Discovery

I have just come accross this clever video about being creative, which is really inspiring. I think it speaks for itself really but it is the ultimate pick-me-up of you ever feel like giving up with your work.

I Share, Therefore I Am

I stumbled across this short film on the social media platform, 'Tumblr' whilst browsing through my Dashboard, and being a sucker for anything social media-related, decided to see what it was about.

 

The Innovation of Loneliness from Shimi Cohen on Vimeo

I found the content of the film very extremely interesting; it is about how social media can affect our psyche on a day-to-day basis. It was brilliantly constructed, so I was easily able to follow the author's points. I guess you could say that it does expose social media in a mostly negative light - the argument is approached with balance and consideration of the positives - however the conclusion (that we can potentially become lonely whilst being surrounded by people) is certainly in most people's eyes not a good value to hold. 

I also found the distinction between being lonely and being alone was particularly thought provoking, so decided to do some more research and try to distinguish them further. It lead me to discover that the key difference it seems is that being alone is a positive state of mind, where a person is content with being only with themselves; a state of mind in which they can be to calm themselves, recover and overall figure themselves out. Whereas in stark contrast, being lonely is a negative state of mind where a person feels sad/upset at being left alone; a state that arises from a certain situation in a person's life which leaves them discontent or heartbroken. 

The visuals really support the voiceover and are used to illustrate what is being said, encouraging imagery to be created within the audience. I am by no means an animation expert but it is clear to see that there is a distinctive, modern, retro-like style which is maintained throughout.  

"We're sacrificing conversation for mere connection, and so a paradoxical situation is created, in which we claim to have many friends whilst actually being lonely"

The audiences thirst for why and how is soon fulfilled, as the autor describes that advances in social media and technology are to blame for the barrier that appears to be forming between the importance of the quality of a friend and significance the quantity. You don't have to look very far for evidence either; on Twitter, the figure underneath the word 'followers' is to some people the most important aspect of their account, and many go out of their way to increase this number without actually considering who they are looking for - for some, their 'friends' are merely the figures. 

Time and control appear to be the main reason that connection is replacing conversation, and building our own personal profile/images to be as close to perfect as possible is the driving force. But why is this dangerous? The film concludes with the sentence, "If we don't know how to be alone, we are only going to be lonely". In other words, the autor's concern is that social media means we have the potential to never be alone, as we are always surrounded by our connections - which means we effectively do not have the chance to find a place of serenity and peace. He believes that this in turn, will lead to humans feeling isolated and dissatisfied, rather than being content and happy within themselves. 

Personally, I think his points are extremely tempting to agree with, as he poses such a clear argument and you only have to log on to any chosen social media platform to see it in action. However, I think he has been rather stereotypical in his points. It is certainly true that many people use social media to promote themselves and become as popular as they can be - which is part of human nature - however he does not take into account the fact that there are many people who use social media for thousands of other reasons aside building their image. For instance, people who use networks purely to reconnect with friends, or people who already have a clear sense of who they are and actually just enjoy the function of social media etc. I actually think that the character building aspect is an extremely positive outcome, as it promotes development within our society. So although I understand his points and agree with the basis of his argument, our conclusions differ, as I believe that social media has an insane way of bringing people together - what's the harm in connections?

Textual Analysis of Gold Dust - DJ Fresh

'Gold Dust' is a true-to-type dance video and closely follows the typical convenctions of the genre, which include:

• Fast pace/tempo
• Bouncy
• Lively
• Upbeat
• Raises heartrate - motivational and makes you want to get up and dance

The video focuses in on American culture and follows a 90's/retro type theme  and we actually learn a lot about the kind of world they live in. It provides a different outlook on life for the typical type of person who will access the video (mainly first world countries) and won't have necessarily experienced this culture before, or in such a positive light anyway.. In this way it is actually rather heartwarming to see how such what appears like a simple activity can bring together a whoel community. In order to emphasize the pace of the higher intensity content, teh video also contains several slow motion shots - often panning close ups - which break up the video and keep teh audience interested and following; if it was all rapid and quick, important details would be missed and the viewer could potentially get bored.

