Treatment

Project X trailer

Kickstarts Video - Example

Star Image - Mac Miller

Analysis of music videos

Florence Welch, Stage Name - Florence and The machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)

Rabbit Heart is the fourth single from Florence’s debut album Lungs, and reached 12th in the UK singles chart after being released on 22nd June 2009. The genre of the song is classified as indie pop on the music site last.fm and alternative in the iTunes music store.

The video is largely narrative based with florence singing in a field accompanied by a number of actors. A spiritual ritual appears to take place in the video, where Florence and the actors dance, food is thrown from a table to the floor and finally Florence is pushed out into a river in a floating coffin-like box in a way similar to a Biblical story. These spiritual themes relate directly back to the lyrics for instance the line “we raise it up, this offering, we raise it up” as well as the song’s chorus.

It starts off with an extreme close up of Florence’s mouth with the rest of her face covered by a piece of cloth. The camera then pans outwards as the cloth is lifted into a medium close up. This draws the audience’s attention to the opening lyrics of the song.

Close up of Florence singing.

Tracking close ups and medium close up’s are regularly used throughout the music video of Florence making her constantly the centre of the audience’s attention.

Close up of her singing the lyrics.

There is a clear ‘Golden Hour’ effect that has been done to give the video an old and rustic look while at the same time making it more subtle and giving the location a nicer ora.

As you can see, the clear difference from no Golden hour, above. To Golden hour, below.

Golden Hour Effect

As well as the Golden Hour effect being used, a high angle shot is also frequently used at the start o the video to add superiority to Florence.

Only one musical instrument from the song appears in the video. A man in a suit playing a harp appears intermittently creating a fairytale like scene fitting in with the lyrics and meaning of the song. One or two other instruments are used simply as props in the video to help the video relate to the meaning of the song.

The cutting rhythm of the song is slower than most music videos, but still relatively fast. This combined with the filter used on the camera and the occasional use of the fade transition gives the music video a dated appearance, as if to suggest that the ritual happening on screen used to happen, but no longer takes place.

A fade transition is effective here as the coffin floats off down the river to a close up of her face, showing her emotion.

She then closes her eyes and her face emotion looks like she is upset or tired, this then fades into black and finishes the song.

A number of extras appeared in the video, most notably at the end where Welch is carried towards the riverbank and pushed out onto the water. The extras make the ‘ceremony’ look like a joyous occasion as singing and dancing takes place in the background. In an interview for BBC Radio Florence confessed that her record label had asked for something more upbeat, and the use of these actors in the background help achieve this.

When she is being carried to the river in a coffin-like box.

The coffin as she is being lowered into the water.

While Rabbit Heart (Raise it up) wasn’t Florence’s first single, it was an important song as relatively new artist for the creation of her public image. The video helps to show Florence not as the typical female vocalist sex symbol, but as an artist passionate about writing interesting music and songs with peculiar videos to accompany them.

The guy in the top hat is feeding her grapes as though she is a queen, she isn't taking the grapes but giving the other guy attention instead, some voyeurism is shown here through the act of 'sexiness' which she is performing on the guy in the red blazer.

Throughout the song they start eating at a table with lots of old tudor food like pigs heads and lots of fruit and bread. This could be portraying the old time that it is meant to relate to.

They then go crazy and start chucking all the food off the table, this could show that they are free but could also relate to the lyrics just before they throw the food of the table "Before I make, the final sacrifice". The final sacrifice could be the ridding of the food, showing the reason why they chucked it all of the table; to make the final sacrifice. A sacrifice is something given to the gods or demons, maybe they were giving the final sacrifice to them buy giving them the food or maybe she was the final sacrifice and thats why she gave herself in the coffin.

Pig heads that were eaten and then sacrificed.

The music video.

Analysis of music videos

Jay-z and Kanye West - OTIS

This video is by an artist called "Jay-z and Kanye West" the song is called "OTIS".

Kanye West was born June 8, 1977. He is an American hip hop musician, songwriter, record producer, film director and fashion designer. West gained prominence as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records; he achieved recognition for his work on rapper Jay-Z's The Blueprint album in 2001.

