Analysis of A2 music video's

Can't hold us

    The first A2 music video I am going to analyse is 'Can't hold us'. The students used various camera angles, use of mise-en-scene and other techniques to intrigue their audience. As the video starts, they use a cartoon sound effect to instantly show what style video it was going to be. This use of non-diagetic sound is effective as it appeals to the audience. They then use a creative cartoon effect to make the video seem as if it's a comic strip, which keeps the audience engaged throughout. Although this challenges the rap genre conventions, they may have incorporated this performance and narrative to keep the audience interested as it gives them something to watch as well as listen to. However, the narrative still reflects basic rap genre conventions such as money and crime, as it's about two robbers who get an important bag stolen from them. This relates to Adrew Goodwin's music video theory as a basic narrative helps the audience understand what's going on. They employed constant cross-cuts within their performance and narrative, they also use common cartoon words such as 'kapow' which is a cinematography technique to show the comedy escape within their story. This ultimately appeals to the audience as it catchy and memorable. 

 With the use of mise-en-scene they were able to distinguish the difference between the 'villain' and 'hero'. For instance, the 'villains' are wearing a typical prison costume with eye-masks to cover their identity; whereas the 'hero' is wearing a suit which shows poise and authority. This fits in with the theme of the music video as it's comical. This particular 'look' links to Andrew Goodwin's 'star trade-mark' theory as the use of costume enables the audience to clearly identify and remember them. Another use of the mise-en-scene was their props. They incorporated two bags that had a mystery item inside of them, this creates a  sense of interest for the audience as they would want to know what is inside. Lastly, they used setting to bring some context to the story and also reflect the theme, each location was in the open areas of London. This use of mise-en-scene is effective because London is a place that has a high crime rate and is also known for it's rich individuals and possessions, thus reflecting the two themes of rap I have previously talked about. Both the props, setting and costumes fit in with the typical rap genre conventions such as money and crime.  

They used camera shots such as an extreme long-shot of the 'villains' chasing after the 'hero', this was probably incorporated to give the audience some context as to where they are as is effective because an open space and/or chaos in the streets of London can reflect the narrative that they were trying to create. They used mid-shots of police vans which are shown briefly to subliminally suggest to the audience that something illegal is in the bag, this creates tension and interest as statistics suggest that most TV shows and music videos are related to crime as this is what audiences watch the most. They then use close-up's and extreme close-up's to show the expression of both the 'villain' and 'hero' faces. This camera technique was used to support the narrative and performance as it brings some context and intrigues the audience. When the song comes to a finish, a low angle shot is used to show how the 'hero' has opened the bag and has seen what was inside of it. This shot is good because it shows how irrelevant the object in question is as everyone is looking down on it. This was also useful as it shows the actors facial expression when he sees that the object in question is a chicken.

 The next technique used was camera editing. As I explained earlier on, the students used continuity within their shots between the performance and narrative that creates realism and a flowing transition between each shot, therefore helping the audience make sense out of what is happening in the music video. They did this by using an establishing shot (London), which establishes the space in which the action is happening. They also incorporated the editing technique 'eye-line match', they used this by showing the character looking off-screen and then the next shot shows the audiences what they see. This creates a sense of continuity and also gives the audience some context as to what's going on in the scene. Another technque they used was cutting on the beat. This supports Andrew Goodwin's music video theory of 'Thought beats- seeing the sound' as cutting regularly emphasises the repetion of the beat and creates a connection between the audience and artist.

 To improve their music video, they could of used more camera shots and angles such as high angle, low angle and areal as this would be good to exemplify how the actors are looking for each other in a big city and would also be useful to show their facial expressions which is intriguing to the audience. Another technique that would of been helpful would of been the mise-en-scene in regards to costume. This is because the song is in the rap genre, and their costumes are less related to this genre as normally it includes large jewelry and hoodies etc. From watching this music video my group and I have decided that we would like to use props to give some continuity. We also decided we'd also use some performance techniques such as dancing to give some uniqueness to the video and intrigue the audience. However, we wouldn't want to use a narrative, as this wouldn't fit the theme of our video or genre.

