Tuesday, 24 September 2013

ANALYSIS OF MUSIC VIDEOS


Kate Nash - Under Estimate The Girl

Cinematography:In this music video Kate Nash has diverted from her use usual indie pop genre and the conventions she normally sticks to, following her narrative and everything being wonderful, to a state of rebellion in which she introduces her new indie rock music and follows the indie rock conventions. Indie Rock conventions consist of close up shots on their instruments and close ups of the band or artist themselves singing parts of their song and 'rocking out' to their song, which is what Kate Nash is seen to be demonstrating in this music video. The use of cinematography within the music video consists of mainly close up shots of Kate Nash allowing the audience to recognize her facial expressions and close details of the hidden media language and ideology. 
Mise-en-scene: Kate Nash herself dressed in three different outfits with two being the most viewed, a light pink jumper with matching lipstick, natural make up and pearl earring, this could connote herself in the indie pop genre following the ideology of everything being wonderful and pretty. However the next outfit we see her in is a red jumper with matching lipstick, vibrant makeup and hooped earrings this could connote the other side to Kate Nash, 'the rebellion' inside her. The mise-en-scene present, for example the colour red, could support the ideology of rebellion which follows the indie rock genre, as red could connote danger reflecting both the danger it could have to her career by taking a different direction and the danger of her rebelling. Kate Nash also wears a bindi throughout her video which can also be seen as a rebellion as she is wearing it for fashion rather than for religion purpose, this could maybe cause offence to some viewers yet she could also be admired by some fans. In addition to this she wears a third outfit which consists of a black and white striped top reflecting the fact she is demonstrating indie rock and is fitting in with convention and the genre by dressing like a 'rebel'. Black and white can connote someone who has been convicted of a crime and has to serve their time in a prison cell, this itself is rebelling against the law and reflect the ideology of indie rock - rebellion. This idea can reflect Levi Strauss' idea of binary opposites, with good vs evil, within the music video we see the clear distinguished good, with the pretty pink Kate Nash and the evil rebellion, which is the Kate Nash appearing in red and black and white.
Narrative & Editing:Levi Strauss says that because us as an audience have an understanding of binary opposites, we have the ability to understand a narrative before we have even been shown it. The straight cut edits show the clear difference in personalities being shown through the mise-en-scene and also reinforce the idea of binary opposites. As the music video progresses it is clear that it has a performance narrative to it, in addition it is also seen to have a linear chronology. This could be interpreted as the 'good', 'pretty in pink', 'indie pop', Kate Nash showing that she understands how things should run and that in fact they may make sense that way, however as she is still performing the lyrics she is reinforcing the fact that she knows exactly what she is doing and is challenging her audience from both the 'indie pop' and 'indie rock' genre when she goes on to sing 'Go on underestimate me'.
The text itself appeals to the audience as it has fast pace editing and is unusual in the way it jump cuts from different personalities being shown as the music itself is quite relaxed, however Kate Nash implies that the rest of the song may not be so steady through her lyrics - "everybody play, play it so safe, no one wanna mess, mess with the rules." These are the first lyrics we are introduced too and they immediately suggest rebellion within them setting the ideology of the music video.
Genre

