Kate Bush - Video Analysis
Born 30th July 1958
English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
Kate is one of the UKs most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.
At the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut song "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first woman to have a UK number one with a self written song.
After Kate’s one off tour in 1979 she released the 1980 album “Never for Ever”, which made her the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist ever to enter the album chart at number one.
In 1987, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. She has released nine albums.
From the 1980s onward it has become almost standard for individualistic female singer songwriters to be compared to Bush by the media, and has been noted as an influence on many female artists. Many artists around the world have also recorded cover versions of Bush songs, including Charlotte Church and The Futureheads.
In 2005 she released “Aerial”, her first album in 12 years.
Albums include: The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never for Ever, The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, The Sensual World, The Red Shoes and Aerial.
Singles include: Wuthering Heights, The Man with the Child in His Eyes, Them Heavy People, Moving, Hammer Horror, Wow, Symphony in Blue, Strange Phenomena, Breathing, Babooshka, Running up that Hill, Rocket Man and many many more.
Much of Bush’s dance moves in her videos have been noted to resemble karate moves that she had learnt as a child.
English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer.
Kate is one of the UKs most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.
At the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut song "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first woman to have a UK number one with a self written song.
After Kate’s one off tour in 1979 she released the 1980 album “Never for Ever”, which made her the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist ever to enter the album chart at number one.
In 1987, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. She has released nine albums.
From the 1980s onward it has become almost standard for individualistic female singer songwriters to be compared to Bush by the media, and has been noted as an influence on many female artists. Many artists around the world have also recorded cover versions of Bush songs, including Charlotte Church and The Futureheads.
In 2005 she released “Aerial”, her first album in 12 years.
Albums include: The Kick Inside, Lionheart, Never for Ever, The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, The Sensual World, The Red Shoes and Aerial.
Singles include: Wuthering Heights, The Man with the Child in His Eyes, Them Heavy People, Moving, Hammer Horror, Wow, Symphony in Blue, Strange Phenomena, Breathing, Babooshka, Running up that Hill, Rocket Man and many many more.
Much of Bush’s dance moves in her videos have been noted to resemble karate moves that she had learnt as a child.
Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
Sound: The opening scene of the video begins with a “twinkling” sound effect. As this is the opening scene it is the audiences first impression of the video and an indication of what is to follow. This sound effect adds a sense of fantasy and mystery to the song and to Kate herself. Throughout the song the crescendo in the volume of the song and the crescendo of Kate’s dance moves fit in sync with each other perfectly for maximum effect.
Mis-en-scene:The background is very simple and no props are used within this video, as the audience this means we focus on the music and Kate herself. The background is a simple black background with a variety of lighting used throughout the music video. A whit light surrounds Kate as she sings wearing a long whit dress, this shows her innocence and yet again adds a sense of mystery and fantasy. At one point in the video a bright white light surrounds her head symbolising an angelic figure, this is also amplified by the use of smoke around the bottom of the shot.
Camera Angles: A dominant camera angle throughout this video is a close up of Kate’s face showing her emotion, facial expression and lip sinking. This all then makes us as the audience focus on the singing and again at Kate. Here she is being established as an artist as this was her first ever music video. Within the video there are also contrasting long shots of Kate dancing in her own individual style, which can be seen in many of her early music videos.
Editing: Montage scenes are seem prominently through this video, showing two images of Kate dancing and singing one over the top of the other. This adds an extra interesting element to the video to keep the audience interested and again emphasises the sense of dreaming and mystery. Many of the scenes were we see Kate dancing, her movements are duplicated to emphasise this shot. Again there are lots of special lighting effects used within the video, being used to emphasise where Kate is standing and to add an extra interesting element.
Conventions: Like many music videos from the past and to present, dancing and singing is a major emphasis of the video. Although this convention is simple it is also popular for a reason, as it is very effective.
Budget: As this song was Kate’s first, the budget for the video would not have been very large. As Kate became more well known and had more money to play with her videos became more extravagant, yet not to much so as her videos were mainly focused upon her music.
Audience (Popular?): Kate has always been very popular throughout her career but at this point she was much less known throughout the world as an artist. Hence why I believe that this video was kept purposely simple, yet she had already created a motif of her individual style of dancing. She was not afraid of expressing herself clearly in her music and its video.
