The opening two shots of this video are stills of bowling trophies with a close up of the photo of the band winning the trophy, these shots are accompanied by sounds of pins going down in the background. This only lasts for a few seconds but the effect is that the audience understand the back story, and the location immediately. It is really simple and lets the video start without having to do panning shots or a section of dialogue. I really like this technique! Another simple feature that works well in this video is the shot at the start of her legs walking left across the screen which turns into 2 pairs of legs (hers and supposedly his) walking right across the screen at the end. Implying she has chosen the main character/lead singer over her caricature of bad boyfriend. This video is aimed at a male dominated audience as it focuses only on the appearance of the 'lovely' woman instead of her character and this attitude is stereotypically male. A as a female watching this video, I did see the humor of all the men being turned into drooling dummies in the wake of this woman (panning shots of a line of men with their mouths open and a man spraying shoes loosing concentration and spraying the customer) but after a while I felt annoyed that they were just focusing on her sexuality. However I did like the matching shots when both male characters had a close up shot of their eyes with the bowling ball covering the rest of their face. Matching the shots like this, made a clear comparison between the 2 characters.
Its not about you it's me
This is my favorite video out of the three because it makes the audience feel sympathy for the main character, it is very funny in places and the happy ending is understated and subtle. I really admire the way the cafe scenes have been filmed. It is not too stylized but there is just enough symbolism and meaning reflected through the types of shots and the repetition. The point of view shots used isolate the characters from each other and shows the uncomfortable/funny reactions from the main character to each girl's distaste for him and his gifts. The repetition of him giving the same flowers to all the different girlfriends and the girls leaving one after another, is synchronised with the repetition of the lines 'I guess we've got nothing the same' and 'don't you go home'. This technique highlights the lyrics and gives a sense of familiarity. From these three videos, it is clear they like to use unglamorous locations for their narrative sequences. ('greasy spoon' cafe, bowling ally, pubs and corner shop) This fact coupled with their singing style (their london accent is still audible) give an impression of down to earth, normal people which helps their audience to relate to them. Also in each video, the other band members 'work' in the location which adds to this persona of 'real' people. e.g. the guitarist works in the kitchen and the drummer works at the bar in the bowling ally. It also adds a surreal element as they spontaneously start playing their instruments in the kitchen!
Elvis ain't dead
There are just a few elements I wanted to pick out of this video that I thought were really original and fun. The concept of the main character seeing Elvis every where he looks surreal and really kooky, and they have executed it really well. the costumes are not flash or very realistic but that adds to the humour. The reactions of the main character, especially the mirror shot, the looks to camera in the corner shop and the close up shots in the pub, are very funny and provide a normal reaction to the mad imaginings of his subconscious. Another really clever technique they have used to make sure the audience understands the Elvis's are just in his mind is at 3.02 where the shot of a pub full of Elvises is wiped using a man walking across the shot, to reveal all the people in normal clothes. I would really like to find out how this was done and if it would be possible to use the technique in our video, should we have a reason to. This narrative combined with quite an uncharacteristically glamorous stage set make this video a great and funny one.
From this analysis I have learnt:
Using less glamourous locations can still look brilliant and professional if the set is dressed properly.
We can pick out lyrics by having them appear on things that are found through the video. For example: showing 'elvis aint dead' on card a found in the street.
Scounting for Girls use humour aimed very much at a male audience, we will not be aiming our video at a mainly male audience.
Mine This video cuts between the narrative of taylor meeting a boy in a cafe, in a relationship, moving in, proposing, having an argument, getting married and having a family interspersed with memories of how her parents used to fight. And the performance element in a forrest dressed with photographs of her dream life. The two sequences are very clearly divided using lighting. The performance is very bright, colourful and very saturated all the way through. Her dream life starts out bright and with a light brown tint but as her dream life 'goes bad' the lighting gets darker and less saturated. Eventually everything is sorted out and we return to the cafe as if nothing has happened. It is a very romantic and beautiful but in my opinion it lacks substance and it looks strange when their have made a family of 3 boys and they still look the same as they do in the cafe!
Fifteen
The organic and subtle animation fits very well with her style of sining and the acoustic guitar, making each scene flow into the next as the camera pans across and the next set gradually fades into existence. Her surroundings reflect the stages of emotion in her life. e.g. morning lighting is fresh and warm symbolising the anticipation of her first day. and the storm with thunder and rain reflecting her sadness and anger at herself and what has happened to her and her friend. Using pathetic fallacy is common in her videos another example is white horse: raining outside when sad bright and sunny when happy).
Love Story
The narrative structure of this video is quite similar to 'Mine'. She meets someone in reality, dreams about them having a relationship and then she is brought back to reality and the audience is left with a 'will they won't they' question in their mind. However i think that this song is better suited to this style of narrative. obviously they have a bigger budget for this one and so can dress the 'dream' set very authentically. It is a very beautiful sequence that will strongly appeal to her female fans, as the Romeo and Juliet / Pride and Prejudice theme is very popular with female audiences.
You Belong With Me
This is very similar to a video by Avril Lavigne called 'Girlfriend' that I will be analysing. Main girl wants to be with main guy but he's with another girl (both versions dressed in pink at some point) eventually main girl gets to be with main guy and other girl is annoyed. In both versions, the singer plays both female characters. However I think that this version is executed better. It has a kinder, softer approach to unrequited love the main female character feels. The dressing up sequence will appeal to her younger female audience because she is trying out different personalities with each outfit which is what young girls do, to find out who they are. Another example of this video being targeted at young girls is the fact that she plays 'air guitar' and sings along to her own song with a hairbrush. And a final example is the crowd at 'prom' parting for her, so that everyone is admiring her. this is another common dream for girls going to a party. From this video, I have noticed that in her videos, Taylor Swift uses footage of the characters talking without sound and plays the song over the top of it. Colour is used to distinguish between the 2 female characters at prom. the mean girl is in red which has connotations of danger and lust, whereas the heroine is dressed in white symbolising purity and goodness.
From this analysis I have learnt:
Her music promotes moral messages similar to Pink's. That it is ok to be different and not one of the 'popular' girls. This is important as a large part of her audience will be young girls.
She makes aspirational videos, aimed at females. Everything is beautiful in her videos which appeals to young girls.
She doesn't use humour very much, her videos are often serious or sincere.
Last Friday Night Out of the selection I have watched, this one seems to have the biggest budget! I love the film theme, using simple conventions like titles, credits, 'THE END' and 'out takes', it gives the video a really high class and original feel. The opening strictly follows common conventions of films set in american suburbia: a crane shot following a paper boy on his bike throwing papers into the gardens of the big american houses. This will be very recogniseable for her american audience and some from other countries. Also using the record companies as the production companies and having an section of acting at the start will reinforce the idea of a film in the audiences mind as they watch the rest of the video. She has focused very heavily on comedy in this video, often making fun of her younger self using mise-en-scene and sound: braces, 80"s fashion and she uses a 'funny voice' when talking but not when singing. This is show in the first shot inside the house: a close up of a chicken! A nice break from the randomness and 80's cheese is done by using a dream sequence with pretty ridiculous mediaeval costumes and green screen.
From this analysis I have learnt:
It is possible to play around with the medium, using simple conventions we could twist the music video into a film style or other media product.
Humour can be from mise-en-scene or the actors expressions
Possible theme for our video: setting the video in another era?