Being a heavily concept based video, the lyrics do not have a clean cut, direct link to every single visual in the song. However there are are still several moments within the music video where the lyrics and visuals do come together. For instance, at the lyrics, 'running away', the skippers are moving away and travelling from the camera, and on when teh lyric, 'hands up' is sung, the skippers out their hands up. Also in terms of costuming, there is a gold jacket worn by one of the partakers - which does have a reference to the song title and content. It could be seen that the skipping is also linked through the lyrics, 'jumping'.

The relationship between the music and visuals within Gold Dust is very positive; the visuals often match the tempo and rhythm of the song, e.g. during the chorus, the beat is fast paced and steady, but the skippers' jumping is in time with the music. Alongside this, there are parts of the video which are hold a slower, winded-down tempo, at which point the visuals slow down too. These sections include lots of close ups and slow motion shots. This is extremely effective as it provides a real contrast to the fast paced content, and actually in turn exaggarates it more - like it's in fast forward.

A wide range of close ups of the artist and image motifs are empoyed throughout the video, especially of the young children admiring and observing the older generations skipping. It appears that they are quite run-down and don't have a lot of money, so skipping has been handed down from generation to generation as a pastime. Another link with the artist within the video is the text on the tops worn by the matching girls. It reads, 'The new front ear', which could connote to frontier. Frontier, by definition means, 'an outer limit of field of endeavour, especially one in which the opportunities for research and development have not been exploited'. This subtly links to the name 'DJ Fresh' as it is a fresh, new, developing thing which has the potential to evolve into something huge.

Furthermore, within the video, there is great emphasis placed upon the women in the video. At several times, close ups and panning shhots are used to highlight the female's attributes, bringing them to the audiences' attention. This is voyerism, and in turn makes the film appear as if it is viewed with a male gaze. The females within the video are percieved as one of the main focuses, and this is empasized further as everyone crowds round to watch. Close up, slow motion shots of the men's reactions are employed, showing them looking impressed/satisfied, especially when the rather provocative, matching girls appear. The fact they match actually makes it seem as if they lose value as individuals - all females are the same and objects to be won.

The music video is wholey concept based with an essence of narrative intertwined into the concept. So the skipping is the concept, but the culture and everything related to it seems to tell a story within itself.

Overall, to improve it, I think I would intertwine some more narriative into the concept, however it does suit the genre and is very successful as it is. I think it is a really interesting music video and touches on an activity which perhaps we took for granted at the age of 6.

Textual Analysis of No Interest - Nina Nesbitt



'No Interest' is an interesting indie track with hints of pop music embedded within by the emerging Singer/Song-writer Nina Nesbitt. It does follow follow some conventions of a typical music genre, which include:

• Hippie/chilled vibe
• Simple song concept
• Lively
• Artistic
• Covers topics such as love/everyday life issues - the problem/truth of being average

However it also invents new features which really make it stand out as a music video. One of these features is the 'selfie' style of the video. After looking into this, I discovered that it was achieved by attacthing a steadycam type device to Nina (the singer) and reversing the camera to face her. This means that the shot is still clear and holds depth/focus, yet she can capture all of the action around her through movement.

Following on from this, I think that the concept of movement is a key feature in this music video. Nina is always panning the camera to and from different angles or spinning around etc. I feel like this rather fast paced action links quite heavily to the location; London. London is encompassed by this racey, rushy atmosphere by which you are pretty much discouraged to stop in any way; whether this be working, walking, thinking and especially whilst commuting on the underground. Anyway, opinions aside, this location really links into the concept of the song which is why it works so well.

In terms of the links between the lyrics and the visuals, the conept links quite strongly, in that there are barely any other shots of the person/people she has no interest in - it is all focused on her and she does not wish to give her attention out. The chorus...

