Analysis of Music Videos

Analysis of Music Videos

Camerawork:

Some music videos use a variety of camera angles and this helps make the music video seem more professional, however some use only a few different angles and movement.

Childish Gambino - 3005

• This music video uses a constant angle that is a mid shot of C.G and a bear sitting in a Ferris Wheel.
• The music video is a constant recording, however like films such as Birdman, there are secret cuts in the video, this is to help with the destroyed bear after each chorus. After each chorus the camera pans upwards into the sky, and this is where the cut takes place.

Logic - Nasty

• Throughout this music video there is a lot of low angle shots looking up at him, this is a standard shot in most low budget rap music videos to show how powerful they are and their dominance in the industry. 

Logic - Super Mario World

• In the opening shot of Logic's 'Super Mario World' there is a drone shot of a factory that some of the music video takes place. 
• There are also a lot of quick movements from the video, for example quickly zooming in on Logic (showing his status as a star) when he is on a private jet. This shows that he is rich and powerful and can afford it.

Editing:
Kendrick Lamar - Humble
There are a lot of quick cuts in the video and one scene in particular where the camera pans around him while he is rapping. This movement is in time with the beat and makes for an interesting transition.


Childish Gambino - 3005
The editing in this video is very minimal as it is only C.G and the bear in a fixed position with an apparent continuous recording. However this makes it seem simplistic and makes the artist seem more ordinary and through the 'star theory' makes them seem ordinary but talented.

Sound:
Childish Gambino - 3005
Like many songs the only sound from the video is the sound and this means that there is no music from the actual video.
If the music video was more of a narrative video then it is more likely to have dialogue and sound from the actual video.

Mise-en-scene:
Childish Gambino - 3005

• Costumes - C.G is wearing ordinary clothing to show the simplistic nature of the music video. The teddy bear is wearing a hat to show a more human side to the object as it slowly gets destroyed. The other people in the video are extras in the background who, like C.G, are ordinary people on the Ferris Wheel.
• Setting - The setting of the music video is on a Ferris Wheel and this makes the video more relatable for the audiences as they too can ride a Ferris Wheel with a bear.
• Lighting - All of the lighting in the music video comes from the actual Ferris Wheel and not from any other stage lights. This makes the video seem more authentic and less staged then it would otherwise.
• Props - The only prop in the video is the bear that slowly gets more and more destroyed as the video progresses.

Narrative:

Eminem - Stan

The story of 'Stan' is about a fan who is obsessed with Eminem. The actual song is letters from this fan and when the letters aren't answered he puts his pregnant girlfriend in the boot and drives off a bridge. The last verse of the song is Eminem answering the letters before realising that he was the man who drove off the bridge.

Themes:
Childish Gambino - 3005
The theme of 3005 is about Childish Gambino's loss of innocence after starting his rap career. He started out as an actor and comedian who wasn't taken seriously with his music but as he made more music and starred in more TV and movies he got a star persona and therefore had to lose his childishness and innocence to become a rapper. The bear is his innocence and after each chorus he does the more destroyed the bear (his innocence) becomes.

Singers:

Childish Gambino:
Childish Gambino, or Donald Glover, is an American actor, comedian and rapper who has starred in TV shows such as Community (which he produces and writes), films such as Spiderman Homecoming. He has become more of a star after his EP and because of this has two different personas, one with his acting (a more cheerful bubbly character) and one for his music (a straight faced more reserved character). After releasesing his first album he only really connected with his audiences through his music videos.

Michael Jackson

• In the music video 'Billie Jean' the video has a lot of different moments of showing how much of a star he is. There is one scene where he makes a homeless man wear a suit through his touch, and this makes the audience watching him show how much of a star he is by the fact that he can change lives with a touch.
• He also does a lot of dance moves that only he does, for example when he did the moonwalk it was a signature move for him.
  

Male and Female Gaze

Laura Mulvey -  Male and Female Gaze

Male Gaze:

The male gaze is the way in which women are depicted from a masculine viewpoint, this means presenting women as objects of male pleasure.

The mlae gaze is shown throughthe use of costumes, make-up and the camerawork, the camera will often linger on parts of the body.

The male gaze is often used to represent gender in a particular way.

Blurred Lines:

• Hugely controversial when it was released.
• The first shot in the music video is of the artist next to a woman with his name on the screen. This makes him seem to be an imposing figure and makes the artist seem more important.
• Throughout the video the male artists looking at the women as an item of male pleasure.

The male artist are shown as masculine and dominat, meanwhile the women are shown as objects whose only purpose is to be gazed upon.

However there are music videos that challenge the udea of male gaze, while there are also female artists who sexualise themselves as well.

Female Gaze:

The female gaze is seen from the female perspective and often reflects female attitudes. This is either because the creator of the media product is female, or because it is being aimed at a predominantly female audience.
The female gaze works in similar ways to the male gaze and an example of this is 'Call Me Maybe'

Goodwins Theory

Goodwin's Theory:

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
Every genre of music has specific characteristics that most, if not all, music videos will follow some of the characteristics so the audiences watching the video can tell what the genre is without listening to the song.
For example rock music will often feature the entire band and will also include instruments. This can be scene in many songs from many different bands.

