Music Video Analysis 5

Miguel- Skywalker Ft. Travis Scott- ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76O3w4pt0CA )

The video opens up with a close up of the artist Miguel. he is wearing a beret and red clothing and a muleta (stick with read fabric attached). There is a simple white text which reads 'Miguel'. The lyrics begin 'Quick to dead the bull like a matador' which links to his clothing. Matadors typically wear red clothing to anger the bull which they are going to fight and possibly kill. Miguel refers to 'bull' meaning 'bullshit' in this case, and means to say he is quick to avoid it. The camera quickly turns to face a Dodge Challenger which symbolises the bull in this case, and then flips back to Miguel, who confidently winks as the camera moves to a POV shot from the inside of the car. The shot then changes back to a low angle shot of Miguel holding the muleta out as the camera goes towards it. The video then smoothly transitions to Miguel sitting on a surf board in the ocean. He continues to deliver his chorus with women around him.

To link to his lyrics 'Celebrate everyday like a birthday' Miguel is presented with a birthday cake when he delivers the line. This is part of Goodwin's theory of music videos in which he says that a music video should include links between the visuals and lyrics. Throughout his entire first verse, there are constant links to the lyrics in the visuals, such as 'I'm outstanding, so I stand out'. The link between the lyrics and visuals is that he is in a crowd of people, but the light is only shining on him which makes him stand out. There is a short part when he mentions the movie Top Gun where he is dressed in a similar way as Tom Cruise, the star of Top Gun where he is a fighter pilot.

After repeating the chorus, Travis Scott is introduced as he starts his verse. The backdrop for Travis is bright, with neon lighting behind him, which causes his to appear as a silhouette. The camera shots are very fast and almost give the video a kind of psychedelic feel to it. Travis is known for having outrageous and trippy visuals for his music videos such as 'Goosebumps' or 'Pick Up The Phone'. There are only a few links between the lyrics and visuals, such as the line 'Wilin' with the paper', where he is seen with large amounts of cash. Then he says 'Ice all on my chain...' which refers to the diamonds on his chain, which look like ice.

Music Video Analysis 4

I get the bag from Jordan Ropes

Music Video Analysis 3

Richard Dyer's Star Theory

Richard Dyer thinks that a star and the real person are two different things.

He said that there are three areas to the star theory a star:

1) The star as a construction

Richard Dyer states that the star is a construction and not a real person. This star is constructed through music videos, magazines, advertising etc. For example Miley Cyrus has become famous for her riding on a wrecking ball naked however she wouldn’t do any of this in her own home meaning that the person Miley Cyrus and the star are two different people.

2) The star as a commodity

Stars are produced to create a profit off of related merchandise e.g. t-shirts, posters and the like. Record labels will create similar stars because they know certain patterns and trends will work to generate them money. This is why we get so many boy bands who are very similar

3) The star as an ideology

Stars will represent certain social groups and views and will therefore create certain ideologies. As a result fans of the star will often copy their style and share the same views as them.

He also theorised:
There is a paradox of the ‘star’. The paradox is as follows: The star must be both ordinary and extraordinary The star must be both present and absent. The star must be present in our lives whether it is through their merchandise, social media or involved in chat between friends but also absent in the fact that they are not actually there or are ‘out of reach’

Music Video Analysis 2

Drake- Started From The Bottom (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RubBzkZzpUA)

the video open with a tracking shot of children playing football, this is done on purpose, as Drake describes himself as a huge fan of the sport as he has said in multiple in interviews, and may also be a call-back to him playing football as a child. Then we see the shot change (as the beat repeats itself) to a bird's eye view of the children running on the field towards the goal on one side of the field. We see a wide angle shot as the focus is on the young kid in the red uniform as he takes a shot at the goal and scores. The shot cuts as the ball travels across the screen into the goal.

We then cut away to a shot of Drake stood up in his luxurious car, with snow blowing in his face. He is wearing all-white clothing, and his car is white too. This may be symbolic of excellence, as white is a colour typically seen as brilliant and illuminating. The car also shows his wealth, and shows the viewer that he has become rich from his rapping career. Drake has adopted the classic rapper story of 'starting at the bottom' and succeeding at becoming famous against all odds.

  

The video cuts to Drake working in a supermarket with 3 other co-workers around him, this symbolises the 'bottom' where he is currently at. The mid shot shows the upper bodies of Drake and two other men behind him, who he appears to be good friends with. This footage rapidly cuts between him in the supermarket and him lip-syncing out side of his expensive white car in the same shot as previously shown. The video then cuts away to a slow zoom-out shot of Drake's mother stood outside of his childhood home. This shot is linking to the lyric "Livin' at my mamma's house we argue every month, nigga".

