Textual analysis of Music Video3 [updated]

Beyonce - single ladies






For this rnb Genre, there is no narrative. Beyonce the artist and two talented dancers are dancing to the song with difficult moves to make it look effective.
They held auditions for the two dancers and they had to be over 5 ft 7 to participate.
Her dance routines hs got moves all from the genre of rnb and hip hop. Moves such as popping and booty shakin'.



The setting is clearly based in a studio with white drapes. but the studio is defineatle spacious for them to be able to have a lot of space to dance in. High key and Low key lighting was use din this music video. Depending on what part of the song was on the key of lighting would change. This is to add emphasis to the change of verse or chorus. Sticking to the theme of black and white, she may relate this to the audience thats shes targeted. The fact that rnb was orginally started with black people and that now the multicultural society is bringing them together and that the genre is for both black and white people.






In this Video, the camera techniques are very effective. it looks like they had one camera with more than one take and the camera was on a crane. It looks veryy effective when it looks like the camera does a 360 turn round the girls dancing but actually the studio is only a 180 degrees rule. But this worked because of the way the dance was choreographed to make it looke like she is actually turning. Also effects have been included. The camera had a alot of movement and the movements were very smooth obvisouly because it had the advantage of it being on a crane. The camera shots had the choice to have a huge variety of shots but stuck to just being a long shot for the majority of the video but this was very effectvie and gave the impression to the audience of her having control.



The costume was very flaunting and figure hugging as she is an inspiration to all the curvy women and for this reason is a celebrity that many audiences look up to. She has stuck to the black and white theme by wearing a black leotard. But i noticed she wore a slightly different type to her backing dancers to make her stand out a little more as she is the artist. Her hair and make up is very big to emphasise her character, personality and dance steps. When she jumps for example her big hair will emphasise on the dance move.

The soundtrack is single ladies by Beyonce Knowles.

From watching this video through, there has been a few edits added to it. The most obvious edit will be the fact that its black and white not colour. i did Notice that quite a lot of shots have been cut into one another. this is to keep the flow of the routine going and not to distract the audience.
Also when the camera did a 360 degree turn, they must of put some kind of effect on that to make it look like there was just a blank wall rather than where the camera crain operator and the gallery was.
Beyonce is wearing a ring in this video and it sparkles, so they must have used a lens flare effect. This is also to catch the audiences eye, not onlt to promote the song, but actually the lyrics inside the song.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyHVQT8aIBM - an example of 180 degree rule.

Textual analysis of Music Videos2 [updated]

Video 2 Catherine jenkins - Rejoice

There isnt a narrative as such, but it shows clips of when she was gettin ready for the shoot of the video. for example: getting her make up done. All the stuff thats happened before the actually shoot is in black and white. This could represent that its was done in the past. Having it black and white also links in back to when the genre classical was first discovered. The narrative is non linear as it jumps from scene to scene. For example, one minute she will be on camera, the next she will be getting her makeup done. Also, some times its in colour, the next it's in black and white. The way its done could give a feel of documenting the music video, the way the shots are being portrayed.

The video is based in a studio, infront and behind the camera.

Obviously having access to the studio they are most likely to have high key and low key lighting. They use a lot of low key lighting to set a peaceful mood as the song is quite peaceful and calm. Some of the lighting is even caught on cameras so its also used to set the scene.

There are a few types of camera shots, Close ups on her face when she is singing, to catch emotion. Long shots are used to establish the shot. In these shots they include the behind scenes, this could be for the viewer to have a further undertsanding of what actually goes on behind scenes and gives them a sneaky preview. I had also noticed that one of the cameras is hand held when its behind the scenes following catherine. This gives the effect of not being so important because its behind the scenes.

People other than catherine are mainly in black clothing to represent that they are working behind scenes. Usually with a production, people behind scenes, such as director, hair and makeup, props, usually have to wear something dark so that they are harder to be seen and keeps them out of shot. Catherine herself, wears many beautiful dresses as she is the star in the video and needs to stand out. In total she wears 4 dresses, two of them being white which could represent peace and happy, which could link into the title 'rejoice'.

As she is a girl, to make her look extremely pretty she wears quite a bit of makeup. This includes, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara and lip stick. This is also being put on in one of the shots.

Her hair is also very pretty too. Being curled by curling tongs. The reason of this is to emphasise her looks and give her a bigger profile of herself.

Sound track would be the song used, in this case rejoice.

There has been quite a bit of editing done to this video. One of the obvious techniqes would be turning the colour into just black and white, i think the reason of this is to give a very simple and peaceful look to it which links to the genre classical. There is also a type of effect where the camera zooms in on a camera from behind which then fades into the camera itself. at the same time it changes from black and white, to colour. This could represent the transformation from behind scenes to the actual real thing. I also would say it has been very colour corrected and gave a dazzling effect when on colour. i noticed in some shots too, the background seems slightly faded, which again gives a nice smooth feel to the video.

Textual Analysis of Music Videos

Video 1 - Coldplay - The scientist

The narrative for this video has been rewind. He is in the car with a female, perhaps his girlfriend and he looses his concentration whilst driving and this leads to the car falling off the cliff and killing the female, he then walks through the town passing things like a train track, a bridge, a group of kids playing basket ball, down a high street and ends up lying on a mattress in broad day light. But the narrative is presented backwards. Therefore it starts on a matress and ends with the car crash. It is a linear narrative as it goes into order but backwards. If it was to be watched from the end to the beginning the viewer will understand that from the car crash onwards is very dream like/after death as we would understand he died from the car flying off the cliff. it gives the audience a dis orientated effect and becomes promotional as the audience would want to watch it again and understand it.

