Analysis - Summertime Sadness

When watching this video I noticed that a majority of the shots are short takes, this gives the video a fast moving feel even though the song its self is slow. This is a convention we will definitely want to conform to with our music video as we feel it will really emphasise the emotion of the song. There is no continuity when it comes to the editing of the video, it is a series of shots strung together to make a vaguely understandable narrative, but the emphasis isn't in the narrative side of the video or the performance side but more the artistic land scape shots which break up the narrative to create the mood of the video, also the filter used on the videos create the vintage and sad lost emotion shown in the narrative sides of the video.

The iconography of the video conforms to conventions by the clothing worn in the video matching the vintage sound and look of the rest of it, this isn't something that we will do in our video, we want it to look more modern but with the sound of an older song, to create an interesting contrast.

There is a lot of smoke used in the video, it is used to cloud the performers face and create a haze, depicting the haze of emotions felt through out the song and also giving it that quirky feel that is a common convention in the indie pop genre.

Analysis - Your Song

The video begins with short clips with a sepia type filter of things such as feet, a train ticket, leaves etc. these are all filmed with a lower quality, on what I assume is a hand held camera because of the way its been filmed and the camera angles used, the camera is also shown in a later shot. The mix of video qualities gives what's being filmed with them very different emotions, the handheld filtered clips feel more friendly and loving, where as the higher quality clips show every thing for what it actually is, you see the raw emotion in the clips. I think the use of two different clip types is something we could look into but may be difficult because of the types of cameras we have access to.

Just as in the Lana Del Rey video I analysed previously the use of scenery shots is apparent, giving you a warm sense of home as the emotion in this video is the opposite of the last, this is filled with love and the use of the warmer autumn coloured filters awards the video consumers a happy feeling when watching, it gives them a sense of love and calm.

The video shows brief clips on Ellie and a friend, giving the video a vague narrative, but not centring the video around it, i'm not sure whether this form is something that can work in my own video, it depends which emotion we would like our video to show. Depending on the emotion we will experiment with different filters on our clips to see if its something that can work on our video.

Analysis - Holocene

Bon Iver - Holocene

The video begins with a close up image of a young boy, at this moment there is no music playing, immediately you are given a sense of innocence as he is asleep, and sleep is the most innocent state a human can be in. We plan to start the video with an establishing shot of the grounds of the hotel we plan to film at.

They use lots of different types of light to light the shots, but its all natural which is an element I really would like to use in our video as ours will mostly be filmed outside so we can get beautiful landscape and scenery shots.

The natural light also contributes to the way you view the protagonist, he is shown again as pure and it exaggerates his child like innocence.

The video is all in slowed motion, not so slow it disrupts the flow of the video but it creates a more emotional feel to the video, it allows a consumer to feel as it reflects the speed of life around them

There are many establishing shots of the scenery giving the view that the young boy is so small in comparison to his surroundings.

He is shown running/throwing stones, climbing and playing through out the video but always alone, allowing a consumer to make up their own story about what's happening in the video instead of just giving them a set story that leaves no room for imagination.

Although there is no narrative there is still an emotion behind the video which allows you to remember your childhood fascination and discoveries as he is discovering his.

Analysis - Applause

Applause music video

For my third analysis i have chosen to do applause because its very unique and the opposite of what i would like to do but still very interesting to watch. What makes this music video very unique is that its 'all over the place' and doesn't have any relationship with the song. As Lady Gaga is known for her unique taste in costumes, it is no surprise to the audience when they see the singer Lady Gaga dressed in many 'different' costumes while miming the words. The video is made up of a montage of Gaga in different costumes doing different things, such as at the start of the video we see the singer standing in a massive top hat and also seeing a frighting green Gaga standing in a human sized bird cage. The song 'Applause' is very fast paced, as its a pop song, and so the video is manly made up of many short takes of Lady Gage singing, which means that there is never a stage where the audience get bored because they are never seeing something for a long time.

Furthermore what also works in this music video is the colour and lighting. Throughout the piece there is a black background and then Lady Gaga is seen dressed in a contrasting colour such as green, yellow and white, also for some scenes the image is black and white but because the singer is showing a lot of skin she is clearly seen contrasting with the background. This pulls the audiences focus on to Lady Gaga throughout the whole piece.

