Analysis of music videos

18 nov 202212 Min. de lectura

Actualizado: 7 dic 2022

MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS & ANDREW GOODWINS

Goodwin believed that the visuals and illustration of a music video should match up with the music and the beat. An example can be seen through Kendrick Lamar's video, 'Alright' where the beat is synchronized with the jump cuts or transitional shots in the video.

THEORYSomebody That I Used To Know- Gotye

He starts out clean (naked, vulnerable), but as his anger and bitterness grows, the lines start to appear, first around him and then on him. The paint fills in to cover him up, and he wears his unhappiness like fitted clothing. The sharp angles and different colors blend him into the wall so that he himself becomes hard to distinguish from the world around him. He is losing himself to the break up.

As the music video starts, the song and the beat are fast paced. The guitar is introduced- and there is male vocals- sombre.

The dull colour of the wall behind Gotye and ugly, dull, dark colours being used to then colour in the wall shows that nothing in his life is colourful anymore now that she's left him and treated her in a way he never thought he would be treated.

The fact that he is not looking at the camera but at the same time looking down indicates how he is reflecting on what happened during his relationship.

When he says "you" he stares at the camera which involves the audience as if they were guility for his heartbreak.

The instrumental bit after this first verse goes away from the main focus (Gotye) and starts to "draw lines" on the wall behind him. It then slowly draws the lines on him and colours in the wall and him, which shows he is now part of the wall because he has been "cut off" and "he was nothing" and "walls" don't really get noticd by people a lot.

While the walls were being coloured in, Gotye started to sing again in a low and sad voice while not a lot of facial expression, he was looking straight in the beginning of the verse and towards the end too which showed his confident side beacuse he is admitting and stating and then in the middle he was looking down at the camera which also indicated that he is reflecting on his relationship and past.

Then she comes in. She starts already dissected by the paint, but as she acknowledges her pain, the paint disappears. For her, she lost herself during the course of the relationship (“Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over/but had me believing it was always something that I’d done”). Her resolution to stop living in guilt for things that he had done releases her. She sheds a single, barely visible tear before the paint begins to go.

Both he and she appear naked in the video. For him, this nakedness symbolizes his lingering vulnerability to her. As he progresses through his emotions, he comes to the conclusion that she is just somebody that he used to know, and he becomes closed to her. In deciding this, he also rejects something that is essentially him. He lets himself be lost to his anger. He begins clean and ends broken and covered.

She begins covered and ends naked. When the paint starts to disappear from her body, her negative attachment to him also disappears. The way he treated her (“I told myself that you were right for me/but felt so lonely in your company”) caused her to lose her vulnerability, and without him, she has the chance to start again.

The sheer expressiveness of Gotye’s face, which strongly amplifies the emotion in both his lyrics and in his singing voice gives emphasis to the meaning behind the lyrics.

There is layering becuas ehe is singing the chorus while she is harmonising which is showing that he is ignoring whatever she has said about him and is goign start pointing out all of her flaws again. The fact that he is closing his eyes as well shows how hard he is trying to ignore her.

The last shot shows Kimbra turning back into her normal self instead of being the "wall". What the colours disappearing from her might indicate is that she has moved on. He is still a wall because he is not forgetting what has happened.

All of this could have been done in a single shot (leaving aside the fact that stop-motion animation is actually multiple shots; the video could have given the appearance of a seamless, single shot)

indie. alternative

It features tasteful nudity, body painting, sonic arguing, and displays both Gotye and Kimbra for our eyes to see what our ears already had. And Gotye’s literal mouth is a sight to behold, up there in the pantheon of legendary singers’ mouths like Mick Jagger and Steven Tyler.

A mixture of real image with some elements of stop-motion animation that presents a naked man, singing and merging with the stage through geometric shapes, shortly after a girl enters the shot, also fused with the background, who after a verbal duel separates and frees herself from her bonds, ending up naked.

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'Fix You' is a performance based music video which is performed by Coldplay. The lyrics reflect the slight mundanity and depression displayed in the video. The shots are of medium close up on Chris Martins face and the setting behind him is very dark with a light occasionally flashing over his left and right shoulder. The slow paced start reflects how he is trying to capture a connection with the audience as the message is being adressed thorugh Chris actions. As the song and dramatic state f the video narrative peaks, and the tempo gets faster, the camera movements become faster and more stimulating such as the fast rotation movement in the part before Chris Martin starts running down the tunnel, the drastic camera tilts during the fan concert scene. The majority of the scenes are filmed on a dolly to create a tracking shot effect which causes an effect and makes the audience feel like they are walking and following him. Giving a sense of companionship.

