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.