In my opinion even though the shots are strange and unique it still draws the audience in because they want to see what other madness Lady Gaga brings to the music video. It is clear to see that Lady Gaga uses the shock factor in her music video, as we see her head computer generated on to a black swans body... and so this makes the audience keep on watching because it is entertaining. Lastly the miming works well in this video as its all in time but in my opinion it would be a mistake for me to have the main character mime because i believe that it can only be pulled off and look good enough if it is done professionally. 

Analysis - Paradise

For my second analysis i have chosen to evaluate Coldplay's hit 'Paradise' as there genre is simliar to that of Of Monsters and Men, which is Alternative. What makes this video eye catching is the fact that there is a person dressed in an elephant costume walking around places like the London underground and Heathrow airport. As Coldplay is one of the biggest bands on the planet there budget would be big so that they can film in places such as the African plaines and tropical islands and so by using many establishing shots, the audience see's some beautiful pictures. This video is unusual because seeing a man dressed in an elephant costume walking around is not something you would not normally see but for this video the 'weirdness' works in its favour because people want to understand what is happening and so will see it through till the end. As the elephant doesn't have any changing facial expressions close ups are very rarely used and so mid shots and long shots are the more frequent seen in this video because the viewer can see how this character is feeling by his body language, for example when the elephant shakes the cage the audience can tell that he is frustrated and wants to get out. Another aspect of the video which works well is the relationship between the pace of the music and the pace of the takes, so when the music is slow and calm the audience see's longer takes and then when the music picks up pace, shorter takes are then used. Lastly what also makes this video a success is that it is aimed at all audiences and so more people will watch and spend money on this song.

Even though the video appears unusual, the audience still understand a story through this 'elephant' which is that he is trying to find love and is going many miles to find it and in the end he does, which would please the audience as everyone loves a happy ending. And so this is similar to what i want to do in my music video as i want to tell a story and not necessarily through the characters facial expression but through the environment and the situation.

Analysis - High Hopes

I have chosen to analysis this music video because it fits with the idea of a storyline in the music video but also the genre of Alternative is the same. High hopes is a beautifully crafted sad song that gradually builds to a loud and emotionally charged finished.The track is made up of many different montages showing the story between a man and a woman, leading up to both characters being shot by an angry ex boyfriend, who she left to be with this other man. At the start of video the main character tries to kill himself by poisoning himself. His car sits in the middle of a murky field in the middle of winter or autumn time (as he is wearing a jumper and all the leaves have fallen of the trees). This represents a depressing and cold time for the character. The sad atmosphere is built by the constant close ups of the characters as the audience can see the clear emotion of each character. So for example in the first scene there is a close up of the main character sitting in his car with poison coming into his car. The close up shows the audience the blank and emotionless face that the main character has even though he is killing himself, this creates a depressing atmosphere helped by the slow tempo of the music.As this is a music video dialogue can not be used and so thats why cinematography is very important in telling the story and so the two shots, close ups, mid shots etc succeed in doing this. Also throughout the video slow motion is used. The slow motion makes the whole video more effective as the audience get to see the emotion of each character and more importantly the relationship between the two main characters.Another aspect of the video that is effective in showing the love between the two characters is that it repeats certain scenes in which both characters show that they are happy with each other, for example when they are sitting around the table both looking into each others eyes smiling.

In conclusion this song has a major effect on the viewer because of the beautiful relationship between the song and the video. This is what i want the music video that i create to be like as i feel like the use of slow motion and a montage is moving, powerful and will stick in peoples minds for a very long time.

Dirty Paws

We have decided to do 'Dirty Paws' by Of Monsters and Men. We have chosen to do this song because firstly we both love the song. Secondly after looking at a lot of different music videos we want to do a narrative music video (so tells a story), and we thought that with 'On Top Of The World' that wouldn't be possible.

Potential Songs

After going through a load of different songs we have narrowed it down to two songs: 'Dirty Paws' by Of Monsters and Men, and also 'On Top of the World" by Imagine dragons. We like both of them and so have asked our friends which they would prefer and also potential ideas for either song. 

What we are going to do

After struggling to find a solid enough plot line for a short film or trailer, i have decided to do a music video with Kate because we both have similar tastes, we can get the best out of each other and so has the potential to be really good! 

Ideas

For our A2 coursework i am looking at either doing a short film, trailer or music video. Even though i believe that a trailer will be the most challenging as i will have to think about the entire film!