This is one of my favourite Music videos.
It is by Coldplay, and their song is called Paradise.
Editing:
This music video has a relatively fast pace because there were quite short periods and edits changed throughout the video although there were some periods where the viewing will be held longer. For example when the Actor in the elephant costume is riding down the road on the bike for a while and when all the actors dressed as elephants are back together again in the band towards the end.
Although longer clips help you to focus on what is going on better, the shorter clips make the video more exciting and stop the viewer from getting bored. The shorter clips were not as noticeable because the video is telling a story and you are so engaged with it you know exactly what is going on and so longer clips are not needed.
The video had the same colour throughout the video which I think is good because it isn't so noisy and you can properly focus on what is going on. There was an interesting edit technique and special effect with the colour though because it had a warmer filter to it which made the video more upbeat and happy which is what I like about it. I also think the filter gave the video a slice of hug-warm ecstasy.
Narrative:
In this music video, the thing I like the most is that it included a story which helps you connect with the song and understand the meaning of it. It also makes the video more exciting, and when I watch it I am so engaged and it never gets boring.
The story behind this song is about a young girl who comes out of jail as we understand from the first lyrics "When she was just a girl, she expected the world"
This is shown as the lead singer, Chris Martin in Coldplay who is dressed in an elephant costume trapped in a zoo, where he escapes and has to journey across the world to find his other Band members who are also dressed in elephant costumes. It is giving of a sense of freedom when he escapes and it shows that paradise is where your family/friends are.
This story included in the music video helped me really understand the meaning and what the purpose was which is why I prefer music videos with stories rather than just the artist/band performing in front of the camera in which I get bored watching.
Camera:
There is a good shot variety and movement in this video because many different angles and levels of the camera was used, high, low but mostly eye-level which is effective because you feel more involved in the video and is if you are there. This variation in the video makes it more upbeat and exciting and ensures the viewer will not get bored.
In one part of the video where they are filming the actor just as he had escaped from the zoo there was a unique and different way it was shot, they shot this part handheld so the shaking of the camera and moving about was visible as if someone was following the person around which was effective because it sets the scene/atmosphere that this person dressed in an elephant costume is nervous and a little bit worried about the escape he has just made.
Another unique way part of the video was shot, was when the lead singer, Chris Martin re-unites with his band members (in paradise) towards the end of the video. It shows, that when he first see's them it is all blurry as if he is dreaming. This is known as a racking shot which makes the picture blurry. The picture then becomes clear again and the man can see his other members and is ecstatic which gives you a happy and positive feeling.
Mise-en-scene:
Costume: The Costumes for this video mainly consisted off Elephant costumes, which gave the video a slightly humorous perspective. This is effective because it makes the video more exciting and ensures that the viewer will not get bored.
Location: The music video was shot on location in London, Cape Town, the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape and Johannesburg. The bike shop shown is Woodstock Cycleworks in Woodstock, Cape Town. I liked that there is variation in the different locations because it makes it more exciting.
Lighting: The lighting in this music video is not very significant because most of the shots are outside during the day. The lighting throughout the video has a slightly warmer filter to give a positive and happy sense to the video.
Acting: This music video consists of acting because it is based on a story. The acting mainly comes from the lead singer, Chris Martin who is the main man dressed in the elephant costume in whic the camera follows around in all his adventures and journeys to find his band members. Facial expressions were not necessarily needed because he had an elephant mask/hat over his head so the acting mainly consisted of body movements.
Props: The props for this music video consist of a unicycle which gave it a humorous factor, chalk for drawing on the wall in the zoo, a bike, cardboard for certain main lyrics in the video, a suitcase, money, guitar and drums for when the band is re-united at the end.
Everything mentioned above made the video more interesting because it gave humour to the video but also ensured that there was meaning and helped the viewer to understand everything that is going on.
This is one of my least favourite Music videos.
It is by James Arthur, and the song is called Recovery.
Editing:
In this music video there are slow and fast paces of the periods. For example at the start of the video, there are long periods where it is just focusing on James Arthur in an empty studio in which I found made me get bored. But then towards the end the edits change very quickly which makes the atmosphere/scene very noisy and you cannot see what is going on. I actually found that I got a slight headache from the constant change in edits towards the end of the video.
The colour throughout the music video is black and white, which I also did not like because I felt it was quit depressing and negative.
There were special effects/editing techniques in the music video which were mostly shown towards the end of the video. This consisted of quick changes in lighting from bright white lights, almost like blinders to a completely black screen. I did not like this because I could not focus on anything showing in the video and it was to noisy.
Narrative:
In this music video there was no story included and it was always focused on James Arthur singing in an empty studio. Throughout the whole video James Arthur is sitting on a stool in the studio and I found it very boring. Many viewers of this video would lose interest because you are watching the same thing throughout the whole video.
Camera:
In this music video there was not a lot of variety in shots, movement and camera angles. It was always shot at eye-level which I did not mind because you feel like you are more connected in the video but I found it got quite boring after a while considering there was no story with it either unlike the coldplay video. Occasionally there would be a close-up shot of James Arthur's face but very rarely, it was mostly shots of his whole body sat on the stool and him singing.
The camera angles were very predictable and boring as they hardly changed throughout the whole video, in which viewers will start to get bored after a while.
A unique/different way the camera was used in this video is how the camera spins around a bleak focusing on James Arthur. At first this was quite exciting but after a while it got boring because it was always focusing on the same thing and there was no variety in the video.
The lens was the same throughout the whole video and the only thing that changed was the occasional lighting effects consisting off harsh bright, white lights and complete black outs, which I did not like as I mentioned before I could not focus on anything.
Mise-en-scene:
Costume: James Arthur was wearing a black top, a black jacket, black trousers and black shoes. He was also wearing a silver watch, a silver chain around his neck, and silver rings on his fingers. The good thing about this costume was that it was occasionally in contrast with the white background in the studio when he was in front. But otherwise I actually found the costume relatively plain and fairly boring.
Location: The location of the music video is in an empty studio surrounded by lighting and other equipment for shooting a video/photoshoot. The music video was always inside the studio and there was no variation in location unlike the coldplay video so I found it dull and boring.
Lighting: The music video was filmed in black and white. The lighting consisted off bright white lights, completely black shots and then just normal black and white shots. I would not have minded this if it wasn't for the constant changing of lighting towards the end which made it very noisy and chaotic.
Acting: The music video did not consist of much acting. Throughout the whole video it focused on James Arthur singing in an empty studio. It was a depressing atmosphere and so James Arthur never had a happy facial expression. His facial expressions were quite pained to help show the meaning of the song.
Props: The props in this music video consist of a stool in which James Arthur was sitting on, different lighting and photoshoot equipment, and a white background. I found all the props fairly boring and all these factors contribute to my opinion of this music video, in which I am not overly keen on.
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