Always where I need to be - The Kooks


Mise-en-scene: The Kooks are an indie rock band who follow conventions of their genre by dressing accordingly and demonstrating the conventions through mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing. Conventions of indie rock involve close ups of the band and their instruments along with dark lighting and clothing of a casual nature and messy hair. The clothing worn by The kooks often consists of polo shirts or tees and skinny jeans this follows the conventions of indie rock in terms of mise-en-scene and reflects the casual nature of the band, by dressing this way it also helps the audience make assumptions as to what genre they belong to. 
Cinematography & editing: The shots in the video are not always in focus or an a straight angle, they are frequent medium close up shots which represents the rebellious nature of indie rock by reflecting that not everything has to be 'perfect' for it to be effective and have a fan base. The editing in the music video is very sharp and choppy at certain points with straight cut edits and backwards zooms this could reflect the busy, hectic life style in which The Kooks lead. The editing within the music video is very fast pace in order for the shots to link effectively and keep up with the narrative.
Narrative & Setting:Silhouettes of the band and their instruments are shown at several times in the video, this is conventional of the indie rock genre and allows the band to show off by playing the instruments. This is so us as an audience can see the talent of the band individually and not just the main singer. Many parts of the video are in black and white which shows a clear contrast between the dark and the light which could represent the highs and the lows of the bands career. There is no real story or plot to the music video and consists of solely The Kooks together as a group in several different locations either having a laugh together or playing as a band while Luke Pritchard, the main singer, performs sections the song. These locations differ from roof tops, a beach, a bridge, a park and an arcade. These are many locations that the public have access to and are not considered high rated locations, showing that The Kooks are just 'normal' lads behind their celebrity status. However as the music video develops the band are seen to perform to a certain extent yet are also seen laughing and joking and acting the fool, this reflects the fact that as artists they have to produce and perform music yet also as indie rock artist they have fun whilst doing so. This appeals to the audience as they get an idea of what the band are like together connoting, the fact that despite being a famous band they also know how have a good time just like anyone else.
Theorist link: At the beginning of the song The Kooks are seen to be walking across a zebra crossing, which is recognised famously as a trait of The Beatles. This could be connoted as The Kooks comparing themselves to The Beatles, supporting Michael Shores theory that music videos are recycled styles. This iconic motif used connotes that, because The Beatles were so famous, powerful and so good at what they did, The Kooks are showing that they aspire to be like them and be as good as them. So by using the zebra crossing in the video shows that they want to be like The Beatles and that they can be and are as good as them.


R U Mine? - Arctic Monkeys




Theorist link: Arctic Monkeys are a very successful indie rock band who have recently released their latest album ‘AM’. They, like many other indie rock bands follow conventions of indie rock yet change them slightly to give a representation of a rebellious ideology. The black and white contrast appears in several indie rock music videos and is present in ‘R U Mine’  as it gives the idea of Levi Stauss' theory of binary opposites. Levi Strauss states that because of our understanding of binary opposites we can understand a narrative before it has even begun however because there is no real 'good vs evil' in the narrative this alone represent the idea of rebellion against the theory. Shadows are also conventional in the indie rock genre and with the black and white effect this allows the video to stick to the conventions.
Mise-en-scene: The mise-en-scene consists of them wearing sunglasses in side a car on a night which  goes against the 'norm' of wearing sunglasses outside when the sun is either low or bright which again reinforces the rebellion aspect. Tattoo's and piercings are also made visible in the music video which fits in with in the indie rock genre and also expresses the ideology, values and beliefs, about the band and the institution behind them - Domino Records. That is that they are, as individuals, their own person and what they choose to represent by the way they dress and how they approach the indie rock genre conventions is solely their own choice.Within the music video they are also seen to air drum throughout as the narrative develops, also involving the man who is seen to be driving, this shows how little attention he is paying to the road and his priorities lie. Drum sticks also seem to evolve into the narrative linking to the conventions of instruments appearing in indie rock music videos and this seems to be the only reference to music instruments until the end of the video when Arctic Monkeys are seen to be performing with their instruments in a car park.
Cinematography & editing: The camera used to film the music video is a hand held camera, an aspect which is not normally used in music video media products. As the narrative develops the edits seem to flow by the hand held camera moving around both the car and the car park and is held the majority of the time by Alex Turner, because of this there are a lot of medium close ups and close up shots of of himself performing parts of the song, this gives the audience an idea that he is very self centred. The camera is also pushed into people faces by Alex Turner and then pushed away by the person which is also an idea of rebellion and not wanting to be in the public eye. There is no clear editing in this music video as it all runs very smoothly, apposed to the normal fast past straight cuts in Indie Rock music videos.
Narrative:This music video appeals to the audience as it is not very serious in narrative and involves the people within it acting the fool, this makes it a light hearted video, easy to follow and intrigues the audience as to what will happen next.

No comments:

Post a Comment