Critical Analysis of Music Videos 6

CORRINE BAILEY RAE


Put your records on 

I really love the motif of the red ribbon that returns throughout the video, going from one ribbon on her bike to hundreds hanging from the tree. 
I have noticed that all Corrine's songs I have looked at have a natural, simple quality to them. This is transferred to all parts of the video: mise en scene, shot types and editing. For example, using a hand held camera in this video, gives the impression of a 'home movie' style which fits with the costumes and locations of this video. Another convention of Corrine's videos is shots of tree tops with the sun behind them. This is a beautiful and simple way of showing the 'summery' nature of her song and placing the audience in the setting as it feels like we are looking up from the shade of the tree to the blue sky behind it.
In this video, she challenges a convention that female singers use in music videos by wearing the same costume in both locations rather than changing their whole look in the different settings.


Like a star

This video is an excellent example of how good they are at dressing the set on Corrine's videos. There are 3 locations in Just Like a Star: a big disused Georgian house, jetty by a lake and a night club. All are picturesque, so beautifully composed that they could all work as photographs as well as moving shots.  The house and club are linked by an action match shot (see below) but I cannot see any link or meaning behind the jetty shots, other than their beauty. The use of traveling shots moving in and out throughout the video give it almost a lullaby quality. 

These shots could be photographs

 

                                                      

Action Match with the hand position

Fading the blue lights out (which
 highlight the silhouettes of the
dancers) gives the impression
 that she is oblivious to them
and alone in her own thoughts

The action match earlier links these
two locations. Maybe she really is in
the night club and the house is in
her dreams.

From this analysis I have learnt:

• Corrine Bailey Rae's videos are exquisitely beautiful, using mise en scene to its full potential, but as a result are not very meaningful. 
• Natural and simple with occasional glamour are her style of video. 
• Humour is not part of her videos very often.