Unsteady X Ambassadors music video Analysis

Within the first 18 seconds of the video we see crosscutting between a child walking towards his father and a woman walking through a restaurant. Suggesting a linked narrative or something similar is about to happen to these people.

20 seconds in we see a location change to show the performance element of the video with close ups mainly on the lead singer of the band. This Red lighting implies danger or anger coming from the band members. This conation gives the video a much rawer tone as it depicts that it is about a past experience of one of these members.

At 0:26 we see the woman who was walking through a restaurant with her arms wrapped round a man, these proxemics suggest a date between the two. The shot then cuts to the same man swinging his son around in circles. This telling the audience that this narrative includes the same people in different time periods of their lives. This converges with Todrow’s theory as it shows an equilibrium which is the couple happy on their date.  

At 0:55 we see the couple laughing at the table they are sat on, this shot is cut into the family sat at their dining table laughing too, however the lyrics “this house doesn’t feel like home.” Acts as a warning, to the disruption of the equilibrium, the next stage in Todrow’s theory.

At 1:12 there is a downwards panning shot of the boy on the date, it pans down to him holding a flask, in this scene it is shown as a fun and rebellious act; in the next scene however it has proved to get out of hand, this shown by the close up of the mum watching him pour whiskey into his morning coffee with a worried look on her face. The eye line match at 1:35 shows that she doesn’t want her child to see this and have bad habits in the future.  

At 2:12 there is an extreme close up of the mum shouting in the father’s ear, this shot is contrasted by an extreme close up of her whispering positive things into his ear on the date. This two shots alone prove Trodrow’s theory can be applied to this video as it starts off with an equilibrium and then it is destroyed by the deterioration  of the father to alcoholism, The mother is constantly looking to restore this equilibrium by using their son as motivation to stop.

The performance element of the music video also follows the star theory as the only band member we have seen clearly throughout the whole video is the main singer. This depicting he is the only important member of the band and that he is the only one that fans and audiences want to see.

Katy Perry Part of me Music video analysis

Katy perry part of me music video analysis from Betsy-Jo Warren

Intertexuality

Intertexuality is the linking of different forms of media. It can refer to music videos, Dance, film and cultural references. Each audience member will experience a different form of intertextuality as it all links to your readings of certain media texts and your cultural and social backgrounds. This implies that the audience member will only understand a reference if they know what it is referring to.

There are three main ways that intertextuality is used, the first being Parody. This means obviously copying the original and changing aspects about it to add a comedic lilt. An example of this is changing the words to a song.

The second way intertextuality can be used is through Pristege, This is smililar to parody however it references the media text it was influenced by but doesnt copy it and is more respectful.

The third way is through Hommage, this means borrowing ideas and themes directly from another media text but doesnt replicate them.

An example of this would be Iggy Azalea and Charlie XCX's Fancy Music video. Its clear that Iggy is almost parodying the Classic teen film Clueless. This resemblance is a great example of cultural references as if an audience member had not seen Clueless, They wouldn't have understood the reference within the music video.

Product placement is also a huge part of intertextuality and synergy within music videos. This allows for the record label/artist and a company to promote each other. An example of this is within Miley Cyrus's We Can't Stop music video. We can see that one f the first shots within this video is of a beats pill. This obvious product placement means that Miley's fans will want it because she used one and Beats will promote Mileys new song.

Narrative and Character Theories

The Todrow Theory has 5 basic points

1. The narrative starts with an equilibrium 
2. An action or character disrupts that equilibrium
3. A quest to restore the equilibrium begins
4. the narrative continues to a climax
5. Resolution occurs and equilibrium is restored 

When applying this to a music video points 1,2 and 5 are the most relevant. 

Propp's seven character theory

The hero

The Villain

The doner/enabler

The Helper

The princess

The false hero

The dispatcher.

Usually there is always one of these characters in a media text however they don't have to be literal as the villain in a post apocalyptic film could be the elements, similar to The Book of Eli the dispatcher is God as he told him to carry the book to safety.

Andrew Goodman's Star Theory

I have researched into the codes and conventions of Music videos and explored The 5 aspects of Andrew Goodman's Star theory. At this moment in time I am wanting to make a Rock music video because of the creativity of the Mise en scene and editing.

Andrew goodwin from BetsyJoWarren

Digipack Analysis

Digipack analysis from Betsy-Jo Warren

Digipack Mood Board

This is my Digipack mood board created so that I could have abetter understanding of what they are. From my Research I found that they are a different style of CD case. They usually have 6 sides and are a way to release almost limited edition albums now days. I feel that they are a great way to spill your albums themes onto the CD case. I feel that I will create a colour scheme through out my music video and then it will make it slightly easier to link both my video and Digipack together.   

Digipack moodboard from Betsy-Jo Warren

What is a Digipack?

A2 Media Studies Preliminary Music Video