music video analysis

By starting the video with just words is effective because it grabs the audiences attention. It also shows the messages behind the song and gives people watching something to think about. The words set a more serious note for the

video, which matches the nature of the song.

Close ups are used immediately to introduce the character in the video. By using close ups we can see the emotion on the

characters face which sets the mood and atmosphere for the video. They use close ups to slowly reveal the person which keeps

the audiences hooked in the first section.

By matching the cuts to the beat of the music gives off a professional feel to the video. This is matched with the clever

lighting and camera angles shown in the shot above. This professionalism encourages us to understand the serious emotion of the video. The mise en scene in these shots of the lighting also

add more diversity into the shots.

Using low angle shots like this one give us an idea of the setting. This is a clever, interesting way to portray atmosphere. Through out the video they also use cutaways to break up sections of the

narrative. This is something I would like to use in my video because its an eye catching way of giving the audience more

background on the setting or narrative.

They have defined a narrative clearly in this video and use different contrasts when editing to keep the audience engaged. Different

contrasts also portray different emotion. They have used black and white here to demonstrate a negative situation, which the audience can read. This relates to Stuart Halls theory that audiences are taught through their life how to interpret

something.

The variety of settings the students have used show commitment to giving the audience an interesting video. The wide shots they have used establish the different settings, and they are shown

through out when the setting changes. This works well because the audience is not bombarded with settings, but instead feel like

they are following the actor in the video on a journey.

Analysis of past media A2 videos:

Tuesday, 24 September 13

The way they have filmed the video matches the song. They have used rough camera work and shaky handling of the

camera to portray the rough nature of the song. The characters clothing and look is also matched to the song. We link done up polo’s and short hair to the same social group

as the genre of the song.

The settings they have chosen for the video are clever because as it’s set in somewhere that appears to have lots of flats and semi

detached houses is somewhere we associate with trouble makers.

The angles they have used here, like in the shot above where they have cut out some of the characters face is clever because it

seems unprofessional, however it matches the song. They have mixed the shaky camera movements with nice looking shots so

that the overall feel of the video still feels professional. I think this is a clever way of portraying the mood that the song

communicates.

The makers of the video have used cutaways that relate to the other settings they have used. These cutaways are what adds

interest to the video, and breaks up the narrative. The shots have only been displayed for a very short time but give the audience

time to catch up with what they’ve already seen.

In the video there is a clear narrative of a story between a boy and girl. This is done from the singers point of view which causes the audience to feel more of a connection with him. This works well with the song because it is sung from his point of view too.

The students have continuously used the rule of thirds through out the video which means the audiences are drawn to the main

part of the scene.



The directors of this video have introduced the song by starting with visuals involving a guitar. This identifies the

music as rock music because of how we associate this genre with instruments like guitars and drums.

They have used split screen in parts of the video to show to narrative storyline, with the live playing. The genre of the song is

rock, therefore instruments are an important part of the production. This is why the idea of splitting the screen to show this works well with the music we hear as we listen and watch.

In this video they have also used black and white to portray negative sections of the narrative which is clever because the

audience know how to read this. They have also used this to show the past. This keeps the audience interested in what they are

watching.

We see cutaways of a band playing the song. This is done in an environment we would associate with the rock nature of the song and band. The are also dressed in clothing that would support this genre. They have used a variety of close ups and long shots to shot

this.

The editing they have used through the video is clever. This is shown in the shot above. By mixing a shot of the singer, which

demonstrates the mise en scene we would attach with the genre of the song, and a shot showing the narrative lets the audience watch both at the same time and brings boths parts together.

They use a hand held capture in parts of the narrative. This creates a more griping atmosphere in the video. They have used this when the song speeds up, therefore the beat of the song now matches

the visuals.



The video begins with an establishing shot accompanied by synchronous sound. This sets the scene for the audience, and

we immediately know that the song we are about to listen to is from the country genre.

The camera is left still which reflects the calmer side of the genre the song comes from. As the song starts we watch the girl get out an instrument which is also something we link to country music.

As we see different angles of the girl sat on the bench and walking through the forest we see settings that are relevant to the genre. However this could become boring for the audience because they is no outfit change or big change of setting, but instead stays in the

same kind of place through out.

The close ups of the girls face show the intimacy of country genre. From these close ups we see natural hair and make up which communicates the relaxed style of the genre. They have used rule of the thirds in these close ups which make the shot

look neater and more appealing to the audiences eye.

The wide shots of the forest like this arent that effective for the audience, because although the story narrative is trying to be communicated here, the shot it not set up so that our eye is

drawn to the character here. I think this could be better thought out in order to communicate a story better.

At the end we see a shot of this character that has not appeared in the video much, this confuses the narrative for the audience.

However the camera work used here is something that interests people watching, because the subject is still and the camera is

moving. This is one of the good sections of camera work the video shows.



The establishing shots of the different settings are interesting and use structures to set up the shot, like the

one above. This intrigues the audience and would make them more likely to want to carry on watching the video.

They have used a fade to change shots at the beginning. This brings the different settings they have used together and makes the video

look smoother. However this does not fit with the beat of the song we can hear.

They use a tracking shot to follow the character whilst singing. This identifies who the singer is in the video to the audience,

whilst using interesting camera work that will catch the audiences attention.

The black and white contrast is used here to identify the narrative part of the video. The change in setting in these parts show the

reflection in the video and song, because when the boy sings it is a calm, secluded setting. However in the narrative story parts of the

video it is a busy street/city.

The directors of this video has used a tracking shot to identify the busy city setting. This is interesting because what we see is always

changing capturing the audiences attention.

Some cutaways they have used add more to the setting they have already showed in the video. The shot above adds more interest in the video, by varying the shots. However I do feel like this could be considered random to the video, although I do like the idea of

these cutaways.