The first lines set the mood, pace and context to the song. It describes a situation where you are pretty much lost-not being able to move forward or back. Even your best is not good/strong enough to get you through this mess. That is when you need the aid of someone else. You feel as if your whole life has taken a turn for the worse and you constantly withdraw yourself from everything…

In the music video 'fix you' follows the genre of the indie rock song as it displays many aspects of it that people can associate with a slow moving indie rock song.

The initial shot was an establishing shot of an undercarriage and then Chris begins to walk towards the camera in slow motion. The slow motion editing technique over exaggerates the sadness of the song, even though it does have a positive outcome.

Looking at the video in paticular, I can see that it is performance type video and it is also slightly narrative. I think that the use of so many lights is to reflect the lyrics of the song clearly. These are either close ups of Chris Martin performing the song with the focus on his mouth and the words, or establishing shots which show Chris Martin and the city of London. The establishing shots are to focus on the scenery and also places emphasis on the lights.

The tracking shot of him walking to his concert means that a wide target audience should be able to relate to the music video. The majority of the lighting is low key and this therefore adds to the subdued mood of the video. The song is about someone being heartbroken and then another person coming along and 'fixing' their heart. As the song develops and the setting changes from urban to a live stage, there are numerous long shots of the musicians performing and playing their different instruments and this is to show off their talents to the audience, so they know that they aren't a fabricated band who aren't actually musicians.

In the competitive music industry it is difficult to prove that a band is original and hasn't been adapted to fit a specification. Therefore by performing their song, Coldplay are proving that they deserve their space in the music industry. There are also close ups of the artists performing their songs and this exaggerates the emotion, which the artist is feeling and this is then reciprocated to the audience and they then understand how much the song means to the aritst. Regardless of the slow paced editing, there is still an element of fast paced editing from 1:30 - 1:37 and it cuts from a Long shot of Chris, to a mid shot, to a close up, to a mid shot, then a close up and then a long shot. The montage of different cuts allows the audience to see the emotion, body language, as well as the setting, all in a close proximity. This is very effective against the remainder of the slow paced editing.

There are also cross cuts of Chris playing with fire and this amplifies the meaning between the song and the video. It links to the 'fixing you' as though he's playing with fire because fixing someone can go one of two ways; positively or negatively. Playing with fire generally always ends in disaster and therefore in this sense it shows that fixing someone involves taking a risk.

On the other hand, after 2:40 minutes, the cuts turn for slow paced to fast paced and this amplifies the song because the tempo speeds up, and coincidingly so do the cuts. The change from slow paced to fast paced has a separate meaning from just the increased tempo. It also suggests that when someone begins fixing you they are unresponsive and everything is quite dull, but once you begin to open up, it all becomes a bit brighter and happier and the mood of the song reflects this.

The whole song is natural lighting, however the natural lighting is low key and this reflects the indie/pop genre which the song fits. Many indie/pop songs are shot in natural lighting to suggest that it isn't about the music video, but it is mainly about the message, which is being portrayed and the musicians involved. They are not so much about telling a story, but letting the song tell its own story.

The bridge reaches the climax with all the instruments played and all 4 of the members singing together in harmony.

The first six seconds of the music video is silent and this adds enigma and mystery to the music video because the audience doesn't know what is going to happen. Even though a typical audience thrives on mystery, it is unusual for an indie/pop music video to do this, it is typically a convention of a thriller film opening. However, the lack of sound at the beginning could be for the audience to reflect on what they think may happen in the music video and what the song may be about and how it may relate to them as a viewer. Finally, all of the musicians and singers wear black and have no fancy hairstyles or make up on and this seems to be a typical convention throughout all indie/pop music videos.

The song is a pop ballad song and features acoustic instruments. Two versions of music video were released. one was a promotional video which was directed by a friend of hers here she is in a white and dark apartment. The second version was the commercial released version, which received positive reception from music critic.

Goodwin's theory states that each genre has particular characteristics that define its genre. Katy Perry's "thinking of you" is pop genre and there are a number of factors which contribute to creating a pop music video.

A key convection of pop videos is a performance element in the music video, meaning the video is usually either performance- based or, if concept or narrative based, include the artist performing throughout. The "Thinking of you" music video is narrative-based and although Katy Perry is playing a character, clips of her performing the song are interspersed throughout the video, having adopted Goodwin's theory about videos demonstrating genre characteristics.

