PERFORMANCE MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

PERFORMANCE:

CHIPMUNK - TAKE OFF

'Take Off' music video is by UK rapper Chip (formerly known as Chipmunk). He collaborated with American star Trey Songz for this single. This music video is very simple and contains many close ups. Close up's are a convention of a performance music video.

Being a performance music video, the purpose is for the artist to perform to the camera. Conventionally, performance music videos have introductions in the beginning of the video, introducing the artist and song name. This screen shot shows the artist name edited over an extreme long shot. The text is bold and clear. The colour is white, the same colour as the artists costume. White connotes purity and innocence and is common colour used in performance music videos.

Here are some examples of performance music videos in which have titles:

Here is a close up of the artist Chipmunk. He is framed in the center. The background is in shallow focus. He is wearing white costume and has light brown sunglasses on. His performance shows him looking over his shoulder directly at the camera/audience. This represents him as paranoid. Also, the camera is at a slight high angle, connoting his inferiority. A close up is a convention of a performance music video developing a visual motif.

In this mid shot, we see both artists. Editing is used to overlay two different footages over each other to create this soft effect. Chipmunk is in the foreground connoting his importance whereas Trey Songz is in the background connoting that he is the feature artist on the song. The background is in shallow focus which makes the artists stand out more.

This mid shot displays Trey Songz. He is dressed casually and wearing sunglasses just like Chipmunk was. He is also wearing white just like Chipmunk was which allows the audience to identify that both artists are connected. There is a girl in a yellow bikini in the background. She is being objectified because she is in the background wearing revealing clothes. Trey is composed in the centre whereas the girl is not.

This close up shows Trey composed in the rule of thirds. The girl is in the background again however this time she is displayed closer than before and is in shallow focus which reinforces that she is being objectified as the shallow focus allows the audience to view her body outline. It is almost as if she is being silhouetted. Also, Trey's performance denotes him looking away from her.

This is the first close up we see of the girl. She is facing away from the audience. The background is in shallow focus. Her make up is natural looking and light. She is composed in the rule of thirds which makes her seem dominant in this shot.

This close up is shown when Chipmunk says "I live my life in the lime light". A lime light is spot lighting which is actually white light. When white light is fractured, it displays a rainbow of colours which is what is being displayed in this shot. The rainbow connotes the lime light. The rainbow is also going across Chipmunk's face highlighting a visual representation of the lyric.

This long shot displays Chipmunk in a city. The music video was actually shot in Miami which we can see through the nice weather and palm trees. Chipmunk is wearing an all white suit with smart white shoes. Behind him are business buildings which connotes him as dominant. This is also taken at a low angle which reinforces his dominance and makes him superior.

This long shot denotes Chipmunk standing directly in front of the tallest building there. It is as if he is a human representation of the building standing well built, formally, strong and tall. There is a lot of nature being shown in this shot. Chipmunk is wearing all white which connotes purity and nature. White is a simple colour and the white costume conforms to conventions of a performance music video.

This mid shot displays the girl to be framed in the rule of thirds. Editing has overlapped her footage with some footage of palm trees. This editing technique objectifies her as it connotes her as a tree in the background of shots. She is wearing yellow which is a bright colour. Usually in performance music videos when there is no female in the song, females are objectified in the background of the shots where the male artists are performing. The yellow costume makes the female more seeable and bright. The bikini means she is there for the male gaze. This allows Chipmunk to appeal to a secondary audience through the objectification of females.

This is a beauty shot of the main artist. These shots are conventional in performance music videos. Chipmunk is framed in the rule of thirds connoting his importance. He also has a beautiful view of the city in the background in shallow focus. "On that note, thats my cue to go" is the lyric being performed at this point. The city in the background represents where Chipmunk will "go."

This is the first shot we see of both artists together without the use of editing. This shot appears when the chorus drops. The beautiful view of the city is in the background again however this time it is not in shallow focus. Lighting is low key which subverts to the conventions of a performance music video as they tend to always use high key lighting. There is a prop of a car in the rule of thirds which is a convention is rap music videos.