No interest in you, no interest at all
There's nothing to lose, 'cause there's nothing at all
No interest in you, no interest at all
Cause there's nothing to lose, there's nothing at all
Yeah I'm livid, yeah I'm livid, oh oh oh oh
Yeah I'm livid, yeah I'm livid, oh oh oh oh

...links heavily to a lot of her facial expressions, in that she looks rather unimpressed and isn't particularly interested/involved in her surroundings either. Lyrics such as, "sit on the bus and I get on the backseat, with a hoodie and a bottle of JD" are not portrayed in the narrative style they are sung, however they do still link to the culture of city life, teenagers and London. So the lyrics do link to the visuals to an extent in terms of concept, but they actually do not relate to the song in any form of narrative despite the lyrics telling a chronological story.

The whole video is based around a head/shoulders type close up of Nina, and due to the filming set up she adjusts the camera angles herself, meaning it largely varies and is constantly changing. In terms of her image, she has her key look which is bleached blond hair swept to the side, flicked eyeliner and bright lipstick. This is recognisable to both her regular viewers and people who haven't seen her material before. Being an independent artist, this sense of autonomy and liberty in her music video links to how the style of her music sounds, as she has the freedom to be original. Also, the selfie style of the framing links to the current trends on many social media platforms, showing that she is a very current artist.

In terms of the notion of looking, the focus is placed very much so on Nina herself as she is in the foreground of every shot. However I also find it quite interesting to peel away from this and look into the background to observe her surroundings and the people within it, which turn out to be a huge variety of people from all kinds of backgrounds. I wonder if they were trying to connotate not getting too lost in the rush and lust of the city or the people in it - it is concerned with developing yourself individually.

The video is largely performance based with the concept of no interest and movement portrayed throughout. There is a hint of a narrative; why is she walking around? Is she going/leaving somewhere? Is she on her own or with other people? However these questions are not answered through this particular music video and we are left to fill in the gaps ourselves.

I love how this music video was composed and I found the alternative framing really interesting. Personally I might have liked to find out a bit more about the narrative, however I think it works equally as well without so it is not a huge issue at all. This music video will hopefully help to promote Nina as an artist as her creativity and freedom with her songs and visuals will mean even more fresh, original content to emerge. 

Textual Analysis of You Make Me (Lyric Version) - Avicii

Avicii's 'You Make Me' is an upbeat catchy pop/dance combination which hit number 1 in the UK dance charts, and depicted busy city life. It held characteristics of dance and pop genre such as:

• Rarely any static shots - the cuts are not so quick, but the action within them is very fast paced as it is sped up.
• Makes you want to dance
• Energetic
• Repeated riff
• Underlying narrative

In many senses, this music video is quite unconventional in terms of the dance genre; usually they are set in intimate nightlife scenes or streets etc, so follow quite an urban theme. 'You Make Me' does the same, but from a different perspective which I think is really interesting. 

At first glance, it doesn't appear that the lyrics have any sort of link to the visuals, so initially I classes the video as totally concept. However after observing it a few more times, I did notice somevery subtle semantics within it. For example, there is a very subtle narrative within the video in the form of a sunrise. At the beginning of the video, it is rising out of the clouds, and shots of it in the middle of the sky are embedded amongst others. We would then expect it to set on the other side of the frame at the end of the video, however it actually ends up rewinding and effectively resetting. This holds links to the lyrics on the fact that he is singing about someone whom we assume he is in love with and connotes to their relationship never falling/setting. Another link to the lyrics is the (excellently executed) time lapse, which argualy relates to lines such as, "all my life" and, "I've been waiting for someone like you" as they both hold connotations to time. A further link is that some of the city scenes are of construction work such as a new road being laid down, and a playground being build. These shots closely link to the lyrics and title, "You make me". 

In terms of how the visuals link to the music, an obvious example would be how the editor has artistically overlaid all of the lyrics onto the top of the shots. These appear on the beat as they are sung, which is possible because the song as a whole has quite a simple structure with very few lyrics which are repeated throughout. Other representations occur towards the end of the video, where a symmetry effect has been applied during the editing process. This works really well with the music as the bassline is being repeated, or mirrored. It gives the video even more energy and keeps the audience interested by using a range of shots. I particularly love the edit of the clouds at 1:37 where they have taken a time lapse of them moving as usual, but then split the screen down the middle and sped the movement up. It is an amazing shot and looks almost like a hot tub in the sky.

