Music Video Analysis 2

 

The music video ‘Lightning Bolt’ by Jake Bugg uses editing to mirror the vintage genre of the rock music as certain edits have an added black and white effect which provides an old, vintage feel to the music video. The use of this reinforces Jake Bugg's personal preference for old bands and doesn't favour modern music which is why the black and white effect is used. Another effect used on some shots is a film effect which reinforces the nostalgic tone included. This along with the hand held technique in terms of filming portrays the music video as a home video which adds a personal touch whilst appealing to the audience. The video consists of montage editing as each edit is a shot of something different that doesn’t have a meaningful link to it which makes the music video both an abstract structured video with a performance narrative. The use of montage editing ensures that the video looks aesthetically pleasing as a range of different locations are displayed throughout the music video. Due to this, there are lots of jump cut edits used to ensure a variety of different situations and places are shown for example a jump cut is used from Jake Bugg walking down a street to him looking through records in a music shop; the two shots have no relation but appeal to the audience as it is music related [1].

The mise en scene such as setting creates the urban tone to the video and reflects the old ‘rock and roll’ genre through the use of graffiti which implies that Jake Bugg is quite rebellious and strays away from the law however, graffiti is usually stereotyped with hip-hop music which possibly breaks conventions of rock music videos. This reinforces Tessa Perkins theory that stereotypes are not always rigid or unchanging as graffiti is now stereotyped across a number of music genres. The graffiti is shown in a long shot of Jake Bugg, leaning against a wall playing a guitar. The ideology of this is that Jake Bugg is unruly as he is casually stood against the wall; showing he does not care about the consequences of graffiti [2]. The props used in the video follow formal conventions of music videos as for the guitar Jake Bugg is playing throughout the video as the audience expect instruments for the artists to play to add to the performance effect and match the genre of video. The guitar is the most prominent prop used which helps reinforce the performance narrative of the video whilst adding the effect of a match on action shot because the audience will relate the sound of the guitar playing to the guitar Jake Bugg is seen playing. Jake Bugg's costume in the video also reinforces the genre conventions; he is wearing a popular Fred Perry jacket which is associated with the mod and indie genre, jeans and also trainers. His clothing is very casual which creates realism as he wouldn't wear extravagant clothing in the music video if he wouldn't wear it in real life. Other times he is seen wearing a hoodie which again emphasises the stereotype of rebellion; hoodies are associated with chavs who are stereotyped as going against societies rules which also applies to the indie genre as it doesn't conform to the popular products and expectations.

The majority of camera shots in terms of cinematography are tracking shots to follow either Jake Bugg around the city or to film different streets and buildings. Due to the focus on the area, there are a lot of establishing shots to give the audience an idea of the genre of music and the emotion of the song. In this case, the emotions portrayed through cinematography are quite positive as there are many close up shots of old, historical buildings which imply Jake Bugg is intrigued by the city. There is also a number of pans use to emphasise the amount of interesting places there are in the setting and allows the audience to admire the town whilst looking at it in an artistic way. To focus on the performance aspect of the narrative, there are lots of shots of Jake Bugg walking down a street, lip synching to the lyrics whilst the camera tracks backwards to unsteadily, the effect of the hand held camera is good because it encourages the audience to feel as if they are walking along with Jake Bugg.[3] To capture the height of some of the buildings, a tilt upwards is used to emphasise the tallness of the architecture around which looks aesthetically pleasing. There is also an interesting use of still shots as they are used frequently of building and streets however it has been filmed in a car or some other kind of moving object as it is very speedy. Another still shot is used, capturing a tram speeding past. This is done to maintain a constant feeling of movement throughout the video.

Finally, the sound becomes mixed types as throughout the song the song changes from diegetic to non-diegetic. This is due to the fact the video uses a performance narrative as well as an abstract narrative which means that some edits the audience see Jake Bugg sing along with the song which is then diegetic and other times he doesn’t which then changes to non-diegetic.

