Rita Ora Poison Research 4

Camera/Editing/Mise en scene

This music video first opens with a long shot of a group of friends including Rita, they are sitting on steps outside a building. The audience are made to feel what they are up to or planning. The group are dressed a some would call it unusual, Rita has tassels on her leather jacket, this makes the audience feel interested in their style as it is unique compared to others. There is then a close up shot of a blonde boy who is holding a camera in front of his eyes, this hides his identity from the audience and creates a mysterious mood. Another close up shot is used and it shows a boys hand with two rings on and across four fingers the letters L, O, V, E, are spread. This shot allows the audience to think that he is looking for comfort. Up to this point, there is no actual song yet it is just general non diegetic sounds such as police sirens. The song then starts and Rita walks away and into the place where she is modelling. As she is modelling in the video, the camera zooms in. We can see that she looks confused to why they want her on her own but then smiles as she becomes nervous. Rita changes outfits to a black and white striped, tight jumpsuit, this symbolises how she has good and bad in her from the colours she is wearing. The music stops and this builds up tension as it seems that chaos is happening as the editing picks up the pace and the sounds of camera shots can be heard which creates a tense atmosphere to what is going to happen. There is a medium shot of Rita and she is wearing black underwear and seems to be revealing. This outfit implies that she is changing and now has more freedom. At the end of the music video there is a medium shot behind Rita and she is watching her canvas burn down.

Narrative

The story is about modelling and consequences it faces. Rita starts off with her group of friends who I believe are interested in the modelling industry too. She seems to be loved by many of different people such as the person modelling the biker but they all seem to not fit the category she wants to put them in. The blonde male who has the camera seems to get annoyed when he sees Rita doing all the modelling. This creates the impression that she is just selling herself when she is worth more that what she is doing. In the gallery scene, the person who provides the shoots for Rita tries to give the blonde male money, this implies that he is selling Rita without her knowing. This makes her close friend angry and he walks out because he knows it is wrong what is happening to Rita and he just can't face it. Rita goes to find where he was and she then finds him modelling, this makes her angry as it was her role that he is trying to take. Rita then walks out and burns the canvas in the gallery of herself. The ideology created is that women shouldn't look at themselves to impress everyone, they should be who they are and be proud.

Conventional/Unconventional

I think the music video is unconventional because it is based around a career which is the modelling rather than the relationship between Rita and the different males she attracts due to her appearance. It is also unconventional because it switches from different settings which are the steps outside, to the modelling shoot, then backstage where hair and make up is done for Rita then to the gallery where her canvas is. This keeps the audience interested whilst listening to the song.

What works/doesn't

I think the best thing is the enigma created which is why does she want to choose this career. The pathway she is following is stupid in my eyes as it doesn't reflect yourself as a true person it just shows the appearance people want to see and wants to be impressed by. I think the worst thing about this music video is the lack of interesting camera angles, there are mostly long shots and close shots in this video therefore the backgrounds aren't shown as much so the story is kept to a certain extent.

Music video research

Name- The monster 

Artist- Eminem 

Starts with a wide shot of the two main characters shown as shadows on the wall as the sun shines through the window projecting them on to the wall, it then cuts to Eminem in a therapy chair, then an over the shoulder shot so that we can see Eminem's pov of what he sees next which is a tv screen. The story is about the problems or 'monsters' that Eminem has, this is shown through the fact that he is in therapy, and dealing with the problems and then uncovering more, that he didn't know about, this is a unique video as it gets very personal, it allow the audience into a therapy session with Eminem, this wouldn't normally happen as Eminem would go to this himself, and speak to one person who wouldn't be able to tell anybody. So the fact that Eminem is allowing the audience to attend this with him really includes them and directly address them, this shows he cares for his audience. The video keeps up with the song by using jump cuts to establish new things this would be useful to use.

Music video research

Name- Blank space
Artist- Taylor Swift

There are alot of jump cuts used in this video to show a number of different things, for example to introduce new characters, show different emotion (this helps emphasise how fast emotions and opinions of someone can change) also jump cuts help to establish new scenes in the music video. The is a story to this but its like every other song from taylor swift, she was in a relationship, then they broke up. this causes controversy for a number of reasons, one some people can relate to the songs and like them were as others thing that they are wrong and the situation that taylor is in should not be in a song so they don't like them and then overreact over them because they don't like them. As this is a taylor swift song and everything is overreacted about, all the situations shown in the video are over the top and this would make the audience want to watch more and see what happens next. This is a really good technique to use in a music video, because if people want to see what happens next they will want to watch the whole video through. Could be useful depending on the song and if the is a story to go with the song and how that story can be acted out.