Like with most of Avicii's music vides, the artists themselves are not included in the visuals, so it follows the theme of their usual content so the audience are immediately able to recognise their style. There is no reference to the notion of looking at all - in fact, the only people you can see are tiny specs on the ground! I think that the video is largely concept based, surrounding the idea of time and there is a very subtle narrative underlying but no performance element. 

Overall I really love this song and always have ever since it came out, so I was hoping that the video would do the song justice, and I think it does. The major shrinking time is extremely effective and plays  on the idea of waiting and time passing by.

It also made me think as to whether we could produce a separate lyric version of our music video too, which commercially we would release about a week before the official video to build up an enigma and to also make the track more recognisable, expanding our audience.

Textual Analysis of Fujiya & Miyagi - Ankle Injuries

'Ankle Injuries' by Fujiya and Miyagi from their 2006 album, 'Transparent Things' used stop motion to create a clever visual display for the audience through an everyday, seemingly normal item; a dice. Genre-wise it's probably more of a soft-rock/indie combination than anything which at the time wasn't quite as popular as it is now, so made for an interesting song.

In terms of the relationship between the lyrics and visuals, at times they go together solidly and at others are completely afar from the song meaning as a whole. There are certain words which relate to the visuals, whether it be the dots on the dice or the concept of having lots of things build up into one picture such as 'pixilation' and 'spray'. The visuals are heavily linked to the concept of pixilation, which perhaps represents that sometimes the picture is clearer if you zoom out/ take a step back. 

The jittery style of the visuals matches that of the song, as it has a high-pitched and upbeat feel to it. Each cut is usually on the beat which makes the visuals fit to the music really well. I also find the colour arrangement interesting, as it uses simple, basic colours like black, red, blue, yellow and white yet still it appears as if there are shadows. This is mostly down to the ratio of the die background colour versus the contrasting dot(s). This gives the illusion of light  and the impression that the image is 3D when it is actually 2D. 

Overall I really like this music video's retro style and how well the visuals work with the track. Personally I would have added some form of narrative to the sequence, as it appears a little unorganised at times in terms of chronology which does make it less easy-going to watch. Despite this I really like this music video for it's unique and artistic approach to representing the song. 

Textual Analysis of Breathe Me - Sia

'Breathe Me' by Sia is an extremely cleverly-done stop motion type video which features a polaroid photo-like framing which gives the whole video a very authentic, vintage feel. In terms of genre, I would say that it falls under a collaboration of pop, indie and soft rock which makes it rather unique and unusual in it's style.

There is a strong link between parts of the visuals and the lyrics within this music video. It has quite emotive lyrics and if I had been given just the track to make a music video to, I think I would have found it quite difficult to convey the thoughts and feelings of the writer through the visuals. However they have been very clever wth the concept of piling photos up as it gives a feeling of stress/emotion piling up and it becoming too much, which connotes more to the meaning of the song as a whole rather than the lyrics as such, but a successful one nonetheless. Another example would be tht at many points througgout the usic video, Sia is shown curled up in a ball, hugging her legs "unfold me, I am small, and needy", and in contrast, at other times is shown walking around and sitting down. One large factor I noticed was the fact that with the exception of the last section, the video is set entirely in the confines of a house. I thought that this could link to the lyrics, "lost myself and I'm nowhere to be found" in that she feels trapped and isolated within her own body. We see evidence of her leaving e/g shots of her going up and down the stairs, at which at some points she changes clothing momentarily which arguably furter relates to the fact she has lost herself, and doesn't know who she is. However, the video seems to have a happy ending as she manages to escape her house and runs free in the streets outside. Her happiness is shown through the contrast of lighting - it is much brighter outside which suggests freedom and happiness.

The visuals also link to the music as the rate at which the photos are being placed down is generally sycronised with the beat of the song, although there are notable exceptions such as when it is held on a certain photo for effect, or when a tracking zoom shot is used and we are absorbed into that scene. This gives the video quite a jolted, broken-record type feel to it but it works really well, and perhaps connotes to the lyrics - it's not going too smoothly at the moment?

