Textual Analysis of Existing Videos

In order to figure out the conventions of music videos we looked at a variety of videos. Here are a few:

OK GO – Get over it

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

SYMBOLIC VIDEO

• Opening shot before the music starts – 1 sec
• Cuts on each beat of the drum to focus on an object in the room they play in
• Lots of angles used giving the plain colours interest
• Plain colours
• Don’t always have the performer in the shot – whether it is the lead singer or a band member
• Cut to images of key words ‘milk spill’ and ‘hey’ (being translated to hay visually) making it symbolic and adding an element of quirkiness - fun
• Close up on back of legs with other members in the background – interesting shots and legs normally are doing something expressive – plays with the lead’s natural style of performing
• Play with focus – pulls focus as well as uses depth of field with the tight close up of the lead
• Instrumental has a shaky camera – symbolises power of guitar etc – LOUD SOUND
• Pause in song – cut to ping pong – pause is elongated and something happens in it
• When the song slows down slow down – fades, longer cuts, slow zooms, still fast cuts – less than a second flash of image on the key words (‘cow’ etc) and beats of the drum
• ‘HEY’ have lead saying it to camera almost all the time
• Lighting increase toward end of video (back light) – more dramatic – could symbolise a realisation/epiphany to ‘get over it’.
• Back to original shot of them bored on the sofa at the end – rounds the video off – could be symbolic of they need to ‘get over’ being bored.

OK GO - HERE IT GOES AGAIN

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

• Single long shot for whole thing, but interesting actions and video concept thus making it watchable
• Low budget – tin foil background
• Started a trend
• Dance plays with lines and symmetry – has flaws in performance (such as when members loose balance) which makes it more genuine and interesting - awesome
• This video was a fad – a new genre that everyone copied at the time of release – used the power of the internet and youtube – theory of technological convergence (please see theory notes)
• Performance becomes more dangerous during instrumental (jumping around and standing on the tops of the treadmills) – keeps interest in something not visually interesting without adding another concept
• It is a video in one take (something that has now become OK GO’s ‘trademark’ – whichever song we choose we must look into the bands motifs and trademarks
• Have little elements that are different from singer to make it individual and more interesting
• Clothing is stylised – their style as people and also an image – 70/retro slacks etc
• This video is something that had no genre at the time of release, but was successful do to its originality, interesting ideas and quirkiness as well as fun. It also suits the music style and genre.

EMINEM FEAT. RIHANNA - LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

NARRATIVE VIDEO

SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS

• Opening CU of Rihanna – 5 seconds – purely her voice – fire out of focus which symbolises the ‘burn’ in the song as well as compliments her red hair and style
• Fire throughout – links to lyrics as well as the emotion and type of relationship being described
• Fire in the narrative scenes surrounding the people – unnatural – symbolic of the fire that burns within them
• Narrative scenes are played by two major Hollywood stars – Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan
• Eminem is in a field – away from the fire, the house and everything for majority of video - could symbolise how it is not his story (the song is allegedly based on Rihanna’s relationship with Chris Brown) – there is camera glare creating interesting pictures with glare
• Camera is always moving/unsteady – shows the unsettled nature of the story and emotions being portrayed
• Chorus – shows a strong difference between love and hate within the narrative scenes, juxtaposing scenes of intense love and intense hate – uses fire a lot more, on the characters and in symbolic CU shots of things in the house burning
• Sunset in field & Sunset in narrative & Night with Rihanna – symbolic of how she’s lived this story ALREADY (is at the end of it all) but Eminem (who is narrating the narrative through his lyrics – Rihanna sings mainly of the message of feeling) and the narrative is still living it at its highest – also makes for a fiery lighting and mood – both romantic and violent
• Narrative within narrative – bar and alcohol shop – the narrative characters meeting – Whenever there is a visual of the outside it is daytime – symbolic of the beginning, when everything was light and happy – also lends for more boring images which could symbolise how the relationship ultimately makes their lives more interesting
• These shots are mixed with his anger – shows his thought and what is making him angry
• Touching moments – teddy bear – allows audience to relate – more impact of story
• Rihanna gets revealed as the song goes on – tight close ups steadily going out to long shots with Eminem in the background – his presence here toward the end of the video could symbolise how he is singing with her now and thus is involved
• Field – grain is in the foreground – separate Eminem from us
• Silent forgiveness
• Panning through house – open walls – seems unreal but shows strongly the barriers between them
• Put narration outside same location as Rihanna – outside the burning house – both fighting and kissing (hate and love juxtaposed again) in slow motion
• Narration look right into camera in unreal shots – being on fire
• Return to opening narration shot at the end.

