Music video analysis

Music video analysis from RebeccaTurner1998

Album mood board

Most pop albums include a picture of the artist/band on the cover. There are only some that don't fit this pattern. Such as:

 I like these covers so I will take them into account when making my digipak. I will try both idea when making a digipak, a cover with the artist and one without.

Digipak and magazine advert analysis

Digipak and magazine advert analysis from RebeccaTurner18

Music video inspiration

James Blunt music videos

1973

This music video is a very similar style to what I want my video to look like. It uses different colours/filters to show the past and the present within the video. The shots in brighter colours are shots of the past and the dull coloured shots show the present. This video is continuous, showing James Blunt walking along the path the whole way through. My music video will include a variety of locations and will use black and white and slightly blurred shots to show the 'memory' shots and everything else will be in colour to show its the present.

Stay the night

I think this video has some features I want to include in my own video. The use of manual focus is used very well and I would like to use this in my own video. I also like the use of blurry shots as it doesn't make it look unprofessional and badly filmed but adds to the video and makes it interesting to watch.

Song lyrics

Loving can hurt

Loving can hurt sometimes

But it's the only thing that I know

When it gets hard

You know it can get hard sometimes

It is the only thing that makes us feel alive

We keep this love in a photograph

We made these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing

Hearts are never broken

Times forever frozen still

So you can keep me

Inside the pocket

Of your ripped jeans

Holdin' me closer

'Til our eyes meet

You won't ever be alone

Wait for me to come home

 

Loving can heal

Loving can mend your soul

And it's the only thing that I know (know)

I swear it will get easier

Remember that with every piece of ya

And it's the only thing we take with us when we die

We keep this love in this photograph

We made these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing

Our hearts were never broken

Times forever frozen still

 

So you can keep me

Inside the pocket

Of your ripped jeans

Holdin' me closer

'Til our eyes meet

You won't ever be alone

 

And if you hurt me

That's OK, baby, only words bleed

Inside these pages you just hold me

And I won't ever let you go

 

Wait for me to come home (4x)

Oh you can fit me

Inside the necklace you got when you were 16

Next to your heartbeat

Where I should be

Keep it deep within your soul

And if you hurt me

Well, that's OK, baby, only words bleed

Inside these pages you just hold me

And I won't ever let you go

 

When I'm away

I will remember how you kissed me

Under the lamppost

Back on 6th street

Hearing you whisper through the phone,

"Wait for me to come home."

Audience profile

Gender: Female

Age: 14-24
 

Hobbies and activities: Going to the cinema, going shopping and watching TV

 

Likes: Music, films, people and celebrities, fashion and magazines

 

Brands: Primark, Nintendo, Forever 21, New Look

 

Favourite artists: Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Taylor Swift, George Ezra, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5 and Olly Murs

 

25 word pitch feedback

 

Most people seem to like my idea for the music video and think the artist, location and song work well together. They have suggested that I think about my target market. I have used Yougov and UKtribes to create an audience profile to address this issue.

Music video ideas

Performance based
Shots of artist performing song

Narrative based
Narrative showing love story between artist and love interest

Abstract
Dance routine/ shots of dancer

 

Mixture of performance and narrative
Shots of artist performing song and shots of artist and love interest
E.g. Taylor Swift- Blank space, Olly Murs- Troublemaker, Christina Perri- The Words, Ellie Goulding- Your Song

Performing song

Taking part in narrative

Examples of other texts

Ellie Goulding - Your Song

This video uses vintage style shots throughout to show the difference between the artist performing and the narrative. I will try to incorporate this idea into my music video as I want both shots of the artist performing and the narrative and I want them to be clearly different.

 

Scouting for girls - Millionaire

 





This music video is narrative based but also has shots of the band performing throughout. I want to use this structure for my music video as the song I have chosen has a story within it but it is not enough to make a whole video out of so I will include shots of my artist performing.

 

Christina Perri - The Words

 

 I like the way this music video incorporates the performance into the narrative. Most music videos have the performance and narrative separate.

