http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWJE0x7T4Q
Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer
This video was made in 1987 and it won several awards it won nine MTV awards and a Brit award and in 2011 it was made the most played music video in the history of MTV.
This video is one that seems to have steamed from quite a simple idea but it is so cleverly made and unusually for a music video it had special effects like the use of CGI. Similarly to Franz Ferdinand there is this opening with an eye and showing how it dilates and then how it goes small again. It is also slightly similar to the Relient K video with the use of stop motion or stop gap film.
0:03 The video opens with a black screen and the word Sledgehammer written on the background.
0:11 There is a fade to black as the music begins
0:13 There are random dots of light on a black background
0:16 Here there is an increase in the number of the dots but also there is movement and the camera kind of pans across all the lights that are used.
0:18 There is a larger shape made out of the lights
0:19 Here one single light takes up the whole of the screen
0:22 To add to the random pattern of events that the audience has seen there seems to be an animation of something which resembles sperm and it moves about the screen
0:27 Then there is light like lava that is moving around the screen
0:32 Here there are several pictures shown in a kind of spitfire sequence
0:35 There is a focus on the liquid that is moving around and it looks like lava that is moving around through rocks or something
0:39 A close up of an eye appears and it is closed then it opens and there is a sequence of the pupil being small then big then small again
0:41 The camera moves to show a finger that is tapping on a forehead near the hairline all these movements are in line with the bass line or the rhythm of the song.
0:43 The camera moves to focus on the mouth which moves from a smile to a frown
0:44 The earlobe is then shown in close up and it moves up and down
0:47 There is focus on the eye again and it is shown opening and closing
0:49 Here the whole face is moving but the audience is not shown the singers mouth
0:51 The camera then reveals the mouth and it moves to show the teeth and then covers up the teeth
0:53 Here the mouth opens and the singing starts so there is a heavy performance element because the mouth is always moving and showing the words are created
0:54 There is a zoom out which again shows the whole face which is continually moving
1:01 Here there is a black background and a train track encircles the face which is kind of like the moon in George Melies A journey to the moon film
1:03 The lyrics are "steam train" and a train appears on the tracks so it is kind of literal and physical representation of the song
1:05 The tracks and the train move higher up the face as if going up different stages
1:12 Here the train tracks move out of the shot
1:13 The lyrics now say "airplane" and a paper airplane encircles the face
1:17 As the plane moves out of the shot it drags across a blue background and the face is painted blue then a sequence of clouds move across the background and the face
1:21 There is a new background and the singer is speaking through a cone
1:22 The cone gets bigger and there are moving coloured stripes in the barrel of the cone
1:26 The singer then moves the cone to his ear
1:30 The background changes again and the singer is strapped down
1:31 The background is of a chalk board and the chalk shows different roller coasters which changing the singers hair style makes it seem as if the singer is on one of the roller coasters.
1:41 Another background change which is a background of popcorn again in line with the rhythm of the song but also in line with the lyrics
1:43 At this point two bumper cars appear on either side of the singers head which is again in line with what the singer said
1:45 The two cars bump into the singers neck then the singer has candy floss for hair and the cars and he swing their heads in a synchronised manner.
1:51 The head ends up at the opposite end of the frame as it hangs upside down
1:57 There is a change in the suite that the singer is wearing and the neck falls down to the bottom of the screen
1:59 Flames appear in the background and a white statue like head appears on top of the neck
2:05 A sledgehammer appears and smashes the statue head to reveal the singers head underneath the statue
2:08 There is an ivy leaf background
2:10 Another quick edit shows a bunch of different backgrounds
2:14 Randomly a fish appears at the right side of the singers head
2:15 The fish goes into the singers ear and comes out of the other side like a splash of water and then a bunch of other fish appear on the screen
2:22 There is a blue background and a banana goes into the singers right ear
2:25 The singers hands are shown and there are two cauliflowers and then there is also another green background which kind of shows foliage
2:28 There is a bunch of fruit which encircles the singers head
2:31 The fruit which is moving takes over the whole of the screen and makes the shape of a face then a cherry goes into the originals singers mouth
2:52 The screen is then taken over with moving wooden planks which move around to fit into place a flap opens and shows the singers mouth and the tools move over the wooden plank
3:04 The singer is shown again but he is made of clay
3:09 Here there is an animated clay sequence which is kind of like Wallace and Gromit it has the same kind of quality
3:22 An egg is shown moving from side to side on a stage and there are a couple of sledgehammers that appear.
