Past Students Work (analysis)

In this music video done by previous Park High Sixth-form students there was a lot of creative ideas and good use of conventions. They have involved a dance routine throughout the music video in both day and night time and are dressed in suitable clothing. All three girls danced on time and on beat making the video look a lot more professional.

A good use of narrative is also used between a male and female's love story. In most music videos I have seen it has the male leaving the female but in this music video them conventions are broken with the female actor (Yasmin) taking control of the situation. Despite them being deeply in love leaving seems to be the only option as the facial expressions show that their relationship is based around arguments and anger.

Lip syncing is done to a very good level as i have not seen one part where the syncing is off. It grabs the audience's attention when lip syncing is done properly as the professionalism of the video is brought together. The editing was done to a good level too. The cuts are on beat and are in necessary times with the narrative i.e. cuts between the conversation.

The camera work is excellent especially in the beginning of the video with the birds eye view over London. Many different shots have been brought together such as close-ups, medium shots and long shots in all angles i.e high and low. This gave me a variety of shots to look at stopping the video from being repetitive and boring.

I am going to keep this analysis in mind when constructing my music video as I feel I can learn a lot, especially on the creative shots used in the music video.

Bad Girls M.I.A Analysis

For this task i have decided to analyze the music video by M.I.A called Bad Girls. I am going to talk about the conventions i notice on this video. This video is very unique as its based in an arabian country and the visuals presented are not things you would see in everyday life living in the UK. I feel M.I.A's performance as an artist in this video was top quality, she didn't go against typical conventions where the female aims to look sexy. I feel she comes across as the 'cool girl' as she seems very lenient and relaxed while performing.

In this low angle medium shot it shows M.I.A performing her song while looking directly at the camera. I feel this was done to grab the viewers attention as it makes us feel as if she's directly speaking to us. This is a good way to make the audience feel involved with what is going on. M.I.A is dressed in summer clothing, such as a hat made of straw and baggy trousers. This can give the audience an internal message of how 'hot' this video is. There is clear relationship between the visuals presented and the audio also. 'Chain hits my chest when I'm banging on the dash' as this is said M.I.A holds her chain and lets it swing. This visual just backs up her lyrics and helps the audience understand what she means with her lyrics. I also feel Goodwin's theory is represented in this shot by the way she moves. I believe there is voyeuristic treatment towards M.I.A as she can be looked at as eye candy even though she is not trying to be.

Within this screen grab a horse is galloping at full speed with a rider on top. A horse in a desert is not something somebody from the UK will see everyday. A long tracking shot is used to follow the horses movement building speed within the visuals. A male is shown riding this horse, this can represent power and dominance within the frame as two cars follow behind. He is dressed in white arabian clothing, this again just shows the audience cultural factors within the arabian society. This shot brings up the wild factors of the track and makes M.I.A differentiate from other female artists as she brings this crazy but 'cool' image into her music.

This last shot is another example of bringing in the crazy yet 'cool' image into her music. M.I.A is sitting on the side of a car while it drives on two wheels. She does this with ease as if she has done this a lot more then once. Shots like this one bring the audience a step closer to the music video's wild factor leaving many questions unanswered e.g. how on earth did they do this? I feel M.I.A was very successful with the music video as it stands out from many. This is the first music video i have seen that goes as deep as it does into the wild factor. I have not seen any other video do anything similar and to be honest i do not want to see any others try to replicate the idea, I do not think it should be done again by another artist in case they destroy the idea. The framing of the shot is done to perfection, a long shot is used with M.I.A clearly shown in the center and the two wheeled driving car is also shown clearly. In conclusion M.I.A has definitely created a unique image of wild; crazy and fun. I feel she will keep growing a large following if she keeps her ideas in her music video unique and crazy.