Shawn Carter, known by his stage name Jay-Z was born on December 4th, 1969 is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is one of the most finically sucessful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs in America.

In this video there is a narrative to a certain extent, the narrative itself is the artist driving around in an expensive car with lots of bling and good looking girls in the back, this could also adjust and bring out his star image, of a wealthy and blinged out gangster who drives specially made cars and gets lots of girls. Both the artist, Kanye and Jay-z are involved in the narrative, as well as driving round in the Maybach there are some parts where the camera is just focused on Jay-z and Kanye, they're in the middle of the screen and singing the lyrics with certain hand gestures which could also portray some sort of 'rich' or 'snobby' but that is all a part of their star image which is clearly built and progressed around this video. 

At one point Kanye does his well known hand gesture the 'illuminati' sign. This is again all part of his star image as he is well known for this hand gesture. Jay-z is in the background and looks as though he is almost shadowing him and backing him up with the lyrics he's singing.

At part (1:44) Kanye says "I made jesus walk so i'm never going to hell" as he puts his hands together and head to the sky as though he is thanking jesus. But on the other hand he could also be looking up to the sky because he is praying for him to not go to hell.

Point (0:44) "I invented swag, popping bottles putting supermodels in the Cad". He is looking deep into the camera; an extreme close up, which is done so that he is the main focus. He grabs the camera which gives you the impression that he is in charge and that he can do what he wants. He says "I invented swag" this is another element to build up his star image as he believes he is the definition of swag and that his life consists of popping bottles and getting supermodels in his Cadillac.

When Kanye West does this gesture like wings with his arm he says "We getting money from up under you" This is possibly why he is doing the 'wing' gesture.. Its as though he is telling everyone that he is getting money from up under them, and his arms represent himself and everyone else are under him.

Jay-z also says here "Photo shoot fresh, lookin' like wealth i'm about to call the paparazzi on myself"

This could explain why he is doing a camera sign with his hand. He thinks that he is photo shoot fresh which means he feels he is ready to be harassed by the paparazzi, furthermore explaining why he also says he is going to call the paparazzi on himself. He could also be saying this just because he wants more media attention. "Photo shoot fresh, lookin' like wealth" is a clear sign of what he thinks of himself, and this is also shown and proved by the clothes that he is wearing, the watch he has on and the fly personalised car that he is driving around in.

From what I have seen throughout this video the light source is all natural. There is most probably a number of lights that have been placed around Kanye and Jay-z but these aren't visible on screen, therefore making them off screen lighting. This lighting seems to be making them look stronger and more powerful, this is probably because of the high key lighting that is being used to make it brighter.

Another element that has made Kanye and Jay-Z look superior is that the camera angle that has been used in most of the shots where they are on screen is a low angle shot; this is very effective in making the on screen character look big, superior and powerful as it gives you the feeling that you are looking up on them and they are looking down on you.

And finally the genre conventions of this video would be things such as the expensive car that is being driven around, the jewellery that they are wearing which shows they are wealthy and blinged out. Things such as the girls that are driving round in the swag car are examples of voyeurism, because they are all wearing clothing that shows off their body's and and good looking women who are clearly there because they are attracted to Kanye and Jay-z  and they look like they're having fun; smiling and laughing, which also builds up the persona of their star image. As well as this Jay-z and Kanye are just chilling at a industrial area with a giant american flag behind them, showing they are proud to be american and that they have nothing to worry about. Being in a place where you can do what you want suggests riches and wealth.

 Example of Voyeurism and the ability to pull good looking girls all adds to the persona of their star image.

 Personalised Maybach.

Girls laughing and having fun - Voyeurism.

The music video.

Analysis of music videos

 Kid Cudi - Pursuit Of Happiness ft. MGMT

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name

Kid Cudi, is an American rapper, singer and song-writer, guitarist and record producer, Cudi is signed under Republic Records and his own imprint, Wicked Awesome Records. He first gained recognition after the release of his first official full-length project, a mixtape titled A Kid Named Cudi (2008). The mixtape caught the attention of American rapper-producer Kanye West, who then signed Cudi to his GOOD Music label in late 2008. His association with West and his label, led Cudi to prominence.