3:26 A raw chicken appears out of the egg and begins to dance around the stage
3:33 The chicken spins and then 2 chickens appear
3:41 The chicken jumps in the air and the singer appears jumping in a similar way to the chicken
3:45 There are six women who appear on the screen and the singer stands in the middle of the women and they create a kind of V shape
3:47 There is a quick transition sequence and the mans shirts change
3:55 A dance sequence beings
4:10 A television appears in the room where the dancing is taking place
4:15 All the dancers sit in chairs
4:23 A crowd appears and they are all jumping around but this is intercut with a wooden figure which is a piece of furniture dancing
4:29 There is a close up on the mans face
4:34 The singer is dancing around in the middle of a load of dancing furniture
4:42 The man falls asleep in a chair
4:46 There is a black background with lights and a figure who is dressed like the surroundings that moves around
This is a really good video because it is well thought out and well made and this is the kind of video that I am hoping to make.
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Blink 182 Man Overboard Video Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u38TqU5rAyk
Blink 182 – Man Overboard
Blink 182 – Man Overboard
0:01-0:03 – The video opens with a close up on the chevrons
on the road
0:05 There is a camera movement to show the Blink 182 van
with their picture on the side which establishes the band which shows the
promotion element of the music video
0:07 The camera is now in front of the band van and the
driver is shown yawning which establishes that it is late at night and an
element of the dream world.
0:08 The camera is now inside the van and shows the band asleep
0:09 There is a close up on Mark who is asleep showing the
audience that he is the focus of the video at that moment
0:13 Here there is a 1970s transition effect which is like a
pool of water in the video and the water is rippling to show that the audience
is being allowed to view Marks dream world.
0:18 The song really begins at this point and the setting is
of the What’s My Age Again video there is a tilt and the focus comes into the
mini me characters of the band they are naked as Blink where and they have been
made up to look like the members with Travis Mohawk and his different tattoos
and then there is Mark with his Spikey hair and Tom with his tattoos also.
0:20 Here there is a cut to the real band and they are in a
kind of concert setting and they are performing there is the use of Long shots
and also some close ups on the member of the band that is singing so starting
with Mark and then cutting to Tom
0:32 The editing then has another cut to the What’s My Age
Again Video
0:36 There is another cut to the band who are performing
0:40 Another cut back to the mini me characters in the
What’s My Age video so the close cutting and the change of the two different
things is like a parallel edit to show what is happening in the video.
0:43 Mark is dressed as the banana character in the WMAA
video so there is a link between Blink and the video
0:48 There is a cut back to Mark who is in the van and
dreaming
0:49 Another cut back to the band performance
0:54 The video is very consistent with the original video
and this constituency is maintained as some of the original cast where brought
back to make the Man Overboard video such as the Tattooed women who the band
encircled in both of the versions firstly the original band and then they used
the mini me version
1:09 The comedy element is also evident in the video as Mark
is dresses as a young girl from the original video in the mini me version
1:18 Mark is asleep with a teddy bear and sucking his thumb
1:21 There is a cut back to the outside of the van which
adds mystery and pace to the video as people the audience wonders where the
band are going
1:23 Here the main focus of the video shifts as it is Tom
who becomes the main character in focus a close up shows him drooling before
the dream world transition and the video goes into the Adam’s Song music video
setting
1:29 There is another performance element but this time it
is the mini me versions who are performing as Blink 182 did in the Adam’s Song
video but they are all stood on wooden boxes
1:40 Tom then appears in the video as the man talking on the
telephone outside the shop that the mini me versions are in and he looks really
shocked and confused at seeing them there
1:48 A cut back to the band performance
1:58 Cut back to the van and shows Travis sleeping and the
reoccurring dream sequence appears again
2:00 The mini me appear in the All the Small Things video
2:04 Back to band performance
2:08 Travis appears in the video on the beach surrounded by
older women
2:10 Travis is shown sleeping
2:17 There is more band performance
2:20 Another cut to the All the Small Things Video
2:30 There is a cut to the band
2:41 The Blink 182 van arrives at the venue
2:46 Both the real Blink and the mini me versions see each
other
2:50 Blink 182 run off afraid of the mini me version
An interesting
feature of this video is also that there is much more focus on Mark then really
the other two what this could show is that the song was written by Mark and so
he should be the focus of the video but again this is just speculation……
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent Video Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma9I9VBKPiw
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent
This music video is a really weird video as it seems to be an anomaly there really aren't any videos that are similar to this one. What makes this video so different is the fact that there is no performance element at all not even a short one and also none of the band members seem to be in the video. What the video seems to show is a lot of violence between clowns and then kind of thuggish men and also a story of two men from opposite sides of the battle who are having a massive violent fight too. What is slightly similar to the Franz Ferdinand video is the fact that the video has a chance sequence that is filmed in one of the cars which is like Franz Ferdinand.
