Music Video Analysis: Years & Years - Real

Performer and Record Label
Years and Years are a British electronica band who are based in London. They are signed to Polydor Records, a British label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. The fact that both the artist and the record label are British makes us think that the music video was probably filmed in the UK.

Narrative

'Real' is very much a narrative based music video, however it is accompanied by sections of performance throughout it. The music video focuses on a man who appears to be on a very unsuccessful date with a woman who is spending the entire night glued to her phone. This man makes a visit to the toilet in order to escape his date, when he is handed a playing card by a man in the bathroom. The rest of the music video focuses on the rest of the people in the bar who get up and dance once their card is drawn. The members of the band 'Years and Years' appear to be judging the dance performances, and it is when the band are shown in shots that the performance element of the music video comes into pay.

Mise en scene
The entirety of the music video takes place between two rooms: the bathroom and the rest of the bar. The bathroom is very well lit, using quite yellow light which is very stereotypical of a public restroom. In stark comparison, the bar is very dark, using the occasional neon light to reinforce the idea of this being filmed in a bar or club. The music video was probably shot on location, however due to the heavy use of lighting throughout the music video, it could have also potentially been filmed in a studio, simply because the lighting is so specific, and may be difficult to achieve the right lighting on location.

Costume, Make Up and Props

One of the most prominent props throughout the music is the deck of playing cards that Olly, the front man of the band, is holding as he is also the person that gives the man on the date his playing card whilst in the bathroom. These cards are very important in the narrative of the music video, as it appears to be these cards that are causing people to get up and dance.
As far as costumes are concerned, most of the members of the music video, the band included, are just wearing very casual clothes such as jeans and a t-shirt. However there is one piece of costume that is slightly more important, and that is the jacket that the man's date is wearing. She takes it off before she goes up to dance, and once she puts it back on again, she is straight back to using her phone, so it makes it appear that as soon as she has her jacket on, she shuts out the world, whereas when she has it off, she loses her inhibitions.

Lighting and Colour
As addressed earlier, the shots that take place within the main section of the bar are very dark, using neon lighting to slightly lighten it, yet not making it too bright in order to maintain the feel of it being in a bar. A lot of reds, blues and greens have been used within the music video, mainly through the use of neon lighting. There is a particular use of red lighting in a room that all of the dancers seem to go in to once they have been sent off by the members of the band. I think the use of red lighting here makes it appear that the room they are going in to will take them back to the way they used to be: nervous, boring and unsociable.

Camera and Editing
Throughout the music video, there is a lot of different medium close ups and close ups that show all of the people that are in the bar. There are quick cuts that fit well with the pace of the song itself, and also the cuts tend to be quite close to the beat, which is a strong feature of the song. The camera is very mobile throughout the whole of the music video as it tends to follow the dancers as they move around the dance floor. When the woman with blonde hair is dancing, slow motion is used. It could be seen that this is used to focus on the fact that she has lost her inhibitions, and isn't afraid of dancing any more.

Music Video Analysis: Mikky Ekko - Smile

Performer and Record Label
Mikky Ekko is an American artist and record producer from Louisiana who is signed to RCA Records. RCA Records is an American flagship label of Sony Music Entertainment, being the second oldest record label in America. Due to the fact that both the artist and the record label is American, it reinforces the previous theory of the music video being set in America.

Narrative

‘Smile’ is very much a narrative based music video, although it is accompanied by sections of performance. The music video focuses on the narrative of a man and woman who are initially involved in a car accident at the beginning of the music video. It isn't made completely obvious that a car accident has happened until part way through the video, however the use of red and blue flashing lights connotes that an accident has happened, and therefore an ambulance is required. The music video follows what happens leading up to the car accident, however playing it in reverse, before playing it forwards again to see how things can be very different if we simply change something that we do.

Mise en scene
The music video appears to be set in America due to the weather, and also the car that has been used, as that make of car is typically found in America. Also, some of the shots that are used allow us to see a large amount of the surrounding location, which include some dusty hills, which are very reminiscent of quite southern America. It definitely appears that it was filmed on location as opposed to in a studio, as the locations that were used would be very difficult to recreate in a studio. Some of the indoor shots could have been done in a studio, as the lighting is very synthetic, showing that lights must have been used in the creation of the shot.

Costume, Make Up and Props
The performer in the video, who we can presume is the artist Mikky Ekko wears two different costumes throughout the video. Whilst he is part of the narrative, he is wearing a blue t-shirt and a hoodie. Whereas, when he is performing, he is wearing a white long sleeve t-shirt and jeans. I feel the use of two different costumes helps distinguish between the performer and the man in the narrative, and although they are the same person, the different costumes helps communicate his as two separate characters. The girl in the video is wearing a flower crown, a white floaty top and shorts. The use of this costume connotes quite warm weather, and also quite a hippy location, which reinforces the idea of the music video being set in America.
One of the main props in the video is a set of car keys. I close up shot of these being held in someone's hand is used several times throughout the video, which helps signify the importance of them. The importance of these keys is further emphasized by the narrative of the music video, as it centres around a car crash.