Music video analysis

Artist: Ed Sheeran
Song: Thinking Out Loud



1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
This music video is performance based as there is a dance routine. However unlike other pop music videos this is a pair dance routine performed by the artist Ed Sheeran not a group dance with lots of backing dancers. Ed and his partner are the only people shown in the music video and there are not shots of his performing the song. the performance element is common in pop music videos however videos usually include shots of the artist singing. The colours are pale and neutral, these colours are often used in love songs such as this whereas more upbeat songs will have a brighter colour scheme.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
The dance routine does not seem related to the lyrics for most of the song however at 0:45, 1:38 and 4:16 the lyrics are "place you hand on my beating heart" or refer to the heart and the female dancer places her hand on Ed's chest. Apart from this the rest of the dance doesn't seem related to the lyrics.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
This music video is amplifying as the dance in the video fits the music and cuts throughout the video match the beat of the song.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
This music video does include close up of the artist however usually these close ups would be of the artist singing whereas in this video the are of the artist doing the dance routine. These close ups show that it is the artist doing the dance instead of performing the song.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
In this music video Ed and his partner do not look at the camera at all, they look at each other for most of the dance and there is no interaction with the camera. The female dancer is wearing a thin dress which could be used to draw in a male audience.

6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)
Ed Sheeran doesn't have any motifs but he does appear in most of his music videos, either singing/performing or as part of the narrative.

7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc)
Similar setup to Strictly Come Dancing (celebrity and professional dancer in ballroom)

Artist: Scouting for girls

Song: Love How It Hurts

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

This music video is narrative based with no shots of the artists performing the song. Most pop videos have shots of the artist performing during the video however this is purely narrative based as it tells a story that matches the lyrics.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
The narrative within this video matches with the lyrics e.g. "fix all the bits that you wrecked" shows the boy destroying the tape the main character gave the girl. "for you I'd run to the ends of the earth" shows the main character running along the street. "I couldn't keep you" shows the boy appearing and approaching the main character and the girl.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
Cuts within the music video match the timing of the song.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
This video has no close ups of the artists as they are not included in the video however this is similar to their video for their song "Millionaire" which is also a narrative based video, however it also includes shots of the artists. 

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
This video does use looking as the main character and the girl are show looking into the camera as if they were looking at each other at different points during the video e.g. 1:28, 1:43, 2:11, 2:14 and 2:22. The girl in this video first appears quite young so is wearing a skirt, top and cardigan and later in the video when she is older she wears the same outfit.

6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)
This is similar to their video for "Millionaire" which is also based around a narrative. This includes kids as the main part of the narrative similar to this video.

7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).
Similar to music video for "Millionaire".

Artist: Ellie Goulding
Song: Your Song



1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

This is a performance based music video with shots of the artist singing and also with two others, a male and female. There is no real narrative within the music video. The video seems to be low quality at some points giving it a vintage feel and maybe showing that some bits are from the past as when Ellie is singing the quality is much better. The colour scheme for this is natural and faded colours with red as a stand out colour e.g. Ellie wears a red hat for most of the narrative shots which shows she is the main focus of the video.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
In this music video there are shots of the artist singing throughout the video however most of the shots are of her interacting with the male and female as part of the narrative.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
There are shots of the male in the video playing the piano along to the music and the cuts throughout the video match the timing of the song.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
There are lots of close ups of the artist, mainly when she is singing and most of the shots in the video show Ellie singing or interacting with the other two people or her surroundings.

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
There are lots of close ups where she looks into the camera mainly when she is performing the song however the video is set in autumn and Ellie is wearing layers. This is different from other pop music videos as often the artist will be wearing very little

6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)
Like Ed, Ellie does not have any motifs but she does perform in most of her music videos, both singing and as part of the narrative.

7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

Music videos

1. Thinking out loud- Ed Sheeran
I like this music video because it is simple. For most of the video there is only one set and two dancers. Different camera angle/shots are used to capture them.
2. Burn- Ellie Goulding
I like the use of light flares in this video and the variety of camera shots used.
3. Pack up- Eliza Doolittle
I like the setting for this video.
4. Pompeii - Bastille
Similar to pack up I like the setting of the video and the camera shots used throughout the video.
5. Love how it hurts- Scouting for girls
I like the story told in this video and the camera angles used.
6. Fireflies- Owl city
I like the use of lights in this video. I also like the mise en scene of the room and the use of old toys.
7. Feeling good- Michael buble
I like how this video is styled to look like a James bond film.
8. 5 years time- Noah and the whale
I like that this music video seems quite scripted but it is still funny. I like the styling e.g. band members match.
9. You make it real- James Morrison
I like the variety of sets used for this video.
10. 1973- James Blunt
I like the contrast in colours that show different times. I also like how the editing eases one shot into the next as though it is one continuous shot.