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
Goodwin realised that in a songs lyrics there was often a similar, or contradictory, scene playing in the music video. He also said that there were 3 catergories that music videos are put into when we analyse the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics of the music video.

1. Amplified
2. Illustrative
3. Contradictive

An illustrative music video between the lyrics and music videos are where the visuals on screen are incredibly similar to what the lyrics are saying. This makes the music video easier to follow for the audiences.
In 2011, Rizzle Kicks released 'When I was a Youngster' and in the music videothey say all of the things that they wanted to be when they were younger, for example an astronaut. One of them is dressed as an astronaut during this and it measn that it highlights what they wanted to be. There is also a scene in which they are playing cowboys and Indians to showcase the youthful side that they were singing about. During most of the scenes they are in areas of brighlighting, for example a field and a playground with the sun out to showcase how bright their futures were.
Rizzle Kicks - When I was a youngster

A contradictive music video between the visuals and the lyrics is where the lyrics and the visuals of the music video have no link and can seem to be a random choice in the video.

An amplified music video between the visuals and the lyrics of the song is where the director of the music video will instead of portraying the lyrics simply like in an illustrative music video the visuals will 'amplify' in an exaggerated way.
An example of an amplified music video is 'Bonkers' by Dizzee Rascal through the editing process of the music video, in the jump cuts that portray a sense of chaos, to the mise-en-scene in the costumes and lighting in the video.
Bonkers

There is a relationship between music and visuals
Illustrate - Many music videos use certain camera angles and shots to show the meaning of the song to the audience.

Disjuncture - The song and its meaning is ignored by the music video.

Amplify - When the shots of the video are shown repeatedly throughout the music video.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality

The definition of Intertextuality is: "The term Intertextuality refers to the process of creating references to any kind of media text via another media text. In other words Intertextuality essentially means for a type of media (film, television, music etc) to pay homage to another media text."

Intertextuality between music videos:
In 1987 Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal' was released and in the music video he performs an anti-gravity lean. This was made by using a hitching mechanism in the floor that attached to the feet of Michael Jackson and this made it able for him to perform the move.
In 2009 Shakira released 'She-Wolf' and she also performs the same dance move as Michael Jackson did two decades before. She later said in an interview that she did the move in order to pay tribute to him as 'he was the king of artistic magic'.



Intertextuality between music videos and video games:
In Logic's 'Super Mario World' the main beat of the song is a remix version of music that has appeared in the Super Mario games. This helps make the song instantly recognisable to people as they can make the link between the song and the games.
There is more links between the song and the game as there is a person in a Mario costume throughout the video and this links with the beat and the title of the song.


Intertextuality between music videos and film:
In Logic's song 'Super Mario World' there is a scene on an abandoned boat that is reminiscent of a scene in James Cameron's 'Titanic' when the two main characters lean over the front of the boat.

The Star Theory

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

The Star Theory is split into 3 different areas:

The star as a construction
Dyer states that a star is just a construction and is not a real person. The star is created through magazines, music videos and advertising.

The star as an ideology
Stars will often represent different social groups and points of views.
Due to this many fans will attmpt to copy their favourite fans with their style. This is mainly for fans who's favourite stars share similar views.
An example of this is Beyoncé who's fans have similar views to her. Her views on how women should be independent means that many of her female fans hold her in high regard.
.
The star as a commodity
The main reason stars are created is because of the money that they can generate. This is from the merchandise that they can sell for example posters.
There is often trends that record labels know for certain will help make them money and that is why there are often similar stars at the same label.

Dyer has also proposed the 'paradox of the star'
The star must be both ordinary and extraordinary:

• The star must be ordinary enough to let the audience relate th them, but they must be extradordinarily talented to make them a star.

The star must be both present and absent:

• The star must also be present in the fans lives through social media and merchandising however they must be out of reach of ordinary people in order to make them absent. 

Catergories of Music Videos

Categories of Music Videos

Performance based music videos:

A performance music video specializes in featuring the artist of the song, performing the song throughout most, if not all of the music video. They will be the centre of attention throughout the video. The camera shots will often focus on the artist through shots that are considered 'intimate' (close ups on the artists eyes and lips).

An example of a performance based music video is Logic: 'Black SpiderMan'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxjC4CNG3_c

Narrative based music videos:

A narrative based music video uses the artist, or actors, to try and tell a story that likely links to the lyrics of the video.

An example of a narrative based music video is Eminem: 'Stan'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMhN-hfMtY

Concept based music videos:

 A concept based music video is usually based around an idea or concept. They may or may not feature the artist but are always unique in some way.

An example of a concept based music video is Fatboy Slim: 'Weapon of Choice'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCDIYvFmgW8