Analysis of Previous Students Music Videos

Ellisse White-Oliver

I choose to analyise 2 contrasting music videos. Both of high quality and content but 2 different style but sticking to the same genre to display the variety of ideas I would like to incorporate into my video.

Lauren Abbott- ‘The Lion’s Roar’ Lauren’s video of First Aid Kits ‘The Lions Roar’ is an original and well though out music video of which its quality I would like to replicate. A small part of Lauren’s music video revolved around a performance based video however the majority of the video was a concept based one. The reason I put it into this category is because of the unusual way that Lauren decided to portray the lyrics in the video. She wrote the majority of the lyrics on playing cards and put them into obscure locations. The beginning of the video sees a young girl holding the cards and then walking with them onto a beach and then throwing them into the wind. This is very clever of Lauren to do because it leaves the idea of the cards open for interpretation. The editing of the video was executed very well, it very much matched the slow easy pace of the song and picked up when the beat did. This makes the video look professional and makes sure the audience doesn't’t get bored with the basic editing. Also using slow motion when on the cards was a key idea because it gives the audience a chance to read what the lyrics are. Dragging in Andrew Goodwins idea of visuals and audio linking together. The camera angles Lauren used included variety such as high angled shots to low angled shot, panning and stretching across the card. This use of different shots keeps the audience engaged and makes the video look a lot more intriguing. One thing that I maybe would change about the camera is maybe Lauren could try and get the camera to focus on the cards rather than the background so it isn’t too blurry. The uses of location of the video is very interesting because the gloomy beach and streets really compliment the feel of the song that the video is on and the different uses of location really display Lauren’s thought into this video. Then the costume of the girl in the first shot contrast beautifully to the gloomy setting of the video. Overall a very professionally and carefully made video with very little to criticise apart from minor details.

Clare Hanington- Wish You Were HereI have always been inspired by Clare’s work and her music video is no exception. Clare’s music video for Kodaline’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ is a narrative based music video which tells the story of a older woman who is reminiscing about her younger years. I inspire to do just a narrative based video just like Clare. Relating to the impressive use of her editing skills e.g the use of slow motion when the younger couple are getting ready. I really liked this because it gave the audience a chance to capture the actors facial expression and really take in the surroundings of the video. The pace of the cutting throughout the video fitted well in with the pace of the song which I think makes a effective music video.Editing is not the only aspect which makes the video a superb video but the way in which Clare uses a variety of different camera shots for example we very rarely see the actors face in full even when she uses close up’s it is only focused on one part of the face and not in it’s entirety and even if it is it is only for a few seconds at a time, I feel like Lauren’s video it still leaves a part of the video open for interpretation even though it may seem like surface play. The variety of shots from mid and long shots to a over the shoulder shot and the panning throughout, this highlights the high level of professionalism that Clare was trying to achieve and what I want to replicate. The use of the black box studio I feel like really tied into the theme and style of the song and the video and this was also replicated by the mise-en-scene in the video. The soft lighting which put the actors in silhouette felt very emotional and raw like there wasn’t a huge skeptical to be made and it added to that romantic feel. The clothing to me represented an older generation and highlighted again the older lady thinking out her past and Clare took great care to get the clothing spot on to fit in with the narrative of the video. Even the dancing you can tell had a lot of great thought into it because it felt like I was watching a video from the time era the woman was maybe thinking about. If I had one overall criticim it would be if Clare wanted to maybe capture and older generation feel in the video which is what I got out of it I would just say that maybe take a little care in finding the right props not from today’s society and try and get props such a lipstick for the olden days.