Stuck

This A2 music video's genre is pop/indie. The most common themes found in pop songs tend to be emotions that affect us all. Things we can all relate to which gives the song added emotional connection to the audience, whereas a common theme of Indie music videos is a narrative. This A2 media group have incorporated these themes and conventions through mise-en-scene, editing and camera shots/angles. The music video starts with a time-lapse shot of shadows moving due to the placement of the sun and a time-lapse of the moving clouds in the sky, it then cuts to an extreme long shot of two boys in an empty field. Automatically, this set's a interpretive narrative for the audience as it could be a metaphor for the boys' thoughts and feelings. For instance, the time-lapse could suggest how they are both confused and thinking about their past actions and the empty field supports this by suggesting that they feel lonely. As well as this, they used skills such as a distortion of the lighting. This use of mise-en-scene made the music video look grungy, which reflects lyrics and theme as it suggests a negative narrative and this also encourages the audience to engage and connect to the artists emotions. Andrew Goodwin's 'technical aspect' theory suggests that the use of appropriate lighting creates the right mood for the song and makes it look more professional; therefore it's clear  that the group are trying to create a negative mood to fit their narrative.

  One of  the main techniques they used was camera shots/angles. They switched between mid-shots and close-up's to firstly show the artists destructive behaviour, such as spraying graffiti on walls, and running away with the use of tracking shot's. It then switched to close-up's of the artists face, to perhaps show their opinion/emotions of their previous behaviour to the audience. In this case, the use of close-up's are used regularly to show the boys emotions, which is a common theme within pop music. The use of narrative also applies to the Indie genre. The whole music video seem's to be based on the main artist looking back and regretting his previous behaviour. Andrew Goodwin's 'multiple close-up's of the main artist' theory is employed here to encourage the connection between the audience and themselves. This intrigues the audience as it catches their attention by feeling the artists emotions. A mid-shot is used to show the artist sitting in front of a fire, this shot could be used to give a different light (mise-en-scene) to the video, which shows that he is a changed person and his personality is now 'warm' instead of grungy and cold. This helps the audience form a connection to the artist as they may feel sorry for him. Lastly, long shots and medium close-up shots are used in scenes to show how the artists is arguing with his girlfriend. On one hand, pop music is normally seen as colourful and up-beat, meaning this music video challenges the typical conventions of a pop video. However on the other hand, it does have typical pop themes such as love and relationships, meaning it does often favour some pop themes.

Another technique used was mise-en-scene. With the use of costume, the artist was able to create a trendy yet basic look that mainly consisted of jeans, hoodie/jumper,hat and bomber jacket.This causal look goes with the theme of the music video as it shows the artist does not care about what he looks like as he is depressed from thinking about his previous behaviour. However, this goes against Andrew Goodwin's music video theory as there is no 'star trademark'. For instance, the artist in this does not have a 'style' or 'look' that is unique to others, meaning he does not stand out to the audience in order to be easily identified.

 The last technique used was editing. The group employed the 180 degree rule to show the artist arguing with his girlfriend. This use of editing enables the audience to see their facial expressions from each persons perspective. This creates tension as it shows how the artist takes out his anger on everyone in his surroundings, ultimately linking to the negative narrative. The cuts also become quicker to show how all of his bad actions are catching up with him, this is paired with the beats of the song which also become more frequent at this time. This also works well with the narrative as it emphasises the theme and makes the video seem like a two communication device, where the artist tells a story and the audience listens.

I regards to my group and I's music video, we were intrigued by the idea of a narrative. However this is not a convention of R&B soul so therefore we will not incorporate it. However, this music video uses many aspects of Andrew Goodwin's music video theory which ultimately forms a relationship between the artist and audience. We feel this is important and therefore we will use more close up's of our artist, cuts on the beats of the music and different lighting's to support our similar grungy theme.