Music Video Analysis

By James Taggar

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

4. 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).

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc

Andrew Goodwin’s 7 Features of Music Videos

Sven E Carlsson Theory Music Video artist as a “modern mythic embodiment” The music video artist is seen as embodying one, or a combination of “modern mythic characters or forces” of which there are three general. The music video artist is representing different aspects of the free floating disparate universe of music video. There are two groups of music video: Performance clip - When a video shows an artist mostly dancing and singing. There are three types; song performance, dance performance, instrumental performance. Narrative clip - A short silent movie to a musical background, a visual story that is easy to follow. Conceptual clip - When the clip has something else during it's duration often with artistic ambitions In one type of performance, the performer is not a performer anymore; he or she is a materialization of the Commercial exhibitionist – Uses influence to sell products or services Televised bard - A singing storyteller who uses actual on screen images instead of inner, personal images. Electronic shaman - Usually a DJ in modern society but can be any artist that doesn’t sing e.g. Skrillex and Daft Punk – They wear a mask so their identity is concealed and they can change the mask at any time Music - Sometimes the musical elements shape the moving pictures. - Moments like footsteps are often synchronized with the beat, so that people in the music video seem to walk in sync to the music. Melodic phrases can also be visualized by tilting the camera vertically to match the musical phrase’s up and down travel on the scales. Lyrics- lyrics and images interact creating meaning. - New meaning is added to the banal lyrics through metaphorical language - The greater the leap between the content of the lyrics and the imagery in this metaphorical joining, the more difficult it becomes for viewers to understand and interpret the context. - The environment is made to mirror the feelings of the lead characters The image - the visual form is close to the musical form. - By manipulating colour, motive setting, story footage, clothing, etc the music video director creates a couple of ideas which are repeated and varied. - The concept is to rearrange visual motifs so that the work forms a whole. There are three forms of visual tradition in music videos they are: performance clip, narrative clips and art clip. Art Clip - if a music video contains no perceptible visual narrative and contains no lip-synchronized singing then it is a pure art clip. While the music video uses popular music the artistic video uses more experimental music, such as electro-acoustic - The connections between the music genre and the visual genre of music are weak. There are, however, some connections: dance music video clips are sometimes art clips. The editing technique in soft ballads is mostly mixing. The hard rock music genre usually features standard clips consisting of concert shots and inserted narrative shot

John Stewart Theory

• The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the star’s face.

• He sees visual reference in music video as coming from a range of sources, although the three most

frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion and art photography.

• Stewart’s description of the music video as ‘incorporating, raiding and reconstructing’ is essentially the essence of Intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings.

• The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can. The mise-en-scene, in particular, can be used to emphasise an aspiration lifestyle.

Seafret - Oceans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqsL0QQaSP4

“Oceans” is a song by a British music duo, Seafret that play Alternative/Indie band. “Oceans” is the first track on Seafrets EP and the sixth track on Seafrets album - Tell Me It's Real. Seafret have been signed by Sweet Jane Recordings that are totally focused on the duo band that have gradually grown in population over time to the large fan base they now have.

Song lyrics I want you

Yeah I want you And nothing comes close

To the way that I need you I wish I can feel your skin

And I want you From somewhere within

It feels like there's oceans Between me and you once again

We hide our emotions Under the surface and tryin' to pretend

But it feels like there's oceans Between you and me

I want you And I always will

I wish I was worth But I know what you deserve

You know I'd rather drown Than to go on without you But you're pulling me down It feels like there's oceans

Between you and me once again We hide our emotions

Under the surface and try to pretend But it feels like there's oceans

Between you and me I want you I want you

And always will It feels like there's oceans

Between you and me

Genre Characteristics

One indie/ alternative genre characteristic that Seafret have in the “Oceans” song is the low budget which is a common characteristic for indie/ alternative bands as they are thought to have a low budget due to the fact that their career hasn’t peaked. Both the props and the setting used in the music video are very minimalistic and of a low budget, therefore conforming to indie/ alternative genre characteristics.

Relationship between the lyrics and visuals

Throughout the majority of the song Seafret have used the lyrics as a form of amplification to express the loneliness that this girl has. The loneliness that has triggered a cycle of bullying which she cant escape as her mother is working late to provide for her. The need to work late is due to the assumption which some viewers believe, the mother is a single parent and is the only source of income for the household.

