Analysis of 'Save you by Matthew Perryman Jones'
I decided that 'Save you' would be good work to analyse for 2 reasons. The first reason was that after watching the music video as, I found that I liked the storyline and the theme that the group went along with. The second reason was that the student who made it received an A* grade with full marks, by analysing this work it would give me an idea of what standard I need to aim for.
The opening sequence begins with a pan shot of a graveyard this foreshadows that the video isn't going to be happy; graveyard is related to death. The lighting is ambient lighting in this first frame contrasting what you might think about the graveyard. This shot is only on for 2 seconds long but as it is a pan shot it gives you the illusion that the shot it longer then it really is. Cuts to a high angle shot on a church building confirming where the location is set. By using a high angle shot this also shows the power the church may have later on in the music video.
The camera then cuts to a young lady siting at her mirror. We first see this as an over the shoulder shot but as she sits down it turns in to a mid-shot of her in the mirror. This is followed by a tracking of close-up shots showing her get a picture of her lover and putting it on the mirror. As the video has gone from a grave yard scene then cuts to a picture of a young man then back to the lady but in the graveyard this time. Then the camera cuts to her in the church, after the first 26 seconds I can already understand what has happened which is that the young man has passed away.
After the last scene we cut to outside the church with the man in the picture in a mid-shot, showing how happy the two of them are together. There is a montage of shots of the couple happy together, getting on the bus, on the bus and at the cinema. This makes this next frame more dramatic, the camera cuts to the lady alone in the cinema alone crying. As this is a past happy place for her and her lover to go to. We come back to her at the mirror applying red lip stick; this is done as a close up to show dramatic as the next shot is of her crying with a black fascinator. This appears to be her before she goes to his funeral.
It appease that this video has woven then before and after this young man has passed away, showing the effects. There is another montage of the couple together at different locations; the seventh is a very important shot. An extreme shot of the man kneeling on the floor proposing to the lady and she says yes as we can see her body language. This is followed by again with the after effects of he's death as we continue to see her get ready. The camera does cut to the church where we presume she is going to pay her respects to the lover but no it is their wedding. The camera tracks them out of the church to an arch way. A mid camera shot showing the joy on their faces, this is an effective shot as we are able to see their movements as they dance and show there passion for each other.
The church is seen as a happy memory were they got married. The cut to the lady all in black then visits the arch where they went after they got married. A mid shot of her toughing the arch, this is effective as she is trying to connect back to a happy memory. Again with seeing the before and after more it makes us infused into the story line of the music video. This is another very effective feature of their music video as they tell continues story, but telling both sides at the same time.
The story starts to confirm how her lover dies. A mid shot of them sitting waiting for the train, the man is dressed in army uniform showing he is going to war. As he gets on the train we see an extreme close up of him opening the train door. This is a good shot before getting on the train because this is the door which is separating the two people. There is a match on match shot of the girl turning round. She turns around in the after and then the before. The man is there in the before where the camera cuts to a wide shot of her running back to give him a kiss. The edit on this is slow motion as the runs back to him, this makes it more dramatic in slow motion because it puts more enthuses on the good bye. A shot reverse shot of the man on the train show they have been separated.
The camera cuts to an extreme close up of the lady resaving a letter telling her that he has dies at war. This is a very emotional scene as we find out that he has died. The final frame is a close up of the photo that was put on the mirror; this is a very short shot making it dramatic as they were so in love. Cuts to a black screen on the word dyeing which connects to the story.
The costumes that are worn throughout the video are vintage; they seem to be from them 1940s. I think this because of the setting that the couple go though. The location is very much old and not modem, the signs on the buildings have been painted on not lit up. I can see that they gave a lot of thought into their music video with costumes and location to be able to set the scene. The lighting is ambient lighting this continues with the theme of the 1940s, as electricity wasn't a very used thing.
My opinion on this students work is it has been very well thought out. I like the fact that the location and costume link very well together as they are in the same time period as each other. This makes the music video look professional as they have thought about every element. One of the props that stood out the most to me was the photograph of the man; this prop comes up time and time again. The photo is used as a statement to show she has lost him.