Mis-en-scene:The background is very simple and no props are used within this video, as the audience this means we focus on the music and Kate herself. The background is a simple black background with a variety of lighting used throughout the music video. A whit light surrounds Kate as she sings wearing a long whit dress, this shows her innocence and yet again adds a sense of mystery and fantasy. At one point in the video a bright white light surrounds her head symbolising an angelic figure, this is also amplified by the use of smoke around the bottom of the shot.
Camera Angles: A dominant camera angle throughout this video is a close up of Kate’s face showing her emotion, facial expression and lip sinking. This all then makes us as the audience focus on the singing and again at Kate. Here she is being established as an artist as this was her first ever music video. Within the video there are also contrasting long shots of Kate dancing in her own individual style, which can be seen in many of her early music videos.
Editing: Montage scenes are seem prominently through this video, showing two images of Kate dancing and singing one over the top of the other. This adds an extra interesting element to the video to keep the audience interested and again emphasises the sense of dreaming and mystery. Many of the scenes were we see Kate dancing, her movements are duplicated to emphasise this shot. Again there are lots of special lighting effects used within the video, being used to emphasise where Kate is standing and to add an extra interesting element.
Conventions: Like many music videos from the past and to present, dancing and singing is a major emphasis of the video. Although this convention is simple it is also popular for a reason, as it is very effective.
Budget: As this song was Kate’s first, the budget for the video would not have been very large. As Kate became more well known and had more money to play with her videos became more extravagant, yet not to much so as her videos were mainly focused upon her music.
Audience (Popular?): Kate has always been very popular throughout her career but at this point she was much less known throughout the world as an artist. Hence why I believe that this video was kept purposely simple, yet she had already created a motif of her individual style of dancing. She was not afraid of expressing herself clearly in her music and its video.
Kate Bush - Babooshka
Sound: Within this video Katewears two outfits, to the end of the song the link between these two scenes of different outfits are linked with the image of breaking glass. This is accompanied with the sound effect of breaking glass. This is to add an extra interesting element to the video and add excitement.
Mis-en-scene: This whole video is situated with a plain background and flooring.As the audience we then focus upon Kate and the action in the video. She then wears a whole black leotard with a black vial over her face, she almost blends into the background yet we are still aware of her being there because of the clever use of lighting used to lighten her. Here she dances with a grand double bass. Unlike many of Kate’s over videos she wears two outfits within this video. Kate wears a very daring gold chain bikini with a sword attached to her thigh. There is a great contrast between the two outfits and the dance moves seen in each. Throughout the whole music video Kate lip sinks the lyrics to the song.
Camera Angles: The video begins with a close up shot of Kate, then a slow zoom is taken untila long shot of Kate is seen. As she begins to sing there is then a slow zoom back in to a close up of Kate once again. As the music begins to crescendo the camera also goes from a long shot to a close up shot, this is to add emphasis to both the song and a level of interest to the video. Kate is always seen central within the shot which shows her obvious importance as the artist.
Editing: Throughout Kate’s videos the editing is usually reasonable subtle. Within Babooshka there is one shot were green screen or a similar technology has been used to place a moving image of Kate in her gold bikini onto the back of the double bass. This adds an extra element to the video and keeps the audience interested. A jump cut is used between the two different outfit scenes, the same shot is used in both scenes from one cut to the other yet Kate is in a different outfit. Slow motion is also used to the end of the video.
Conventions: Here again Kate’s motif dancing is used throughout the video. This has now become a significant part of her music videos. Yet again there is no narrative in the video, where as the artist is seen to dance and sing.
Budget: The video would not have been expensive to make as it is reasonably simple, as Kate was focusing upon her musical ability it was not essential at the time to have an ambitious and expensive video.
Audience (Popular?): From the success of Kate’s first song she had grown greatly in popularity. For this reason her video became much more daring, seen in her choice of outfit for the music video.
Mis-en-scene: This whole video is situated with a plain background and flooring.As the audience we then focus upon Kate and the action in the video. She then wears a whole black leotard with a black vial over her face, she almost blends into the background yet we are still aware of her being there because of the clever use of lighting used to lighten her. Here she dances with a grand double bass. Unlike many of Kate’s over videos she wears two outfits within this video. Kate wears a very daring gold chain bikini with a sword attached to her thigh. There is a great contrast between the two outfits and the dance moves seen in each. Throughout the whole music video Kate lip sinks the lyrics to the song.
Camera Angles: The video begins with a close up shot of Kate, then a slow zoom is taken untila long shot of Kate is seen. As she begins to sing there is then a slow zoom back in to a close up of Kate once again. As the music begins to crescendo the camera also goes from a long shot to a close up shot, this is to add emphasis to both the song and a level of interest to the video. Kate is always seen central within the shot which shows her obvious importance as the artist.
Editing: Throughout Kate’s videos the editing is usually reasonable subtle. Within Babooshka there is one shot were green screen or a similar technology has been used to place a moving image of Kate in her gold bikini onto the back of the double bass. This adds an extra element to the video and keeps the audience interested. A jump cut is used between the two different outfit scenes, the same shot is used in both scenes from one cut to the other yet Kate is in a different outfit. Slow motion is also used to the end of the video.
Conventions: Here again Kate’s motif dancing is used throughout the video. This has now become a significant part of her music videos. Yet again there is no narrative in the video, where as the artist is seen to dance and sing.
Budget: The video would not have been expensive to make as it is reasonably simple, as Kate was focusing upon her musical ability it was not essential at the time to have an ambitious and expensive video.
Audience (Popular?): From the success of Kate’s first song she had grown greatly in popularity. For this reason her video became much more daring, seen in her choice of outfit for the music video.
Kate Bush - Army Dreamers
Sound: There is no additional sound added into the video apart from the obvious soundtrack. Throughout the video there are images of explosions and gun fire but no additional sound is added here. There is enough drama within the video without the added sound effects. Kate lip sinks within the video to the lyrics, to look as if she is actually singing.
Mis-en-scene: This video is set in a much abandoned forest with large trees and a dull sky. Here pathetic fallacy is used to emphasise the negative nature of the music through the weather used in the video. Kate is seen to be wearing an army print suit along with all of the other men in the video that accompany her. Yet Kate has distinctive red lips to make her stand out and give a feminine edge. Nearer to the end of the video a lot of smoke effects and lighting is used to create an atmosphere that mimics the war. Hence the title of “Army Dreamers” A shot of Kate is seen walking past a tree with a young boy standing the other side, this scene then is seen again yet the boy has become older. This happens 4 times before Kate is united with the boy. These scenes are separated by a close up shot of Kate’s eye blinking. Giving the idea that it may be a dream again hence the title.
Camera Angles: The video begins with an extreme close up of an eye, which also blinks in time with the harsh beat. A shaky zoom outwards then reveals Kate's whole face as she begins to sing. The blinking continues along with the zoom outward to reveal a mid shot of Kate standing with a young boy in an army outfit. Many tracking shots are used with in the video to follow the action and movement of the characters. There are lots of long shots seen throughout the video to allow the audience to take in all of the action that is happening, this is mixed with close up shots of Kate as she is the centre of attention for the video.
Editing: Many jump cuts are used within the video to change from one scene to another.Towards the end of the of the video a lot of more obvious editing techniques are used. The colour has been enhanced as images of army men are seen flying through the air along with explosions and smoke, slow motion is also seen her to greatly emphasise the movements of the men. A montage of similar scenes are shown here. An image of Kate's eye is also overlaid over this image at one point as she blinks and then men are blown up.
Conventions: Here a narrative is used within this video to tell a story of the boy and Kate. Many of Kate's early videos where of her singing and dancing. Yet as she became more confident with her music her lyrics became more controversial and acted out within her video.
Budget: As the video was made in 1980 technology was still being created. So from the use of editing in this video we can tell that her budget would have been greater as she was becoming very popular in many countries around the world.
Audience (Popular?): Kate has begun to interest a larger range of audiences and was becoming very popular. This meant she became more inventive with her videos and a lot more risky.