Music video research

Name- uptown funk
artist- Bruno Mars

When watching this music video the editing style used is very good and relevant and you can tell as the music video is able to keep up with the song, also whilst watching the video the are a few different types of shots used, for example the are medium close ups used to show the group together and then wide shots used when the dance. The is also alot of direct mode of address used, for example Bruno uses direct mode of address alot especially when he sings, he looks directly at the camera, using a close up to show just his face so that it is him and his audience so that the audience thing that they are getting sang to directly, he does this multiple times throughout he video. The is really a story that i could see in this video apart from Bruno liking a girl then trying to impress this girl multiple times, with a group of friends. which make the video quite controversial, because it portrays women as just objects, Bruno likes the girl and he tries to get her attention, when he fails he shouts towards her expressing that he doesn't care. He then moves on to the next girl, which is wrong and probably angered quite a few people. The thing that i like most about this music video is that its very entertaining to watch and the song is very energetic and so the video has to be to otherwise it wouldn't make sense, and so it does, it keeps up with the song, so this would be really useful if we were to use an energetic song.

Music video research

Name- party rock anthem
Artists-LMFAO and Lmaa

The music video starts with a wide shot of the two main characters in hospital bed, they awake and find out there in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, only its not a zombie apocalypse everyone is dancing to music, they receive ear plugs and just have to make the 'zombies' think they are 'infected' by the music so they dance and its a very humorous video. During the times they are dancing they, dance to the camera looking into the camera using direct mode of address with there audience. Using a comedic effect on a normally horror situation juxtaposing it  makes this video unique but it still has that horror aspect and it still has a thriller aspect to the video too. By it reminding me of thriller and looking at thriller next to it the party rock anthem has some very iconic things that i thing reference to thriller, for example the 'zombies' dancing, and looking straight at the camera, this is very much like the old music video but in this music video it shows a new era and the new music that is incorporated into the spin on 'horror' in music videos. The idea that i like the most in this music video is taking something scary like a zombie apocalypse and instead of making it scary which would be easy to do they make it funny i think that this would be really useful to use.  

Music video Reearch

Coldplay Yellow

The music video starts with a establishing shot of the beach and then pans to the left, the for the rest of the music video its a tracking shot of the main singer also the lyrics 'look at the stars' in the sky the are stars. Also we get the impression that he is telling a love story by the way he smiles and the way he acts in video also at one point he stops because of the lyrics then starts running towards the camera

Music Video Analysis

Why do bands create music videos?

Meet Audience Expectations

Meeting the expectations of the audience is very important; meeting the expectations can lead to increased popularity and a stronger fan base. This can be done in music videos via including a performance to camera, as it is very likely the audience are watching the music video to see the band/singers. However trying too hard to meet audience expectations can also be a bad thing as many viewer may see the music video as generic or desperate, this could potentially discourage the audience from viewing more content from the same band.

Advertising

Advertising could be mean two things in the sense of a music video, firstly advertising the band itself; this is where the audience are given an insight into the lives of the singers/band members. This is how opinions can be formed about the members, for example if you depict them participating in good deeds many may perceive the band to be kind and view more of their content. However this works both ways as many may see the band members as trying too hard to gain approval or they could argue that these good deeds are all just staged for the video and there is no way to insure these actually occur-lowering reputation.

                  As I mentioned earlier there is also another method of advertisement, this is where the band is given money by outside sources to create the music video is they ensure to do something for the outside company, the most common of these takes the form of a prop placement (placing a item e.g. a can of Coca-Cola in fame) this can be good as the band may not have enough funds to create the video without this however many people consider this as a ‘money grab’ and say the artists are ‘selling out’

Further expression of the art

This is one of the most common reasons for creating a music video as many artists feel that just from the lyrics the message they want to spread is not obvious so they create a video; this acts as a visual method of the artist’s vision and hopefully raises more awareness for their cause.

Making the music available on more platforms

Ever since the creation of music videos more platforms came to existence for example MTV (Music Television) this platform only played music if they had an accompanying video, if not they would not play the music this meant may artists could not have their content played. To fix this problem artist created videos so there music could be played on more platforms.

