Music Video Analysis- Task 2

TASK TWO

For this task I analysed the differences and effects of performance and narrative videos.

Seafret- Oceans

Oceans is a narrative based music video, it features the narrative of a shy teenage girl dressing in a superhero costume and walking out to a park where she discovers she has superhero powers. Personally I think this song works well as a narrative video as the theme of the song is about insecurities and being unsure of ourselves shown through the lyrics; "We hide our emotions, Under the surface and try to pretend". This theme is very relatable for the audience and therefore it is more effective to get the message of the song across by using an engaging story rather than have the band lip sync the lyrics in a performance video.
This video adheres to Todorov's narrative theory as there is equilibrium of the girl returning home, a disruption by the girl putting the superhero costume on, leaving the house and being attacked in the park and then the equilibrium is restored when she receives justice and accepts herself and the powers she has.
The video also very loosely adheres to Propp's character theory as there is the protagonist (the main character who is also the hero), the reward is acceptance of her powers, the villains who attack her in the field and the helper is her mother.
I thought this video's simplicity was quite effective as it worked in synergy with the acoustic and heartfelt music as it didn't take anything or distract from the song, however I did feel in the middle there didn't seem to be much of a story plot which may make audience lose a bit of interest in seeing how the video ends.

Churchill- Change

Change worked well as a performance based narrative because these style music videos are often seen as repetitive and that they get boring after a long time of the same image in the music video however this music video uses effective editing and camera techniques to keep it interesting and engaging. The Change music video begins with the main singer stood before a simple blue background with a microphone but as the camera begin to zoom in on her face it cuts to the same shot only the singer was costumed completely differently, the shot only shows very briefly until it's back to the original shot. These quick cutaways add energy and pace to the video which engages the audience effectively as they don't know what to expect next but want to. The screen also gets split into two with both a male singer and the female singer, singer the females lyrics, this is cutaway by a long shot of the man singing the females lyrics alone. This adds a sense of intrigue for the audience as it's obviously not the man singing the lyrics. Another thing that makes this video unique and interesting is the mise en scene used, the blue background is shown throughout the whole video but because the outfit changes are so extravagant and interesting, such as the retro style outfits, it increases and maintains the engagement and intrigue. The camera angles and editing techniques vary throughout the whole clip from a long shot pan around the drummer to a simple close up of the main singers. This continuous change keeps the audiences interest peaked as they don't know what to expect.  Through the use of high key lighting all the changes in camera angles and costumes can be clearly seen which I think is a particularly effective element of this music video.I personally found this video technique very engaging as it was simply but if well done can create a very effective music video. From watching this music video I have decided to use it as inspiration when I come to planning my own music video.

OK GO- Here it Goes Again

I felt this song worked very well as a performance based video as it was quite fun and energetic and therefore would have been quite hard to find a narrative that worked well and complemented the up-beat atmosphere of the song. The dancing on the treadmills was unique and interesting, I found this very engaging as an audience member and it add atmosphere and pace to the music as they moved in time with the beat and therefore created synergy between the visuals and the song. I think this video had the potential to look very unfinished and amateur if it wasn't carefully made. However as the dancing is well rehearsed and known by every dancer it looked polished and clean which made it very engaging as it created a better effect when the dancers timings matched each others and all the dancers timings matched the pace and beat of the music which created synergy between the audio and the visuals.
The Here it goes again music video fit the Blulmer and Katz's escapism theory, as this video is entertaining and has a fun energy and mood, audiences may watch it to escape and distract themselves from their own personal lives and any issues they may have.

Ed Sheeran- Sing

This is a very entertaining and engaging music video which expresses the energy and atmosphere of the song. The music video is a blend of performance and narrative based. The performance by Ed Sheeran adds authenticity to the music video and shows brand identity, however the narrative element adds interest and is effective at further engaging the audience.
The novelty of using a puppet as the protagonist of the video makes it unique and thereby very engaging for the audience, the use of a puppet that looks like Ed Sheeran further shows brand identity.
The visual effects such as the swirling background behind Ed Sheeran when he is singing creates a link between the visual and the theme of alcohol in the lyrics creating synergy.
I felt this video worked well as a mixture of the narrative of the puppet going out for the night to a club and a performance video by Ed Sheeran. It is an upbeat song and therefore fitted well with the fun, lighthearted plot of the narrative however since Ed Sheeran is a very popular and famous artist and a lot of the audience listen to this music because they like the artist I felt it was important that Ed Sheeran be shown throughout the video. This video adheres to Andrew Goodwin's theory close ups are important so that the audience can appreciate the celebrity, Ed Sheeran, this is shown in the performances by him throughout the video.