Location Analysis

Locations in Music Videos

'High By the Beach' - Lana Del Rey

In this music video, there is one main location. Saying this, other locations shown still revolve around that same predominant location (being the beach). The location in this video (filmed in Malibu, California) is very consistent throughout- a reason for this may be due to the title of the song which includes the word 'beach' therefore the lyrics are synchronous with the visuals. I feel that this establishing shot of Del Rey running across the shore is very successful as it could represent a sense of freedom that she may feel in such a tranquil, open environment in comparison to the usual busy life she faces everyday. The rocks along the beach in this location may represent her troubles, therefore she is just running past them without a care in the world as the beach is one of few places she can truly relax.

The second location in this video is Del Rey's beach house along the beach. I think that using this location means that a more vivid contrast is shown- this is as the beach represents her liberty however her house, which is meant to bring safety, represents insecurity. This is because her house is where she spends her time worrying and is constantly spied on by the paparazzi therefore instead of bringing comfort, it makes her face further troubles. Although the colour white on the house represents peace, a juxtaposition is created when she is seen carrying a gun to shoot at the media invading her privacy. 

To conclude, I feel that the limited locations in this music videos prove to be very successful as there are two main contrasts. I think that, in terms of our own music video, using a couple of basic locations in detail could prove to also be successful as more of a thorough storyline can be told. 

'Shades of Cool'- Lana Del Rey

In Lana's music video 'Shades of Cool' multiple locations are used. This is an establishing long shot of a dark street with few lights and I feel that this is a successful location to use as it reflects the deeper meaning of the song. As the theme of the song is down the 'dark' route, this type of nighttime location relates to the isolation she is feeling as the road shows only one car which could represent the glimmer of hope she has for her love driving away, leaving her in complete darkness. I think that this type of shot adds to the loneliness that it elicits to the audience.

The next location shown is the mid-shot of the artist in an outside environment surrounded by palm trees. I feel that more of a contrast is created here because the outdoors is typically linked to freedom and happiness however the lyrics of the song portray a sense of worthlessness and sorrow- possibly reflecting on a past summer she had once experienced. 

The swimming pool location, I feel, has more of a lyrically visual representation. This is as the line and song title 'shades of cool' is repeated throughout and the cool colour is very dominant here. The colour blue is often typically associated with depression and sadness and the fact that she is swimming in water could symbolise the fact that she feels like she is emotionally drowning. I do feel as though this location is successful as it is very different to the other scenes filmed on 'dry land' therefore it stands out further and is more memorable to the audience.

A studio location is used for the parts of the music video where the chorus is featured and reoccurs throughout- this shows consistency in the video and is a scene that viewers are able to come back and relate to. As the artist moves, iridescent neon colours radiate from her body whilst an element of double exposure is used where a rose is seen growing from her head. Not only does a rose symbolise love and passion, but also highlights the fact that her emotions appear very raw like in nature. 

In terms of our own music video, I think we should consider using a studio on location and studio effects in places such as when lip syncing. This is because I believe that a plain room/backdrop draws the audience's attention more to the emotions portrayed by the artist which is vital for us in our song.

We would like to draw inspiration from the consistent theme of nature used throughout as it has lots of symbolism and adds a sense of reality to the scene- for this we would use a variety of natural outdoor locations. 

'Ride'- Lana Del Rey

 In this music video, Lana Del Rey focuses on one main location but uses a mass of smaller locations in order to create more of a dynamic video. The video predominantly features a range of flashbacks however, throughout, it always resumes back to this scene of Lana swinging on a tyre in a desert. I feel that this location is highly successful as it is just the artist alone in such an open landscape. Although it could be interpreted as a desolate place and evoke feelings of isolation in the audience, the lyrics suggest to us that it is a place of freedom for her. The lyrics, to me, are a true representation of the visuals which may be more pleasing to the viewers and encourage them to continue watching which is definitely a positive factor and something we aim to include in our video. The line in particular ''i am fucking crazy but i am free'' I feel truly symbolises this scene and location as it appears to be such a calming environment. I feel that in our video we should also have lyrics synchronous with the visuals as it helps the audience to understand the story further and creates a stronger connection between the artist and viewers.

 The theme of motorbikes on location became apparent to me, this included the artist riding the back of the vehicle in long establishing shots like shown above. I think that the appearance of a road trip look which is being portrayed looks successful as it correctly shows a sense of living a wild and exciting life- this is what the lyrics of the song are all about.

Something else I noticed when viewing this video is the weather conditions on location.I saw that sunsets are often used included and sunny 'summer' appearing weather. This portrays a happy and 'free' atmosphere, reflecting the mood of the song perfectly. This is something we wish to seriously consider when filming our video- although the weather can be very unpredictable, I have understood through my research the type of 'vibe' that it can create- rainy weather would also be good in other parts of our video (such as the breakup) as that sends a sadder message.

 The video includes a variety of flashbacks from the artist's troublesome past. Del Rey started off as a small independent artist and the music video has scenes of her performing on location at a theater on stage. This makes part of the music video performance based which is quite a conventional feature and looks very effective for this song as she is portraying quite a glamorous brand. I do not think any performance based stage location scenes would be very appropriate for our song as we plan to focus more wholly on flashbacks of our artist's life and lip syncing on these outdoor locations.

I particularly liked the outdoor location of the bonfire. I think that the fire looks very effective as it is of a rich, striking colour and is bright so attracts the audience which is very important.
At the start and end of the video, there is a monologue where she puts the song into more context, this is whilst a variety of different locations are shown, synchronous with the visuals. The lines ''When i'm not at war with myself, I ride, I just ride'' is linked with on her riding the back of motorbikes round the edge of the mountain. Although this feature of the music video is what makes me fully appreciate it so much, I don't think our group should include this as it would be very difficult to make it look/sound fully professional which is the look we are fully going for. We want to stick to the song and lip syncing and avoid the use of our actual artist's voice.

'Young and Beautiful'- Lana Del Rey

 Lana Del Rey's 'Young & Beautiful' music video is solely performance based. This means that it is all filmed in a theater/studio. I do not think that this would be the best solution, location wise, for us when it comes to our own video as it doesn't show a storyline and that is what we wanted in order to give the song a deeper meaning. Saying this, one thing I did like about this video is the direct eye contact that the artist shows throughout, this can really draw and audience in as well as giving it more of a personal feel which I believe to be very important.
I noticed the use of other people in this music video. This included the location where the orchestra were performing on stage. I think that it suited this type of song as it has a lot of instrumental whereas this wouldn't be a relevant to ours as our song 'Without You' is not. Saying this, the use of other people as well as our artist is something I think that we should at least consider, although we plan to use other peoples arms to show the point of view of the artist's lover.

In conclusion, we have found this research very helpful as it has given us an insight into what type of locations we should use in our own video. We plan to use a mixture of both indoor and outdoor locations, but predominantly outdoor as this can include more exciting locations which would be best suited to our target audience of 16-22 year olds.

In this Prezi below, you will be able to see a variety of locations we have brainstormed of which I will explain our reasoning for on our filming day blog posts at a later date.