Music Video Analysis R3hab & Quintino – Freak R3hab & Quintino: Freak Genre: Dance, Electronic Origin: R3hab is from Netherlands and Quintino is from Den Helder, Netherlands
R3hab and Quinton’s ‘Freak’ starts of in a very interesting and eye catching way. The music video displays what a definition of what a ‘freak’ is. This straight away receives the attention of the audience as the song is named ‘Freak’. This supports the theorist Roland Barthes for the action code. An action code is a kind of shorthand which is used to alert the audience that something is going to happen. Personally, I think this is great example because the whole video is performed based on the lyrics of the song. This also supports the theorist Andrew Goodwin for the video having a relationship between the lyrics and the visual and the music with the visuals. At the start from this video we can also say that this video supports Carol Vernallis. This reason for this is because the music video tends to be a consideration of a topic, here is about a freak rather than an enactment of it. The first thing the audience receive from this video is an establishing shot. Three girls into what seems a summer night and we know that because of their outfits. Wearing shorts with crop tops and vests. We are placed on a bridge with natural light being used which helps the audience to get into the mood of how these free girls are feeling too. From 0:05 to 0:18 we receive different kind of camera shots such as medium close-ups on 0:07 following an establishing shot on 0:13 and ending with a close up at 0:17. This part of the video is enigma which supports the theorist Roland Barhtes and this is because we don’t know where these girls are going, we don’t know what has happened for them to be there either. Is a question that the producer of a text controls the flow of information. Throughout this time we see a continuity editing which is the most common type of edit, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. Another type of editing we see is the cutaways. A brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting
another related action such as when the girl takes her top off at 0:15 and when we receive the close up at 0:16. I think this also has a linear narrative and the reason for this is because there is a style of storytelling in which the events happen chronologically. From 0:05 to 0:18 there is equilibrium because the music is relaxed and the scenes are happy, just three girls having fun and chilling out. We can also say that there is motif in the narrative. A motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. The repetition of a motif can help to produce other narrative aspects such as create a mood or a theme.
Once again we receive another establishing shot combined with a montage editing at 0:20 where two different locations are added onto one to create meaning and tell a story. The next thing we see is a two way shot with low angle. A low angle often represents the character as dominant and powerful. However, it is very rare to see a low angle for two young women dressed casually to be dominant. They show their dominance in the actions they do. This challenges the conventions. At 0:25 we receive a two way shot which tells us that the characters are possibly engaging in conversation, further on this is also over the shoulder shot. As they are now in a car we see an enigma as maybe they are talking about the car, we’ll never know. However, their face expressions talk too especially when one of the girls holds up a key we receive some answers that they could be stealing the car. Another low angel medium shot we receive at 0:26 allowing us to know that they are stealing the car by the girl’s body language because it’s like a sign for “let’s go” by tapping the car. This is followed by an extreme close up of the car which is an action code from the theorist Roland Barthes. The lamp of the car is in red and red represents dangerous. All of this combined together can alert the audience that what the girls are doing is illegal and dangerous, which leads us back to the name of the song ‘freak’. The girls are showing power this way because no matter what happens they continue. We receive another establishing shot followed by action shots. At 0:37 we see how the girls enter the launderette as the lyrics go “I want to freak in the morning a freak in the evening just like me”. Showing the audience how the visuals are combined with the lyrics. On 0:40 we see a different shot which is long shot combined with cantered framing. I think its cantered framing because the camera isn’t straight on her but you can see how it’s slightly tilted towards the right side. On 0:47 see that the man is laughing and he is enjoying himself around the girls and what they do. Just at this point we hear the lyrics “Cuz we don’t give a damn about a thing” this in a way is send to the rest of the
people that the three girls meet and it’s like a virus for them to catch it and go with them. Even though this music video has a narrative which is a story they also show performance with the girls dancing carelessly on 0:50. This is also on a low angle which shows that the girls are impressive and vivid by being a ‘freak’. Another close up on 0:48 I think this one brings out emotions allowing the audience to get into it and the director is showing the audience that they are really having fun and he wants to enhance on that. I like that there is quite a bit of freeze frame the camera doesn’t fully stop but it slows down which is a great effect because it allows the audience to focus on that moment and have time to see clothing, makeup, and other elements. We can see this on 1:00. There is a jump cut edit use from 0:58 to 1:01. It’s an abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuous shot in which the action is noticeable advanced and/or cut between two similar shots, this is usually one to create discontinuity for artistic effect.
I think that 1:09 is very powerful. We receive a shot from low angle and we see the three girls on a TV screen. This supports the theorist Andrew Goodwin for having reference to voyeurism, this is when we are looking through a screen however the people we are looking at are at another screen, so screen within screen. This show has also been used artificial light as we are in a shop scene now and we are surrounded by them. We can argue that this is also an aerial shot. For us to be able to see this shot the camera need to be above their head which will then be send to the TV so, in a way right now we are looking at the through high angle aerial shot which is converted to low angle voyeurism. In this scene there is also a lot of point of view shots because the girls are acting as if they are about to shoot the man, just so they can have their stuff for free. Usually we see men in those scenes so the director has challenged the conventions and pushed the video further so it attracts the audience’s attention. This can be argue that it could be an enigma because we don’t know whether they will shoot the man, however it can also not be count as enigma but as an action code so it can just alert the audience.
We receive another aerial shot which is also and establishing shot because it lets the audience know where they are now. It’s followed by a scene of girls finding another guy. Followed again with an aerial shot and a scene of what the girls are doing. Again, at 1:57 they find another guy this by now tells me that they are looking for other people to join them or they literally “don’t give a damn”. However, what’s different with this one is that we receive an enigma and an action code that we are warned that something is about to happen to this guy. This makes the character more important than the other two guys we have seen. It allows the audience to know him better by his clothing, face expression, actions (lightening a cigarette up) and more. We also get a shot over the shoulder and the girls pulling up behind him which again is a warning. At 2:05 we see the definition of the word ‘freak’ in action, what I mean by that is what the girls have done to the guy shows what a freak does. After this we don’t know what happens to this guy just like the rest of them which becomes an enigma code. Onwards we receive a bunch of pans showing how the girls act around each other. I really like the end which is a big enigma code as we will never know what happen after this.
Over all I like this video because it narrative. I decided to do a research on it because it’s something similar that I want to do. I love their clothing and the use of natural light. I think it’s very stereotypical for people that age to act the way these girls did and its very eye catching. It’s an easy way to bring attention to you and it also shows the kind of people they are.