Music Video Evaluation

By Harriet Haynes

DJ Fresh – Louder

Camera angles, movement and composition

The video begins with a pan of the setting which is of palm trees and buildings in Los Angeles, this creates a holiday atmosphere.

Low angles of the roller skaters create fast pace and a sense of authority over the American streets. Also the camera is angled behind them to create the illusion that the audience is following them.

Cut away edits keep the audiences attention and compliment the music and genre which is dance and has a quick tempo. Shot- reverse shots also help to vary the pace and to show the skaters are a duo.

Match on action is also used as a close-up of the skates is shown to highlight the tricks and entertain the viewer.

Slow motion is used to create the effect that when tricks are performed everyone pauses to watch and they’re in time with the music slowing tempo.

Lastly mid-shots and over the shoulder shots are used to show the energy of the people within the video and also to give the audience the perspective of being incorporate in the event.

Tracking the skaters and Ariel shots bring the setting into context and displays the intensity and speed of the skaters additionally the people in the background are also dancing and the population increases throughout to show they’re closer to event they were travelling to. This screen shot is a long shot and displays the moment in the video when the skaters meet and begin their journey to the dance event.

Link to genre- Dance

The video links to the genre dance as it is upbeat, feel good and makes you want to dance. These are factors that help to achieve a successful dance video, the rhythm in this song varies but is mainly rapid and repetitive. The affect on the audience is hypnotic, lifting and the song could definitely be played in a club/ rave. The setting it’s recorded in reflects this as it’s filmed in the streets and shows people reacting and moving to the music which builds up and has a dance drop, a major requirement in any dance tune.

This shot is a great example of the video reflecting the genre as speakers are shown and people are dancing to the music prompting the audience to copy them.

Mise-en scene

The video is set in Los Angeles, palm trees and large buildings are presented to show it’s filmed in a city/ built up area on the coast. Long paths, a skate park, recreational areas show the personalities. America has the largest music industry in the world and the setting commonly appears in music videos to represent that the artist is big in the country. The pigeons and the close-up of the dog are for entertainment value purposes and show that the target audience is teenagers.

The costumes worn include fluorescent/ colour blocking clothing, tattoos, shimmering skates (gold), print, casual, glasses (dog), hats/ caps/hoods, fingerless gloves, bikes, basketball players, skaters, jeans, camouflaged, watch, t-shirt and shorts. These display the variety of personalities that the video is aimed at and links to the genre as the vibe is bold and bright.

These screen shots show the setting and the affect of the sun hitting the camera reflects the dance genre as it can symbolise lights in a club. The clothing is bright and bold to display personality and the close-up of the skates brings the audiences attention to the speed and energy of the video.

What the artists stand for, audience expectations

DJ Fresh is all about drum and bass music, they were the first song to become number one in the UK charts to incorporate the dub step genre. The speciality of dance music is fast beats and bass, the audience for the artist is teenagers that are into fast beat music and clubbers. The audience expect all of the artists songs to be uplifting, repetitive, electro, fast pace and they should all make you want to dance. The song “louder” achieves expectations by being constantly rhythmic, catchy, fast pace with breaks and could definitely appear at a club or rave.

The audience of this video with imitate the appearances of the people within it, printed t-shirts and sunglasses are shown as the fashion and the viewers will copy this style.

How well the editing matches the sound pace, tempo

- The beginning is slightly slower paced and matches the music as it’s relaxed and gradually building and so is the lighting, the speed of the pan also matches the mood of the sound which contains soft/ mellow beats. Just before the bass drops the dancer spins and in slow motion and lands at the exact same time as the beat starts. The skating pace matches the tempo of the music and as the skateboarder spins the music stays repetitive to match the action.

- At times the skaters appear to be moving rapidly and the music hasn’t yet kicked in and this is an unsuccessful edit. The ending also doesn’t match perfectly and when the dancers throw their skateboards the tempo of the music and the pace of the skateboards being thrown don’t match perfectly.

The shots have been produced at different times as it is sunny during the final section and cloudy during this shot showing a lack of continuity.

Sound effects, transitions and lighting

Dubstep, remix, DJ mix, beats, rhythms & voice help to create the dance tune that became so successful during summer 2011.

Short 2 second cuts of action are put together to lift the pace of the opening visual, at times when the music’s tempo increases the shot time decreases to 1 second.

The lighting of the video is mainly bright and sunny but shots of a sunset are shown during the beginning, middle and ending sections to show a contrast. Shadows of the people are cast all over the streets and this affect shows the heat and climate of the setting that the video is filmed in giving a relaxed and chilled vibe.

These screen shots show my favourite moments within the video, the first is a close up of one of the skaters performing a challenging trick and I like the attitude that is portrayed in her facial expression. The second image presents a skate boarder also performing a trick and the atmosphere of the shot makes me want to be a part of the video.