Hot Chip - Over and Over

This video is interesting as it is unusual, very quirky which separates itself from the normal typical music video. The genre of music that Hot Chip produce is electro / house so the music video contains typical conventions of a music video in this genre, such as cutting to the beat. We are shown rhythmic editing which shows the the rhythmic basis is connected to the song and builds up a montage. The song is based on repetitiveness hence the name of the song 'Over and Over', this is shown through the quick series of edits on objects that are repetitive i.e. in the video a tennis ball machine shooting out tennis balls repetitively. It is also repetitive as the lyrics are repeated i.e. laid back and the chorus. Quirky imagery is used to grab the audiences attention for example conventions of video games are used, flashing titles which fits in with the idea of repetitiveness constantly flashing. Graphic Matches are used such as the lyrics "Monkey with a miniature cymbal" we see a man holding one which creates fluency amongst the video. During the video we are shown match on action where the men are jumping away from an explosion, but then we discover that they are filming this on a green screen which adds to the quirkiness of the music video as it isn't a typical cinematic music video. Green screen is used which gives futuristic background and is also associated with the genre of music, electro.
A mini montage appears which builds up the beat in the song then drops in the beat. Hot Chip use a sharp repetitive beat for their song which adds to the idea of the song about repetitiveness, the beat is also in timing with the edits, showing rhythmic editing. A juxtaposition is used towards the end of the song where the band are performing on top of an office building labelled 'CORPORATION', this goes against their originality and their qirkiness. The surrounding office buildings are engulfed by a dark grey sky which all adds to a sense of repetitiveness because corporation jobs seem to be repetitive as you are doing the same job every like robots. This is also represented as boring through the colours used in this part of the song i.e. black and grey.

Tupac ft Elton John - Ghetto Gospel

• Always narrative - wants us to focus on the narrative
• We are never shown the artists performing
• Natural light adds a sense of realism
• Establishing shots are used
• Flashbacks
• Cutting on the beat - rhythmic editing
• Helicopter, crime and police coding for a crime scene
• All non-diegetic sound
• Rain pathetic fallacy - weather matches the scene / mood
• 10:04 PM suggests a day in the life of
• Point of view shot code for audience amongst the action
• Establishing shot shows they are in the ghetto
• Ground level (Low angle shot)- same level as the body, panning adds to the realism of the narrative
• Ghetto Gospel - juxtaposition, ghetto being rundown where a gospel is holy, church
• Oxymoronic - ghetto and gospel do not match as words, do not belong together
• Tupac and Elton John do not belong together - oxymoronic
• Defocusing adds to the realism like tears from a point of view shot
• Lyrics match precisely with the images we are being shown, 'red sun' for example shows us an image of the sun
• Series of establishing shots creating an urban landscape (urbanisation)
• Educated people wanting to improve their lives
• Portrait of the "last supper" religious connatation, eating his last meal before he is sacrificed linked with the main character - presage
• Close-up of the woman (mum) smiling at her son (main character) showing her love for him through her facial expression
• Hollywood like - cinematic
• Hoodies (costume), body language suggests they are gangsters
• Close-ups on drugs suggesting involvement
• Playing with his mates suggests popularity and youth
• Juxtaposition - doing / dealing drugs outside a church
• Main character is a loving family member
• Codes all suggest / build upan image of the kind of person he (main character) is  
• Close-up on holding hands representing their love
• Lyrics matching images - old woman living out of bags
• Aspiring to get out of his position, out of the ghetto
• Sun on him, arms out, very Jesus like as if he is being sacrificed
• Establishing shot of a deprived rundown area, claustrophobic image suggests he is trapped isolated amongst caged fences
• Bars in the restaurant suggests he is trapped
• Editing suggests the gunmen and the man are linked through a series of quick edits
• Cup represents him dropping to the floor and the water spilling cding for his life, lost
• Ghosts suggests resurrection to help/save others

Madonna - Like a prayer

• Cinematic conventions
• Establishing shot, churchsuggests religion is involved
• Artist involved in the narrative
• Close-ups - convention of a music video
• Rhythmic editing - the actions are in time with the beat
• Religious figure - light on Madonna code for holy and religious
• Presage - a clue to whats going to happen later on - black Jesus behind bars
• Necklace (cross) - holy
• Not logical editing
• A sense of the what the song is about building within the performance
• Cuts in her (Madonna) hands (stigmata) - Jesus like
• KKK imagery of a burning cross - controversially racist
• If you get too nvolved in the story you are distracted from the message Madonna is trying to convey within her song