 

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Music Video Analysis 3

The Strokes - Someday

The music video Someday by The Strokes uses mise en scene to represent the members of the band and the genre of music; the band are displayed as being stereotypical rock stars through the use of props for example throughout the music video the band members are seen smoking [image 1] and drinking which is a stereotype of indie bands. This portrays them as quite rebellious and laid back. The costumes also reinforce the genre of the music; the band members are wearing ripped jeans, leather jackets and denim shirts which reflect the rock and roll stereotype and make the genre of the music instantly recognisable. To add to the representation of the band members a lot of people featured in the video have tattoos which has negative connotations as tattoos are related with punks and aggressive, lower class people. However, Tessa Perkins argues that stereotypes can be challenged; therefore the people with tattoos in the video don’t have to be seen as negative characters in the video but can be viewed as cool to the target audience. The setting is also used to portray the band as typical rockers; for the majority of the video the members are in a bar with dark lighting. This incorporates the idea of night life which connotes them as wild and exciting people. One prop used in the video helps portray the idea the band know a lot about music through the use of a music player which allows one of the band members to choose the music being played. This is good for the band's image as it shows they are passionate about music and therefore have a good knowledge. Other props include a pinball machine which reinforces the verisimilitude of the setting and connotes that the band are fun people and enjoy spending time with their friends. Many of the people in the video are wearing very casual clothing which contrasts with pop music videos as they are known to take the costume very seriously. This way, The Strokes belonging to an indie label, promote the opinion that the music is more important than the image which appeals to the target audience. Another scene in the music video is shot in a studio which adds the performance element to the video.

 

In terms of cinematography, lots of close ups are used on the band members face to emphasise their importance in the video, this is a convention used in many performance and narrative music videos to present the protagonists. As it is a music video, we expect to see the artists in the video and see them in a positive way. Medium shots and medium close ups are also frequent towards the end of the video to display the performance aspect of the video. The band members are presented using their musical instruments which includes the guitars, drums and microphone; this fulfils the audience’s expectations and conventions of a music video. It creates verisimilitude as the audience are aware that the people performing in the music video are members of the band so the music video relates to the artist’s lives and is realistic. Michaels Shore’s argument that music videos are surface without substance can be applied to this video as the video bears no meaning whatsoever but uses cinematography and editing to make it entertaining. Other effects of cinematography include a hand held camera technique as this gives a very personal connection between the band and the audience; it also portrays the video as a documentary/family video to create realism. Medium shots are used frequently throughout the video on specific band members. This allows props to be visual in the shot and the setting to add to the mood of the video; for example there is medium shot of the band's singer sat down on a couch smoking. The use of a medium shot allows the audience to see the protagonist's clothes, which are scruffy, reinforcing the rock star look, a pile of clothes on the back of the couch which adds to the care-free but messy lifestyle [image 2] . Also, the edge of somebody sat next to him on the sofa is seen which adds the sense that the band are very social and go out a lot. Next, there are many two shots used in the video which connotes that the band are all very close, one two shot is of two band members drinking alcohol together which portrays them as reckless but also very close as friends. [image 3]

Moving on, editing is used to add subtitles to the intertextual references to the American game show ‘Family Feuds’. This is interesting for the viewers as the whole set of Family Feud’s uses the exact same mise-en-scene as seen on the actual TV programme; creating realism. The subtitles appear on screen to subtitle the speech made during the sequence however the audience cannot hear the sound which would disturb the diegetic sound of the song. It also uses montage editing as it doesn't follow a particular narrative story; this also is a formal convention of music videos. The montage editing gives the video a personal tone as it is an in look into the band's life because of the realism created by the shots taken in the bar with friends. Furthermore, there are a number of jump cuts during the music video found most frequently at the beginning; this sets the scene by presenting two different locations which makes the video more entertaining. This implies that the band members like to be busy and don't enjoy staying at home which emphasises the genre stereotypes of rock as rock stars are known to always be on the road, partying.

Finally, there is a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic music as for the majority of the video the music is non-diegetic as they band members are seen having conversations whilst the song is played over the top as this follows the formal conventions of music videos. However, the last few edits of the video shows the front man and band members singing and playing along to the song in time which implies it is diegetic as both the audience and the people featured in the video can hear the music.

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Brief

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

a website homepage for the band;

 

a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);

 

a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

Summer Task: Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down