Lighting and Colour
The video has quite a bright tone to it, with a lot of whites, yellows and oranges being used, these colours probably being amped up in post production. These colours tend to connote quite warm weather, and this definitely conforms to how you stereotypically imagine it would be in America, particularly in the south. However, when the performer is in the other room that isn't part of the narrative, it is far darker, the main light coming from a spotlight. This reflects the fact that it isn't a part of telling the narrative.

Camera and Editing
The video opens with a variety of different shots, using quick cuts to transition between them. The use of the quick cuts helps portray panic, and when accompanied by what features in the shots, such as blood on the road, it is very clear to the audience that something bad has happened, and therefore there is a lot of panic.
A lot of the shots used throughout the music video are medium close ups, because although the camera is mainly focused on the characters, the background is in soft focus, yet still easily visible. It is from these shots that you are able to come to the conclusion that it is probably set in America.
Apart from the opening sequence of the music video, the pace of the video is quite slow to match the chilled atmosphere of the song. The pace of the video has been achieved by using quite slow cuts, which is a convention that matches the genre of indie pop.

Matching Sound to Visuals vs. Matching Lyrics to Visuals

When you initially listen to a piece of music, you don't necessarily notice the lyrics first: you first notice the sound of the song. When creating a music video for a song, it is important to make sure your visuals match the sound of the song, because if it doesn't match, it can be very confusing for the audience. For example, if you have people in a club dancing for the video of a heavy rock song, it won't match and therefore the audience will not be able to connect with the music video. However it could also be considered equally important to match the lyrics to the visuals, something which is occasionally overlooked when creating a music video. If there is very poignant lyrics in a song, it would make sense to somehow include this in the music video, as it would probably be something that the audience would also think when hearing the lyrics, therefore making the music video more enjoyable for them.  Some of the most memorable music videos are those that manage to balance both of these factors, or choose to incorporate the right one for the song they are creating a music video for.

Cocoon - Catfish and the Bottlemen

An example of when lyrics have been matched with the visuals is in the music video for 'Cocoon' by Catfish and the Bottlemen. The video is completely narrative, and the song itself revolves around the idea of a boy and a girl being unable to be together, which is perfectly represented in the music video. In the music video, which is set in a mental institution, a young male and female are prized apart by the workers in the house, and therefore are unable to be together, as they are 'cocooned' like the title insinuates. One of the lyrics says 'I cocoon/ Round your shoulders/ When you’re half cut/ And you’re frozen', which is clearly depicted due to the fact the young female doesn't talk, and is 'frozen' in her chair looking out the window, perhaps a side effect of the medication she is being given.

King - Years & Years

On the other hand, the music video to the song 'King' by Years & Years clearly matches the sound with the visuals, although it does also incorporate some of the lyrics within it's representation in the visuals. About two minutes into the music video, the lead singer Olly falls into water, surrounded by bubbles. The sound in the song matches this visual perfectly because at this point in the song, the bass and the drums are removed, leaving just the lyrics and the keyboard. This therefore makes the song sound reminiscent of the effect being underwater has on your hearing: making everything muffled and slightly echoed.

Throughout the video, the decision has also been made to match the lyrics to the visuals. At the point when Olly falls into the water, the lyrics repeatedly say 'Let go', which he is clearly doing by letting himself fall into the water, and just stay submerged. Also, one of the main lyrics from the chorus is 'I was a king under your control', and through the narrative of the music video, Olly can be seen being 'controlled' by a group of people all dressed in white, whom only he can see.



Animals - Maroon 5

Another example of matching lyrics to visuals can be seen in the music video for 'Animals' by Maroon 5. The song itself is about a man trying to get a woman to love him, but he refers to animal like natures with which he hopes to get the woman. The opening shot of the music video takes place in a butchers which clearly links to the animal theme throughout the music video. Also, latter shots take place in an abattoir, with one of the shots showing the lead singer Adam pretending to be a lump of meat by hanging from the bar in the abattoir. The story follows him stalking a young woman that has come into the butchers, and he appears to be quite masochistic in his attempt to 'trap' the woman, a characteristic which is quite animalistic, and something you would typically link with a predator in the animal kingdom.

Overall, I feel that although matching the sound to visuals is vital in order to make a clear connection between the song and the music video that has been created, I think it is equally important to match lyrics to visuals. Although not every music video requires the visuals to match the lyrics, if the decision is made to do this, I feel it has to be done well for it to actually be effective and worthwhile to having done so.