The character in the video is the artist themselves so there are a number of close ups of Sia within the video. This is similar to a lot of her other content where she features again, such as in, "clap your hands" and, "You've Changed". I think it makes her videos more personal and intimate, and also means she can continue her creative vision, seeing as she writes the majority of her songs herself.

Breathe Me contains aspects of concept, narrative and performance within it; the concept surrounds finding yourself and/or someone to help you do so, the narrative follows on from this concept whereby we see her journey to escapism and there is performance intertwined within the former elements. In reference to the notion of looking, I think a large factor would be perhaps her looking through old photos and wanting the audience to feel the same - she wants to evoke emotion within the audience where they can somehow relate to the lyrics, music, video or all.

Overall I think that this is a really clever video and I absolutely love the song - it suits the visuals perfectly and is exactly what I would have wanted to see when listening to it.

Textual Analysis of Take a Walk - Passion Pits

Take A Walk by by Passion Pits describe themselves as an, 'indietronica' band, which is a combination of indie and electric genres. They have released two albums in several countries and are well known for their alternative style.

The video follows a clever concept where we follow the journey of a little blue ball, as it gets thrown and bounces to many different people and places. The video is filmed from the ball's point of view the whole time, with the exception of the beginning and end. This is done very effectively and it really feels as it you are bouncing around the streets.

The visuals link to the lyrics in the fact that the whole song is about taking a walk - perhaps to clear your head and get some perspective, and this is represented by the journey the ball takes. It goes to a huge range of places, including neighbourhood cul-de-sacs, huge cities and rivers. The fact it was flying through the air caused me to wonder if this represents that by taking a walk, they are suggesting you should try to see things from a different point of view? Or alternatively that sometiems you need to take yourself out of normal situations in order to solve something?

The reason I am saying this is because the artists seemed to take an honest approach when writing the lyrics, talking about real situations. It documents the struggles of two men during America’s two worst recessions. One sells flowers outside of Penn Station in order to save up enough money to get his wife and family across the Atlantic only to have them bail on him shortly after their arrival. The other over-borrows and makes bad investments that go bust landing him in a cowardly state of poverty. Both men take then walks. I wondered if Passion Pits were suggesting that no matter what goes wrong, if you take a walk it will either lead somewhere else or at least provide a change of scene. This narrative is sort of evident within the music video, for instance neighbourhood homes suggest family life, however it does not follow it concretely.

There is no reference to the notion of looking - in a sexual form anyway; there are lots of shots where people are looking at the ball, for example when it gets bowled to a baseball player, so the only reference is very innocent.

Overall I really like the way the action is passed on. It makes it interesting for the audience to see where the ball will end up and shows the range of different people and places in only a ball's throw distance. 

Music Video Initial Ideas

Here is a brainstorm I did today of some of my initial ideas, which have been inspired by studying and watching a few current ones. 

Textual Analysis of Counting Stars - One Republic

::Put Video here::


One Republic's popular song, 'Couting Stars' has acoustic tones but builds up t amuch denser, powerful riff. It peaked at number 1 in the UK charts and follows conventions of pop and indie genres with some hints of rock:

• It has an unudual balance of concept, narrative and performance, with a separate narrative and a performance coming together at the end via the concept
• Gripping bassline
• Upbeat and catchy
• Wide range of shots, but several close ups of facial expressions

The music video holds an encapturing storyline, and shows 2 completely different situations eventually coming together at the end. One half is One Republic performing the song in a basement/warehouse in a casual style, like they're rehearsing, as they have no audience. The second half is of a group of people belonging to what appears to be a modern church, who are attending a session of worship. 

WIthin the video, there are many occasions within the visuals which subtly link to the lyrics. One that particularly stands out is, "But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard", for one half of the narrative is centered around the concept of prayer and worship. However it is not the singer of One Republic praying, therefore not a totally 100% link, but the idea is certainly embedded. Another lyric which possibly links to this idea is, "I don't think the world is sold, I'm just doing what we're told" because we are taught in life to follow certain rules, guidelines and/or expectations. One of these guidelines could be to follow a faith, practising prayer to hopefully lead to some form of enlightenment or paradise. However there are many conspiracy theories surrounding the success of the said guidelines, and the lyrics suggest that we are lead into a certain frame of mind by society, "I don't think the world is sold", but there is no use battling it and it is automatic to follow convention, "I'm just doing what we're told".

