Teacher Feedback

Zire you have included some good evidence of research work in the form of your various textual analyses. You have applied some theoretical perspectives in some of this analysis i.e. post feminist readings and you now need to develop this work by uploading the following:

• Summaries of post modernism and analysis of a post modernist text e.g. Paparazzi
• As above in relation to Marxist theory
• Summary of chosen track and the feedback your group recieved

The narrative of Goldie – Inner-city Life

The narrative of Goldie – Inner-city Life is showing the lives of the different people living in a large seemingly poverty stricken estate. The music video shows these people’s lives and how they are oppressed within society. The Marxist perspective labels the lower class people as the proletariat and the higher class people, who have more power, are called the bourgeoisie. The proletariat are oppressed by the bourgeoisie and this music video shows the impact of this oppression on the proletariat from their point of view. The video maintains hegemonic control as it sees normal people who are living ‘dead end’ lives and are facing this oppression.

The large tower blocks ‘tower’ over the people and the low angle shots of these tower blocks make the people living their seem ‘small’ and this is also a symbol of their oppression as their poverty is looming over them and its bigger than them: they can’t do anything about it. This is also important as the bourgeoisie are also bigger than them, and they can’t do anything about the power that they hold over them.

The sepia tones that are seen throughout the video hold great importance as it gives the video a washed out effect as if to suggest that the lives of the people in the video are also washed out and drab. It gives the impression that being in an underclass you have no opportunities and your life is subdued.

Ed- Sheeran – Lego House - Analysis

Ed- Sheeran – Lego House music video - The genre of the song is indie and the music video is typical of this genre however it also has pop hooks.

The main premise of this music video is autobiographical as the artist, Ed Sheeran, always mentioned that he looked like “Ronald Weasley” who is a character from the movie “Harry Potter”. The two of them met up and agreed for the actor to star in the video as a gimmick. The beginning of the video leads the audience to believe they are seeing the back of Ed Sheeran walking and then the audience see’s it is the character played by Rupert Grint.

The lyrics to the song suggest that the song is about a couple; however the music video has a twist and is about a fans love for his idol. This is demonstrated when the character is seen singing along to the song. This is the first indication that the character played by Rupert Grint is a fan of who we later find out to be Ed Sheeran. Mise en scene in the video also adds to this as the character is seen wearing casual clothing that the artist is known for wearing. Both of these elements in the video have satirical significance as Rupert Grint is a world renowned actor and he is playing an adoring fan of Ed Sheeran.

At one point in the video we see the character place a picture on the wall but it is not revealed to the audience what the picture is of. The audience later then sees that the picture is of Ed Sheeran which confirms that the running storyline of the music video is of a crazed fan. The audience then sees the character looking through a scrap book of pictures and drawings of the artist, which further confirms this.

Toward the end of the video and the track the music contrasts with the behaviour of the character as the character is behaving angrily and erratically whereas the song takes a slower melodic feel.

The music video comes across as low budget which could suggest that the artist wanted to focus more on his music than the accompanying video.

'Use somebody' by Kings of Leon - Analysis

The first music video and song I have chosen to analyse is 'Use somebody' by Kings of Leon. The genre of the bands music is indie/rock. The genre can be identified by the audience when the music begins, as it has the strong, hard beat familiar to rock.

 

the beginning 30 seconds of the video is a part of only instrumental music, to begin the video there is short sharp and fast shots from many angles for example: panning shots, long shots and birds eye view shots.
, this is to show us the scene of the music and the lively area of where the music is being played. There are various shots of the band which is actual tour footage and they can be seen in live performances, this is used to indicate that they are an authentic band who play their own music and instruments as seen in the footage. This is emphasised by close ups of the band in performance.

During the first verse of the song a shot reverse shot pattern is used between shots and the lead singer. Again the shots are short and are of the band in concert, but there is also shots of each member of the band individually. This allows the audience to see and become familiar with all members of the band.

The video turns into black and white when the chorus of the song begins, which conntes that its the bands past and there past performances.

On the final verse, instead of going back to the close of the lead singer in colour, the shot is kept black and white and keeps using actual footage of the concert. More short shots are used however this time they switch between concert footage, which is black and white, and shots of the band on a night out in a bar and also in concert which is in colour. This allows the audience to get a sense of the bands personality by seeing them when not performing. Also by using black and white and colour on certain shots, it shows the difference between the past and present.

