Music video notes (disection of videos)

The lighthouse family - I wish I knew
Genre:
The genre of the band is soulful pop. We can tell this because of sounds very smooth (no strong beat) and calm.

Narrative:
The narrative is non-linear; this is because the video features flashbacks into people’s lives. This is so that we can see that everyone on the train has problems. The video starts showing him, then others on the train (like the blonde girl) and then the video is him moving down the train, looking into peoples problems without actually talking to them and ‘taking them away’.

Aspects of performance and modes of address:
The video had direct mode of address, this means that people in the video address the audience. We can see this through lots of eye contact with the camera, and the singer singing and walking towards the camera. When passengers on the bus look at the camera, the visual changes to show the audience their back-story, for example, there is a girl who is a stripper, but we can see that she doesn’t want to be, because after dancing she sits outside looking sad.

How the video reflects or produces an image for the star artist or band:
The video reflects the artist as a completely normal guy. There is nothing noticeably special about him or the way he is dressed and he blends into the crowd. Although, he seems to be taking away people problems as he walks down the train, making him almost angelic.

How the visual elements relate to the song; illustration, amplification and disjuncture:
The visuals in the video amplify the lyrics. It takes the idea of wanting to be free and happy, and applies it in the sense that the singer seems to be taking away peoples problems.

Mise-en-scene:
Costume-The singers costume is a simple suit and hat. It’s a nice suit that gives the sense of him being middle class, however it does not stand out, and the colours fit the dull colours shown throughout the train. This allows him to blend in with everyone, showing his normality.

Main girl- The girl has pale skin and blonde hair. She is pretty but not so much that she stands out. Her paleness makes her look almost angelic. Her clothing is also simple, as if her hair and make-up.

Lighting- The lighting on the train is slightly gloomy, but at the end of the video when the passengers climb the station stairs to go outside, the light is very bright which is reflected in their performance as they smile in the light. The sun on the blonde girl makes her look even more angelic, and when she turns around, the sun makes it look like she has a halo.

Setting- The video is set on the subway this is an everyday place so fits with the theme of normality. At the end of the video when they go outside, it is as if they are ‘free’, whereas when they are on the subway it’s dark and gloomy and as if they are trapped.

Performance:
On the train everyone looks gloomy and sad. This enforces the idea that everyone has problems and they are all affected by them. At the end of the video everyone is happy and smiling because they are free.

Camera angles:
There are many different camera angels used in this video, this helps to make it interesting to watch. There is a tracking shot of the main character, this shows that he is important and we should follow him. A midshot of the Chef dissolves into a close up of the frying pan and flames, this signifies that his job is hell to him. The camera zooms in on a girl, this tells us that we need to look at her, it then flashes to her back-story to show us her problem. When we are shown the story of the girl who is a stripper, the camera focus’s on body parts in close ups. This enforces the concept of her job being very sexual. It then cuts to a mid-long shot of the girl sat in a chair looking very unhappy, showing how much her job upsets her.
Another example of camera angels is when there is an extreme close up of someone’s face. Again, these close ups are to make us focus on the person, and show us they all have problems.

Editing:
The editing of this video is very slow paced and matches the timing and pace of the song very well.
There is match on action at the start, when the blonde girl stands up and we follow her, then it shows her grab his hand. They use point of view shots, or eye line match, to show us that the main characters at looking at the people on the train.

Special effects:
They editors have used super impositions for the transfer of train footage into back-story footage. It’s very simple, and does not stand out much as a special effect, but it works well with the video.

Channel:
The channels that will have most likely played this song are channels like Smooth and classic fm as it is a very slow and soulful song.




Chemical brothers- Hey boy hey girl

Genre:
The genre is Dance. We can tell this due to the beat and the repetitive lyrics at appear to have no real meaning.

Audience: The audience is around 15-30 as it’s dance music, and this is the general age range that listens to dance. The music channels that it will most likely have been shown on is MTV or TMF

Aspects of performance mode of address:
The mode of address is indirect as no-one looks at the camera or addresses the audience in any way. It’s like we’re not there. There are also no elements of performance in this video.

Narrative:
The video uses linear narrative to tell it’s story. There are skips in time, but they are all forwards; we see the girl ‘grow up’. The video has a clear beginning middle and end to it. The beginning is on the bus for the school trip, the middle is her grown up in a night club and the end is her leaving.
At the beginning we are on a school bus and we see a girl reading. A boy then spits on her book giving us the impression she may be bullied by this boy. Then we are in a museum and the girl is on her own, until the boy comes up behind her with a skull in his coat. She chases him and breaks her arm. It cuts to show her with her cast and a picture of the brake. It then skips ahead to the future and we are in some kind of club bathroom, and the girl from the start is now grown up. She walks about the club and sees skeletons everywhere. She then leaves the club to go home.