Artist: Justin Bieber

Song: Baby

Song Genre: Pop

Music Video Genre: Narrative

Target Audience: pre/early teens (generically girls)

Throughout this music video I noticed that the visual style meant there was not much variation on transitions, the video consisting of mainly cuts and also using fades. These fades are used to create an emotional connection with the audience; these fades are also used to condense a large portion of time into a few key shots. This is crucial due to the average music video spanning from 3:20-4:00 minuets and all the time wouldn’t be available for a small part of the narrative. The narrative has been told in chronological order, with common cuts where the performance to camera takes place, this performance is a method of direct mode of address establishing a connection with the audience. The narrative is very generic for this genre of music in the sense that it is one man/teen with the goal of obtaining a specific female.

                  Many conventions are used regularly used in music videos and these are used here, one of the most common is movement in time with the music, this is important as it connects the music and the video creating one entity. One of the things I feel works well in this video is the slow fades, I feel these are effective for this emotional music video as they serve multiple purposes as previously stated. Something I don’t like however is the over use of camera flares as I found it distracted from the viewing experience, although this is a personal thing and I feel this may work for others.   

Artist: Meghan Trainor

Song: All About That Bass

Song Genre: Pop

Music Video Genre: Performance Based

Target Audience: young teens (13-15) as they are impressionable and the positive message shown

The main visual style present within this music video is the strong contrast in colour throughout, these contrasts consist of pale pinks and blues-these colours are often asserted with childhood memories and babies. This is further shown as the music video progresses revealing to the audience that the video is shot in a giant dolls house. There is no narrative to speak of throughout this music video, personally I feel this has been done so the audience are not distracted from the positive message the lyrics enforce, however it could be argued that the doll house represents society and Meghan is not conforming to how all of the other dolls are with their ‘plastic’ aesthetics.  There are many conventions within this music video, the most important being the direct mode of address as the singer/song writer is clearly attempting to spread the positive message. The other important convention I identified was the performance to camera; this performance allows an emotional connection to be established between the singer and the viewers. I think multiple things worked really well for this music video for example the musician (Meghan Trainor) was constantly centre framed, this is important as it establishes that no matter where you watch in the video she is the most important person in frame. Another thing I feel worked really well was the lack of narrative, in most cases this would be a negative however it works here due to the positive message being shown. However one thing I believe didn’t work would be the lack of transitions using almost completely cuts.                                   

Artist: The Pharcyde

Song: Drop

Song Genre: Hip-Hop

Music Video Genre: Narrative

Target Audience: 16-25 year olds, usually in education.

                  Mise-En-Scene is very important in boy-bands this is important as generally speaking each member has their signature colour, this can be seen here via the choice of colours seen via the group. The visual style of this song is very different as the footage initially looks ‘off’ and it’s hard to see what is wrong with it, after a while however you realise that the footage has been reversed. Throughout this music video a narrative is shown, however there doesn’t seem to be anything happening other than walking while dancing. Due to the narrative only being small and also being played in reverse, this leads me to believe multiple people would miss it.

                  This music video is very unique in nature-making it unconventional. One of the main aspects of its originality stems from the entirety of the music video being played in reverse. Another however comes from the constant movement of the group weather it’s dancing or just swaying, this is unusual but personally I didn’t like it and the movement just looked meaningless and erratic. One of the main things that didn’t work for me was the constant movement via the group of singers, this lead to a lack of camera focus that irritated me when I was viewing this video. One of the things that worked really well and I will consider using during my project is the reversing shots; this can be done to create an interesting effect and can be used in a variety of genres.               

Artist: Fetty Wap

Song: Trap Queen

Song Genre: Hip-hop

Music Video Genre: Homage/performance based

Target Audience: rapscallions typically aged 16-19

Throughout this music video fast paced editing has been used that is in time with the music, this is conventional of music videos as it connects them making the video and soundtrack one entity. The use of mise-en-scene is iconic of the genre, this is done via the use of big chains and other Jewellery, and this is done to express their wealth. From what I can see no narrative has been used to speak off- this is effective however due to the entire video expressing wealth and performance to camera. A video consisting of mainly performance to camera is often used in the hip-hop genre, as it is a method of advertising as well as meeting the expectations of viewers. The narrative was also replaced via the women being fetishized-split into singular body parts and stripped of identity. This also appeals to the target audience as it meets expectations of the genre.

                  A main convention I can see throughout this music video is the insistence of the singer to place themselves in ‘the hood’ with run down environments where in reality the singer will be very rich and not have any association with the location. This is done to further the image that they are ‘down to earth’ so to speak, as well as making them appear tough to survive in this rough environment. Another convention of this predominately male genre is the insistence of the singer to be topless; this is done to give an impression of superior masculinity and toughness. Throughout this music video I acknowledged many things that worked well and others that didn’t. One of the key things that worked in the favour of the music video is the lack of narrative to express an ideology, however I will likely include a narrative in my own work. Something that never worked however was the insistence to attempt to show wealth, I know this may appeal to many but personally I seen it as petty and unneeded.