Music Video Reseach - Deconstruction

As part of our research prior to the production of our music video, we did a task that involved deconstructing music videos. We were split into two groups: one group had to count the number of cuts used, and my group had to count the number of set ups, and the number of shots that were medium close ups and in.

The first music video that we deconstructed was 'One' by Ed Sheeran. As soon as the music video started, we realised that it was very difficult to distinguish between the different set ups, due to the fact that the camera wasn't set on a tripod, so was constantly moving. Although we couldn't be certain due to the movement of the camera, we counted roughly 17 set ups, and approximately 64 cuts. The amount of cuts was quite low, however it fitted the pace of the music video: something that will be very important when it comes to editing our own music video. Although there was only 64 cuts, 58% of these shots were medium close up and in. From this, we could see that it would be very important to film a lot of close ups during production to ensure that there is that connection between the artist and the viewer.

The next music video we deconstructed was 'If You Wanna' by The Vaccines. The pace of this song was far quicker than that of the Ed Sheeran music video, so we expected the pace of the music video to reflect that. Yet again, the camera had a lot of movement, making it quite difficult to notice the different set ups. However, this trend between the music videos made us realise that when it comes to our own music videos, we should avoid using a tripod at all cost, only using it for wide shots if necessary. Using a tripod can make the music video feel very flat, and loses the connection that you get between the artist and the viewer from a music video that has movement. We counted roughly 23 set ups, and about 132 cuts, with 60% being medium close ups and in. The use of such a high number of close ups makes it easier for the viewer to connect with the artist in the 3 minutes that the are watching the music video.

McBusted's 'Air Guitar' had a total of 19 different set ups, and 153 cuts, of which 64% was medium close up and in: an even higher number of medium close ups and in than the previous two music videos.

The final music video we watched was Royal Blood's 'Little Monster', a song which follows the genre of rock, which was clearly represented in the editing and pace of the song. There was roughly 15 set ups, however there was over 200 cuts, and 73% of these were medium close ups and in. This proved that the edit of a music video must fit with the pace of the song itself.

Synaesthesia

synaesthesia

noun

noun: synaesthesia; noun: synesthesia

1.      the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.

'...a film that responds to the pleasures of music, and in which that music is made visual, either in new ways or in ways that accentuate existing visual associations'

 - Andrew Goodwin - Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992)

In order to demonstrate how this process works, we listened to two songs, and had to visually represent what we could see on the piece of paper, before watching the music video.


For Your Love - Josh Record

The first song we listened to was a song called ‘For Your Love’ by an artist called Josh Record. My initial thought when I heard the song was a man with a guitar and a beard, sat on top of a big hill. I definitely felt it was a solo artist, hence the man alone, and I also felt there was a theme of isolation in the song. Due to this theme of isolation, I thought he would be alone somewhere far from civilisation; somewhere he is able to escape to. When I heard the song, I began to think about the opening shot in 'Donnie Darko', where Donnie can be seen sat on the top of a hill in the middle of the road with his bike, reinforcing this idea of isolation. I also imagined a story book, as I felt that the song itself was a story being told to someone. I felt like there was a sense of darkness to the song, however there was also something quite 'glittery' about the song, so I imagined a dark night sky with twinkling stars.

When we watched the music video, it was amazing to see how much of our representations were in the actual music video. The singer was indeed a man with a beard, and although he didn't sit alone on a hill, there was definitely a sense of isolation, as he had lost the girl that he so dearly wanted. Also, a large portion of the music video took place during the night, following the idea of the darkness. Also, although it wasn't a particularly starry night, the headlights of the car and the streetlights create a similar effect to that of stars.

Intro - The XX

The next song we listened to was called 'Intro' by The XX. My initial thought was someone riding along a street on a skateboard in slow motion, as I felt that the beat throughout the entire song would fit well with the motion of a skateboard. The entire song is instrumental, so it focuses on the use of rhythm, rather than relying on the content of the lyrics. Due to this focus on rhythm, something that came to mind was soldiers marching in rows, so I drew twelve stickmen, in a square 3x4. Following this theme of rhythm, I also imagined someone bouncing a basketball in time with the song. So a clear focus through my images was on that of rhythm, and somehow representing that visually so it matched with the pace of the song.

When we watched the music video, I was shocked by how similar some of my classmates' representation were to the real thing. One of my classmates had drawn streetlights and a train, and in the music video, there is a POV shot on a train. Also, I had drawn the twelve stickmen, and in the music video, there was some circles in rows; a rectangle of 3x5.



I found this exercise very interesting, as it shows that when creating a music video. you need to think about what other people see when they listen to a song, and although you don't need to strict follow these representations, you definitely need to take them into consideration. Subconsciously, we will always have things that we link to songs, and we will create these images in our minds. But it is down to us as the creators to choose whether to represent what everyone sees, or subvert the norms, and take a risk.

