Music Video

Analysis

SIA – CHANDELIER Chandelier is an acoustic indie pop music video released in 2015.

Sia’s music video is a narrative based video whilst also being a conceptual as the video films a female doing a dance routine which gives of a strong message to the audience. The dance routine alongside the meaningful

lyrics emphasises the message Sia was trying to get across. The message that Sia was trying to get across was not that young girls get abused as

stated by the media but instead her addiction to drugs. This music video is based around a young girl trapped inside a dark, dirty

house, the girls expressive dance around the house whilst she grabs onto the walls and holds on to anything she can get hold of signifies how she is trying to escape just like how Sia is trying to escape her drug addiction and how she just wants someone to hold. The cinematographer of the video has used a variety of shots focusing on the dance moves and the young

girls facial expressions, this makes the video engaging to watch and makes the audience create a personal connection to the video.

The mis en scene of this video is very dull and dark with the props all being old and dirty, the use of the mis en scene reveals that when you are a drug

addict nothing in your life seems right which emphasises the strong message Sia is trying to get across from the video.

This type of music video doesn’t really appeal to me as I find it quite hard to understand the actual meaning of the music video and I think it would be

very difficult to create a music video that would be as successful.

Katy Perry - Thinking Of You “Thinking of you” is a pop ballad song and two videos were released but the

one I shall be analysing is the commercial release.

Katy’s music video features a lot of jump cuts throughout the music which create the idea of time moving forward, jump cuts are a common convention of pop music videos. Throughout the video there is a neutral colour scheme

which fits in with the “1940” style music video. The mis en scene of the music video also relates to the time zone of the music video making it seem very

realistic. This music video is narrative and describes a couple who were torn apart by

war, so the female attempts to move on but is unable too. The lyrics relate to the visuals, an example is where it says “I am thinking of you” and footage of a

flashback of the couple riding on the bike is shown. Throughout the video there is also a range of close ups of the artist which promotes Katy to be multi

– talented both as a singer and actress.This music video was made to be successful as its plot is very similar to films

such as “Dear John” which has been very popular within the media and therefore would attract a wide audience who like this kind of storyline.

To summarise Katy Perry’s music video was very well filmed and edited and the storyline was very moving.,

Taylor Swift – Shake It OffShake it off is a pop genre based song that is based primarily on

performance.The video includes a large amount of chorography which fits in with

the pop video conventions, the dancing is in time with the beat of the music and the artists is always placed at the front which

highlights their importance. The colour scheme of this video is very bright which gives of the young

playful vibe. The dancers are shown to be dressed in bright modern clothing which would be seen as appealing to the target

audience of younger children and therefore inspire them. In the video there is no direct narrative between the lyrics and the

visuals because the lyrics are all shown via the dancers movements. The song is upbeat so goes with the jump cuts and

fast editing, the use of close ups on the artists face also show her expression which reveals her to be happy which fits in with pop convention. The general style of this music video is way over the

top as the dance moves are all amplified but this represents Taylor Swift’s bubbly childlike personality.

I really enjoyed this music video and found it very engaging to watch, the use of the bright colour scheme also creates a happy vibe and that “feel good feeling” which is a great aspect of a music video.