0:02 The camera is inside one of the cars and it is depicting a car chase which is quite hectic and leaves the audience guessing as they can't be sure what will happen in the video based on the opening. The fact that the camera only shows the cars and not the passengers also emphasises this build up.
0:08 Uncommon for a music video and more like a documentary or low budget action film there is a hand held camera which shows clowns (men dressed as clowns getting out of a car) near a derelict building site and the song begins
0:13 Here there is continued use of the hand held camera which shows a tracking shot of the clowns all running in one direction like soldiers charging into a battle zone.
0:16 There is a masked man dressed in a black suit who attacks one of the clowns after a short stand of. Because, the camera focuses on the two for longer than any of the other people in the video it shows that they are the main characters of the video.
0:19 The attack between the two gangs continues and there is still handheld cameras which create a really chaotic atmosphere.
0:25 The man who is masked and dressed in black comes into focus as the violence continues.
0:34 Here another shock factor is introduced as an elderly man comes into view with the other attacking clowns
0:35 There is an increase in the violence as there is a car door which is continually shut in another man's face.
0:40 The elderly man gets into the car and drives away when one of the clowns jumps onto the hood of the car
0:55 Here the film footage is slowed down and there is a slow side pan or tracking shot showing all the men who are in the middle of the savage fight.
0:57 A car crashes into a pile of boxes the car that the elderly man was driving which could have been used as a sign that there was no escaping the violence or that people get dragged into theses situations
1:02 The masked man and the clown are still fighting
1:04 There is a close up on a blue bag that the masked man is carrying and the clown is chasing him presumably trying to get hold of whatever was in the bag
1:13 There is another cut to the elderly man who comes out of the car and grabs a chain which he smashes the windshield with an then uses as a weapon against the attacking clowns
1:32 There is a close up on the pink clown who is in confrontation with the masked man and words appear on the screen showing the words "How could it have come to this?"
1:35 At this point the screen has a fade to the past and shows younger versions of the pink clown and the mask man as children in a park on the swings looking happy when the lyrics in the song are "Where did you go?" Which the clown mouthes to the other boy.
1:47 The two boys are on bikes this brief montage seems to establish a kind of love story or the idea of friendship and so the confrontation is the change over time. There are then stills of young boys who I assume are the band so that is really the only glimpse that we get of them throughout the whole video.
1:53 The clown is carried off by the masked man's companions
2:00 Here the clown gains the upper hand in the fight and throws one of the men into the river - but it is quite obviously a dummy
2:09 The clown now picks up the blue bag which is kind of a visual theme or sting of the video and chases after the masked man
2:34 The chased masked man runs into the car and as the car starts he drives toward the clown in an attempt to run down the clown which is showing a further break down of the relationship
2:39 There is a crash
2:50 Another uncommon feature of the music video occurs as the clown drops a lighter into the petrol from the car and causes an explosion and the masked man is killed here the song ends although the video continues
2:59 There is a cut to the young version of the two still looking happy
3:00 The video ends with one last view of the clown.
The video shows a more kind of action film approach which shows that perhaps now videos don't really promote the song but they add an extra element to the song. For example the clash between the clowns and the masked men as I refer to them could have a political element that it could be miners strike or any conflict between people and government but this is just speculation.....
0:25 The man who is masked and dressed in black comes into focus as the violence continues.
0:34 Here another shock factor is introduced as an elderly man comes into view with the other attacking clowns
0:35 There is an increase in the violence as there is a car door which is continually shut in another man's face.
0:40 The elderly man gets into the car and drives away when one of the clowns jumps onto the hood of the car
0:55 Here the film footage is slowed down and there is a slow side pan or tracking shot showing all the men who are in the middle of the savage fight.