Michael Jackson - Thriller

• Already at the beginning of the video we have the codes of a horror video, blood written font style
• Cinematic conventions - tracking shot of the car (following)
• Diegetic sound of crickets - eerie atmosphere also realistic
• Night time - convention of a horror film 
• Close-up on the feet suggesting they don't know where they are walking to
• Non-diegetic music - not with the song itself turning it into a mini film 
• Music codes for eeriness and spookiness
• Series of close-ups conveying the changes of Michael from human to werewolf
• Mise-en-scene in a forest, fog, moonlight convention of a horror film
• Damzel in distress - she is screaming and costume codes for innocence
• Its a film within a film
• Michael's costume is iconic
• Establishing shots are used i.e. the cinema
• The artist is involved in the narrative - performing within the narrative
• The music video breaks conventions:
• Performance in the narrative becomes a performance of the song in the video
• Establishing sjot - haunted house which is another convention of a horror film
• Parallel music to go with the actions within the video
• There is balance between music and narrative
• Song itself is a vehicle for the video
• Short film - credits at the end

Lady Gaga - Telephone

To start the (film) music video there is a series of establishing shots building up the mise-en-scene a convention of the narrative. An introduction is used to build up the narrative. In this music video the narrative and the video cross worlds, the performance in the narrative becomes the performance of the song in the video.
Quick edits are used such as jump cuts to draw in the audiences attention, there is rhythmic editing within the music video, both are used to build a montage and help tell the story. The music is parallel with the actions not contrapuntal which is shown through rhythmic editing. Close-ups in the music video are used, typical convention of music videos.
Lady Gaga's costumes used in the music video are iconic, we know it is her as she has a reputation for loud, in your face costumes. The costumes are codes for tough, dark and intimidating. The video is very stylized as its not naturalistic but this adds to the iconic nature of Gaga. The sausage roll is code for phallic as it gets eaten and thrown it represents their hatred for men. This is a presage as it gives us a clue to what might happen later in the video, where Beyonce poisons her partner. Diegetic sounds are used to merge the narrative with the music video. The video itself breaks conventions of a music video as the director breaks the 180 degree rule constantly which confuses the audience.
There is temporal continuity within the music video as the audience follow the narrative throughout the video. The 'pussy wagon' taken from the film 'Kill Bill' is a code for female strength as we associate the colors as feminine and the name but we associate the strength with the size of the car and the film 'Kill Bill'. The flames on the car code for danger as well as the color red used. The director uses a juxtaposition with the costumes and the mise-en-scene as the setting naturalistic whereas the costumes are stylistic, not realistic. Elements of Michael Jacksons 'Thriller' are used in the performance coding for danger as well as the props used i.e. the poison also coding for deadly.
The 30 degrees rule is used (jump cut) so that the edits are sharp and don't look clumsy maintaining continuity.

Video Choices

• Narrative / Imagery
• Original / Conventional
• Artists performing on instruments or part of the 'video world'
• Artists not appearing at all just narrative
• Parallel / Contrapuntal music

Radio Head - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

• Very original
• Stricking and unusual change of imagery 
• Close-ups and Extreme close-ups
• Rhythmic editing as the music slows the movement of the characters slow down e.g. the jumping
• Music is parallel with the video , fits in with the imagery we are shown
• The artists are within the world of video, not shown with instruments 
• There is a context to this video (mise-en-scene) setting is a trailer park

Originality and Conventionality in a music video

Original:

• Using striking/original imagery or style in order to create publicity and interest in the song
• Things that are unfamiliar and new

Conventional:

• Uses the established codes and conventions of music videos
• Does not break the expectations of the target audience
• Cliched
• Stereotypes
• Well established codes

White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

• The colours used establishes and perpetuate the identity of the band
• White, red and black have become synonymous with the band, these images are iconic
• Associated with their musicianship (ability to play musical instruments)
• Clearly no narrative used in the music video, all performance
• Close-ups of the band - convention of a music video
• Extreme close-ups 
• Rhythmic editing - music is in timing with the editing 
• This video is more of a vehicle for the song
• Series of images in the video makes it quite distracting 
• Michel Gondry - Director
• The video is famous because of it's uniqueness, it became viral