Analysis of Lil Wayne (feat Bruno Mars) - Mirror

The second video i have chosen is 'Mirror' by Lil Wayne and featuring Bruno Mars. Through out this video there is clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals selected. The lyrics are very deep e.g. 'With everything happening today you don't know if your coming or going' As this line is said a close up shot and a long shot is used both showing Lil Wayne directly talking to the camera. This grabbed my attention as it made me feel as if Lil Wayne is directly talking to me. I felt this is a smart way of presenting a song as attention of viewers are instantly grabbed, making them take a deeper listen to the lyrics within the song. This could of also been done to make us feel as if we are the mirror Lil Wayne, i say this because in some shots he looks deep into the camera as if we are non-existent. A good use of props are used in this shot, this includes spray cans and a ladder. At first we are unaware of why these props are in the shot but we do discover that Lil Wayne is constructing a huge painting further into the video. Lil Wayne's costume goes very well with the theme of the video as it is a very dark tune, with his tattoos representing his pain. Lil Wayne is very well known for being topless in his videos it is almost as if it's a trademark for him and it always seems to work well for him. He has managed to build a unique character within his career that is known to be crazy, rich and weird; his fans seem to love this as it makes Lil Wayne differentiate from the rest.

Straight cuts are used within this music video between the two musicians. The verses are mainly shots of Lil Wayne and the chorus cuts to shots of Bruno Mars. This is a good way to show the audience who is rapping and who is singing as people who are first time listeners would need it to be clear on who is the rapper and who is the singer as they may be unfamiliar with the artist. Bruno Mars  was provided with a good costume, this consists of a top hat along with a black top and black jeans. Once again i feel this fits in with the theme well as the song represents pain and struggle, black can contrast this well through its darkness. Bruno Mars was also provided with a trademark object, this is his black top hat. Ever since his single 'Grenade' Bruno Mars was known to be the man with the top hat, giving his fans the satisfaction they deserve.


Through out the music video there are shots of a painting being constructed, we do not get a full shot of what exactly it is being painted until the end where the demonic figure of Lil Wayne is reveled. The colours red and black flood the painting representing the harsh reality Lil Wayne is going through. I feel the side story of the painting being constructed was used to help build suspense within the music video. If the video was only of Lil Wayne and Bruno Mars rapping and singing to the camera viewers may get bored so i feel this was done to keep us on our toes. The song is called Mirror so i think the demon figure symbolizes Lil Wayne's inner self, or maybe it represents the pain Lil Wayne is going through in this period of time? We will never know exactly what it symbolizes but we  will know its fulfilled with pain and struggle.

I have chosen this song by an Iranian artist called Arash and features a female singer 'Helena'. The reason i chose this video is because of the amazing camera shots, the astonishing editing skills and most importantly the superb use of special effects.

There is a variety of different shots used for example: low angle long shots, high angle long shots, low angle close up shots and many more. These shots have been edited together very well to form a sequence, allowing a story to be created. This story includes a female 'Helena' who is struggling to forget about her ex husband as he passed away. I feel the story used is good as if fits well with the audio track and many viewers are sure to be able to relate to it. The lip syncing in this video is done to perfection. This makes the video feel a lot more realistic as Arash sings to Helena. If the video was off sync i feel it will kill the entire romance of the video; by the video being realistic it definitely drags the viewer making them feel involved with the video.

The effects used in this video are astonishing. Different special effects are used in different scenes, helping the viewers capture what Arash and Helena are going through. Their love is expressed through changes of the weather, from sun to rain. Effects were used to create a graphical and artificial environment though it looks realistic at the same time, almost as if this fairy tale they are living in is real. A good example of this is:

Arash's soul is shown to be blown away in a volcanic environment representing pain and rage. Although it is done through effects and is not real i still feel this artificial world looks believable. The camera shot used is a long shot from behind. This allows us to experience this place that Arash is in as we are pulled in through the mise-en-scene.

The relationship between the visuals and the lyrics go together perfectly. 'I'm so lonely broken angel, I'm so lonely listen to my heart.' As this is sung it shows Helena all alone in the shower crying. This shot is presented to make viewers have an understanding of how hard it must be for Helena, from being deeply in love to being hurt. If a shot was shown of her happy with a new husband in this specific shot it would kill the entire feel and the heart ache of the viewer would not exist.

The editing is very well done, a lot of swipes are used to create continuity, especially through scenes between Arash and Helena. For example a tracking shot/ swipe is used when Helena is looking out of the window. I like the thought in this shot as it just comes to show how strong their bond is, suiting the narrative very well. This is a very good way in connecting the audience with the narrative as every shot used drags us closer into the mise-en-scene.