In-depth analysis.
On this page I will analyse three music videos in depth, looking at various elements of the videos, paying particular attention to mise-en-scene, generic conventions and the editing. The more analysis I do the more ideas I will be able to come up with and the better the piece will fit into its genre so in-depth analysis is crucial to the success of the project.
R U Mine? - Artic Monkeys
This popular song by the artic monkeys is introduced by a radio DJ. It then cuts to two characters sitting in a car listening to the same radio station, establishing a link through use of a sound bridge.
The entirety of this video is done without any cuts, but instead there are transitions, from place to place around the car. An example is the transition from the back of the car to the front at 1:20. He holds out his arms in an action pose as the camera is then handed to him from a person in the back (who is kept hidden by the dark lighting). This acts a a transition from one shot to the next and I think it is a very succesful method to use when creating one long take.
Around the two minute mark there is a change in lighting, announcing the arrival of the two female characters in the video, however they play an insignificant role to the sequence, but the lighting change and the introduction of new people rather than just the two in the front keep this music video entertaining. From this point onwards the sequence becomes more interesting with characters rotating in and out the car without the audience seeing keeping the video interesting for the audiences, this all occurs around the point in which the song is coming to its solo before the final chorus, so all the entertaining footage ties in perfectly with the solo building to the last chorus. There is a shot through the cars rear parking camera which makes for a fascinating clip within the entire sequence. The woman exiting the car walking over to the two characters playing the final chorus acts as the transition and again it makes audiences wonder how the two characters got to the staging.
The part I enjoy most about this video is the use of transitions. I find this very interesting and it looks very good, making the piece flow better than what it would with normal cuts however, I believe this is difficult to do so we would need to experiment with this if we wanted to try it in our final music video.
Mr Brightside - The Killers
This is a music video that I think is interesting as they combine the narrative and the performance into one big piece. The singer has a relationship with a female within the piece and throughout the video you can see their relationship. Although there are cutaways to different locations, the focus is kept on these two characters, without any external characters playing the narrative, isolated from the performance shots like in many other rock music videos.
I would like to develop this idea perhaps by having one of the band members in our piece be the main character, showing them have a drug problem behind the others backs which eventually ends with him dying and the band members going to rehearsal wondering where he is. Although this is dark I like how our storyline and performance would be more intertwined and it would be more interesting for the viewer to watch. It takes influence from this music video where the lead singer of the band actually sings in parts where he seems to be playing a narrative sequence. I believe this technique makes the piece flow better but may not be realistic for a serious narrative storyline. As you can see from codes of dress and the actions of some of the dancers this is clearly not a serious piece.