detailed research - media - josh manley

Detailed Research

By Josh Manley

Foals – Late Night

https://vimeo.com/60057960

What institutions are responsible for the music video?

• http://www.nabil.com• The video was directed by Nabil Elderkin

who is an American/Iranian freelance professional photographer and music video/film director.

• He was born in Chicago and raised in Australia, he is now based in Los Angeles California.

• He has his own company called N E Direction where he has many employees working for him. The company is very established as its previous clients include artists such as Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Frank Ocean and John Legend as well as manufacturers such as Coca Cola, Footlocker, Nike and Adidas.

Codes employed by the institution

Nabil’s work has a specific style in terms of his direction but also in relation to his mise-en-scene and themes which he explores. As shown above, the majority of his music videos are based in rural settings and only follow one character. This allows the audience to connect very effectively with the characters as there are no other characters to consider. He explores different elements of the world such as forest, ocean, mountain, sky and roads. The setting is always relevant to the narrative and contributes to the overall theme. Death tends to be a featured theme of Nabil ’s work as he explores it in many of is products. Also it is noticeable that he uses a rather natural colour palette but also sometimes relatively gritty dependent on the location. For example when in forest he uses many greens and browns which is very effective in contributing to the overall mood and atmosphere and theme.

What are the key selling points of the video?

The fact that the music video includes the band performing would instantly be the biggest selling point of the video. Recognisable figures, especially the band, hold the audiences the attention very effectively. Also the fact that diegetic sounds are included contributes the immersive experience of the music video. This allows from a much greater connection to be made with the audience as they would feel closer and can relate to the visuals on screen. Also the reoccurring themes of nudity and blood could be considered as a selling point of the video as it would entice the audience, especially the more youthful audience. It is proven that younger audiences are interested in the gory aspect of products and also generally tend to feel more comfortable when experiencing forms of nudity.

What appears to be the target audience for the music video?

Foals – Late Night

Both males and females

Younger audience due to theme included inThe music video(16-25 year olds)

Indie / Indie Rock / Foals Fans

Musicians Aspiring Film makers /Students

Potentially couples due to events of the birth of a child and also sex

Success of the music video

This music video was very successful for many of reasons. Its success is depicted through its nomination in the sixth UK Music Video Awards in 2013 and also a nomination in the Best Colour Grade category. Although it didn’t win the Best Rock/Indie Music Video, It claimed first place in the Best Colour Grade category. Therefore illustrated the great success of the video due to being nominated for such highly prestigious awards. I believe the parts of the music video that are successful would be the concept, theme and colour. I feel that narrative is very meaningful and open to many different interpretations. Also the music video relates very well in targeting a specific audience and I feel the whole mise-en-scene as well as the colour grading work very well in contributing the the overall mood of the video.

Sia – Elastic Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWZGAExj-es


• There wasn’t a specific institution responsible for this music video. Instead it was directed by the artist of the track, Sia Furler and also Australian filmmaker and artist Daniel Askill who uses film, photographs, video installation and sculpture in his work.

• Sia is an Australian singer and songwriter. In 2000, Sia signed to Sony Music’s sub-label Dance Pool.

• By having Sia as a director for her own music video, she was able to apply her own perspective and ideology which worked very effectively, despite receiving a mixed response.

Codes employed by the institution• Sia’s video trilogy, “Chandelier”, Elastic Heart”, and “Big Girls Cry”, all

feature the young dancer Maddie Ziegler performing elaborate choreography. A deeper look at the symbolism in these videos reveals the disturbing story of a young girl’s abuse inside the elite’s system of mind control. Sia tends to set her work at very dingy and derelict locations. She also ensures that Maddie wears the same costume (nude leotard and white wig) in order to show consistency in her work. The content of her music videos also always include a peformance from Maddie in her established abtract style where her facial expressions and body language and movement convey a particular message. Sia als tends to include the camera movement of spiralling around the performance, particularly in Chandelier and Elastic heart, therefore showing a trend.


