Music Video Analysis, Black Magic-Little Mix

Music video analysis: Taylor Swift-Shake it off

Music video analysis:
Little Mix-Black Magic

Charlotte Hull

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

In Little Mixs video black magic we see certain characteristics that represent the video genre, pop. The song is aimed at teenagers and so the video uses certain characteristics of teen culture to make it more relatable for the target audience watching. The girls in the video are seen going to lessons in school, working in the library and having sleepovers which are all things that are common/stereotypical of your teenage years. The group demonstrates the genre of the song through these personal links by including shots of the group singing and acting out parts of the lyrics which is again, common amongst the pop genre. Also, the video demonstrates typical girl band, pop genre characteristics by including lots of shots of the band as a whole as well as individually and showing that they are the best of friends before and after the transformation, as expected.

Another way in which this music video demonstrates genre characteristics is by including on-trend, fashionable clothing that would be admired and idolised by the audience. After their magic transformation in the video the group becomes the trendy and fashionable which is a characteristic of the pop genre. The band is in-keeping with the current trends to keep with the genre of the song and attract the audience.

Throughout this video there are different shots used of both the whole band and individual members which demonstrates the genre of pop and the characteristics of bands. The emphasis is mostly on the band as a whole and their friendship but there are also close ups of each member to allow for the audience to see their favourites which are likely amongst this genre and target audience.

Taking lessons, 2.55

Studying in library, 0.44

Sleepovers, 1.06

Shots of the band, 2.06

Shots of individuals, 2.38

Friendship before and after, 0.27, 1.39

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.

This video follows a narrative as it creates a story about four un-popular, geeky girls who find and complete a magic recipe and become attractive, popular characters. The video follows the narrative and so the relationship between the lyrics and visuals is more discrete. However, it is still shown by inserting shots of the artists singing whilst acting as well as during it by providing cutaways of the individual members singing without the story element. Some examples are provided.

Hey! 0.39, 0.56, 1.52

Black Magic 1.17, 3.07, 3.21

Heres the answer (as the girls point to Perrie) 0.32

(as shes searching for something)Just to help him see what hes been missing 0.49

Cutaways

There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.

As this visuals play out a story it is harder for it to be connected to the music than if it were just a dance routine or shots of the artist singing. This music video uses the beat of the music to reflect the atmosphere of the visuals by following that rhythm. This is seen through the change of scene after the word hey is used to keep the video flowing and to reflect the tone of the music as a new verse is starting. It is also used by the group in the video as they match their movements to certain points of the song for example, when they first return to school after their transformation they walk down the corridor to the beat of the music. This therefore reflects the tone of the music and makes this and the visuals appear more synchronised.

This music video is illustrative as the narrative is quite straight forward and so follows a simple pattern. The girls are un-popular before the transformation and so get blanked by their crush whereas afterwards they are noticed for their style and now have the power to make others desirable. However, there are amplification elements this video as both sides of the girl band (before and after) seem to be very over the top. Everything about the girls before the transformation symbolises them as geeks from their choice of clothing to make-up and hair and even their facial expressions that they pull to try and demonstrate this. This is unlikely in real life as the way they get treated by their peers is also over the top and un-realistic. The magic/powers they have from the spell is also amplified as no-one could really experience this and their use of it in the classroom at the end is dramatized.

There are also separate cutaways from the story where the tone and atmosphere of the visuals are created by simply having the band singing the lyrics to the camera which fits with the music and makes the video more personal. It shows the audience another side of the band and illustrates that they can both act and perform.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist.

As this music video is made by a band made up of four girls instead of just one artist there is a need for individual shots of each member as well as seeing the group as a whole. It is important to portray the group to have a strong friendship as well as showing each girl to have a specific talent and uniqueness that goes with their line and their moment in the spotlight. This video shows that the demands of the record label have been met as towards the end of the video, when the main story has been told, there is a direct focus on the band and the song. As a part of this each member of the band gets the focus when they sing their line of the verse and there are close-ups of them in between the close up shots from the narrative of the whole group.

The group also needs to ensure that they keep in style with their song and the record label needs the song to do as well as possible for it to sell so the band needs to be stylish and be popular amongst with current trends. Throughout the different characters in the video there is a variation of outfits and fashion items that will interest a variety of audiences meaning it can be aimed at more people. Also, each member of the band has such a different style so the different audiences will have their favourites which they will want to follow and look for their close-ups of so the record label ensure each member is given an even amount of time in the spotlight.

