Similar Media Texts (Music Videos)

Here are some examples of various music videos, each with a different way of selling itself to the audience.


Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead

Here is a link to the music video 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place' by Radiohead : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoLJJRIWCLU

An overview of the video : The video is shot in black and white and is always shot in a mid shot. This is due to the positioning of the cameras. It becomes apparent that each member of the band is wearing a helmet, to which is attached a rod. At the end of this rod is the camera of which is filming the video. This means that whenever the band member moves his head, the camera will move with it - keeping the head and face as the central figure as the background swivels and moves around. This creates a strange effect for the audience, almost distorting what they believe. This video falls safely into the illustrative category as it is only a performance video.
This video is completely different to any other that I have seen as it is innovative and uses a completely different idea to other, standard music videos. Due to this fact, it has improved the video hugely and it has become a very good video. It may take the audience a while to understand what is happening however the effect lasts throughout the whole video and therefore there is a level of repetition and continuity surrounding the video. Yes, this could become boring for the audience however I believe that because of the sheer novelty of the video that the audience will keep a firm interest into the video and will therefore watch it all the way through.

Star Guitar - Chemical Brothers

Here is the link to the music video 'Star Guitar' by Chemical Brothers : http://www.muzu.tv/thechemicalbrothers/star-guitar-music-video/145111?country=gb

An overview of the video : This video is filmed entirely from the perspective of a train passenger looking outside the window. At first glance, it would seem that there is nothing too special about this train journey, however the scenery is totally dependent of the beat and part of the song. The music is on a loop and therefore the scenery also turns into a loop, repeating every time the looped beat starts again. This video falls within the amplification category as the video only relates to the beat, not to the lyrics or song style.

The whole video is shot in a long shot out of the window. Because this video does not have any narrative properties, there is no three act structure. As the beat kicks in with the 'clapping' sound, we see scenes that we are used to seeing whilst looking out of the train. As the beat gradually develops, we see more and more objects that are associated with trains and train stations. The scenery changes every 10-15 seconds so that the audience do not get too bored with the same scene. This gives a level of repeatability however not too much so as to keep the audience's attention. With the different layers of the song comes different objects. The main beat / rhythm represents what we see in the background (i.e. trees, power plants, blue sky etc.), whereas the clapping sounds and other synth sounds represent what we see in the foreground (houses, lights, fences, bollards etc.).

As more layers are added, we see more and more objects going past the window, for example trucks and bridges. As the song carries on, we see the video change from day to night for a few seconds. The effect to do this seemingly merges the two times together effortlessly and therefore this change will give the audience a new viewpoint and might get them interested in the video again. As the song bridges (changes rhythm), we pass a train station which, again, repeats along with the beat of the song at the same. The song becomes slower, and the movement of the train becomes lethargic along with the song, again tying in with the music.

As the song rebuilds and gradually gets faster, the train begins to move quicker and quicker until we see the open background and blue skies that appeared earlier on in the video. As the video builds up into the finale, more and more layers are added, meaning that there are more and more objects to consider, until at the end of the song the train goes past a derelict train station.

This video has been very cleverly constructed and a lot of thought has clearly been put into it. The video slots into the amplified category as it is clearly very creative. The video ties in superbly with the beat and rhythm which I believe is key to this video. There are no obvious connotations in place, however it is clear that the director had a clear vision and he has expertly evolved this into the video we have seen.

Around The World - Daft Punk

Here is the link to the music video 'Around The World' by Daft Punk : http://www.muzu.tv/daftpunk/around-the-world-music-video/178008?country=gb

An overview of the video : This video is set in one room with many people inside. These people have been assigned into different groups, each group wearing a different outfit or costume (swimmers, frankensteins, mummies, cyborgs and skeletons). In turn they each do a different dance routine which keeps in time with the rhythm and beat of the song, much like it did to Star Guitar by Chemical Brothers. This makes the video fall into, again, the amplification category as the beat and rhythm help choreograph the dance routines.

As with the video to Star Guitar, as more and more layers are placed on top of each other then the more characters become involved, for example the song begins with only a couple of layers, and this is shown by only the swimmers and the frankensteins doing their separate routines. As the funky guitar comes in the camera and lighting focuses on the skeletons dancing, now highlighted in a dark blue light - often associated with graveyards and therefore the mise-en-scene is upheld. As the lyrics are added, we see to the right the cyborgs starting their routine, so at this point we have 4 layers and 4 different routines. At this point the mummies leap up and start their routine as the beat has reached it's peak.

A new beat is added and we are now focused on the mummies doing a new routine for a new rhythm. It would seem that each of the 5 different characters each have their shot at the glory, each with their own choreographed 'solo' as it were, where the camera focuses mainly on them for a certain period of time. As the song reaches the bridge, the lighting becomes much duller and the choreography more restrained as though it is building up to the finale - as most songs do. When the song seemingly reaches the finale, each character is doing the same routine until the song fades out, along with it the lights thus reaching the end.

Overall this video is a good video as it has brought in at least 5 different levels of choreography. The set that the characters dance on has been well designed to fit in with the song (circular so as the people walk around they are walking 'Around The World'). There is a clever use of levels to keep the audience interested and also to show that nobody is hiding and everyone is in view. The lighting in the background varies, with it being a calming bluey purple when there are no lyrics and bursting into a bright orange when the lyrics kick in. This video falls safely into the amplified category as there is no real narrative, nor a live performance however there is a direct link between the choreography and the beat of the song.