Another common convection of a pop music video is using fade in and out effects, and quick cuts when editing, such as in "That Girl", Mcfly. "Thinking of you" begins with a fade in to the first image, an abstract shot of the female character's shoes. There are many jumps cuts throughout the music video and some match cuts. As the video draws to a close the screen fades out again, following the convention of using fade effects found in pop music videos.

Neutral color schemes are also popular in pop music videos, and "Thinking of You" follows through. Set in the 1940's, a decade of pastels and neutrals in terms of fashion, the misé en scene was very subdued and natural. The costumes include dulled shades such as black and brown (in the funeral shots, and in the men's clothing), but re brightened in the flashbacks with the use of pastels and floral lead wears, signifying that was a happier time.

The setting is picturesque and natural, and the house and outdoors were neutral in colour. The black -and-white effect on the combat shots also remained within the neutral colour scheme.

The relationship between the lyrics nd the visuals

Its narrative-based, presenting the storytelling described in the lyrics. The lyrics describe a coule torn apart by war, showing the female lead attempting to move on with a new lover but not feeling complete: "Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you". The story goes on, citing how the female regretted letting the soldier go and ending with wishing he'd come back and tke her away: "oh won't you walk through and bust in the door and take me away".

The lyric are reflected in the visuals of the music video, as the clip tells the story of ayoung cople now separated by war. The video features past and present insight into the female's life, showing her failing attempt at a new relationship and attending of the soldiers funeral. interspersed with flashbacks of the couple before either war, going on date such as swimming, picnics and dancing. There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as the video illustrates the lyrics, showcasing the story:

Panning shot of the female character¡s new lover while the line "I guess second best is all i will know" is tang. referring to the fact that she will have to settle for someone who won't every really replace her past lover.

As the artist sings "I am thinking of you", the footage cuts to a flashback clip of the couple, symbolizing whom she's thinking of.

There is relationship between the music and the visuals

There is a strong relationship between the music and the visuals in the "Thinking of you" shown through the order and timing of the cuts according to the beat of the track. The cuts are smooth and run evenly, without becoming jumpy or unnatural, and guided by the outlining, consistent beat of the song.

There are a range of close-ups of the artist singing the song, showing the relationship between the music and the visual. This established Katy Perry as the artist but also establishes both her roles as the female lead separated from her lover by war, and the singer of the track. This work to promote Perry as multi-talented: both a singer and an actress, and fans respond to this showcasing of artist¡s abilities.

The demands of the record label will include the need for close-up of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (e.g. A visual style)

There are many close-ups of the artist performing the song throughout "Thinking of you". This brings the audience closer to the artist and establishes the artist role in the music video. Close-ups are also send not only to show emotions, but to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the lips of the artist.

Katy Perry doesn't seem to have a particular motif or style when singing, but their is emphasis on her lips in extreme close-ups, and there is usually some activity happening when she is singing e.g. Putting on lipstick, looking out the window, etc. She doesn't directly look into the lens either, possibly intending a natural look, which could be categorized as a visual style as well.

In this music video there are frequent references to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc.) and particular voyeuristic (sexual) treatment of the female body"

Within the music video, there are frequent notions of looking made by the "new lover" character within the music video, encouraging the audience to indulge in similar behaviour. The character looks and watches the artist in a very predatory and sensual way, and this sexualises the artist and makes her seem more appealing to the viewers.

The misé en scene, regarding costume, is very scant, with Katy Perry's outfits in the present, aside from in the last funeral shots, consisting of 1940's underwear including garter belt and hold- ups, and a sheer dressing gown. This could be technique used to portray Perry as sexually desirable, which would popularize her as an artist for male viewers in particular, but perhaps also as elegant and classy.

Although in a very risqué costume, the camera is voyeuristic o a modern level, with the focal points of its close-ups being Perry's lips and eyes, rather than her breasts, legs and bottom. This could be due to the tragic and emotional nature of the track and the music video needs to mirror that in its approach, and so despite Perry's near-base appearance, the filming technique and style creates an impression of elegance and attractive but not promiscuous.

The reference to looking and sexualised costume and camerawork do appeal to audiences and work to further popularize the video. The artist is marketed as being attractive and appealing and so are naturally easier to watch on film and more pleasing to listen to, like and follow. Such as yt.

There are often intertextual references such as the reference as the soldier goes off to war and leaves behind a girlfriends or wife as a popular plot in media. "Dear John" is a key example of young love. The reference in the music video could have been a deliberate choice by the producers to appeal the video to Katy Perry's fan base. It is a romance film starring heartthrob Channing Tatum, and targeted at teenage and young-adult females, popularizing the music video.