The audience for Little Mix is predominantly teenage girls and as a result of this the band is represented as relatable in the first half of the song where they show a narrative which a lot of teenagers can probably identify with, this will make it more attractive to this audience and therefore they are likely to believe in it. In the second half of the video they girls are shown as someone who a lot of the target audience may aspire to be or take influence from which will again, make them more likely to be interested in the song and the band.

There is a frequent reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

In the black magic music video the environment is used to reference the notion of looking. The group is framed by the corridors as they walk central along it after their transformation and as the camera pans around the group later in the video during the individual shots. The arched background with natural lighting at the back keeps each band member central as the main focus and therefore references the notion of looking at her and not the others. This is seen again during the lecture scene of the video where the band appears to be under a spotlight whereas their classmates are in the dark suggesting the notion of looking at them rather than at what's going on elsewhere. Also, just before the video ends when the students throw their papers into the air and they fall around the band to create a frame to draw in the audience to look just at them.

Voyeuristic treatment of the female body is seen at the start of the video where the girl, assumedly the girlfriend of the bands crush, pushes past the geeky group in a skimpy outfit that makes the band look inferior to her. The choice of clothing it used to show her status against the other girls. After the transformation this is turned around as the crush and his friend are seen starring at the band rather than at his girlfriend. This suggests the notion of looking at the girls and them now being centre of attention just because of their change of clothing/styling. It shows that the boys did not pay attention to them before but now they are taken aback by their sudden attractiveness.

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across
their work.

http://media2.popsugar-assets.com/files/2015/05/22/821/n/1922398/4bcf975f_bad-2.xxxlarge.jpgLittle Mix have developed certain motifs that are iconic to their music videos and so are recur across their work. For example, the girls like to have a laid back approach to the dancing in their videos. The girls dont seem to show strict dance movements or a particular routine amongst all of them but instead do their own thing in small portions of the videos which tie in amongst the rest of the planned video. Although it is rare that a choreographed dance routine will be followed through the whole of the video, a script and story normally is.

The band likes to provide a dramatic story element to a lot of their music videos and therefore they are known for their use of amplification to make the story more extreme. For example, in DNA the girls are shown as rebellious troublemakers and so are placed on window ledges, construction bridges and in a control room where they appear to be plotting their next move. In Dark Magic, special effects are used to fit this theme and make it less ordinary, special effects is another aspect which is often used and so represents a Little Mix icon.

Throughout their videos something that recurs a lot is the girls use of hands and an iconography that has developed is to have them across their faces but disguised in a way that will use them in relation to the video.

Wings, hands and special effects

DNA, hands, SFX and dramatizing

There are often intertextual references.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/01/01/article-0-0F4F55B900000578-860_634x759.jpgThere are intertextual references seen within this music video because of the narrative which is also a popular story line amongst teen films. The idea of an un-popular, geeky girl turning into someone unrecognisable is certainly not a new idea. This plot has been used in a lot of popular teenage films showing the similarity between the audiences for this music video and those films.

Princess diaries is a film where a quiet, un-popular girl, Mia, from San Francisco is told she is next in line to the throne in Genovia. The shy, geeky teenager then has to undergo a lot of training to become a princess including learning to publically speak, walk and act correctly in front of a crowd as well as enduring a full makeover. By the end of the film Mia has won over the hearts of the Genovian residents and has well and truly transformed from her previous self. This is similar to the story of the dark magic music video where the girls experience a transformation that suddenly attracts the attention of a lot of other people who before didnt hardly recognise them amongst the crowd.

Another intertextual reference would be to Freaky Friday which is a film where magic is used to swap the positions of a mother and daughter who live very different lives and so only appreciate each other after they have lived in the others shoes. It takes this transformation for the mother and daughter to realise what is most important to them and they start to notice things that they before wouldnt of identified as significant e.g. the mothers wedding day for the daughter. The reference to this film from the music video is from the element of magic that totally transforms the characters so they realise how different things are from another perspective and realise some important elements that they might not have before such as the popular girls bullying the geek.

http://file.answcdn.com/answ-cld/image/upload/f_jpg,w_672,c_fill,g_faces:center,q_70/v1/tk/view/cew/b3cdd07e/5a576341482bee2791a2b99e43fb67e955f81e34.jpeghttp://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/14500000/Freaky-Friday-freaky-friday-14551916-800-600.jpg

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Education

Music Video Analysis, Black Magic-Little Mix