Types of Music Videos

Types of music videos
Narrative
Narrative music videos tend to be very cinematic, in that you are creating a short film to cover a duration of 3-4 minutes. Narrative based music videos sometimes tend to use diegetic sound as it can be easier to communicate certain parts of a narrative using sound, especially if it is dialogue. Narrative music videos usually match the lyrics to visuals, which is something that has been done in the music video for 'I Found' by Amber Run.

In the music video for 'I Found', the narrative is of two men who kidnap a young woman, and are holding her for ransom. However, one of the main lyrics in the chorus is 'I found love where it wasn't supposed to be', and throughout the music video, it is clear that some feelings have developed between one of the kidnappers and the young women. The techniques when it comes to the editing of this music video are very similar to that of the editing techniques we used for our film opening last year. Match on action has still been used in this music video, as it is needed to make the sequence make sense. Also, eye line matches have been used to communicate the chemistry between the kidnapper and the young woman.

The idea of expanding time has been used quite a lot in this music video, furthering its cinematic look. At times throughout the music video, decreasing the frame rate has helped signify the effect of the drug on the characters, but it has also been used at times to build the tension as to what is going to happen to this young woman. Shrinking time has also been used to signify that this young woman has spent a whole night out in the cold, as a time lapse of the sun rising has been used.

Concept

Concept music videos usually revolve around an idea (or a concept), that tends to be quite unusual or obscure. As most concept based music videos are so bizarre, they tend to keep the audience's attention, because there is so much happening on screen. Concept based music videos can be a good way to represent the artist of the song if you choose to not have the artist of the song in it, as you have the scope to represent them as someone or something completely different.

A good example of a concept based music video is 'Ready to Go' by Panic! At the Disco. In a video behind the scenes of the music video, lead singer Brendon Urie said how he wanted the entire video to be like a musical, hence why different parts of the music video are similar to famous musicals. For example, when Brendon and the drummer leave the rehearsal space and pass through the wall, the first area is based around the musical 'Grease'. This is clearly represented in the mise en scene of the sequence, such as the hairstyles and outfits.

There is a total of 156 cuts in the music video, which fits with the genre of the song, however I feel that slightly fewer cuts have been made to fit with each musical theme. For example, there was lots of cuts in the 'Grease' sequence, but there was fewer cuts, and the use of expanding time in the 'Mary Poppins' sequence. They have chosen to expand time when the song starts to reach the bridge, and the pace of the song slows down slightly, so expanding time in editing makes sure this change in pace is clearly evident visually.

Performance
Performance based music videos do exactly what they say on the tin: they are a live performance of the band. Due to the fact it is simply performance, location becomes far more important when planning for the shoot, The choice of location has to fit with the genre of the song, else the audience will find that the visuals don't match what they are hearing.

A good example for a performace based music video is that of 'Little Lion Man' by Mumford and Sons. The music video is set in a barn, which fits very well with their genre of folk rock. If they had decided to film in a skate park, what we as the audience were hearing wouldn't have matched what we were seeing on screen.
The number of cuts made when editing is also very important in performance music videos. The cuts should match the pace of the song, so the faster the song, the more cuts that should be made. The frequency of the cuts in this music video varied, making sure to follow the pace of the song all the way through. There is 116 cuts in total in the music video, which fits well with the pace of the song itself.

Performance and Narrative
Some music videos also choose to combine both performance and narrative in one music video. This can be especially useful if the narrative involves a concert, or some reference to the artist themselves. A good example of this is the music video for 'Kids in the Dark' by All Time Low.

Hopeless Wanderer - Mumford and Sons

The music video for 'Hopeless Wanderer' by Mumford and Sons is a concept based music video, in which 4 famous actors have been cast to act as the members of the band, and these actors are the ones performing the song. There is a total of 194 cuts in the music video, which is a clear communication of the pace of the music video: although it starts quite slow, it builds to quite a fast pace.

The process of expanding time has been used towards the end of the music video, as the frame rate is decreased to see them destroying their instruments. By slowing down this part of the sequence, it becomes far more effective as you can see all the details of the instruments as they are being broken.

Time has also been shrunk by the use of very quick cuts each time the song reaches the chorus. This increase in number of cuts is suitable because, during the chorus, the pace of the song increases greatly. This increase in cuts therefore makes sure that the sound matches the visuals.

Andrew Goodwin - Key features of music videos

 - Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, for example, a stage performance in metal video or a dance routine for boy/girl band.
 - There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals: either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting.
 - There is a relationship between music and visuals: either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting.
 - 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 is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
 - There is often intertextual references (to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc).