strength to un-tape my mouth, when I used to be afraid of the words” (1:09). This expresses that she is finding her strength to tell her partner how she feels and realises that showing your feelings is OK. Reflection of light is focused on Ella to indicate the beauty of her love that she has for her partner.

Ella is represented in a very modest and simplistic way, not giving away too much of herself but letting the lyrics and the video do the talking. The facial expression used by Ella shows her admiration for her lover as she sings her soul out expressing how she feels about him, explaining that her “heart is ready to burst”. At one point of the music video the camera views her facial expression whilst she admires her photo of her and her beloved one, portraying a reflection of happiness. The artist herself is throughout focused on as she tells her story about her love life, in other words as she tells her story in a ballad. The ideology behind the music is about the love that she shares with her partner and realises that expressing her feelings is not hard as she thought. The artist also speaks about her characters beauty and highlights this by the words in her lyrics which she uses. She says in her lyrics ‘That beauty on my pillow that holds me in the night’, she refers to her partner as a beauty in her eyes which holds her every night. When she says this, the camera focuses on her beloved one which represents intertextuality.

The genre of music is pop soul which is formed by the rhythm of the song as it plays off in the beginning from the sound of the piano, starting off slow and calm which allows the audience to be prepared for what is to come next. As the rhythm of the song plays, Ella begins to sing in a refined and calming voice; portraying her affection through the love of music. Throughout the song no heavy beat is played as the whole song is formed in a very relaxing tune which reflects her admiration for her partner and shows simplicity and sophistication. Ella is the main representation of the music and individually portrays the illustration of love and beauty.

Intertextuality is used during the duration of the music video whilst the story which is being told is included in the video. This allows the audience to get an understanding of what the story may be interpreting. Hence, she mentions in her lyrics “Your arms they keep me steady” which interlocks with the action which Ella uses as her dreams of her lover’s arms being wrapped around her; emphasising how much he means to her.

Stuart Hall’s theory is interpreted by the audience as some can relate to this to their beloved ones, showing their love and passion for them and understanding the lyrics and accepting this. Through the personal interest, this theory can tell the audience that a more niche audience is aimed at pop soul. The music video is aimed at females, however can refer to men too, and aged from 15 to 40 years old. Andrew Goodwin’s theory states 5 key aspects which all 5 is followed through within the music video, showing visual and music, thought through beat, narrative and songs, star image and technical aspect of a music video. All 5 key aspects are used to make the music video stand out to the rest and emphasise it with the lyrics which are formed, giving the audience a greater understanding of what the music is about. However, Laura Mulvey’s theory of the ‘male gaze’ does not play a part in the video as no female is involved except the artist herself and her partner, which therefore does not involve her theory. Levi Strauss theory of binary opposition was applied into the music video which shows the audience the bond between both genders.

Victoria Justice Ft Max – Say something (Soul Pop)

In this music video the camera shot stays the same throughout as it continuously repeats the pan shot in order to focus on the two artists and the xylophone player who is also included in the background. The location of the music video is displayed in a living room, the colours that are formed are dull and less vibrant which forms and emphasises sadness and loss of determination for their loved one. The angles and shots are consistent throughout and do not change. No edits or transition is used in the music video as the music and the facial expressions of the artists tell the story. I believe the whole theme of this music video is to show losing hope and being unhappy, feeling ignored and depressed. This is shown in the music video as both artists sing to each other but are sitting back to back. This also shows that though they may be singing to each other but are not able to see each other to express their passion and love. Another point that could be possibly insinuated is that even though they sing as if they are so distant from each other yet in reality they are so close but are unable to realise it. The use of harmony shows that they both feel the same way but want the other person to say something first.

The mise-en-scene is not very noticeable, the colour of the background is dull and gloomy which indicates that the whole music video is about sadness and grief for their loved one. The costume which is worn by the artists and the xylophone player is black clothing to also make them express their sadness but via the clothing which is worn and not to mislead the audience with vibrant colours when the song is about unhappiness. The facial expression used by the artists show that they want to make things work with their loved ones, however, are unable to and this is expressed by not only their song but by their facial expression as they sing with passion and hit the high notes when voicing their thoughts and feelings.

The artists are represented in a very dull way; nonetheless they portray their music with their voice and facial expression as well as the sounds of the xylophone, which adds mysteriousness to the music video. There are also two lamps which are placed above the artists to focus on both the singers as they sing making the audience divert their attention to them and how they feel. The lighting which is used in the music video is dimmed to also expose the expression of the music and the lyrics formed. The ideology of the music video is that though they may be sitting back to back but feels so far apart from each other. They voice their feelings with devotion and love yet they still are unable to get across to their beloved one. Max says that he is inexperienced in love and is like a child who doesn’t even know how to crawl. That kind of innocence subdued their relationship which caused it to go the wrong way as they are powerless of making it work. They talk about their frustration through the lyrics which is used and their tone which they sing in to emphasise this.

The genre of music is Soul Pop it signifies love, sadness and desperation. The iconography used is simple, basic and dull. The reason for this is because Victoria and Max want to be the main focus as well as their lyrics so the audience can connect with them in a formative and basic way. Intertextuality is not used in this music video at all as the whole point of the music video is to just make the artists the centre of attention and let them tell their story through the music which is sung and vocalised expressing their story in their chosen way. In the opening of the music video the song plays off with the slow xylophone sound which portrays an intriguing atmosphere for the audience and the artists.

The theory of Stuart Hall is influenced on audiences as they would listen to the music and watch the music video, and interpret this into their own life or an experience which they may have gone through. The audience may enjoy this for many different reasons, this could either be because the way the music video is displayed, the sound of the music or the lyrics of the music which they can reflect upon.  The target audience which this song aims at is ages from 15-40 years old, ideally for women but this can refer to men too. Andrew Goodwin’s Theory is applied in the music video by thought through beat and star image, though the music video may not have visual and music in it, it still performs this by the lyrics of the music. It is important that star image is used and portrayed in a unique way to grab the audience’s attention; therefore, applying this theory is important. The theory of Laura Mulvey is not included at all in this music video as it is all about the lyrics that are sung and the meaning behind it. Though the artist is a female but there are no erotic females which are used as an object in the music video by the view of the ‘male gaze’. Binary opposition is used in the music video but in a non-sexualising form.

Adele – Someone like you (Soul Pop)

The music video to someone like you is different to the rest of the music videos which I have written about; the reason for this is because the melody of the song immediately plays. The camera shoots from a long shot of the pathway which Adele walks through. The camera shows the scenery behind Adele and slowly angles the camera to the right, until it focuses on Adele’s face and keeping her in medium shot throughout the video. At one point of the music video the camera does a full view of the location by doing a slow 360 degrees turn. This allows the audience to see what is going on around the artist and not just focusing on her, making the music flow with the pace of the camera movement. The video does not consist of many effects or transitions, except for the old fashion screening which is edited on to the music video to make the whole scenario seem sad and low-spirited, which links to the lyrics of the song.

The mise-en-scene in the music video does not say or give much to the audience; the location of the music video is done in London showing its famous landmarks. The colour range of the music video is very basic and does not offer much to the audience; it expresses what the lyrics say and reflects upon this by the colour which is used which is black and white. No props are used within the video; the whole video is mainly centred upon Adele and her vocals. The costume she wears in the video is just a plain black coat, this disguises with the black and white effect which is used in the music video. The whole scenario of the video is not striking for the audience; nevertheless it portrays what the lyrics are trying to put across. The facial expression which is used by Adele shows worry, doubt and sadness and this comes across to the audience very well.

Adele is represented through this by showing that she is the main attention of the music video and she characterises the lyrics that she sings. The idea that I believe was made during the video was for Adele to put her words across to the audience and connect with the spectators; allowing individuals to feel like they are able to communicate feelings with her. She presents to the audience that she’s lost her loved one but that doesn’t stop her from continuing to be strong and keep striving and being who she is, which she shows to her audience. She gives eye contact to the camera majority of the time in the video in order to connect her lyrics to the audience on a personal level. The look which she gives is a very subtle look, which emphasises what she is trying to put across.

The genre of the music that Adele produces are Soul Pop/blues, she sings about the experiences she has gone through in life with breaking up with her boyfriend and about moving on. The sound of the piano plays throughout the video and this connects with the vocals in her voice as she goes with the melody of the piano, even when she hits the high notes the piano continues with that pace of flow. In the video no intertextuality is applied, the lyrics which Adele sings do not link to the music video and so the video does not flow well with the song produced. This gives the audience a misleading idea; however, it is illustrated in a basic way to represent the lyrics of the song.

In the perspective of Stuart Hall’s theory audiences can view the video as a way to share an experience with the artist and can interpret what the lyrics produced may mean. Target audience for this music is targeted for age group of 15-50 years old, this song is mainly focused on females, and however, the lyrics can possibly also be applied to men. Andrew Goodwin’s theory is applied in the video by including the ‘thought through beat’ which is used in the video to make the audience aware of the main person and establish the story of the song. The music and visuals of the music video is a disjuncture as it ignores the words completely from the video, this also includes it being amplified this means that the camera shots are throughout being repeated. Not only that, the star image is also clearly used in the video, making her the centre of attention. Laura Mulvey’s theory is not included in the music video, as there are no female characters involved in the perspective of the ‘male eye’. Instead, it only focuses on the artist itself and the music. No binary opposition is incorporated in the music video, though the song may represent love and heartbreak.