• The keys points of the music video would be the fact that one of the characters included is a worldwide renowned actor which would attract many audiences. Shia Labeouf is known for his inclusion in the Transformers films which can be considered a family film, so audiences from all ages would be attracted. Transformers is a series of American science fiction action films directed by Michael Bay, and based on the toys created by Hasbro and Tomy. Therefore attracting audiences who are fans of Shia's work. Also the concept of the two performing together in a rather abstract form would also be a selling point as it is unique to most music videos. The fact that the characters are wearing nude coloured costumes imply a sense of nudity which would attract younger audiences.


Sia – Elastic HeartPeople who suffer from paranoia or insecurty

Younger generations (16-25)

Mainly females, but also males

Pop fans


• The success of the music video can be undermined by nomination for the 2015 VMA Award for Best Female Video and also MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video. In June 2015, Billboard selected the video as one "of the 10 best music videos of 2015 so far. PopCrush also chose it as one of its favorites of the first half of 2015, commenting that the video's "lopsided choreography and filthy warfare yields a raw, junkyard beauty that doesn’t ask who will make it out alive, but whether escape is ever really on the table. Also the video had received more than 440 million views on YouTube. However the video faced criticism due to the depiction of an adult and child dancing together, clad only in beige dancewear. Despite Sia’s intention was to create some emotional content , some commentators perceived the piece as pedophilic. I feel that the message of the girl being the man’s inner issues or child which he is unable to control is very effective as I regard it as intellectual content.

Beyonce – Pretty Hurts

https://youtu.be/LXXQLa-5n5w


• Melina Matsoukas (born January 14, 1981) is an American director of music videos and commercials. She is a Grammy Award winner for her "We Found Love" video.

• Matsoukas started out at Black Dog Film, then the now-defunct Gorilla Flix film production company, and is currently a director at Prettybird, which she has been signed to since 2011.

• Prettybird is a production company who has worked with artists such as Pharrell, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Rihanna as well as other well known brands such as Nike, Gatorade and Levi’s.

Codes employed by the institutionIn Melina Matsoukas' music videos I have noticed that she tends to apply a strong colour filter/fade or she makes the visuals look very natural. I found that it is also evident that Melina explores many cultures in her work, mainly the sapeur culture. The movement embodies the elegance in style and manners of colonial predecessor dandies as a means of resistance. They are in stark contrast with the environment they live in. This contrast can be illustrates through the great contrast she uses in colour. She also explores heavily on the youth of the cultures. At some point in most of her products she shoots at night which seems to be a trend. She employs intimacy a lot in her work where her content explores relationships between people.


• An instant selling point of the music video would be the fact that Beyonce is include as the main character in which the narrative follows. By including the artist and the fact that she is such a prestigous and recognisable figure would instantly cause a variety of audiences to want to watch the video. The content and narrative would also be a selling point as it plays a big part in today's society, by including this subject the audience will want to see the project in attempt to gain Beyonce's view and perspective. The fact that it takes place at a beauty pageant causes many models to be part of the narrative which would also be a selling point to males due to the 'male gaze'. The parts where the soundtrack cuts out and diegetic sounds and dialogue take place adds to the immersive experience and allows the audience to connect more with the visuals. The dialogue used is also very effective in presenting Beyonce's perspective and view, making it clear to the viewers.


Beyoncé – Pretty Hurts

Females and males

Particularly young Females ( Teenagers And young adults)

People interestedin beauty/fashion

Power pop/ soulfans


• At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, the clip was nominated in four categories: Best Editing, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Video with a Message, ultimately winning the latter two. The inspiration of the music comes from the pressure on women to have outer beauty in society. It investigates the extremes women go through to achieve the sense of outer beauty, keeping up with the pressure in which society places on beauty. The visuals and narrative are extremely relevant to the lyrics of the soundtrack. The whole mise-en-scene is very effective in contributing to the intended message and atmosphere of the video and allows the audience to understand the intentions of the artist.

detailed research - media - josh manley

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