This close up of a car is shown when Trey sings "I thought you were down to ride." This shot reflects the lyric. This a tracking shot of the car and it is a short take. The car is black which is a simple colour. Simple colours are conventional in performance music videos.

This mid shot displays Chipmunk performing. His actions reflect the lyric "if it aint a push forward." The location of this shot is a luxurious apartment overlooking the city from its window. The city tends to always be in the background of this music video. Lighting is very low key connoting the mood of the song.

This is also a mid shot. Lighting is low key in this which is making Chipmunk appear as a silhouette. This is a convention is performance music videos. The background of this shot shows the sun set. Chipmunk's performance shows him pointing to it which connotes its importance in this shot.

Editing uses the overlay technique to merge a close up of shot of english money with the midshot of Chipmunk looking at the sunset. This shot reflects the lyric being performed at this point "you claim I'm too busy chasing that paper." The term 'paper' is colloquial language meaning 'money'. The fact that this music video was actually shot in America, Miami, the use of English money is powerful as it represents Chipmunk as a British UK artist. The £20 symbol on the note itself is composed directly in the centre of the shot connoting its importance. Although the opacity of the footage of the money has been lowered, the money still appears to be dominant.

This mid shot of Chipmunk has a voyeuristic feel to it. It is shot from the back of him and the camera pans across to reveal him slowly. The lighting is low key which also adds to the voyeuristic feel. The low key lighting casts a shadow on the side of his face making the shot restricted. He is sitting down on the prop of a chair as if he is in the comfort of his own home enjoying the view from this window.

This mid shot displays Chipmunk as a silhouette again through the use of low key lighting. He is being back lit from the natural light outside the window which is causing him to appear as a silhouette. He is composed directly in the middle connoting his importance. This composition is common in performance music videos and 'Take Off' conforms to the conventions of a performance music video.

This mid shot displays Trey Songz in the foreground and the female in the background. Also in the background is a night time view of the city. This is a visual motif in this music video. Trey and the females costume is matching as they are both wearing a deep shade of burgundy red. Trey is composed in the rule of thirds connoting his importance over the female. The females performance denotes her as facing away from the audience which objectifies her.

This close up denotes Chipmunk in the foreground and Trey in the background. Chipmunk is in deep focus whereas Trey is not. The background of the city during night life is in shallow focus. This shot reflects the lyric "they always me if I'm single in interviews" as the background of the city in shallow focus connotes the interviews. The blurred lights connote busy cameras during an interview.

This mid shot displays Chipmunk in the rule of thirds. Although Trey is in the background and his performance displays him as facing away from the audience, he in composed in the centre which gives him dominance. Chipmunk is wearing a black jacket and black sunglasses. The sunglasses connote the busy city night light as sunglasses reflect light out of a persons eyes.

This close up denotes Chipmunk with a female. Given that he is a male artist and that this is a performance music video, the girl is being objectified as she is not there for any purpose. Reinforcing this is that she is in the background. Males tend to have females in the videos in which they perform to whereas females tend to have males in the artist in which they perform to. The opposite gender is always being objectified in performance videos.

This close up/beauty shot of Chipmunk is a convention of a performance music video. Lighting is high key in this which is also conventional. However the black background makes the lighting to appear dimmer. Chipmunk is wearing a chain in which conforms to his star persona. He is framed in the rule of thirds connoting his importance in the music video as he in the main artist.

 This mid shot displays Chipmunk doing his signature sign of a C which stands for Chipmunk. He is in the rule of thirds doing this, whereas the feature artist Trey slightly out of frame in the rule of thirds. This makes Chipmunk appear more dominant and Trey seem objectified as his performance is facing away from the audience.

This mid shot is how the music ends. The audience see Chipmunk in the rule of thirds and then the camera slowly pans away from him and fades to black. This is a beauty shot of the main artist and allows audience to identify with him.

NARRATIVE MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

NARRATIVE:

BRUNO MARS - GRENADE

'Grenade' music video is based on the concept of the artist Bruno Mars being in love with a girl for which he'd do anything for. He witnesses her kissing another male which leads him to commit suicide.