PARAMORE - ONLY EXCEPTION

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

NARRATIVE VIDEO

• 5 second track sideways open shot to her – she’s the main character
• Move through rooms - shows narration
• Symbolic use of shots – the letter ‘I’m sorry’ – is a key part of story
• Shows only key moments in narrative – hugs, takes photo, looks at photo, dates, runs, meets guy etc
• Pulls focus etc
• Performer is Narrative – she acts out her own song but includes element of Performance through the black ‘jazz’ set up shots
• Letters – symbolic of the scale of her relationship
• Pan up and away to show scale
• Good girl image in letters – soft colours
• Punk image – room and normal
• Shows a story symbolically
• Change of clothes – seem less
• Interludes band members throughout scenes as other characters in the narrative
• Symbolic run out through wedding doors – runs from relationship
• Raving in crowd at concert – shows how she met him
• Slow motion at rave – ‘when their eyes met across the room’
• Back track through scenes show previous with the guy being part of it
• Meet then symbolically run through marriage doors – wants to be in relationship
• Return to opening scene but happy – TYPICAL TODOROV NARRATION

GREEN DAY - 21 GUNS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00ikilDxW4

(Embedding Disabled)

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

NARRATIVE VIDEO

• 5 second opening clip
• Symbolic start main song with bullet
• Preparation for song is shown through camera positioning too – ECU on drummer’s hands
• Tight CU on Lead
• Slow motion narration
• Performance and Narrative in the same room – at different times, but in the same room – same thing is happening to the both of them- narration and performers
• Dusty
• Slow cuts to match pace of music
• Shows key moments in narration again
• Close up on things like hands on neck of guitar and drummer’s foot
• Iconic style images – iconic style of song (rock ballad) – walking toward camera with bullets flying through wall
• As the main rock-out part in song comes - sped up cuts and more camera wobble
• Lights down on ballad ‘SHOOOOOOOOOOW!!’ – dramatic
• Narration is softer – feathers
• His is harsher - fireworks
• Same camera circle around them in same place with same light
• Slower as music slows
• When the normal chorus comes back - back to normal light
• Plays with focus
• But because it repeats the chorus he is still in dramatic light – not as dramatic
• Symbolic – gold fish – he survives all the carnage – tank go boom!!!
• Slow motion with performers as well
• Ends with iconic image of lead in dramatic light holding guitar – it’s done pose

NICKLEBACK – ROCKSTAR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmeUuoxyt_E

(Embedding Disabled)

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

• 4/5 second opening
• Mix of normal people with rock stars and celebs etc
• All in different scenes – performance and symbolic as any and everyone wants to be a rock star – reflects the song!!!
• Americans and others – Brits with landmarks or it’s a California/New York street – all ages- all ethnicities and shapes and sizes
• Censures swearing – hop in track – silence of vocals – ‘ass’, ‘drugs’, ‘pills’,
• All synced
• Cutting slows with pace of song
• Setting like they’ve just been stopped – just people walking about it – they all know ‘the song’ – not the actual lyrics - symbolic
• Goes to actual band in the end
• 94 sets of people – half being rich and famous – mostly famous. Half being in a bikini.

ALESHA DIXON - DRUMMER BOY

PERFORMANCE VIDEO

SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS

• Opening rift – 1 second opening
• Titles in opening – ‘Alesha Dixon’ ‘Drummer Boy’ etc
• Her, Drummers, Paint people
• All performance – symbolic
• COLOUR
• Shaky camera - style
• Flares on lens
• Images cross over each other - ghosts
• Dances, Performance to camera
• Normally mid to long for performance
• Flash of close ups
• Slow motion
• Dixon leads a group of dancers – she’s the main
• 7 different scenes – outfits for her
• All different angles
• Out of focus shots
• On stage
• Active
• Revealing clothing
• Perform outwards – not always to camera
• Lots of drums
• Plays with pull focus
• Flashy flashy flashy flashy
• Drummers throw sticks at end – symbolic for –there you go!