How does the video create an image for the artist?
Although the video is for a dance song, it does not contain the usual ingredients used for dance videos. There are no routines or drugs that we see and everyone is drinking water instead of alcohol. This sets them apart from the crowd and makes them look trendy.

How do the visual elements relate to the song; amplification, illustration or disjuncture:
The visual elements both amplify and contradict the lyrics at times. The parts with the boy and the girl amplify the lyrics, and the images we are seeing seem to make sense with the music. However there are also elements of disjuncture in that the girl is portrayed as slightly nerdy in that she is the only one who actually wants to go to the museum, and we see her reading, and so maybe is not the kind of person who would listen to the song. Also, the skeletons seem to make no sense. There is no reference to skeletons in the lyrics so why in the video? It could be that people at the club are on drugs (stereotypical of dance genre) or they just contradict.

Mise-en-scene:
There are intertextual references in this video, as there are skeletons shown throughout it, at the start we see them in the museum, then when the girl brakes her arm, and then again in the club.
Costume-The costume is quite 90’s and simple. We assume she may be in a rave and so hasn’t dressed up to much so that there is no unwanted attention from the police at the rave.
Sound- when she is in the club bathroom, the song is slightly quieter, and then when she leaves the bathroom it goes loud again. This gives a good effect as that’s how it would actually be.
Use of camera:
There is a midshot of the girl on the backseat that cuts to an extreme close up of her hands so that we focus on them. There is a slow motion shot of the school children running but the main girl is walking, this signifies that she is a bit different and thinks for herself. The camera zooms in on the picture of her broken arm, then the scene changes to her room from the picture.

Editing:
The pace of editing is reasonably slow for the genre. You expect dance videos to be very fast paced. It matches the tempo of the song well and uses mostly simple cuts.

Special effects:
The little girls face flashes into a skeleton, and then the scene changes around her and she becomes older. This is very interesting effect as we are not used to seeing things like it. The idea of skeletons continues to the end of the video, with all the people in the club turning into them.







Lily Allen – Smile
Genre:
The genre is pop. It has basic factors of pop, such as lyrics that rhyme and catchy lyrics.

Audience: Teens and young adults.

Narrative:
The narrative is non linear. This is because there are a few flashbacks at the beginning to show her being sad. The rest of the video is linear. The story is that her and her boyfriend split up and she was very upset. Then she is coming up with ways to get her own back on him for example she gets people to trash his apartment.

Aspects of performance/mode of address:
The mode of address is direct; Lily sings and looks at the camera a lot. She is the only person who looks straight at the camera though. Although the song is pop, there is no dance routine, which is stereotypical of a pop video. It focuses on the story line, and the performance aspects are all about the relationship and its deterioration.

How does the video create and image for the artist?
The video portrays Lily as a normal girl. She isn’t dressed unusually or very posh, and does not seem overdone. It also shows that she has the same problems as everyone else i.e. being upset after a brake up, but portrays her as strong, as she bounces back and gets her revenge on the ex.

How the visual elements relate to the song; illustration, amplification and disjuncture:
The video compliments the lyrics, and then takes it that step further so it amplifies. The video shows what the lyrics are saying, that she was upset but now doesn’t care, and adds in other things like how she gets people to beat him up

Mise en scene:
Settings- Her bedroom is normal and girly, nothing out of the ordinary which again shows she’s just a normal girl. All the other settings also signify normality, a club, a café, a street and his flat. Nothing is extravagant or unbelievable.

Costume- Lily’s costume is a dress with trainers. This is a trademark of Lily, as she used to wear dresses with trainers all the time. Her clothes are bright and girly and again pretty simple.

Hair and make-up- She has her hair up, and has lots of eyeliner and eye shadow on.

Use of camera:
There are lots of zooms and close ups of Lily as she lip-syncs. This is typical of music videos as it makes us focus on the artist. A midshot of hoodies, and then a tracking shot using a handheld camera so we know they are following him. A point of view shot is used when people are trashing the Ex’s house. A close up is used to show Lily putting laxatives in the boys drink, this is so we know what she is doing.

Editing:
When Lily and her ex are talking in her flat, the footage is sped up so we can see everything that’s happened. The pace of editing is quick and matches the music. This makes it flow better and makes it easier to watch. There is a Hollywood montage of images at the start, showing Lily being upset and not knowing what to do with herself.

Special effects:
There are no special effects used in the video, however, at the end when she is walking down the street, they may have used a green screen.

Representation:
The video portrays lily as a normal girl with normal problems. However, it also shows her as quite spiteful which is negative. It has negative connotations on the youth of today, as they are seen as willing to beat someone up for money, or trash other people’s houses.