Hard To Explain - The Strokes

Here is the link to the music video 'Hard To Explain' by The Strokes : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfDTkxV-X2w

An overview of the video : This video seems very strange. It starts off with various clips of cars and racing, then it starts showing other seemingly random clips. Just after a minute in we see the band performing for roughly 20 seconds, then we set off into another barrage of clips. These clips seem to have no connection to the song, lyrics, beat or rhythm therefore it can only be placed in the disjuncture genre of music video. Obviously due to the small segment of 'live' performance, it also has a place in the illustrative genre however in the most part the video is a random montage of clips which have been placed together. Just after 3 minutes in, we again see the band practising and rehearsing, and we even see the lead singer lip syncing out of time, thus giving a greater impression of randomness. Towards the end of the video we see some of the clips being repeated and also at a slightly faster speed until, at the very end of the song, the name of the song title comes up.
This video is completely different to any other video that I have analysed thus far. It is the first time that we have seen a disjunctive video which further creates the belief that these types of video are very rare. The sheer random elements to the video cause it to be slightly immature in a sense, and therefore people may be put off the video. Some people, however, might frind the random elements interesting and may stay tuned in to see what image or pictures come up next, or whether they are even relevant to the song in any way. As it happens, nothing relevant comes up until right at the end when the name of the song is displayed in 1980s disco font with swirling colours in the background. This is a good finish to the video as it displays the song name (something that has eluded the other songs) and it also finishes with a bang (well, colours that leap off the screen).
This video is a strange one, as it seems as though it could have been made much better. The random imagery used and occasionally repeated gives the impression that the producer ran out of ideas half way through and therefore this video, for me, lacks any real edge.

Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt - We Are Scientists

Here is the link to the music video 'Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt' by We Are Scientists : http://www.muzu.tv/wearescientists/nobody-move-nobody-get-hurt-music-video/174822?country=gb


An overview of the video : The video starts off with the band playing in sync with the music, when suddenly they flee, looking panicked. A person in a bear costume jumps through the window and from here ensues a chase for the rest of the video until, eventually, the band escape in a passing car, leaving the bear behind. This video coincides with both the narrative and live performance music video, however the majority of the video is indeed the narrative.


The video begins with a close-up of the guitarist playing the opening riff to the song. At this point of the song only the guitar is playing, until the drums kick in - this is when the camera shifts focus to the drummer. Again, the bass kicks in and this is when the camera switches to the bassist of the band. The camera scenes are short and erratic for the most part as this fits in with the pace and tempo of the song. This is building up Act 1 of the three act structure, which finally completes when the three members of the band flee the building and the person in the bear costume jumps through the window.


Act 2 begins when the band members gather around the car and are seen to be in mid conversation, presumably formulating a plan. As they run away, the camera scenes are still erratic and jumpy, changing every few seconds. The cameraman is using a hand-held camera to give the shaking effect, occasionally straying out of focus to give the impression of a passer-by catching this on video. The scenes continue in the middle of the three act structure until the three band members stop in a dark room. The camera then uses a night-vision effect which enables us to see what is happening (the band looking petrified). As the bear appears in the room, we move swiftly into act 3.


Act 3 starts as the bridge of the music ends, with the band running out of the dark room into the street where they find the car. Again, the director has used a shaky camera style which barely stays with the same shot for more than a couple of seconds. As the car drives off, we see the bear attempting to hold on until, eventually, it lets go and shows it's frustration, thus ending act 3 and the video.


We do not know why the bear was chasing the band, nor why it was so hell-bent on exacting revenge. This moves the video into the amplification category as the beat and rhythm of the music tied in with the video, however the narrative was complicated and confusing. This contradicts what I said above, about narrative rarely being complex, however I believe that the band have made a mutual agreement to have the video such as this because some of the audience may find the video to have some comedic values and some may tune in more often to see whether or not they can understand what the video is about.


The musical synaesthesia to this song is that it fairly upbeat and high tempo, and this is certainly shown in the video. The camera shots are erratic, fast paced and shaky. The whole 'running away' idea again keeps up with the tempo. This video has clearly been well thought out and has been directed in such a manner that keeps the audience interested the whole way through. It has kept up with the small level of repeatability - for example running away is a key feature as the riff continues to be played.


Overall I feel that this is a clever video which keeps within the musical synaesthesia theory and also stays within the three main genres of music videos. The codes and conventions have been adhered and the narrative is strange yet immersing. I feel that this music video has been cleverly produced and therefore it deserves to get attention.

Conclusions
From these 5 videos that I have analysed it is apparent that the most common of the lot are the amplified and illustrative categories, however in the illustrative category there is the narrative sector (1 video) and the performance (1 video). Three of the videos included the band at some stage of the video. It appears that videos 'out of the ordinary' are the most popular, and these also seem to work the best (Star Guitar, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt), or at least from the 5 videos that I have analysed.
It is obvious that the majority of videos have some relevance to the song in some way, be it the beat, rhythm or lyrical message. There was only one video out of the 5 that had nothing to do with the song in any way, shape or form and therefore it is apparent that a 'disjunctive' video is not the way forward.