Video Analysis 2

Christina Aguilera - Beautiful



Performance & concept based
Concept of others finding beauty, developing throughout the video (relateable to our own idea)
Focus on facial expression - CUs
Quite a dark mise-en-scene
ELS show isolation within room (eg 24 seconds)
Not necessarily singing to camera
Slow paced - fits to music
An everyday kinda look - no high budget sets/locations
Message of being proud of yourself
Editing changes pace as music does
Frames within frames eg mirrors
Idea of people watiching & judging either themselves of being watched/judged
Lyrics kinda illustrated by visuals, people aren't letting themselves be brought down by the end
Typical focus on performance

Video Analysis 1

My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade



Performance
Concept of "The Patient"
Establishing shot
Frames within frames (TV at start)
Notion of looking - TV screen, nurses around bed etc - continues album's concept of "The Patient" watching the world
Focus on lips
Changes pace
Focus on facial expressions
Black Parade enters on lyric
Lyrics usually contradict visuals
Black & white & red
Money shots of the band, focus on Gerard Way
Band playing instruments - sticks with image
Typical OTT actions of Gerard - poses etc
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is a major influence
Totally different from previous videos in terms of concept but still performance based

The Chemical Brothers - Elektrobank

EDITING
Cuts
Cut away to coach/father/judge/crowd/other athlete
Footage slows to fit with music
Fades between girl & coach – 5min
Cross dissolve at last jump

LIGHTING
Natural appearance

CAMERA FRAMING & MOVEMENT
Establishing shot
Doors frame a lot of shots
POV of first girl
Hand held footage of father/guy with thumbs up – idea of watching
High angle – shows scale of location
Tracking girl’s movement – shows distance travelled
Focus on girl’s face
A lot of long shots

SFX
Slowed down footage to emphasise action

MISE-EN-SCENE/COLOUR/COSTUME
Blue & white costumes – can differentiate between her & competition
Red ribbon – stands out
Gymnastic competition – blank surroundings, small crowd make it realistic

NARRATIVE
About 1:30 of a plot before the song
Story of girl trying to win

GENRE
Electro dance

AUDIENCE
Over 20 to maybe 30ish?
Male

“OTHER STUFF”
Concept based – gymnastic competition
No obvious lyrics therefore not illustrative/amplifying/contradictory
Band isn’t featured
Idea of gymnast being watched by crowd & other competitors but not sexually

Eminem - Stan

EDITING
Straight cuts
Shots from various angles – Stan writing letters to Eminem
Fades at the start before anger kicks in – cuts signify Stan’s anger
Lots of lingering shots on Stan
Shorter shots on Dido
Fades between storylines
Cut to beat & lightning on the beat
Quite long shots – writing letter

LIGHTING
No obvious studio lighting for Stan – Lightning effect
Dim light in basement

CAMERA FRAMING & MOVEMENT
Focus on images of Eminem
Camera placed inside the car when it breaks through barriers - POV
High angles – surveillance effect
Movement gives idea of surveillance cameras watching the room
Camera still when focusing on Eminem replying
Pans around Stan’s room to show volume of Eminem images
Tracking shots of Stan & Dido walking
First shot of movement in through a window creates the idea of entering into someone’s life without them knowing
A lot of shots framed by mirrors or doors – notion of looking

SFX
Lightning
Warped vision of them meeting/reflections
Mirror image (1:53)
Snow machine/rain machine?
Car plunging into water
Stan watching through window at the end

MISE-EN-SCENE/COLOUR/COSTUME
Dark, only brighter colour is red – relates to the album it came off, The Eminem Show has a red cover
Colours also reflects Stan's social situation - not rich surroundings to contrast to Eminem's plush surroundings
White t-shirt for both Eminem & Stan
Posters - shows obsession
Wooden floorboards, flaking paint, dirty tiles - reflects wealth

REPRESENTATION
The song creates a less violent image for Eminem. The lyrics (on his part) are less about violence and more about helping his fans in a way. It also presents an idea bout how his life is as a celebrity.
Highlights the problems with celebrities being seen as idols & fans becoming obsessive
Shows helplessness of girlfriend who can't cope with Stan's obsession

NARRATIVE
Relationship between Eminem & Stan - informal - "Dear Slim" & talking like they were good friends at times
Stan’s life & death/funeral
Eminem replying
Relationship between Stan & Dido
Story of obsession
Each verse builds up to an explosive ending

GENRE
Rap

AUDIENCE
Eminem & Dido fans
Younger people – young teen to mid 20s?
Mainly males?

“OTHER STUFF”
Visuals illustrate lyrics – meeting brother after show, writing letters etc.
Visuals amplify – make the situation and anger real
References to other Eminem songs - 'My Name Is' & ''97 Bonnie and Clyde'
References to other songs - 'In The Air Tonight'
References to Eminem's life - Uncle Ronnie & killing Kim & father walking out
Stan's a reoccurring character in Eminem songs - 'Guilty Conscience'
Idea of looking e.g. watching TV, being in the crowd, surveillance like shots etc.
Performance & narrative

Videos that used split screen

I quite like the idea of using split screen in my music video.

Blink 182 - Always
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqHbLdoYZ2E
I like the way this has three strips that tell the same story with the three band members each playing the same role. I also like the way that each strip is slightly skewed out of line with the others to create a disjointed effect. The screen is still split in this way when each band member is on their own on the screen playing their instrument, yet split into three again.
The way that the camera follows the girl around the room is something I would consider using in our own video but maybe in a different way. I personally wouldn't like to use split screen throughout the whole video in my own project.

Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights Of Thunder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVx3qBiXkaM
I like the way that the split screen isn't continuous and also contains blocks of bright colour or other actions. There is also a variety of how many splits there is in the screen, which I think makes the video more interesting. The mix of split screen and a complete screen is something I would definitely like to use.

NERD - Everyone Nose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA1HB_yJii4
This video uses 9 splits to start off with to show the same place at different times as well as a credit style showcase of the images used at the start. Again there is a mix between split screen and complete screen, which I like. The fast movement in the splits works well with the song but I wouldn't personally use.

Daniel Powter - Bad Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBziW9qQvsc
The split screen works for this video because it is telling the story between the two characters, which is something I feel we should do within our idea. The splits in this video are sometimes diagonal as well as being in pairs, threes, fours as well as pairs that don't fill the entire screen.

Madonna - Give It 2 Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQRLSBUNupg
The split screen in this video uses different colours between the screens yet the same images. the split screen is only used in the chorus, which is something that would work with our idea. There is also split screen with Madonna in the middle but with several mini Pharrell's around the outside of her, which I think looks good.

Sneaky Sound System - Pictures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWVDRMGkkMc
This video has quite an abstract take on split screen with it being most noticeable through the use of a picture held by the singer. I really like this use of split screen as it is different and stands out although I don't feel it would be something possible to incorporate into our own idea.

Jay Z - Show Me What You Got
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyqZ73XSvbo
This video uses split screen to show off the cars and race to add more to the features being used. I really like the layout of the split screen, it isn't seen like that in many videos. It is possible that we could use something similar for our own video.

Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIM4DCn7AlE