Research into Existing Music Videos

Before creating my own music video, I researched existing ones on YouTube and the music channels, which covered a wide range of musical genres. Depending on the style of the band or artist and the feel of the music; the framing of the camera, the use of mise en scene, and the editing techniques also varied.

Particular examples I analysed included:

"Smack My Bitch Up" - The Prodigy



This particular video depicts a night out in the city filmed from a first-person perspective, portraying many controversial areas such as drinking and driving, snorting cocaine, violence, vandalism, sex and nudity. The protagonaist takes a stripper home, and once the stripper has left, glances in the mirror where it is revealed to be a woman. The video drew fierce criticism for misogyny despite its ending, and was accused of encouraging violence, especially towards women.

Although it is extremely controversial, I really like the way the video subverts politically correct stereotypes of this type of behaviour. Also, the composition of the camera in terms of it being shot from first-person perspective, and the editing techniques used, such as slow-motion sections, I felt gave it a much more unusual edge which I really wanted to emulate for my own video.

"Natural Blues" - Moby



This video is a very unusual example of how important costume is within the mise en scene. It uses a series of pans and close ups to show a queue of elderly people waiting to die (almost like Purgatory), as well as a series of flashbacks showing memories from their lives. The video has subverted the typical use of a cameo of the artist by incorporating Moby within the plot. Using make-up and prosthetics, he has been made to look like an elderly man and is shown to be pushed in a wheelchair and observing other people in the queue and his surroundings.

The originality and style of the video were real attractions to me, as I felt they made the video much more intriguing and forced the audience to really think about the plot in order to interperet it in their own way. I wanted my video to follow the example of this unique style, which I think subverts the typical image we have of a music video: glitz and glamour, and makes it much more interesting to watch.

"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" - The Darkness



This example has adopted a space theme which runs throughout. It is set on a space ship and shows images of the band performing, rather than being purely narrative. The style of the video is a fun interpretation of the song and the genre of music, and demonstrates the personality of the band, particularly the lead vocalist, Justin Hawkins. Strange props have been used within the mise en scene which I feel gives the video real flare and makes it much more light-hearted. For example, there is a scene where Hawkins is being dried by a fluffy purple monster!

I like the use of the unusual props and the space theme also related well to the genre of music of my own song. However, the fact that it is performance-based, I think makes the video come across as quite generic, and I would prefer my own video to be more surreal and unique.