0:57 A car crashes into a pile of boxes the car that the elderly man was driving which could have been used as a sign that there was no escaping the violence or that people get dragged into theses situations
1:02 The masked man and the clown are still fighting
1:04 There is a close up on a blue bag that the masked man is carrying and the clown is chasing him presumably trying to get hold of whatever was in the bag
1:13 There is another cut to the elderly man who comes out of the car and grabs a chain which he smashes the windshield with an then uses as a weapon against the attacking clowns
1:32 There is a close up on the pink clown who is in confrontation with the masked man and words appear on the screen showing the words "How could it have come to this?"
1:35 At this point the screen has a fade to the past and shows younger versions of the pink clown and the mask man as children in a park on the swings looking happy when the lyrics in the song are "Where did you go?" Which the clown mouthes to the other boy.
1:47 The two boys are on bikes this brief montage seems to establish a kind of love story or the idea of friendship and so the confrontation is the change over time. There are then stills of young boys who I assume are the band so that is really the only glimpse that we get of them throughout the whole video.
1:53 The clown is carried off by the masked man's companions
2:00 Here the clown gains the upper hand in the fight and throws one of the men into the river - but it is quite obviously a dummy
2:09 The clown now picks up the blue bag which is kind of a visual theme or sting of the video and chases after the masked man
2:34 The chased masked man runs into the car and as the car starts he drives toward the clown in an attempt to run down the clown which is showing a further break down of the relationship
2:39 There is a crash
2:50 Another uncommon feature of the music video occurs as the clown drops a lighter into the petrol from the car and causes an explosion and the masked man is killed here the song ends although the video continues
2:59 There is a cut to the young version of the two still looking happy
3:00 The video ends with one last view of the clown.
The video shows a more kind of action film approach which shows that perhaps now videos don't really promote the song but they add an extra element to the song. For example the clash between the clowns and the masked men as I refer to them could have a political element that it could be miners strike or any conflict between people and government but this is just speculation.....
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Franz Ferdinand Walk Away Video Analysis .........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1qPnSZDrAQ
Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away Video
The song's video seems to be the recreation of a 1950s video and it makes sure that there is distance between the audience and the song by doing it in the way it is not an everyday occurrence that the audience would be used to. The video also has a link between the lead singer and the girl who is in the filmic part of the video. There is surprisingly little performance element to the video which is unusual for the more alternative genre of the music. Again there are also times when the lyrics link with what is happening on the screen in this sense it makes it seem as though in the video the lead singer is not only one of the characters but he is also the narrator.
0:01-0:16 The video opens with an extreme close up on an eye lid and as the eye opens and the pupil dilates the camera spins round in a circle coming further away to show a mid shot of the lead singer. What this creates is a surreal atmosphere and also a confusing one. What also happens is that the edit feels kind of retro which helps set the scene of the 1950s.
0:31 At this point in the video the band are in a 1950s setting which is a house and they are wearing quite vintage clothing like woollen cardigans which could add to the sense of looking back and maybe that the video is about regret he can't understand why he let the girl go. There is a heavy sense of realism created with all the props being very vintage but this realism is broken as the band are shown with their electric instruments which would not yet have been around at the time. There are profiles of the individual band mates which are mid shots but then there is a long shot which shows the whole band in one shot.
0:41 The lead singer is at a window looking out and there are wheels behind him which are turning which the audience assumes is the song being recorded as he looks out the window the camera follows his gaze and zooms out into the window and the world created behind the window which is dark and gloomy and the colour of the film changes to black an white.
0:49 Here the camera moves to the inside of a moving car which shows the lead singer and the girl in the 1950s movie in an over the shoulder shot which creates a sense of intrigue it is also unusual because it seems to be a more romantic setting but it is still very dark and black.
0:54 An interesting feature of the video is that it shows aerial shots which are quite uncommon in music videos and it shows the car going round a bend this is a moment where there is distance created between the band and the audience as it was quite an intimate shot with the audience inside the car with the band but then they are suddenly away from what is happening.
0:57 Here the camera is in front of the car and the headlights are on which blocks out any action going on in the back of the scene.