As the song comes closer to the finish the shots become shorter and shorter, which could be used to symbolise the increasing need for a woman. The close up shot of the lead singer is used when the line 'someone like you' is sang which is emphasising the need, along with long shots of him each time the line is used.

The finishing of the song and video ends the way it began. This could indicate that nothings yet changed for the artists and its all still the same for him no matter how much he sings for the women he loves which shows sadness and loneliness.

The music video is a performance video as it has the lead singer miming and therefore performing the song to the camera. Overall I think this is a fairly typical video for the genre of the music as a lot of rock music videos tend to use actual footage as part of their videos as opposed to pop videos.

'Trust' by Keyshia Cole and Monica Analysis

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is 'Trust' by Keyshia Cole and Monica. It has an R&B genre and is slow song.

At the start of the music video  an establishing shot shows the audience the outside of a large cream mansion which is set in Tuscany, Italy. The audience know this as it has given it to us on the bottom left hand corner of the shot so that the audience knows where the video is set. The sounds of the birds 'chirping' can be heard making the scene feel calm and happy. The sound of the birds is continued through each shot known as a sound bridge until the melody begins.

The first straight cut shot is of the artist, Keyshia sat down, looking rather upset as she looks down at her mobile phone and it’s a blank screen which suggests she is waiting for someone to contact her. The fact that she is unhappy is a surprise to the audience as the start of the video there are birds singing so it started as the song was going to be a happy and quiet calm mood. The artist is then seen looking out the window after the front door to the house is opened, indicating that she may not want them to leave, This is when the melody of the song begin, suggesting the narrative is beginning.

There is a strong post feminism element to this text as the main artist is represented as a strong female. This can be seen through the camerawork and editing e.g. the main artist is looking out the window at the male actor and this is portrayed through a high angle shot which suggests that she has more power within the relationship than him. This contrasts with usual representations of women within music videos of this genre as they are usually seen to be objects of desire for men to take enjoyment over.

The main artist Keyshia, is then seen again by the window this time on the phone speaking to someone when we then see a second artist, Monica as she is introduced to the video we see a shot of her eyes and of her being on the phone which is clear that they are speaking to each other. They call each other by nick names which displays that they are close friends.

Once the conversation between the artists finish the song begins of with the last line of Keyshias conversation, we have a side shot of her so she is not looking directly into the camera which is effective because it makes the audience feel her emotions without needing to look directly at her facial expressions, this demonstrates her feelings as if she can’t look directly in the persons face.

we see various shots of the man who is leaving the mansion which we see in the begging of the video. As she is watching him leave the audience feel a doomed emotion as it indicates he is leaving which seems as a break up, and this also indicates the relationship between the two.
A shot of her in the bath is then seen before she is accompanied by the guy, most likely to be the past. Both of them are happy showing the audience how content the relationship was. He pours her bath salt in the bath for her which shows her strong post feminism once again in the video.

The next shot introduces Monica who is also sat down in a medium shot, with two other people in the shot. The two unknown people in the shot are sat closer to the right of the camera, with their backs facing the audience. This could suggest that she is in a public place or they are friends of hers.

towards the middle of the song, shots of both artists are direct , there apperence has changed to show the feminine side of the two artists, also them being dressed differently suggests that they are not a part of the narrative but are performing.In the chorus another shot of Keyshia with the guy is used again from the past, but this time they are seen sat together 'playing' around and again looking happy. However in one shot of them together it is seen that she answers the phone and is protective of him not looking at who it is, which makes the audience understand how the guy must feel, especially relating it to the song lyrics and meaning of his trust.

The shot then cuts back to Keyshia who is sat in the place as the beginning of the video, again not looking at the camera each time the words 'I need you', are sang, emphasising her need for him back.

As the song is coming to an end the narrative side of the video is used again and the shot of the guy leaving with Keyshia watching him go is repeated, emphasising her pain again.

Shots between the narrative and the performance are used in pace with the music in short shots.

At the end of the song it is seen that the guy comes back, which makes the audience happy after feeling all the sad emotion through the song.

CD Advertisment Analysis

Album Cover Analysis

Thank you for adding me to your Blog Zire. I will be marking your Blog on Friday.