As this shot of his mother cuts away, we cut back to the supermarket where we see Drake and his coworkers again. Drake is being spoken to by a seemingly superior figure, who hands him a name tag saying "Drake: Night Manager" which tells us that Drake was just promoted. He reacts positively and appears to be thankful for the promotion. He turns to his coworkers and they are also very happy for him. This is to show that he 'started from the bottom' which was as a regular employee at the supermarket, and has gotten to the top 'Now We Here' as he has been promoted to manager.

The video stops and has a small clip of story with one of the co-workers talking to a customer. The man is being stereotypically misogynistic by staring at the customer's breasts. The video shortly cuts back to the chorus of the song with Drake and a large group of his friends and young women wearing tight revealing clothing. They are in a bowling alley which is atypical for a music video. They can be seen smoking and holding bundles of money which is a convention of a rap video. This footage is inter-cut with footage of Drake and his co-workers dancing and celebrating his success in the store. The shot is a long shot with the young men dancing up and down the aisle, with confetti falling from the ceiling.

As the video progresses, we see a large room with a gold and black backdrop, filled with many people, including many young women who are dancing around Drake who is in the center of the shot lip-syncing with the lyrics. All of the people in the video are wearing black and gold clothing too.

The next few shots are of Toronto in Canada, including the CN tower, where the colours change with each shot that cuts between it. We then see Drake in a private jet with a young woman. This shot uses the male gaze as it is a mid-close up of the woman sleeping. The shot covers her from head to toe, but lingering on her bottom, a typical shot of a rap video.

There is then a compilation of previous shots, and new shots of Drake and his friends driving around his estate in golf carts, and finally of Drake on a balcony of his expensive house, and then of him walking through the house in a mid shot.

 

The video does not appear to follow a true narrative structure, but does seem to follow a story of sorts. The video starts with Drake being at "the bottom" but quickly gets to "here" (the top). This does not mean that he became rich and famous in an instant, it clearly took a long time to get there for him, but the video is showing that the top doesn't mean to become a celebrity but to be happy with life which is shown when Drake gets promoted towards the beginning of the video.

Music Video Analysis 1

Migos- Get Right Witcha (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeyfOEb7ET0)
The Video opens with a shot of a cactus plant, which shows that the video is taking place in a hot environment. We then see slowed down bokeh shots of farm animals, such as horses and chickens. The video is clearly being filmed on a ranch in a hot area of the world, likely southern California. The group rarely strays from the conventional, classic rap video formula of expensive cars, iced-out jewellery and beautiful women. This video uses an untraditional backdrop by filming at a southern California ranch. The video cuts between shots of the three rappers at the ranch and in a club setting. Quavo, the first one we see, is seen smoking marijuana, which is a typical convention of a rap video, and a stereotype of rappers.

As the video progresses slightly further, we hear lyrics, which are accompanied by Quavo lip-syncing, and gesturing with his hands. It is easy to spot the excessive amount of diamond-covered jewellery which he is wearing, including things like chains around his neck, rings, bracelets and watches. The footage frequently cuts between Quavo and the rest of the Migos, and we see that Offset, the one in the black jumper, performs a gesture with his arms which is in time with the beat. As he does this gesture, the footage slows down as the group continues to walk with the camera following them head on. The video frequently cuts Quavo and the other Migos in and out, varying the focus of the video between them.

This similar filming strategy continues throughout the video, changing between each rappers verse. The video often cuts between shots of expensive sports cars such as Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Ferraris. It shows the cars both in a stationary mid shot, and with the rappers inside them driving them on the road. there is a large amount of filler-footage of the cars which is rapidly cut between footage of women wearing minimal clothing, dancing in a desert setting. There are repetitive mid-close-ups of the rappers, who are sometimes having their clothing adjusted by stage hands, like they would have on a photo-shoot/video-shoot.

One of the shots which caught my eye the most, was a mid-close up of the rapper Offset with a bright strobe light as he rapped part of his verse, there is a large amount of emphasis on his clothing and jewellery, which is a typical convention of a rap music video.

Todorov's Narrative Structure

1. Equilibrium. This is when everything is as it should be, and everyone is happy or content.

2. Disruption. This is the part in the plot when something is shown to disrupt the happiness.

3. Recognition of disruption. In this part of the plot, the characters realise what the cause of the disruption is, and it is chaos.

4. Attempts to repair disruption. This is the part of the plot when the characters begin to take steps to resolve the disruption.

5. Return to equilibrium. This is the part of the plot when everything has returned to being normal and everyone is happy again.