Comparison of three music videos
I have decided to compare three music
videos, which have completely different genres. A music video is a short, moving image product, shot for the
express purpose of accompanying a pre-existing music track and usually in order
to encourage sales of the music in another format (generally CDs).
Firstly, I decided to looked at Rihanna’s
“Russian Roulette” video and Taylor Swifts “we are never ever getting back
together” Rihanna is known for R&B or soul genres whereas Taylor preforms
more country pop.
Although the music videos were completely
different, they both had the singer speaking to the audience, which is ‘direct
address’. In Taylor Swift’s video she is constantly keeping eye contact with the
audience, however, in Rihanna’s we only get glimpses of eye contact.
The camera shots for Taylor’s video are
very simple. The story is linked together using a tracking shot and she is
mainly in a mid shot. There are a few group shots with her and the dancers, but
there aren’t any high or low angles of the camera. There is also a split screen
between Taylor on the phone at her house and the boyfriend in a club on the phone.
Rihanna’s music video has more mixed camera
shots, the shots consist of high angles to make Rihanna look powerless. The
long shots also make Rihanna look vulnerable, as she appears smaller. There are
also close ups between Rihanna and the man she is playing Russian Roulette
with. Even though the camera angle is even between them, the reaction of
Rihanna makes her the weaker character.
The speed of editing is also completely
different between the videos. In Taylor Swift’s video the editing is very slow
as it is a country pop song. However in Rihanna’s music video the editing it
very quick in the flash backs but slows with the scenes when she is alone or
with the man, which add tension between the characters.
The beginning of “We are never ever getting
back together” starts with a asynchronous car honk and an establishing shot of
the New York City apartment, which sets the scene. The music video also ends
with the same shot of the apartment and the same car honk. In “Russian
Roulette” there are a lot of extra sound effects especially in the beginning of
the video. The hyperbolic sounds of the banging footsteps, the heavy breathing,
the beeping of the machines and the noise of the cylinder spinning inside the
revolver create an eerie and dangerous mood to the video.
Taylor Swifts music video has very simple
lighting, however Rihanna’s music video has lights that flash to the beat of
the music. When Rihanna sings ‘flashes before my eyes” the lights flash to the
beat. The music video mainly consists of
top lighting. This use of lighting creates an eerie and dark atmosphere. There
are also special effects in the music video where images of Rihanna move around
in a circle just like the cylinder of a gun.
Unlike Taylor Swift’s music video which has
a lot of locations, Rihanna’s music video only has three different locations;
outside in the car, the jail cell and the scene where she in the sea.
After comparing these music videos I
decided to compare Justin Bieber’s music video “As long as you love me”. The music for this music video is a mixture
of pop and rap from the artist Big Sean. There is a non-diegetic rumbling base
sound, which becomes louder as the music video progresses. The asynchronous
sound of the telephone is heard through the beginning sequence of scenes and
finished just before the music starts when Justin is at the telephone booth.
The footsteps of the dad walking are hyperbolic to exaggerate the danger of the
character.
The widescreen shots of the music video
give a cinematic effect, these shots have a mixture of close ups of the singer,
telephone booth and the girlfriend. There are also mid-shots of the dialogue
screens and long shots of the dance sequence. These shots are used in a
standard music video. Justin also uses direct address in this music video,
which is when the singer talks or sings to the camera and makes eye contact
with the audience; this keeps them interested and makes them feel part of the
video.
The fast cuts are meant to imply the
memories of the couple together as they move through his head. The cuts are
between the romantic flash backs of them together, the dance sequence and the
fight scene between Justin and the father.
From the Romeo and Juliet storyline this
music video is targeting teenage girls. The Island and Def Jam music group made
the music video.
The lighting in the music video is very
dark with the exception of the romantic clips between Justin and the
girlfriend, where pastel lighting is used. The lights flash in time to the
music and the fast cuts add tension to the story.
In conclusion, looking at Godwin’s Theory,
Taylor Swift’s music video uses parody to mock herself in the video. She does
this by talking to the audience in-between the song and using direct address
whilst singing. ”Russian Roulette” doesn’t seem to parody anything, as it is a
serious and dark music video. Taylor’s music video also uses pastiche, which is
visual imitation; she does this by using props such as the cardboard car to
imitate a real car. Justin Bieber’s music video uses intertextual referencing
by creating a modern day Romeo and Juliet love story. In all the music videos
the artist are hyperconscious as they all dress in a particular way. All the
artist dress to appeal to their target audience. For example, Taylor dresses in
typical teenage girl clothes, Rihanna dresses in dark and grey clothes to suit
her music and R&B genre and Justin dresses in stylish outfits for his
cinematic music video.