Artist: All Time Low

Song: Kids in the Dark

Song Genre: Pop Punk

Music Video Genre: Narrative

            The visual style changes throughout this music video quite drastically, this is shown, as the beginning of the music video is dark in tone with many shots almost consuming the protagonist in darkness. This changes however once the performance starts within the narrative as the use of neon paint is brought into the video making everything vibrant and it is shown that the viewers are having fun. A clear narrative is present, this is evident right from the beginning of the music video, and this is done without actually using words. Instead the story is told by the cinematography (camera work). The music video however uses one paragraph where the camera cuts in on key words, for example the word ‘escape’ this is a great method of telling the audience the words the character focuses on and drives the narrative forward.

            There are many conventions of the pop punk genre met here the most evident of which being that there is a large percentage of the video dedicated to performance to camera. This is important as this enables the band to gain a direct mode of address with the audience and makes the message more evident. One thing that defiantly worked for me in this music video is telling the story primarily by the use of the camera; this is very creatively done and is very effective due to the audience easily following the plot points throughout. It was increasingly difficult to find something that didn’t work throughout this music video as almost all expectations where met, however there was one thing I found however this is arguable as I would say the narrative is unresolved. I believe the narrative was unresolved as the main character returns to the home where the problems began and nothing changed from the experience.

Artist: Black Stone Cherry 

Song: Blind Man

Song Genre:  Rock

Music Video Genre: Performance

            Throughout this music video the band Black Stone Cherry performs in a clearly derelict building, this is an interesting location for the video however this is nothing new as it is very common in the rock genre to perform in a rundown locations. The mise-en-scene is very important in any music video as it can tell a lot about the individual for example many bands where costumes, Black Stone Cherry however have chosen to wear their own clothing this gives there videos a very rustic feeling and compliments the previously stated location. There is no narrative present throughout this music video, personally I think a narrative would have complimented the song however throughout my research into the band I realised it was an artistic choice as the was no narrative present within any of their music videos that I looked into so I chose this song for the visual style.

            I have stated multiple ways previously how Black Stone Cherry have been very conventional to the genre however it has been very difficult to see where they differ from the conventional. I could only offer one way of how they differ, this is simply that there is no objectification of women and the lack of an audience, as both of these tend to be present throughout music videos within the rock genre. One thing I picked up on that I thought worked in this music video is the fact that the editing is in time with the music-picking up pace as the song does- this is present throughout almost all music videos as it connects the video and the song and is very effective at doing so. One thing I do think this music video lacks is a narrative, as I stated previously however they might not have included a narrative, as it may be more difficult to capture the rustic effect like they have here.

Artist: Fall Out Boy

Song: Dance, Dance

Song Genre: Indie Rock

Music Video Genre: Narrative

            The visual style present is realistic in nature, by this I mean that there has not been any obvious change in colour such as altering contrast to extreme lengths, there is a lack of shadow however illuminating everyone in frame at all times, and this is done to make viewing more enjoyable as you can see everyone clearly. There is a fast paced editing has been used in time with the music. Finally the mise-en-scene regarding costumes is very important as the director has made the ‘popular’ and ‘unpopular’ kids easily distinguishable.

            There is a clear narrative present throughout the music video the narrative is shown via breaks in the song for dialog, many believe that this distracts from the song however it is one of the easiest methods of getting the message or plot across to the audience without confusion. The narrative includes a performance so this is done via fall out Boy this is a smart way to have a performance to camera without directly taking a break from the narrative. Many conventions of the indie rock genre are met within this music video for example performing in front of an audience that are almost captivated via the music, this is very common throughout this genre of music video as it gives the impression of popularity and enjoyment of the music preformed. Another convention that is met throughout this music video is that the guy gets the girl this is conventional as it meets the expectations of the audience and makes them gratified that they could predict such events.

              One thing that standout for me about this music video is that the director has taken those who are socially considered to be unpopular and through the power of Fall Out Boy and there music they overcome this and become popular and complete their objectives (in this case getting the girl) this is a way to show a positive message about the band. One thing I believe doesn’t work throughout this music video is that some of the dialog is not needed and actually distracted me from the lyrics of the song, I can see why this has been done (explain narrative) however there is other ways this can be done shown in previous music videos.