In terms of relation to the music, the visuals are reasonably in sync. For a start, there is a large performance element with the band performing in an abandoned warehouse, so the instruments are in time with their parts of the song. Alongside this, the pace of the visuals matches that of the steadily increasing pace of the song, which builds up substance and energy as the song progresses. So at the beginning of the video, the editing is quite mellow, with slow motion and panning shots employed, however towards the end of the song, sharp, choppy cuts are in place to build up to the 'finale' of the video.

Again, as the video is partly performance based, there are lots of shots including the band in quite a raw, almost rehearsal-like situation. In comparison to their previous music videos it is actually shares similar aspects, as they often have some sort of unusual performance aspect embedded within a narrative, such as in, 'Good Life'. In some ways, the band name links to the concept of the song, which in my eyes in about breaking conventions, "So no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars" - it is an ambition to steer away from the material world which centers around money and possesions, and instead to go back to natural roots and apprieciate teh things in life which really matter. There is absolutely no reference to the notion of looking within this particuklar music video, as it would not fit the genre or the lyrics.

The music video is primarily split into two storylines, one being narrative/performance based and the other being narrative/concept based. However these intertwine at the end when the floor collapses; a very unexpected and clever twist. I thought it could also hold metaphoric meaning for the idea of prayer - from one outlook that the attempts and hard work will literally 'fall through' or alternatively, if you put enough work in, you can break the mould and be introduced to a whole different world/perspective.

Overall, I really like this music video and the song. It has an essence of revolution within it, portraying the idea of unexpectancy and that things are not as they seem. It is cleverly devised and of high quality, which thus contributed to the success of the song. 

Time Lapse

I have always been intrigued by time lapse footage, whereby a camera is positioned in the same place for a certain duration of time, filming all that is in front of it. When sped up, some amazing effects are created and it is an extremely effective way to shrink time.

Below are some of my favourite examples of some beautiful time lapse content:

I think that this is my absolute all-time favourite time lapse video. The settings are stunning and remind me of the true power of nature. The editing is perfect and the use of colour within each frame even further exaggerates the beauty within nature. The shots are so smooth and easy to watch, that it is almost convincing that this is the actual pace of the world; it looks so real! 

The City Limits from Dominic on Vimeo.

Another one of my favourites, despite it's stark contrast to the previous example is 'The City Limits'. I love the business of this video, and in terms of editing how the pace of the footage matches that of the song. The lighting is impeccable and really adds to the whole effect of the video - I thought the roads look like lava. I love the contrast the director provides us at the end when the song slows by showing less busy and more, I guess static shots which really help you process and think about the meaning; I think the director is trying to say, don't lose yourself in/limit yourself to the city - always go back to nature and reflect when possible.

Midnight Sun | Iceland from SCIENTIFANTASTIC on Vimeo.

This video truly captures the beauty of Iceland, and has made me really want to visit the all of the stunning locations within the country. Again the colour contrasts work fantastically and smooth shots make time seem to disappear.

Textual Analysis of Do It All Over Again - Elyar Fox

Elyar Fox is an up and coming pop/dance artist who has risen to fame though filming himself singing at home and uploading these videos to YouTube; a concept which is becoming more and more popular for new artists. His music is growing in popularity and his debut single 'Do It All Over Again' was hugely successful in the charts. It follows conventions of both pop and dance genres:

• Fast pace/tempo
• Catchy, memorable bassline 
• Bouncy
• Lively
• Upbeat
• Raises heartrate - motivational and makes you want to get up and dance

The music video is very up to date in that it focuses on many of the latest trends in terms of content sharing. For example, at the very beginning of the music video, he starts the song as if it were him singing from his bedroom, which links to how he begun his journey as an artist. It poses as a nice throwback for his regular audience. Secondly, there is reference to the concept of selfies which has beome a huge epidemic on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. 

