Lyrics

MusicGenre

Camerawork

Editing

Intertextuality

Narrative

Performance

Corri ne Bai l ey Rae – Put Your Records On

-The main theme of the lyrics is about having self esteem and being your own person. The video expresses this through the use of sun and fields; it has a very hippy-like, self growth feel within the imagery. When the lyrics 'don’t listen to those other boys, you gotta love that afro hair-do', there is a close up shot of Corrine Bailey Rae with her afro hair do, flicking it backwards and gazing into the camera. This shows the lyrics are influenced by, if not about, her

-This song is quite hard to categorise in terms of genre but I would say the main categories it fits into are Reggae/Ballad/Pop. The reggae and ballad aspects are the general tempo and beat of the song. The pop aspect is the use of a female singer as a focal point and also the basic fact that the song is 'popular'. The video fits these genre conventions well.The mise en scene is very nature orientated and the camera makes use of panoramic scenery to make the video really beautiful and almost ethereal.

-As far as I can see there aren’t any intertextual references in the video. I thought that the tree with red ribbons on might have been a reference to something but having done some research I can't find any links to it.

-The representation of Rae in this video is very innocent and seems to be very much about self growth. She is dressed in a pretty ‘virginal’ white top, no extravagant make up and a natural afro hair do. There is no sexuality, no voyeurism and almost no exhibitionism from Rae herself. This is quite unusual as she is not a particularly established artist and the very understated style of the video gives an impression of an artist that is already confident and established in the industry. However, the innocent, young image could be being used to appeal to young teenage female audiences, who may feel threatened by overly sexualised female images.

-There are no instruments used in shot in this music video, this often is the case when the female singer is the main point of focus. The tempo of the track suits the style as it is slow paced with different shots used only to emphasise the singer or use of panning shots to show the cyclists and fields with the tree. There is not much use of quick jump cuts in this piece and this is because the tempo of the song is slow and rhythmic, the use of smooth transitions and panning, long and close up shots emphasises the smoothness and calm of the song and makes Corrine Bailey Rae a focus point in the video

Fl o Ri da - Low--The lyrics of this song are incredibly sexual and suggestive, the phrasing of the lyrics suggests voyeurism as the narrative is from a male's perspective of watching a woman dance. The whole style of the video revolves around this idea and the camera work, editing and mise en scene all contribute to the effect.

-The mise en scene of the club and car park reflects the R'N'B/Hip Hop genre. This is further emphasised by the style of the main rappers/singers. They are dressed in sportswear and there are close up shots of 'bling' such as watches, necklaces and even the car. The musicians are also raised on a platform in the club, giving them 'star status' within the video. The tracking shots of the main rapper walking into the club make him seem powerful and important, this is further emphasised by his loud image; items such as the watch and designer sunglasses create this image. The close up's of him only allow a small part of his face of body to enter the screen at any one time, making him seem mysterious.

-There are many sexual and exhibitionistic shots within the video and a great deal of images with the rappers in the middle of women dancing around them. They are portrayed as alpha males, with women trying to gain their attention by dancing suggestively. This represents the entire narrative of the lyrics. There is an element of exhibitionism from both the Rappers/singers and the dancers in the video, although the dancers are more an object of sexual attention (Voyeurism).

-I like how this video is beat edited. The flashing of the lights and extensive use of jump cuts are almost always in synch with the beat, this makes it fast paced and dance orientated. Just by watching the footage we are reminded of the flash of lights in a club and the heady, highly charged and fast paced feeling associated with it.

-The video is also interspersed with scenes from the film ‘Step Up 2’ and therefore would have been part of the promotion for the film. The sexy, exhibitionistic image of the video, reflects that of the film, as do all the other elements of the production.

The Di st i l l ers- Drai n The Bl ood

This video contrasts highly with the other two I have analysed, it is of the Punk/Rock genre and the main focus is on the band and the female singer. There are use of quick jump cuts, colour overlay and contrast effects within the video. They emphasise the rock genre and edginess of the band.

The video uses black and white, overlayed with red in certain frames. This adds to the grungy look of the video, a look the band is focusing on. This is emphasised at the start by the use of a shot showing the band climbing into a manhole.The lead singer is stereotypically punk, with red lipstick, scruffy short black hair and stripy tights. There have been many comparisons between her and Courtney Love, showing us that they are based on old school punk and grunge.

The style and performance of the video are edgy, to compliment the style and genre of the band. There are many uses of jump cuts, quick beat editing, textures and close ups. The close ups focus on the lead singer (Brody Dalle) and her sexual image.

There is also use of background that isn’t the location the majority of the video was filmed in. On a point of intertextuality, the black, red and white colour scheme is closely linked to comic book artwork. They may also have chosen this colour scheme, because as well as being the colour scheme of punks around the world, the use of the red mirrors the title of the song, ‘Drain the Blood’.

The camerawork in the video focuses closely on creating stage dynamic by circling the band constantly and focusing in on instruments, mise en scene and attire. It also creates a ‘star image’ of the lead singer by using seperate shots of her in different locations. There are few close up’s of other band members but the editing and filming process has evidently been constructed to show Brody Dalle off to the fullest extent. Shots such as the one above show an element of exhibitionism within the video.

The grungy setting and colour scheme enhance the narrative and lyrics. ‘All my friends are murderers’ is a statement to the view of punks within society and towards the protest orientated world of punk and rebellion.