0:58 There are a combination of profiles of the two main characters in the car with a background that seems to be moving around independently not really what it would look like to be traveling around in a car
0:59 There is now a close up on the girl and she has bright blonde hair perhaps showing that there is an element of innocence around her the young girl who is sweet and kind yet she falls for a dark and brooding man but it also shows the time as that hair reminds the audience of people like Marilyn Monroe
1:11 To continue the film element of the video a chase sequence begins as through the mirror the lead singer sees a car that is chasing them
1:20 Then there is another aerial shot which shows a train approaching as the lead singer drives over in enough time to separate himself from the villains without getting hit by the train. Another window is shown this time a train window where the lead singer and the lead girl are in the train still on the run from the trench coat wearing villains.
1:43 The whole band are shown now all in the same shot and they are walking on a brick wall but their shadows are projected onto the wall and they are moving independently to what the band is doing
1:52 There is another window which means another shot transition as the windows in this video are used to show that.
Then the image changes back to colour
2:03 The two characters are back in the house
2:14 The lyrics of the song are "mascara bleeds into my eye" and there is a close up on the women who is crying and her mascara is dripping which shows that the lead singer is like a narrator in his own story
2:20 Here both of the characters walk out of the house and there is a transition back to black and white.
2:28 The door that the two walked out of is shown but it is standing alone in a foggy haze and there are buildings behind the door
2:34 The lead singer walks down the stairs and goes back to rejoin the band
2:39 A sense of doom is created as the band walk into a cemetery
2:48 "My headstone crumbles down" is sung by the singer and again a narrative feel as the camera shows a variety of different headstones that start to crumble
3:15 The cemetery turns into a small model inside the original house from the first scene
3:22 The lead singer then appears to be on some kind of set as he picks up a dagger and his bandmates shine different coloured lights onto him
3:40 The video ends with the singer dropping the knife into the ground
The video could have used the opening of the eye and the models and the sets to show that the main idea was as if waking from a dream that keeps happening or it could have an element of regret about a lost love.
Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away Video
The song's video seems to be the recreation of a 1950s video and it makes sure that there is distance between the audience and the song by doing it in the way it is not an everyday occurrence that the audience would be used to. The video also has a link between the lead singer and the girl who is in the filmic part of the video. There is surprisingly little performance element to the video which is unusual for the more alternative genre of the music. Again there are also times when the lyrics link with what is happening on the screen in this sense it makes it seem as though in the video the lead singer is not only one of the characters but he is also the narrator.
0:01-0:16 The video opens with an extreme close up on an eye lid and as the eye opens and the pupil dilates the camera spins round in a circle coming further away to show a mid shot of the lead singer. What this creates is a surreal atmosphere and also a confusing one. What also happens is that the edit feels kind of retro which helps set the scene of the 1950s.
0:31 At this point in the video the band are in a 1950s setting which is a house and they are wearing quite vintage clothing like woollen cardigans which could add to the sense of looking back and maybe that the video is about regret he can't understand why he let the girl go. There is a heavy sense of realism created with all the props being very vintage but this realism is broken as the band are shown with their electric instruments which would not yet have been around at the time. There are profiles of the individual band mates which are mid shots but then there is a long shot which shows the whole band in one shot.
0:41 The lead singer is at a window looking out and there are wheels behind him which are turning which the audience assumes is the song being recorded as he looks out the window the camera follows his gaze and zooms out into the window and the world created behind the window which is dark and gloomy and the colour of the film changes to black an white.
0:49 Here the camera moves to the inside of a moving car which shows the lead singer and the girl in the 1950s movie in an over the shoulder shot which creates a sense of intrigue it is also unusual because it seems to be a more romantic setting but it is still very dark and black.
0:54 An interesting feature of the video is that it shows aerial shots which are quite uncommon in music videos and it shows the car going round a bend this is a moment where there is distance created between the band and the audience as it was quite an intimate shot with the audience inside the car with the band but then they are suddenly away from what is happening.
0:57 Here the camera is in front of the car and the headlights are on which blocks out any action going on in the back of the scene.
0:58 There are a combination of profiles of the two main characters in the car with a background that seems to be moving around independently not really what it would look like to be traveling around in a car
0:59 There is now a close up on the girl and she has bright blonde hair perhaps showing that there is an element of innocence around her the young girl who is sweet and kind yet she falls for a dark and brooding man but it also shows the time as that hair reminds the audience of people like Marilyn Monroe
1:11 To continue the film element of the video a chase sequence begins as through the mirror the lead singer sees a car that is chasing them
1:20 Then there is another aerial shot which shows a train approaching as the lead singer drives over in enough time to separate himself from the villains without getting hit by the train. Another window is shown this time a train window where the lead singer and the lead girl are in the train still on the run from the trench coat wearing villains.