When she realises her mum isn’t home and that she is, as the letter states, “working late (Again)” The lyrics “I want you, Yeah I want you” are sung, giving the viewer the impression that this is a frequent occurrence and as a result the girl feels lonely because of her mums absence.

At the very start of the video the girl is calling out for her “mum” as she has just came back from school.

At the point where the girl reveals her vandalised school shirt the lyrics “I wish I can feel your skin” are sung which could imply that the girl wants comfort from her mother after the incident.

Relationship between the lyrics and visuals

As the girl puts on mask that she get out of her cupboard the lyrics, “We hide our emotions, Under the surface and tryin’ to pretend” could symbolise how she uses the mask as a means of escaping reality and the events to come in the music video are also “pretend” as the lyrics suggest.

At the point the girl ignites her powers for the first time she isn’t afraid or confused like expected, she remains completely calm as if this has happened before or she is imaging it happening. Subsequently the lyrics: “But it feels like there's oceans, Between you and me” are sung at 1:19, could link to how she’s standing in front of a mirror and she no longer recognises herself puts on mask that she get out of her cupboard the lyrics, “We hide our emotions, Under the surface and tryin’ to pretend” could symbolise how she uses the mask as a means of escaping reality and the events to come in the music video are also “pretend” as the lyrics suggest.

Relationship between the lyrics and visuals

“without you” is the lyrics sung at 2:03 to emphasize the girls loneliness and possible envious nature of the couple that is walking close to the girl.

Towards the end of the song at 3:28 the girl finally sees her mother and still the lyrics “It feels like there’s oceans, Between you and me” conveys a distance in the relationship that has been consistent throughout the entire song. This could be due to the powers that the daughter may have or the emotional barrier that she has just overcome depending on the interpretation, the mother will be oblivious to either possibilities as she wasn’t around to experience it.

The lyrics “It feels like there’s oceans, Between you and me” is earlier mentioned at 1:19 when the girl first uses her powers – reinforcing my theory that there is distance between the mother and the girls relationship due to how little the mother is involved in the girls life.

Lots of close ups

There are many close up of the main girl that acts at the protagonist throughout the “Oceans” music video. The close up brings the audience closer to the artist and establishes a connection. The framing is central for the almost all of the close ups to illustrate the artists role in the music video. For this particular star, the close ups may be to highlight who the actor identity. The actor that plays the girl in the music video is a British actor called Maisie Williams but is better known as “Arya Stark” who is a member of the worldwide famous TV series – ‘Game of Thrones’.

This may have been done on purposely to gain views as the comments on the music video state that “Arya” was the prime reason for them watching this music video.

Frequent references to looking

In relation to Goodwins theory, this is the only shot of the actress looking into the distance. As the main protagonist is most often mobile during the music video the moment where she can gaze are limited, due to this Seafret have gone against Goodwins theory.

Bullying

The main protagonist featuring in the video is suffering from bullying which has damaged not only her clothes as seen at 0:39 but also escalates to physical abuse which occur at 2:29. At the time where she is about to be a victim of harm the pace of editing increases and the frequency of cuts also increases. In addition, when she rises back up after being knocked down the soundtrack mimic the girl movements and escalates until it peaks at the point she retaliates against the bullies.

The pink powers

Pink has symbolic reference to hope. It is said that the colour pink is a positive colour that inspires warmth and comforting feelings, leading to a sense that everything will be okay. Due to this, as the girls eyes go pink at 3:28 (Nearing the end of the music video) could resemble that all the girl needed was her mothers attention and affection.

The plot

Initially the girl is lonely and misses her mum but even despite coming home to see her mum after the brief conflict there is no progression in the relationship as the lyrics state “It feels like there's oceans, Between you and me”

The thoughts of others

Some feels that the entire music video is just the imagination of the girl and the audience visualizes the imagination in a 3rd person perspective of what the girl imagines and how she uses her newfound powers to stand up to the bullies. However Seafret have left the ending unknown and for the reader to make their own justification whether the girl actually has powers or if what the viewer was presented with was just the girls imagination.