I found analysing this music video very beneficial as it gave me an opportunity to see how a music video is made as an A-level student. I was also able to see the standard I need to work towards.
Analysis of 'Wake up'
I've decided to analysis another music video to gain further knowledge on A-level music videos. The reason why I choose this music video was because when I watched this video I was very impressed by the quality and the transitions in the music video.
The music video starts off with a point of view shot of a draw driving down the road. It is not confirmed that it is a point of view of a car but the shot shows the camera going along a round at a speed. Introduced with an establishing shot of flats, this has been used to show there the video is set. The camera cuts to inside where we see a man’s arm hanging of the bed at a bird’s eye view. There are dirty dishes suggesting he is a bit of a slob. The camera cuts again and we can see from a higher bird’s eye view revelling him lying asleep on his bed. A small montage showing he's alarm clock is going off and that he need to get up. This is effective as it shows that he really doesn't want to get up. There are a lot of close-ups and extreme close-ups of him and what he is doing. We are presented with him holding a picture of a swimming pool; this is an over the shoulder shot. This is a good shot as we know what he is thinking about. A blackout screen splitting the two scenes between him on he's bed and then the bath room. Over the shoulder, wide shot, close-ups of this man getting ready. The costume he is putting on is a shirt, tie, trousers and smart shoes. This foreshadows that he is getting ready for something important.
One of the editing techniques I found interesting is when he walks away from the flats, is he's walking the suddenly appears halfway up the path. This shows that time has passed and that he is walking quickly to he's next location.
An establishing shot showing where he has arrived it is a job centre. Cutting to a wide shot showing him withy he's hands in he's face; this is an effective shot as it tells us that he wasn't successful. As this is a wide shot we can see all of he's emotions and body language. Extreme close-up of the paper he was holding saying 'Appreciation Denied, this confirms that he was not successful.
From a range of angles the camera tracks him running to the coast. From a wide camera shot to a close up we see him going into the water to get away from it all. With having the close-up before he dives in it show the emotion on he's face this is done so the audience knows how he is feeling after being denied.
An underwater camera is used though out this next scene. I found that it was a really good idea that they had as we was still able to follow him all the way. Mainly wide shot used to show him swimming under water. Point of view shot used when he comes out of the water showing he is not in the UK any more. This there to indicate that he has swam all the way to a happy paradise (another country) like the photograph. A small montage showing the new location that we are in. Back to a point of view shot of him water skiing. This is a good shot as it shows he's finely having a good time, by using the point of view shot we can see what he can see which helps for us to know what he's feeling.
I find the edit transitions that he is using very effective as it makes the whole video flow well. We continue to follow him though he's escape. Walking through the landscape to siting of a sun lounger on the beach then to the pool. The pool we see him sit at is the pool that was in the photograph at the begging of the video. (2:42) is a another great example of a transformation edit as he goes underwater in the pool he comes out into the sea to kayaking this is another point of view again.
More establishing shots of the area are used again to remind you of the area he is in. Five close-up point of view shots are used to show what he has been eating over the time that he has been there for. I found the small montage of food effective as it puts more enthuses that he is having a good time. Continuing with the point of view shot how him climbing the mounting on this holiday paradise. The camera does a pan around him before him jumps into the water. The camera sits below the ledge this was so we can see him jump from a low angle. When he comes out he gets onto he's own boat. The camera follows him from behind. The lighting throughout this is all natural as it is very sunny and happy. Another montage this time showing him doing all these other activates including cycling, windsurfing, padding and scuba diving. While he is scuba diving the shot is a point of view, this is effective as this helps with the edit. He swims underwater and when he comes up he is back at the beach in the U.K. Insinuating that the holiday wasn't real, as he is skill in the shirt and trousers that he first went in the water with. The camera cuts to him back in bed with he's alarm going of just like the begging. He gets up and we see an over the shoulder shot of him looking at the pool picture but this time he is in it. This question is it was real or not.
found this was a very well done music video as it had range shots, movements and edit transitions that made the video look professional.
Conclusion
Doing research into past students work has helped me a lot. As it has got me thinking of the different elements that I didn't think of before doing this research. This has also inspired my to think about my location, costume and edits.
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