Artist: Green Day

Song: Boulevard of broken dreams

Song Genre: Punk Rock

Music Video Genre: Narrative

            The visual style of this music video is dark and consistent throughout this matches the tone of the song connecting them as one entity. The mise-en-scene also follows a consistent theme; the theme this follows is isolation this is shown via the appearance of tumbleweeds when the band members are in the wilderness. A narrative is loosely established via the intro into the video if this weren’t there it would be very hard to argue the case as the narrative literally consists of just walking. This narrative remains unresolved as video ends with the bands members still walking.

            A conventional aspect of this song would be the performance to camera present throughout as this takes place throughout most music genres such as punk rock. An unconventional aspect would simply be the lack of true narrative as the entirety of the music video consists of the band just walking, however I do think this works in the favour of the band in this song. Many people could argue that the music video is very basic with nothing really happening, I partially agree with this statement as the band are simply just walking and I believe a more creative music video could be created. However I feel the music video is very effective at establishing a theme of isolation despite it-in my opinion-not really doing justice to the song. Something I do feel is effective is that a constant theme is created via having a filter on the camera in this case it is an ‘old fashioned’ filter it just furthers the feeling that something isn’t quite right-matching the lyrics of the song.

                     

Visual Style
Narrative
Conventional/unconventional
What works what doesn’t

Childish Gambino - Sober

Visual style/Mise-en-scene
In this video you would think that the song in non-digetic but it is actually digetic and you can tell that by the way that you can hear things going on inside the take away song like the clattering of plates that are happening over the song. The camera swaps between close ups of Gambino and the girl. The many shots that we get of her are close ups on her face so that we can see her emotions to him dancing and acting out the song lyrics. at one point in the video the camera goes outside the window so that you are looking in you can still hear the music however you can only her it coming form inside so it is like you are looking in on something that is real. The lighting in the is neutral and still until the music style changes and his dancing change into something more serious, the lighting goes into studio lights and the camera goes into a low angle shot so that you are looking up. This emphasises his moves and shots that it shows how that has started to be serious instead of just joking around. However, after this part of music it goes back to how it was at the start so does shot type and the lighting in an instant. 

Narrative 
The story behind this is that Donald is in a fast food restaurant waiting for his food and so is the girl. To try and impress her he is dancing and lip syncing the song which is playing in thee when in actual fact is his on song sober. This is entertaining to watch because it is a simple narrative of a man trying to impress the girl however he isn't doing well and e can tell by the girls reaction to this happen by when she moves away. In the end she starts to enjoy what he is doing and joins in for a second but then she goes to get her food and leaves. this leads the video to having a reinstatment of the equilibrium as Donald goes back to the chair and position that he was in at the beginning of the video. You know this story is being shown and that the audience are looking in from when the camera goes outside and is pointing through the window. 

Conventional/Unconventional
This video is conventional as it is a simple narrative of boy meets girl and boy tries to impress her. The dancing that he is doing to act out the lyrics pull the audience in and make the narrative interesting and humorous which will also make people want to watch this video more than just one time. A way that he has broken the conventional music video expectations is by making the music be a digetic sound in the video and also putting in sounds that you would expect to happen in a fast food place like dishes clashing together. 

What works 
I like how there is a mixture of digetic and non-digetic sounds as it gives the video a rel feel to is as if you are also in the place watching in on this happening. 

Music Video Analysis

Broken Generation- Of Mice & Men

The conventions of this particular music video are very similar to that of a pop music video. For example, the editing of the video is fast paced but it does also match the pace of the music.

The setting of the video is established from the very beginning which is convention that is carried out in most music videos, the music video is set in an almost deserted town and also a desert.

There are two different performances within the video , one being from the band and the other from separate actors performing the narrative. The performance from the band in the video would be expected as it is quite normal for a music video of this genre to include the band. The band appear when the chorus of the song is playing, when the band are featured the singer has a direct mode address ,this represents the singer as addressing the person watching the video and it come across that they are singing to them.

The separate narrative raises the ideologies of wether or not technology is ruining the younger generations ability to interact with each other and also raises the question of wether or not it has a negative influence on them.  This is due to the part in the video when the waitress tries to take the womans order in the cafe and is completey ignored due to the woman being on her phone. The video highlights the consequences of this and shows how we can be affected by this.

The video conforms to Todorov's theory of every piece of film having a beginning, a middle and an end. At the beginning of the video the problem with technology and the influence it has on people is quickly established. The middle would be considered as the girl and boy removing the wires from there necks ( removing the technology influence) and meeting in the desert. The end would be when they find the building containing all of the wires and then removing all of the wires, leading to the people in the cafe to look up and notice each other.