Analysis for other artist's music videos

Florence + the Machine- Rabbit Heart

This video of Florence + the Machine's Rabbit Heart is based heavily on Greek Mythology. The video is narrative based but with performance aspects- the camera will often cut to the artist lip syncing, with many shots of the surrounding area to set the scene and time period. There is structure to this video however it is not necessarily very pronounced. The chorus is repeated however the visuals are not, the storyline in the video is continuous with only cutaways of the artist dancing repeated occasionally. This music video is based upon the Greek God of parties Dionysus. This God is very well know for his violent mood swings and wild spirit, it seems as though the artist has attended one of his high end parties of which many people sacrifice their own life to go to. I feel that the title of the song 'Rabbit Heart' symbolises the fact that Florence needed a brave lion heart to survive the party however in this case she only has a rabbit heart, the end of the video shows her coffin being carried and drifted into the lake, proving that maybe her ambitious partying with Dionysus did not end so well after all.
Within Mise en scene, Florence wears the same outfit throughout (a floaty Greek inspired dress for for the time period- this clothing is a very typical image of her branding)- this may be due to the fact that the story is meant to represent one whole day, of which you would wear the same clothing. Her accessories from the start of the video change once, she has a beaded head piece/veil covering parts of her face at the start. (see gif)

 This adds to her rather mysterious image and can act as a mask to temporarily hide her identity to intrigue the audience. There is one main location used, it is situated in a field by a lake with a traditional Greek dinner party set up. Not only is this typical of the particular time period but I feel that it remains that same as the story is situated around this same environment. Ambient lighting is used throughout, such as during the high angle shots of her looking up at the camera and singing, bright light beams block some of her face which emphasises the fact that it's a summers day and also adds a more mystical effect. I think that the use of high key lighting is very effective and we'd like to use it in our own video to create a happy & free atmosphere. The high angle camera angles looking down at her generates a sense of innocence at the fact that she is at an occasion which is very out of her depth.

Shannon Saunders-

Slow but still fast pace cuts 

Lana Del Rey- Video Games

This video is of the alternative genre. I feel that this is a very typical representation of this genre as it is a creative video- often with old vintage footage. The music video has a narrative with some performance based sections, however these are only occasional and are filmed with a home video footage. The narrative to 'Video Games' shows lots of shots of social occasions such as swimming, cycling and the nightlife- the video is almost an entire road trip, often filmed with many point of view shots.

The repetition of the words 'video games' means that it is emphasised against the juxtaposing images of the outdoors- it represents the fact that she is content watching her lover play video games however exploring and socialising is what she really longs for. Going out with friends is her version of ''playing video games''. The lyrics link to the visuals in some places too such as when she sings ''watching all our friends fall'' it shows her friend falling from his skateboard. There is structure with the verses and chorus in the video however the visuals are never repeated- it is very continuous which can represent the ongoing road trip journey. She wears only two outfits throughout the whole video which I think represents anyone's everyday appearance- it also reflects real life as she has filmed herself lip-syncing and the quality appears to be a home video,  making the whole video appear very 'normal'. The music video is predominantly POV shots- this includes her walking through a garden passage way and Hollywood Walk Of Fame. These shots make the viewer feel as if they are the ones experiencing her fun adventures which makes the video very personal and also keeps the audience guessing in order to make them want to continue watching. There are many establishing shots (such as of the billboards/lights) this puts the video into more context whilst also accentuating particular locations so that it sets the scene for the audience. I think that this video has provided lots of inspiration for our own as we want to film lots of point of view shots to represent what the artist/character is experiencing, this creates more of a connection. The variety of different establishing and long shots of different locations will show that the character is having fun and will represent a longer time scale to make it seem like flash backs of her life.
The use of dark low key lighting is frequently seen, this adds a sense of mystery and can keep the audience drawn into the video.

Kate Nash- Foundations
In the music video 'foundations' by Kate Nash I am able to tell that it is of the indie pop genre- I would say it was quite stereotypical of this particular genre due to the fact that there is lots of bright colour involved and creative effects which makes it appear fun and enjoyable. The video is very much narrative based with some elements of performance however this does not include any dancing but just mainly lip syncing or acting out scenes to tell a story. The video initially shows the artist and her current boyfriend completing very mundane tasks e.g. playing cards and choosing what to eat from the fridge. As the story unravels, we see that their relationship is breaking down which is shown more literally through the visuals of her tossing and turning away from her boyfriend in bed and turning over the picture in the frame of them together whilst she is dusting. The gradual split is also shown more symbolically by the stop motion animations of the watches at first being connected to then moving from each other and two tied up socks unraveling. The lyrics 'my fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundations' represent the fact that they are both trying to cling onto their inevitably crumbling relationship (the foundations) knowing that it will soon end anyway- the sense of hopelessness is greatly highlighted. The end of the video shows the artist packing her suitcase which tells us that their relationship has ended, of which the audience probably predicted due to the buildup shown throughout.

One main location is used throughout the entire video, it is set in a house which shows the downfall of their relationship as they are trying to get about their normal life. I think that for this type of indie pop video the location is very appropriate mainly due to the fact that it is narrative and therefore should take place in an everyday environment (such as the home for this instance). Other parts of mise en scene like her costumes are significant too. For example, she has five costume changes in the whole video, her style seems to be quite vintage and consists largely of bright colours. Her first outfit was a gingham yellow dress, yellow tights and yellow high heels- this makes her appear very unique and quite kooky, which is all part of her branding and fun pop image. The amount of costume changes are probably there to represent the time scale of events unfolding- which I feel is very successfully done, for our music video we would also like to do the same to show our artist having fun over a long summer, therefore by having several costume changes it can show the period of time. Kate has 'normal' appearing natural make-up which I also think is appropriate because it should represent how she looks everyday at home- as well as this, I noticed ambient lighting throughout which is quite juxtaposing as the topic and mood of the video is rather sad and the high key lighting makes everything appear more uplifting. Of the wide variety of camera work used, I feel that it predominantly consists of close-ups and eye level shots. The eye level shots are used when she is lip syncing to the camera (which occurs very frequently) I think that this portrays more of a personal message to the audience watching and creates a stronger connection between them and the artist. Closeup shots are often seen of the couple's facial expressions which emphasises their negative emotions, they are also used in the stop motion animations (such as the tooth brushes moving away from each other at the beginning of the video) to really draw the viewer's attention it. An aerial shot is used when the couple are trying to sleep in bed and are facing away from eachother, it gives the viewer a more understanding viewpoint of their crumbling relationship as it allows you to see the growing contrast between them more clearly.