Music video analysis

MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS YEARS & YEARS - REAL KAREN HARDING - SAY SOMETHING GORGON CITY - READY FOR YOUR LOVE

 

YEARS & YEARS - REAL

This music video is directed by Robert Francis Muller. Theorist Joan Lynch would place this video under performance & also the narrative video structure. As throughout the video it consists of the performer actually singing the lyrics, but as he sings a narrative takes place around him.

A major theme throughout this video is the use of colour. This is gained purely through lighting. As you can see the video is set in a bar, we can tell this due to the fluorescent & coloured lights surrounding. As this is the only use of lighting it causes unnatural tints of pink, purple and blue to highlight features within the scene. The actors are also sitting in a booth which is a typical convention to see within a bar/club.

At the beginning the sound of people talking overrides the underlying music.

As it continues the music progresses to become the forefront of the sound, which therefore introduces us to the beginning of the piece of music. I think this is really good effect to include as it builds up the song and also introduces the narrative at the same time, therefore making the video more engaging for the audience. 
 A strong narrative is also carried out throughout the video which therefore keeps the viewer watching and makes it more entertaining for them.
 Throughout the video there is a focus on people and also the human form, as there are many close ups and medium shots of the actors & singer making them the main focus of the narrative.

This is something I would like to include within my video as it creates a personal vibe and makes the video more captivating as a whole.

A steadicam is frequently used throughout to follow the dancers, as the movement of their bodies follows the beat of the music. They have also used frequent cuts from clip to clip in time to the beat of the music to gain a sense of energy and effortless movement encourages by the dancers.

Todorov’s narrative is shown throughout this video showing an equilibrium & then disequilibrium and then returning to the same equilibrium at the beginning, showing a circular narrative.

The bar style lighting is carried out throughout the whole video giving a sense of mystery and the unknown. This also creates an elliptical narrative as the dancers through a pitch black exit which seems to lead to nothing, which therefore furthers our inquisitive nature.

I can also see that some of the close up shots have been graded, as the light isn’t as strong and the contrast has increased; this brings a focus onto the person in shot.

All the actors are wearing normal everyday clothes therefore making the surreal video a mix between reality & a fictional world. This is an effect I would love to carry through to my own music video with the use of lights and mise-enscene.

There are also special effects included towards the end of the video as there are multiple double exposure shots shown of the man dancing. This effect gives a sense of time passing, and combined with the dark lighting and fluid movement it gives the idea that the man dancing is in complete euphoria.

GORGON CITY - READY FOR YOUR LOVE

This music video atypically fits under all three of Joan Lynch’s basic video structures, being performance, narrative & concept. The director has included aspects of each as we can view the singers performing, whilst a loose story is carried throughout supported by random shots of objects.

I like this music video as it contains such a wide variety of different elements.

For example many different camera shots are used, as at the beginning there are uses of close ups and medium shots of the actors. This implies to the viewer that they’re the main focus of the video.

Another aspect that really drew me in was the use of coloured lighting.

Much like the Years & Years music video, Gorgon City has used pinks, purples & blues to highlight the shots.

The pink light has connotations towards romance and also youth suggesting that this music video is aimed towards teenagers & young adults. The blue light has connotations of calm and peace, while the purple completely contradicts these, which is slightly unconventional and also adds a funkier and rebellious feel to the video.

There is continuity editing throughout this video. As you can see in the examples I have placed on the left, many of the shots are very similar in their subject, angle and size, but each time a similar shot is shown something is slightly different about it. This moves the narrative forward and keeps the audience engaged as they want to see whats coming up next.

Many different characters are introduced throughout the beginning

of the video all wearing modern but normal clothes. This enables the audience to relate to them, therefore making the video more enjoyable.

Within the mise-en-scene they have incorporated colours that connect to the coloured lighting. I feel that this aspect ties all the shots together giving it a professional feel.

One of Lynch’s structures I found loosely related to the video was concept, as the director has included close up & medium shots of objects.

They have no direct relation to the narrative or the lyrics of the song making them signify possible meanings about the song instead. The shots of the objects also contain colours that coincide with the lighting and mis-en-scene of video used previously.

They have used slow-mo within the clip opposite as it creates a party like vibe and makes the movement of the actors more fluid and noticeable.

They also placed the slow motion clip in time with a slower part of the music which makes it work well.

Pull focus is used frequently throughout the video, mostly on close ups and medium shots of people, which therefore let the audience create a stronger connection to the singers making them feel like a part of the video.

The narrative of the video shows 4 different people in different locations as it follows their story they all finally meet at the end, which finalises the video in a mysterious way.