'Grenade' narrates the love story through biblical references. Bruno Mars has a reputation of being a very strong Christian and therefore displays this through his music videos. The music video is put together through a number of different types of shots and mise en scene hold powerful meanings. Being a narrative music video, the mise en scene and performance is what brings the video to life.

This is the opening shot of the music video. It is heavy rain falling down connoting the sad mood in which Bruno Mars is in. The lighting is low key which also connotes Bruno's down mood.

This mid shot denotes Bruno in shallow focus. In America, the colour orange connotes that someone has committed a serious crime as it is the colour of the jumpsuit in which prisoners are given to wear. Bruno's costume is orange which foreshadows the crime of suicide in which he commits at the end of the video.

This close up shows Bruno composed in the rule of thirds. Lighting is low key which causes a shadow on the side of his face making this is a restricted shot. The background of rain pouring down is in shallow focus.

This close up allows the audience to identify that Bruno is in a relationship. Editing uses stop motion to crack the photo frame whilst it is in Bruno's hands. This editing technique automatically tells the audience that Bruno is heart broken.

In this mid shot, Bruno's performance denotes him struggling. The prop of a rope reinforces the struggle. Lighting is very low key which enables the audience to identify that he is struggling and we feel sympathy for him.

This close up shows the shoes in which Bruno is wearing. He is wearing smart black and white shoes with his black suit. It is as if he is dressed for church and as Bruno is a strong Christian, this attire represents his star persona.

This close up shows Bruno's determination and need to drag the prop of a piano to the girl in which he is in love with. Lighting is again low key in this shot which connotes to the audience that he won't complete him mission, no matter how detemined he is. There is space between his face and the rest of the shot in which denotes his passion to get the piano to the girl.

This mid shot shows Bruno framed in the rule of thirds. There is a green light behind him which represents 'go'. It is a symbolic for his determination. In the background we see a dark gloomy sky which juxtaposes how he feels towards the girl and why he is going through this struggle.

This long shot denotes Bruno in the rule of thirds. Lighting is extremely low key and he appears as a silhoutte. The audience can see the difference between the piano and Bruno. The piano is almost his height and width. The background looks gloomy and creepy. The tunnel is completely empty.

In this long shot we see Bruno dragging the piano in which is superior to him. The space we see in front of him makes us feel sorry for him. The lighting is low key again which we learn is a theme throughout this music video. Bruno's performance shows him walking on the road as if he is a car. It makes us wonder why the piano does not have wheels when it usually should and because of this we feel sorry for Bruno.

This reaction shot is a long shot and denotes a homeless man watching Bruno and questioning his actions. The man is composed slightly off the center. It makes the audience wonder why he's there and what happened to him. It questions who we feel sorry for.

This mid shot denotes Bruno walking along the road in the tunnel. He is composed slightly off center which makes him seem inferior. We see cars behind him travelling fast. The head lights of the car are shining in which causes a long line of light. This connotes the direction in which he needs to go in order to see the girl he is in love with.

In this close up of a rear view mirror, we see Bruno dragging the piano with so much struggle. The rear view mirror is framed in the rule of thirds and is surrounded by darkness because of the use of low key lighting. This is a point of view of the driver for which moves the audience. This is a convention in narrative music videos.

This close up denotes a hand on the same raining window from the beginning of the music video. The lighting is low key in which makes the hand to appear as a silhoutte. The hand is framed in the rule of thirds. The shot has a dark blue tint over it. Dark blue connotes sadness.

This over the shoulder shot denotes Bruno walking past an intimidating looking gang of men. They are all wearing white in which connotes unity between them. The lighting in this shot is high key as they are outdoors. The use of high key lighting makes the audience feel as if there is hope. The background is in shallow focus.

This close up denotes a vicious looking dog. The dog is composed in the rule of thirds in which connotes its superiority and dominance. The use of the close up allows the audience to identify that this dog is being used as a weapon. The fact that the dog is facing the camera makes the audience feel uncomfortable.

This mid shot displays Bruno Mars getting bullied by a gang of Latinos. In American society, in certain parts of the States, Latinos are stereotyped as a gang to stay clear from. The audience can just about see Bruno's head in between the two biggest Latinos. This makes Bruno appear as inferior.