Music Video Analysis

• Not all music videos actually use narrative
• Many use imagery to generate the image and identify of the artist/band
• Costume, lighting, editing, mise-en-scene and setting all help to create this image of the artist
• Codes are all employed to perpetuate/establish the identity of the artist/band
• Many artists have costumes/graphics that have become iconic - synonymous with them

Rascal Flatts - What hurts the most

• Realistic mise-en-scene
• Mise-en-scene suggests that the girl has a poor existence - family house, living with her parents 
• Natural Light adds to the sense of realism
• Close-ups of the band - convention of a music video
• Dramatic and Intimate as you can tell from the characters emotions and facial expressions through close-ups
• Introduction with no music a convention of the narrative as if it is a film - cinematic
• Dialogue used in the narrative suggests drama
• Mise-en-scene - artists in a field suggests/codes for freedom
• Artist has relaxed body language 
• Young love, running free, camera emphasis' this through tilts and pans 
• Switches from the narrative to the artists performing with backlights etc - convention of a music video
• The narrative isn't chronological
• Rythmic editing is used as the edits are in timing with the music

Eminem ft Rihanna - Love the way you lie

• Quick edits between the narrative
• Shares intimate camera work of facial expressions
• No temperal continuity
• A montage, a series of scenes building up their relationship
• Rihanna's costume codes for mysterious, sexual and enigmatic
• The fire theme codes for danger, death, destruction, love,passion and intensity
• Fire also represents the tension in the narrative between the relationship of the characters
• Mise-en-scene - field codes for Eminems freedom
• Shine on Eminem codes that he is holy, his importance, that he is godly
• Juxtaposition -contrast between Eminem (summer and field etc.) and Rhianna (suburban, claustrophobic, fire and darkness)
• Extreme close ups of the artist - typical conventions of the music video
• Editing is parallel with the music, in rhythm (rhythmic editing) - convention of a music video
• Long tilt shot showing Eminems freedom with the space around him as if he is invincible
• Panning side to side
• Realistic mise-en-scene making the video cinematic
• Cold colours (green and grey) codes for their relationship
• Mise-en-scene suggests the characters have a poor existence
• Fire in Megan Fox's hands, passion in her hands (she has a choice whether to stay or leave)
• Rythmic editing Megan Fox opens her eyes as the music starts to pick up
• We are shown that she looks at her partners hands which has a mobile number on which belongs to another girl, she starts an argument justas the music picks up
• When Eminem is rapping quicker edits are used because there is constant movement
• Both artists (Eminem and Rhianna) become part of the narrative, both worlds merge

Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends

Their are different types of music video, this specific video consists of both the band and narrative. Narrative theory is a part of the music video that actually tells a story. The mise-en-scene in the narrative is romantic as we are shown two lovers holding hands with a field in the background a romantic convention, we are shown this through a wide angle shot so we can gather a sense of what theme the narrative is. All of this is used to code for young love, romance and spring time. The camera uses a series of close up shots for the viewers to focus on the characters facial expressions which are happy, staring into each others eyes coding for that they are in love. Warm colours are used to code for happiness and summer/spring which is associated with the theme in the narrative.  We are shown a sunset in a field coding for romance (characters laying in the field), love blossoming through a series of quick edits which gives the audience an understanding of whats going on. Playful elements and a series of images build up their relationship. The music starts off with contrapuntal music as we can hear sad lyrics but we are shown happy images/footage.This music video has an introduction without music a typical convention of the narrative. The narrative is quite cinematic and consists of a plot, famous actors and non-diegetic music. Extreme close ups of the lead singer of Green Day and close ups of band members are used which is a convention of a music video. There are video edits from the actors to the singers, during the performance the narrative takes over where dialogue is used then is switched back into the song performance. We are shown a mid shot of the band performing like we are watching a live gig whichis another convention of a music video. The image or footage needs to tell the story as there is limited dialogue within the video, eventhough we are shown scenes with diegetic sound and dialogue. Towards the end of the narrative we are shown the boy in battle which is mirrored by the intense guitar play showing that the music is parallel with the narrative. There are similarities in both the narrative and the music video as explosions are used in the narrative which is then switched to the music video where sparks occur. Camera work and the mise-en-scene adds to the sense of realism as it targets it through natural light etc.