1:43 The whole band are shown now all in the same shot and they are walking on a brick wall but their shadows are projected onto the wall and they are moving independently to what the band is doing
1:52 There is another window which means another shot transition as the windows in this video are used to show that.
Then the image changes back to colour
2:03 The two characters are back in the house
2:14 The lyrics of the song are "mascara bleeds into my eye" and there is a close up on the women who is crying and her mascara is dripping which shows that the lead singer is like a narrator in his own story
2:20 Here both of the characters walk out of the house and there is a transition back to black and white.
2:28 The door that the two walked out of is shown but it is standing alone in a foggy haze and there are buildings behind the door
2:34 The lead singer walks down the stairs and goes back to rejoin the band
2:39 A sense of doom is created as the band walk into a cemetery
2:48 "My headstone crumbles down" is sung by the singer and again a narrative feel as the camera shows a variety of different headstones that start to crumble
3:15 The cemetery turns into a small model inside the original house from the first scene
3:22 The lead singer then appears to be on some kind of set as he picks up a dagger and his bandmates shine different coloured lights onto him
3:40 The video ends with the singer dropping the knife into the ground
The video could have used the opening of the eye and the models and the sets to show that the main idea was as if waking from a dream that keeps happening or it could have an element of regret about a lost love.
Monday, 24 June 2013
Relient K - The Best Thing video analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmGxnZJfU5k
Relient K - The Best Thing:
My initial thoughts after watching this video was that there is a heavy performance element but it is also linked with a more narrative performance. There is a link of two stories one of a girl who is taking pictures and then the band who are singing the song. The two seem separate but then it is evident that the two plots are linked. The main feature of the video is that it is done in stop gap or stop motion.
At 0:05-0:06 there is the sound of a camera flash and then there is a bunch of pictures that stack up and show a girl who is taking pictures.
0:08 the camera starts to introduce the band starting with the drummer which is the first instrument that the audience hears. The still pictures then change to moving images which are in the shape of pictures on a brown background. There is also a juxtaposition between the band that is introduced with an emphasis on the instruments as they come in and the girl who is photographing the band.
0:10 there is a close up of the piano and the lead singers hands which is heard as the piano comes in to the song.
0:12 there is more movement within the images and there is a three shot of the band the build up of the band links to the build up of the sound that is heard.
0:13-0:14 there is images of the piano
0:15 bass drum guitar are all shown which links to the performance of the song and the main focus of the video
0:17 the guitar is added along with a shot of the guitar there is also a change to the piano again which is the main part of the performance element of the video
0:21 here there is the first shot of the whole band
0:22 there is another cut to the girl in the street with the camera
0:30 there is now a distinct link with the girl and the band as she is shown taking photos of the band
0:35 here there are profiles of the band shown in the form of photographs and they are close ups of the different band members which changes to the instruments and the band
0:45 there is a cut back to the girl and more profiles
0:52 the camera focuses mainly on the band and their instruments
1:11 there is a girl in the street and close ups on the performance
1:35 the lyrics of the song say "look into your eyes" and there is a cut from the lead singer and the girl which could show that the lead singer is singing to the girl
1:40 there is a continuation of the girl and the performance and the profiles of the band members
2:00 the girl is shown again and there is a cut between the girl and the band which puts emphasis on the song being about that girl
2:05 the girl with the camera drops the pictures on the ground as a way of showing close ups of the band
2:24 the girl and the singer are shown again showing the link
2:40 the girl is in the shot again
3:08 the girl is shown in the same room as the band which shows the first real link between the girl and the band
3:12 the lead singer looks up to show an angelic happiness and contentment at reminiscing about the girl
3:24 the band is shown in individual frames in the same shot which wraps up the song.
I think that the link with the picture is that because it is the best thing it is something to be remembered so there are pictures taken and then the link between the boy and girl showing that it is a love song.
Relient K - The Best Thing:
My initial thoughts after watching this video was that there is a heavy performance element but it is also linked with a more narrative performance. There is a link of two stories one of a girl who is taking pictures and then the band who are singing the song. The two seem separate but then it is evident that the two plots are linked. The main feature of the video is that it is done in stop gap or stop motion.