Quoting from MTV

Director Jamie Thraves had a great idea for a video last year, he
just needed to
find the right song to fit his odd notion. Then he heard the
soaring Coldplay
ballad "The Scientist," with its plaintive chorus about going "back to the
start."
"I had this idea that I wanted to do a story that's tragic but
starts off happy and ends happy, and the video is about rewinding to that
happy
ending," said Thraves, 33, who has directed clips for Radiohead, Blur, the Verve
and Travis. Knowing that Spike Jonze had already done the backward video thing
in 1996 with the Pharcyde video for "Drop," Thraves needed to find a
new way to
tell a narrative story that moved forward even as the action
moved backward.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1472164/20030529/coldplay.jhtml


















The setting is based in London. The majority of the video was in the woods where the accident happened and the other half was based in the actualy city and backstreets of London.








According from MTV (same site) some of the setting such as where they are unshooting hoops links into the lyrics about pulling puzzles apart and questions of science.



The lighting is very natural as it is based out side. In a small part of the video he is in the woods but its at night time. You can see here that there is low key lighting which is based on the left side of the camera. You can tell this because the light is reflecting off the trees too. The meaning of this is to make the artist stand out more and emphasises his white t-shirt which could represent the ghost-like/ angelic.















Close ups are used to get a reaction or emotion in the face. But this close up is used to establish for the viewer straight away who's music video this is by having the artist.












The extreme close up then zooms out and becomes a long shot. This shot is on a crane, but also could be used on a tripod but having the setting being a wall rather than a floor. From looking at the close-up , it looks like he is on a bed which would be located in a bedroom but from the long shot it's out on a street so its disorientating the audience again.























A midshot is used to give information. In music videos it could be used to tell the viewer a story by their lyrics with meaning.















This extreme long shot will be used to give the character a journey. for example, to get from one place to another instead of changing a shot.








A tracking shot surrounded him which is also at a low angle to give the character power.









Costume: With him wearing just a white top this signifies the angelness in him. Half way through the video he puts on his black jacket which could signify coming back to life.

Makeup: His make up is very neutral for the video but i would expect at the begining that he would have contacts in his eyes to make them look a lot more blue. He hasnt shaven which could mean that he doesnt really care anymore.

Soundtrack: The song used. In this case 'the scientist'.

Editing
There has been alot of editing done to this video, one of them being the backwards effect.
All transitions are faded to keep that flowy effect and some shot have even been slowed down to keep to the tempo of the music.

the Purpose of this video is to promote their band.




To watch the Full Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjPrdTNxQ0

Codes and Conventions of a Music Video

There are 5 main codes and conventions for a music Video.

Style

1. The band themselves actually performing.
2. Having a narrative.
3. A mixture - Includes both the band performing and a narrative
4. Cameo - this is when the band/artist is included in the narrative but is not performing.
5. Animation

Genre

There are many types of Genres for music. Here is a short list of Music genres.
Classical
Contemporary
Country
Club/Dance
Funk
Gospel
Jazz
Pop
Rock
Rnb - Rap/hip hop
Soul

Camera

In a music video, they have many camera shots. Their shots also depend on their genre.

Shots like Close-up and extreme close ups are used (especially for a performance). they are used on the instruments. Example: close up of stringing the guitar.

Crane shots are very useful because of its elavated angle and mobility. It also gives the shot a dynamic overview of its subject.

Many low angle shots are used for music video as it's a conventional shot of giving the band/artist power and strength.

Pans, tilts and tracking are all types of camera movements that music videos will use. This is jus to move from performer to another performer with ease.

Editing

Editing is applied to music videos alot.

Jump cutting - its a type of edit which causes the subject of the shots to appear to jump position in a discontinuous way.
footage/ cutaways are inlcuded in music videos also. This will most likely to be the narrative.

Special effects such as CGI and split screens.

Changes of sound levels and whether choosing non diegetic/ diegetic sound.


Mise en scene

Mise-en-scene will also vary depending on the genre.

Props - if its a live performance, they will have their instruments as a prop.

Costume - the costume yet again will also depend on their genre but also their narrative. For example if there song is about war and they are including a narrative, the character could be wearing an army uniform to show the viewer that it links in with the war.

Location - if its live performance - its most likely to be on a stage or in a studio of some sort. if they are including footage or a narrative, they will be on location to fit in with their song. Location wouldnt be needed if it was animated.

Facial Expressions - When a band is performing and they know they are being filmed, they will try and connect to the camera. This is to draw the audience in.
If the video has a narrative with cutaways, For example if its an emotional song, their facial expressions will be very sympathetic, or even maybe upset.

Why do bands make music videos? [updated]

There are many reasons why bands make music videos. A major reason why is to promote themselves and raise their profiles. This is done by Television, usually on music channels and occacionally on talk shows such as Alan Carr's Chatty show. Also the bands get promoted on the web on sites such as youtube and facebook. Awards such as MTV awards is a way of raising their profile and also creates entertainment for viewers. They will recieve an extra income if they create music videos. Their extended outlets would be placing these videos on a cd/dvd. An example of 'syngery' is where part of a tv programme/film is used in their music video. Lion king and Glee are examples of this. The producer is also another purpose of bands making music videos. They create record labels or may even be an artist that is self produced and independant. A music band make videos to give their audience an artistic interpretation of themselves.



An example of artistic interpretations.