Mis-en-scene: This video is set in a much abandoned forest with large trees and a dull sky. Here pathetic fallacy is used to emphasise the negative nature of the music through the weather used in the video. Kate is seen to be wearing an army print suit along with all of the other men in the video that accompany her. Yet Kate has distinctive red lips to make her stand out and give a feminine edge. Nearer to the end of the video a lot of smoke effects and lighting is used to create an atmosphere that mimics the war. Hence the title of “Army Dreamers” A shot of Kate is seen walking past a tree with a young boy standing the other side, this scene then is seen again yet the boy has become older. This happens 4 times before Kate is united with the boy. These scenes are separated by a close up shot of Kate’s eye blinking. Giving the idea that it may be a dream again hence the title.
Camera Angles: The video begins with an extreme close up of an eye, which also blinks in time with the harsh beat. A shaky zoom outwards then reveals Kate's whole face as she begins to sing. The blinking continues along with the zoom outward to reveal a mid shot of Kate standing with a young boy in an army outfit. Many tracking shots are used with in the video to follow the action and movement of the characters. There are lots of long shots seen throughout the video to allow the audience to take in all of the action that is happening, this is mixed with close up shots of Kate as she is the centre of attention for the video.
Editing: Many jump cuts are used within the video to change from one scene to another.Towards the end of the of the video a lot of more obvious editing techniques are used. The colour has been enhanced as images of army men are seen flying through the air along with explosions and smoke, slow motion is also seen her to greatly emphasise the movements of the men. A montage of similar scenes are shown here. An image of Kate's eye is also overlaid over this image at one point as she blinks and then men are blown up.
Conventions: Here a narrative is used within this video to tell a story of the boy and Kate. Many of Kate's early videos where of her singing and dancing. Yet as she became more confident with her music her lyrics became more controversial and acted out within her video.
Budget: As the video was made in 1980 technology was still being created. So from the use of editing in this video we can tell that her budget would have been greater as she was becoming very popular in many countries around the world.
Audience (Popular?): Kate has begun to interest a larger range of audiences and was becoming very popular. This meant she became more inventive with her videos and a lot more risky.
Kate Bush - Cloudbusting
Sound: There is no extra sound added within this video apart from the obvious soundtrack of the song. There is no need for any sound effects as the video is almost like a film in its feel and presentation. Yet there is no need for speech to understand the storyline of the video because of emphasised facial expression and movement.
Mis-en-scene: The video begins with a scene of a large green hill with a blue sky in the background and green fields. A young boy is then show by a tracking shot it then appears that he is pushing a large object, which we then find is also being pulled up the hill by and elderly man in a grey suit. The young son is infact Kate dressed in a stripped jumper and jeans with short spiked hair. She is made to look very small either by camera angles or shown where her height cannot be compared to other objects. The brown sheet is then removed from the object to reveal a silver high-tech looking machine. The audience at this point feels as if they are infact watching a believable film and are following the storyline. Throughout the video we see many shot of the sky and the clouds hence the name of the song “Cloudbusting” A later scene is set in a workshop which is indicated by lots of books and building equipment. Throughout this scene the whole colour tone is very sepia and looks old fashioned. To the end of the scene we see men in suits walking along a corridor, they do this in time with the music to fit into the video and keep the feel of the music. As they are in suits we now that they are of a high power. At the end of the video there is a crescendo in the music and also the action as the young boy begins to change the weather. As this scene is colourful and active it keeps the audience interested and excited the whole way through.
Camera Angles: There is a pan shot used to follow the movements of the characters, this is used throughout the video to add emphasis to the movement. Tracking shots are also used within the video to the same effect. Close up shots of the characters faces are used to explain the emotion clearly to the audience and to emphasise this.
Editing: There is a slight purposeful amateurish feel to this video created through the use of abrupt changes betweenscenes.Very clever editing is also used within the video for the action of the cloud busting machine. The machine is seen to create and destroy clouds within the sky, this would have been created through the use of editing software.
Conventions: A narrative is used within this video and a storyline is acted out throughout the video.Unlike many of Kate's other videos she does not lip sink in this video or dance. The video is just as much of a piece of art as the music itself.
Budget: The budget for this video would have been very high as it is much like a short film.Also with the amount of special effects used it would have been reasonably expensive to create this.
Audience (Popular?): At this time Kate had a huge audience and was incredibly popular. She dared to do more within her music videos and the music video was even shown at some cinemas after the trailers.