At 0:05-0:06 there is the sound of a camera flash and then there is a bunch of pictures that stack up and show a girl who is taking pictures.
0:08 the camera starts to introduce the band starting with the drummer which is the first instrument that the audience hears. The still pictures then change to moving images which are in the shape of pictures on a brown background. There is also a juxtaposition between the band that is introduced with an emphasis on the instruments as they come in and the girl who is photographing the band.
0:10 there is a close up of the piano and the lead singers hands which is heard as the piano comes in to the song.
0:12 there is more movement within the images and there is a three shot of the band the build up of the band links to the build up of the sound that is heard.
0:13-0:14 there is images of the piano
0:15 bass drum guitar are all shown which links to the performance of the song and the main focus of the video
0:17 the guitar is added along with a shot of the guitar there is also a change to the piano again which is the main part of the performance element of the video
0:21 here there is the first shot of the whole band
0:22 there is another cut to the girl in the street with the camera
0:30 there is now a distinct link with the girl and the band as she is shown taking photos of the band
0:35 here there are profiles of the band shown in the form of photographs and they are close ups of the different band members which changes to the instruments and the band
0:45 there is a cut back to the girl and more profiles
0:52 the camera focuses mainly on the band and their instruments
1:11 there is a girl in the street and close ups on the performance
1:35 the lyrics of the song say "look into your eyes" and there is a cut from the lead singer and the girl which could show that the lead singer is singing to the girl
1:40 there is a continuation of the girl and the performance and the profiles of the band members
2:00 the girl is shown again and there is a cut between the girl and the band which puts emphasis on the song being about that girl
2:05 the girl with the camera drops the pictures on the ground as a way of showing close ups of the band
2:24 the girl and the singer are shown again showing the link
2:40 the girl is in the shot again
3:08 the girl is shown in the same room as the band which shows the first real link between the girl and the band
3:12 the lead singer looks up to show an angelic happiness and contentment at reminiscing about the girl
3:24 the band is shown in individual frames in the same shot which wraps up the song.
I think that the link with the picture is that because it is the best thing it is something to be remembered so there are pictures taken and then the link between the boy and girl showing that it is a love song.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Continued History of the Music video........
The next stage in the take-off of the music video is the
development of music television. Australian
television shows such as Countdown and Sounds where ways in which the music
videos where made. This was linked with the idea of new musicians and new
material by established musicians being promoted to the wider range of videos
and making people go out and decide to shoot random things to create mini videos
to accompany the songs. All for the entertainment purposes and the promotion
element the two are at this stage the beginning of the 1970s where people
wanted more from the music and the televisions shows that they watched.
Closer to home in the UK the show Top of the Pops showed
several music videos and from many well renowned musicians such as David Bowie
and Queen who wanted to broadcast their music video for Bohemian Rhapsody.
It is so important to note that in 1981the famous US TV. Show
MTV was launched which really marked a new era for the music video as it was
the beginning of having 24hr music on television.
In 1983 there was another important turn which was Michael
Jacksons 14 minute video for “Thriller”. But also the cost was something that
had not been seen before the video was said to have cost around $500,000 which
was unusual. Technology also helped with the development of the music video because
people where able to make videos quite easily and also quite cheaply because
there had been an increase in the amount of recording material available.
MTV Europe was launched in 1987.
Form the years of 1985-6 there was the introduction of
special effects to the music video again showing that there is an increase in
the performance element of the video and that the video started to tell a story
not just be some random shots of the artists performing.
From 1992 to 2004 there was not a massive change in the
music video but it was a change in the recognition that the videos got with
bigger budgets used such as Michael Jackson’s video for Scream which cost $7
million or Madonna a Bedtime Story which cost $5 million to make. It was also
the time when there were several directors who were known for their music
videos. Here are a few names:
What becomes
significant in 2005 and onwards was the Internet boom which meant that there
was much easier access to music videos and people could even make their own
versions or clipped together bits of film to make music videos. 2005 saw the
launch of Youtube where most music videos can be found and then other social
networking sites made it possible to broadcast videos such as myspace and
facebook.
Hopefully what
this research has kind of briefly shown is the progression that occurred from the
music videos simply being used when there was a music performance to being such
a massive social sensation that there are now several television channels that
are dedicated to just showing music videos.