The relationship between the lyrics and the visual elements of the video hold many links however they also have some contrasts. There are subtle links such as, "To wake, wake me up, up, up in time" which link to the bedroom setup and also the darker set layout, which could link to nightime. There is also huge emphasis placed on the girl within the visuals who we would assume to be who he is singing about. Lyrics such as, "She works me overtime, my heart's working overtime" and, "So hey girl, hey girl, why you hesitate, girl?" give further evidence, as she is in most of the shots when the girl in the song is mentioned. Furthermore,  the lyrics, "Do it all over again" are represented in many forms, but through a spherical type set up. The camera frequently pans 360 degrees around the subject(s) from a low angle point of view, which represents repetition, and ties into the meaning of the song. 

 

Another important aspect to this music video is the idea of technology and sharing, which link to the lyrics. Although this does not necessarily link to the music or the visuals, I thought it plays such a huge role in the video anyway I could not ignore it. It is based very much around the platform YouTube and frequently shows shots where the content has been cut into a YouTube type frame. There is much emphasis placed on the view count which is shown to rise massively, connoting both to Elyar's rise to fame and the popularity of the YouTube clips which link to the artist in some way. Additionally, further current trends such as the selfie are addressed, which builds Elyar up as a current, modern artist which is appealing in terms of his image. 

In terms of the links between the music and the visuals, there are quite strong links between the beat of the song and the cuts of the clips in that they often cut to the beat. This makes the visuals easier to follow which means the video is more interesting for the audience. The song also has quite a dancey/electrical tone which links to the blue/purple hues of the setup, but I imagine this was enhanced through colour correction in the editing. 

A large proportion of the video includes close ups, mid shots and angled shots of the artist, which is a common feature in debut music videos as the record label likes to introduce the new person. When he is more established they may tend to experiment with slightly more artistic concepts as I feel like this is quite a 'safe' music video. It works very well for the artist though and represents him as coming from the humble beginnings of his bedroom and using social media to his full advantage to raise his image. 

Furthermore, there is great reference to the notion of looking within this music video. There is a particular girl which the lyrics centre around, so they have transferred this in the music video by focusing on someone doing their make up from a clever point of view angle of her mirror, so it is as if she is looking right at the audience. From a low angle panning shot which follows her to where she sits down, we can see that she is wearing quite a short skirt and is wearing make up, as if she wants to impress someone, so I would say there are very subtle hints of voyerism embedded within the music video. There are also female dancers and other female characters taking selfies with a similar camera angle setup; there is lots to suggest that they are to be admired. 

This music video is more so a mix of concept and performance rather than having any obvious narrative to it. It covers concepts such as selfies, YouTube and 'doing it all over again' - linking to the title of the song. The narrative is very subtle but is basically centred around him gaining popularity, which as a debut appearance is what the record label and indeed the artist are looking for. 

Overall, to improve it, I think I would intertwine some more narriative into the music video, or take it out completely as it is a little bit confusing to follow the action at certain points within the video, so I feel that having either more or less could improve the watchability slightly. Nonetheless, I think that this video really suits the artist and is a great introduction to his work for those who haven't seen it before.   

Textual Analysis of Everything's Changed - Taylor Swift & Ed Sheeran

'Everything has changed' is a mellow country/pop/indie combination from a collaboration of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. The concept surrounds two young children who represent their older, singing counterparts (Ed and Taylor) and follows the development of their friendship.

There is a strong connection between the lyrics, music and the visuals in the fact that the narrative closely follows the concept of friendship and getting to know someone better. For example, the boy and girl are at the beginning of their friendship, and they are both starting a new day at school - there is lots of reference to new beginnings. Following this, there is a direct link to the boy's appearance; when Taylor sings, "And all I've seen since 18 hours ago is green eyes and freckles and your smile in the back of my mind making me feel like" whereby there is a side-on mid-shot of the young boy drinking from a flask, highlighting his freckles and green eyes, followed by a shot of the young girl smiling. From this, we can assume that the girl in character is singing or thinking about the boy, so the concept of love is also active.

