Deconstruction of Enter Shikari- No sleep tonight video

Mise-en-scene: the video is set primarily in the street, Rou Reynolds is bumped into by a well dressed business man on the telephone who rather than say sorry casts him a dark look because he is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, it also shows Rou and his band performing in a public area to a large group of people showing their popularity and also shows the business man putting a mud pack on his face. It shows the business man entering his home still on the phone and Rou stood outside the front door watching him. It shows the business man’s arrogance as he is doing sit ups and push ups topless while watching his reflection and also shows his partners disgust as she merely leaves the room. There are various pieces of art hanging from the wall that depict some sort of injustice in the world which is seemingly taken lightly as art with no meaning. Everything that is done by the business man shows that he is in fact attached to his phone, and the group of people that were watching Shikari perform are looking in on him as if mocking him and chastising him by pressing against the glass that makes up his house and shouting at him. Money is used as a floor mat for him as he gets out of the shower signifying he doesn’t care about money and he uses it without a care.

Camera shots/ angles/ movement and composition: hand held cameras are again used for the most part of the video, particularly during the performance scenes. Mid shots and wide shots are used to capture the surroundings as well as POV shots which are used in the context of almost spying on the business man. Most of the shots consist of mid close ups as well and two shots of the business man and his partner. Tracking and dolly are used to follow him as he walks around the house.

Editing: There are many short takes which show what the business man is doing and also to switch between the performance scenes. Short takes are used during the art scene to show an array of hardships that are happening around the world. Jump cuts are also used.

Lighting: there is an array of lighting used, mostly natural as it flows in through the windows of the house and because the performance is in the park but also spot lights which are shone upon the business man as if to say he is guilty.

Deconstruction of Jay-Z feat Rhianna and Kanye West- Run this town video

Mise-en-scene: Black clothes are used by everyone in the video, bandanas and hoodys used to cover the faces, simple clothing with accessories such as gold chains and bracelets and such are used to make the outfits unique. Most of the video is shot in the streets, or abandoned buildings, up turned cars are scattered throughout the streets along with debris, smouldering objects on fire also make reference to the songs name as it shows the large group of people “run” the town. The “ghost town” shows that they have people running scared and the use of batons and fire sticks gives an aggressive feel to the video and the burning torches give it a somewhat barbaric and basic feel.

Camera shots/angles/ movement and composition: the video starts off with a mid shot of a man holding a burning torch which is zoomed in on. Out of focus shots of large groups of people and also close ups give the feel of actually being part of the rioting group. Hand held cameras are used through most of the video, tilting up as if trying to see what is going on but also used as if walking through the crowed. Tracking and dolly is used to follow the groups and wide shots are used to capture not only the person but also the background which most of the time seems to be baron. A three shot of Rhianna, Jay-Z and Kanye West shows the three to be the ring leaders as they are shown in a high angle to show superiority. Tracking is used to follow all three individually and mid shots are used to show individual members of the gang.

Editing: there is a lot of quick editing in the video, shot takes are used to show different things that are happening in the same time frame, the editing is mostly non continuity but fade in and outs are used to continue on the shots and also to overlap images to convey what is happening in the video. Slow motion during walking makes it seem like they are marching to war and eye line matches with the three authority figures shows that they are more important than the others. Short takes of individual members shows the severity of the masses or perhaps shows they are second in command and a quick take of a large spiked gauntlet shows that they do not oppose violence.

Lighting: they use natural lighting, the darkness around is illuminated by the torches of fire and also the rising sun shows they do not rest and also casts a slightly forbidding glow across the whole set.

Deconstruction of Taylor Swift- You belong with me music video

Mise-en-scene: the video begins with a shot of two houses side by side, the sun is setting and the lights to the rooms facing each other are on, which suggests that what is happening inside is relevant to the video. It jumps to the person inside one of the rooms talking on the phone, looking annoyed, as if he is having an argument with someone on the other end, as he walks past his window you can see that in the other house a girl is sat watching him, the girl is wearing a baggy white t-shirt with writing on it and thick black rimmed glasses compared to the boys clothes which consist of a green t-shirt and checker trousers, it shows there is a difference in style between them, she holds a note pad in her hand which she uses to write messages to him, he also uses a note pad to write messages to her. She writes a significant message to him saying “I love you” which is never show because he closes the blinds. Her room is littered with books which supports the suggestion that she is a “nerd”. The sports car that the boys girlfriend drives up in shows the difference in class and also stereotypical groups which is again backed up when the girlfriend is shown wearing a cheerleaders uniform and the main girl is wearing band attire. She is then shown being asked via notebook if she is going to prom to which she replies she is not. The notebooks seem to be significant in showing how the two communicate. At prom everyone is seen having a good time, except for the boy who is obviously saddened by the girl not being there, when the main girl arrives at prom in a white floor length dress- which goes against her image- everyone stops to stare, signifying that they are amazed. When she and her neighbour stand opposite one another- just like the houses- she unfolds the note with “I love you” and it and he unfolds one that has the same thing written on it.

Camera angles/ shots/ movement and composition: at the beginning the video starts with an establishing shot of the two houses, it zooms in until it is a mid close up of the boy on his phone. As he is walking past his window it goes into a low angle two shot, showing the girl in the house next door. It then goes into an over the shoulder two shot before going into a mid shot on the girl and a shot reverse shot on the two. A wide shot is used when the boy is writing on the note pad. The camera does a close up on her face when she is singing on her bed. While she is reading on a bench the camera goes into a low angle POV shot and then a two shot. While at the football match it goes into a track as it goes from the cheerleader to the main character that is in the school band. It also does a high angle track of the boy as he walks away from the cheerleader. There are also moments when the camera looks like it is hand held. As she walks into the prom it does a long shot of her then a mid close up before zooming in on the reaction on the boys face. At the end frame it zooms in on the two kissing.

Editing:throughout the video a mixture of continuity and non continuity editing is used to continue on certain time frames but also skip some ahead. Shot/ reverse shots are used regularly throughout as are jump cuts. A mixture of long takes and short takes are used, short takes being used mostly when there is a notebook conversation being carried out between the two.

Lighting:natural lighting is used during the beginning and when the two are sitting on the bench but artificial lighting is also used when the two are in their rooms. Flood lights are used at the football game to give the feel of actually being there and mood lighting creates a romantic ambience at prom for the two main characters.

Questionnaire Results

The results of the questionnaire were important in recognizing the age range that we were going to target for the video, it also helped in the selection of the genre of music that was popular in order to appeal to our target audience. our questionnaire showed that people liked videos that included narrative and performance which meant we had a broader range on what we could create and also helped us to realize that people watched music videos quite a lot which would help the product gain publicity.

Hey Guys!

Greetings, and welcome to my wonderful blog!

Basically this is where all my planning and research for my wonderful A2 Media studies coursework will be going.

I hope you enjoy and please do message with constructive crisicism if you feel it is needed.

Peace, Love, Music Melii