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
A Few More Years of History....
Now that I have roughly covered the origin of the music video I am going to move on to the 1950s and surprisingly to France. This is where there was a creation of a visual jukebox to which french artists made short films.
These are among the artists that made videos to accompany their songs.
Then in 1961 a Canadian show was created that filmed musicians lip synching this was called Singalong. Then in the later part of the 60s the Beatles made a mock documentary film called A Hard Days Night which was directed by Richard Lester.
From this steamed a long line of other artists who started making this kind of film to go along with their songs. Pink Floyd, and the Rolling Stones and also the Kinks started to make films. These where called promotional films or inserts which were often shown when a band couldn’t go to a certain venue there was also at this time a change in the way that people made these films and they started to have plots. The Who in 1964-5 also started to appear in these clips with their various singles.
1972-3 saw the introduction of David Bowie and his music videos these suddenly became more controversial and some of his videos such as John I’m Only Dancing was made on an incredibly cheap budget of $200 but the BBC banned the clip being shown on Top of the Pops.
Monday, 17 June 2013
The Beginning of the Music Video History
Information sourced from :
In the search for the definition of what makes a good music
video it is important to first explore what is a music video? The most common answer is that a music video
is a promotional device essentially a short film is released with the song to
encourage people to buy the song and for the simple nature of entertainment
purposes.
Music videos are now a lot more device in the way that they
are made they seem to be a genre within a genre. Music videos can have a
narrative structure where the film is a story and it could be one that is to do
with what the song is about. The video could also just be a choreographed piece
of work.
For a very brief grouping of videos it could potentially be
said that videos from the dance music genre are often just the video with the
lead singer preforming and a series of different dances whereas songs that are
more lyric based like modern day punk and alternative music there is a more
narrative structure generally speaking.
What can also emerge are versions of songs that are simply a
filmed version of the songs performance. Bruno Mars’s song “Locked out of
Heaven” is heavily performance based with cuts to scenes of the lead singer
Bruno doing various things but it is mainly just the song being performed.
It is said that the origin of film could potentially be
traced back to 1894 when the sheet music publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern hired an electrician George Thomas to use a light box and performers so
that images would be projected as the songs where performed live. Now this is
not necessarily the beginning of music videos but this is something that bands
still do today. There are several artists who during their concerts will have
images shown on a screen behind them. An interesting thing to look into the
group The Guerillas as they labeled themselves as an animated band and that is
what they used to make videos and I assume they would show at concerts.
The 1920s and the 1930s saw a different type of performance
to emerge and this was a market cornered by Disney who set their animations to
music the most famous is the Micky Mouse Fantasia. The interesting thing that
this shows is that Warner Bros. where actually effectively using their song
clips as promoters of songs that were going to be in their animated films.
Therefore it seems in this respect that the purpose of a music video had been
met and that was the idea of promotion.
In the 1920s there was also the use of lyrics across the
screen and a red bouncing ball over the words which encouraged audiences to
sing along with the performance. This is very similar to the modern day Karaoke.
In 1929 there was a dramatized version of a song that was
shot on two reels this was by the Blues singer Bessie
Smith. I think that this would have marked significance in the history
of music videos of when they started to be created.
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Some Music Video Links ...
The initial research for the music videos will be beginning next week with a glimpse into the vast history of music videos but until then I am going to post some various youtube links to different videos that I am going to be looking at.
So these are just a few more to come.....
Friday, 14 June 2013
Things that I will be researching ....
Things that already know that I want to explore in this task
is stop gap and whether it could be placed with moving image which is an idea
that I got from a music video called the best thing by Reliant K.
I am also going to
look at the director Marcos Siega who directed some of the Blink 182 videos
such as:
- All the Small things
- Man overboard
- What’s My Age Again
The band is an interesting one because they had several
different styles of video the one for the song called I Miss You is
particularly interesting because it is a lot more subdued and serious then the
rest of their videos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling_This
- Feeling This Blink 182
Initial Task
As the summer term has begun so has the latest media
project. For the next project we were assigned to make a music video and a
digipack which consists of the album work as well as the video and then a
magazine advert. The music has to come from a source where we have permission
to use the artist’s work. The first stage of this project will be researching
into the different types of music video that there are and identifying the
different elements that we want to adapt for our video.
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