This kind of link is made throughout the whole video, as we come to learn more about the characters, which follows the theme of the lyrics, "I just want to know you better". We come to gather that they are both typical to their gender stereotypes; the girl is very neat, tidy and precise whereas the boy is more abstract and wild. For example, whilst decorating cookies in their class, the girl arranges a very sophisticated and neat double layered biscuit, whilst the boy is showing just piling everything and anything on his. This could have subtle references to the kind of people they are now, which they are trying to put across in the video to show their personalities. In terms of their current star images, lots of very subtle references are made, for example, when the girl is pretending to give the boy a tattoo, the boy drawing in orange in his book (one of Ed Sheeran's trademarks - ginger hair/orange in general) and when they are both doing yoga instead of running aroud like the other children. I think the idea was to set them apart from the others to show that they have always been different, and that that's not necessarily a bad thing.

There is a very slight reference made to the notion of looking, but it is more an admiration/awe rather than sexual desire - when the boy is painting the girl whilst she dances. Little occurances like this are made throughout, again when the boy is reading to the girl and she is looking up at him, and again when he plays the guitar for her.

We do not see any shots of Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift until the end of the video where it is revealed that they are actually each child's parent. This is a twist to the audience, as prior to this it is hinted that the duo are playing the young Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, but we discover that they are actually their children, and prehaps their relationship could mirror their parents one - they could bring them together. It leaves on a real cliffhanger, as it seems like the children have such a lovely relationship that perhaps their parents would get on really well too.

Overall, I really love how the concept and narrative work so well together in this video, and the cating was perfect - the roles of the children were really convincing and it suited the song and genre perfectly.

Textual Analysis of White Noise - Disclosure

'White Noise' was created by electronic music due, Disclosure who combined with AlunaGeorge, another electric music duo who provided the vocals. Consequently we end up with a deeply electronic soundtrack which uses a innovative and complicated, yet catchy rhythm and hook melody. The video is heavily concept based with narrative running alongside it. Like most dance videos it has a love story between 2 characters and includes lights and dancing, but not in the conventional club setting.

There are very few direct links between the lyrics and the visuals, aside from the lyric, "You got me washed out, washed out, colour drained" which a large majority of the concept of the song is based around. The setting is in very dull, deserted and decaying buildings which seemed to have suffered from intense urbanisation. However, the man seems to have made the most out of this and instead see's the abandonment as a form of escapeism and way to detach himself from the pressures of society, everyday life and work. In terms of narrative, we assume he is a security guard from the coat he is wearing and the fact that he has access to all of these deralict buildings which would usually be off limits. It is quite an unexpected storyline; I though he was going to unlock it and either find people in there, or that he was going to set up a party of his own and hold it as the video rolls into night.


There is a much stronger relationship between the music and the visuals. For example, when the first beat drops, the man starts dancing as if he were listening to the song, which is portrayed through the prop of headphones. When the beat slows down and the more mellow bassline is playing, the man goes back to his more everyday life, which shows him walking through various parts of town which furter establishes the desolate setting, for example, close up shots of people smoking, a dog barking aggressively behind a wire fence, graffiti etc. It seems to be as if when the music drops, he drops his ordinary life in order to be isolated within his dance.

All of the characters within the music video are actors rather than the actual musicans themselves. However there is an additional concept involved, which disclosure use within all of their content, including other music videos such as, "F For You", "Latch" and, "You an Me", which is that they somehow embed the disclosure logo - a white outline of a face - into the visuals. This is a combination of clever marketing and also adds to the narrative as it kind of represents a spark between two people, which would be appealing to the audience as it is what most people are looking for. There is hardly any reference to the notion of looking apart from the section towards the end of the narrative where the man is dancing for the woman and she is almost admiring him, despite her slight embarrasement.


Overall, the video is narrative and concept base, with no performance of any kind. This music video grew on me as at first, I found it a little repetitive and cliché however after analysing it further it makes sense. The representation is perfect for the setting whcih again contributes to the success of this music video.