It starts with Kid Cudi putting on a track on an old school record player, he then takes a sip of champagne and begins to lip sing with the track.

This music video has been set up to look like a party, because it links to the lyrics. People watch it and want to go out and party. He sits on the sofa with people partying around him, they are all in slow motion and he is singing along to the song at normal paced speed. As the video goes on, he proceeds to be sitting at a bar, where again everyone is dancing and drinking around him(in slow motion) while he is still acting and singing along with the lyrics.

He performs the video the whole way through, and the song tells you a story which he acts out through dance, hand movements and other characters joining in. 

A lot of slow motion is used throughout the video, this seems to be very effective and could be done to show the expression of everyone and how much fun they are having. At the same time that the slow motion is being used, when the song speeds up at parts, the things that are going on around the party seem to speed up with the music. Then at point (3:30) when the beat drops a bit more, it reverses in and out of slow motion, and it almost looks like rhythmic editing in the way that the shot doesn't change but the pace of it does. It then carries on and continuous to go in and out of slow and fast motion.

At point (1:06) he sings "Everything that shines ain't always gonna' be gold" and as that is sung the camera switches to a female DJ who pulls out a record which has the cover of Kid Cudi's Pursuit Of Happiness track inside, which coincidentally is gold.

He is surrounded by luxurious women who are laughing and stroking each other and some of which are kissing as well. These women are being shown as objects. They are all smiling and having fun, and then it goes to a shot of himself taking a shot and as he is doing so the lyrics are "Tell me what you know about dreams, dreams; tell me what you know about night terrors, nothing." This could have been done so that it appears he is asking the drink a question, in order to find out what he knows about dreams. And as he carried on drinking he would find out the answer. 

Diagetic lighting is used during the video, its used to make Kid Cudi stand out from the rest of the party, and gives the viewer a type of 'golden hour' look over himself. As well as this it highlights the mise-en-scene for example the props in the video that will stand out because of the lighting and will 'glisten' and make Cudi look as though he is rich and wealthy.
The lighting also seems to light up the table in the middle of the shot, which has bottles, beer, and other props on it. The light seems to bounce off the table onto the surrounding people who look like they're having a good time and are all dressed well and drinking out of champagne glasses which portrays a party and party people. The light is quite dim, which could be counted as soft lighting; this was probably done because the lights aren't usually on at a party. The dim lighting could also represent a mysterious being and how he is on a pursuit of happiness and that when he finds that happiness it will brighten up. 

Shot types that are used in this video are mostly medium shots and seem to be focused on Cudi in the middle, this means the focus of the audience will be pulled into the middle of the shot, i.e the main character of the video which in this case is Cudi. These shots are done to create emphasis on the artist, location and his emotions. 

As well as this, close ups are used not only to show emotions but also to reflect the words of the song with the movement of Cudi's lips. 

As well as this close ups are good to show other emotions like hand gestures to show parts of the song or how he is feeling. For example here when he raises his hand to his ear and says "Everything that shines ain't always gonna' be gold, hey" he is looking deep into the camera, making eye contact with the viewers and it almost seems like he is asking you the question. The use of close up and hand gestures combined with the rhetorical sounding "Hey" makes you feel as though you are almost there at the party with him.

His star image is constructed to look as though he is a very chilled out guy who is easy to get along with and loves to party. He looks like a likeable guy and seems to be very popular and also seems to know how to throw parties. His target audience is aimed at teens from 16-25 year olds. He wears clothing like young party teens would and also seems to act the same way that every teen acts, having fun and partying. He wears fresh looking Adidas shoes which is trendy and many teens would look at him and want to dress and act like him. Because it is portrayed that he has 'the perfect life', that is why i believe it works so well.

He would have easily been able to market this song through YouTube and other social networking sites. The upper hand that he had was the song became the SoundTrack to the film Project X which was a film about a party that three friends had which turned out to be a crazy over powered teen rave. The song goes along great with the film and this gave him the idea to create the video with the theme of a party, just like Project X. Which therefore boosted the marketing of the song.

                                                                   The music video.