In this close up, the gang slapped a prop of the picture of the girl that Bruno is in love with to the floor. Bruno's hand is composed in the rule of thirds in which connotes his important. Also, the audience can only see his actual flesh which has religious connotations as Jesus gave up his flesh and blood for everyone. There are shadows being shown of the gang in which connotes them being inferior as you cannot see them. This is a restricted shot of them.

This mid shot is in Bruno's point of view which makes the audience feel empathy for him. The background is in shallow focus which highlights the fact that this intimidating gang is right in front of Bruno. The lighting is high key which is a convention of narrative music videos.

In this mid shot, Bruno is in the foreground and in deep focus which connotes his importance. The background of which includes the gang is in shallow focus. Bruno is also composed in the rule of thirds. The main artist being composed in the rule of thirds is a convention of narrative music videos. The struggle in which Bruno is facing connotes the struggle in which Jesus faced in sacrificing himself for his loved ones. This is what Bruno is doing, he is struggling and sacrificing pain for the girl he loves. This reinforces that Bruno is a strong Christian.

This long shot displays an urban location. There is graffiti on the wall. Bruno's composition makes him appear to be extremely small in which connotes him as inferior.

This mid shot displays Bruno composed in the center. He is looking at the window in which he sees the girl he loves. The background displays a beautiful blue sky with barely any clouds. This juxtaposes the setting he is seeing. His costume is now scruffy looking and the tie is distorted in which represents his confused, jumbled thoughts.

An eye line match displays to the audience what Bruno is seeing. The girl in which he loves is cheating on him. This is the disruption in the narrative. Most narrative music videos tend to have a disruption within their music videos. This gives it repeatability.
The girl is wearing a white t-shirt in which has connotations for purity and innocence. In this context the colour white is being juxtaposed with her actions of being unfaithful. Because Bruno is a strong Christian, the act of cheating is disrespectful. This is also a restricted shot as the audience cannot see the girls face however they can see the man's face in which makes him dominant.

This close up shows the girl framed in the rule of thirds. This time the audience cannot see the mans face as his performance in the shot has him restricted from them. Even so, the female is also restricted as her lips are cut off. The background is a cream colour which is plain and simple.

This is a reaction shot of Bruno. He is composed in the rule of thirds. Reaction shots are a convention of narrative music videos. His performance denotes him in distress as his eyes are closed and brows are creased. The audience feel sorry for him. Narrative music videos usually bring an emotion to the audience.

This mid shot displays Bruno pushing the piano away from the female's house. He is composed in the center however he is between the piano and a bush in which looks the same size as the piano. This connotes his feeling of being trapped in love.

This over the shoulder shot belongs to the female making her superior. However, she is in shallow focus and Bruno is in deep focus. Bruno is also composed in the center. This shot restricts the audience from seeing the female.

This mid shot denotes Bruno in the rule of thirds. The shot feels voyeuristic as it seems as if the audience are watching him through a window. Lighting is extremely low key creating a dull saddening mood which connotes how Bruno is feeling.

This long shot is at a canted angle. The canted angle reinforces the struggle in which Bruno is facing pushing the piano up a hill.

This close up is of a priest who is looking at Bruno. The use of a priest in the narrative reinforces Bruno's strong beliefs in Christianity. The background is gritty and it is in shallow focus whereas the priest in is deep focus which reinforces his authority and respect within a community.

This close up denotes Bruno at a train track. The fence and the emptiness in the shallow focused background denotes to the audience that Bruno is in danger. His performance shows him looking emotionless.

This close up of train lights foreshadows future events. The colour red signifies danger. This is the only colour besides black being shows in this shot. The red stands out on the black highlighting that danger is about.

This extreme long shot displays Bruno composed in the far right hand corner of the shot connoting him as inferior. There are signs of red light within this shot reinforcing danger. The train barrier is in the rule of thirds and as the shot goes on, the barrier lowers still with Bruno standing in the way of it. This then cuts to  black which connotes death and the music video ends with a sad ending to the narrative.