Mis-en-scene: The video begins with a scene of a large green hill with a blue sky in the background and green fields. A young boy is then show by a tracking shot it then appears that he is pushing a large object, which we then find is also being pulled up the hill by and elderly man in a grey suit. The young son is infact Kate dressed in a stripped jumper and jeans with short spiked hair. She is made to look very small either by camera angles or shown where her height cannot be compared to other objects. The brown sheet is then removed from the object to reveal a silver high-tech looking machine. The audience at this point feels as if they are infact watching a believable film and are following the storyline. Throughout the video we see many shot of the sky and the clouds hence the name of the song “Cloudbusting” A later scene is set in a workshop which is indicated by lots of books and building equipment. Throughout this scene the whole colour tone is very sepia and looks old fashioned. To the end of the scene we see men in suits walking along a corridor, they do this in time with the music to fit into the video and keep the feel of the music. As they are in suits we now that they are of a high power. At the end of the video there is a crescendo in the music and also the action as the young boy begins to change the weather. As this scene is colourful and active it keeps the audience interested and excited the whole way through.
Camera Angles: There is a pan shot used to follow the movements of the characters, this is used throughout the video to add emphasis to the movement. Tracking shots are also used within the video to the same effect. Close up shots of the characters faces are used to explain the emotion clearly to the audience and to emphasise this.
Editing: There is a slight purposeful amateurish feel to this video created through the use of abrupt changes betweenscenes.Very clever editing is also used within the video for the action of the cloud busting machine. The machine is seen to create and destroy clouds within the sky, this would have been created through the use of editing software.
Conventions: A narrative is used within this video and a storyline is acted out throughout the video.Unlike many of Kate's other videos she does not lip sink in this video or dance. The video is just as much of a piece of art as the music itself.
Budget: The budget for this video would have been very high as it is much like a short film.Also with the amount of special effects used it would have been reasonably expensive to create this.
Audience (Popular?): At this time Kate had a huge audience and was incredibly popular. She dared to do more within her music videos and the music video was even shown at some cinemas after the trailers.
Kate Bush - Love and Anger
Sound: There are no extra sound effects added into the music video. The video greatly focuses on the quality of Kate's music and her individual voice. The action within the video comes to a crescendo at the same time as the sound does. This is to emphasise both the music and the video.
Mis-en-scene: This video begins with a crisp clean black background and floor with a large whit spot on the middle of the floor, here Kate kneels in a plain black dress as she beings to sing. A bright light shines down on her to emphasise that she is the whole reason for the video. Kate is then shown from a 360 degree angle as gold glitter falls down upon her. This adds an element of fantasy that surrounds Kate as a singer and also involves the idea of love. This is linked to the next seen where we see a montage of gold objects at a close up shot. This makes the video look very expensive through the use of lots of gold. Ballet dancers then appear dressed all in white, which is very contrasting to Kate in her black dress. Individuals then dressed as priests appear which fits with the lyrics of the song. Throughout these scenes Kate's hair is flowing backwards in the wind much like a film. The final change of actors occurs near to the end of the video where we see Kate dance and sing with a band. There are many musical instruments and members of the band shown to be playing. For the finale of the video gold glitter falls from the air. Yet again looking very effective and glamorous.
Camera Angles: A tracking 360 degree shot of Kate is shown within the first scene, this establishes the set and all that is occurring. A close up is shown of all of the gold objects to add a sense of glamour and sophistication. There are numerous long shots of the dancers and the band throughout the video to show their movement. The close up shots of the video include shots of Kate’s facial expression adding feeling to the song and video and also of the dancers feet used within a montage. Close up shots are also seen of the band members instruments to emphasise the quality of the music.
Editing: There is a close up of Kate’s face with a montage of the dancers feet and priests feet overlaid to add interest and texture to the video. It also links the differing scenes together to make the video flow better. Slow motion is also seen within the scenes of Kate and the band used to emphasise their movements and emotions. It also adds another element of interest to the video to entice the audience.
Conventions: Like many videos the content of the video relates to the lyrics of the song. For example Kate mentions priests within her lyrics to “Love and Anger”
Budget: As Kate infact directed this video herself the budget would have been as large as she had wanted. Budget was not of an issue as at this point in 1990 Kate was very popular and had sold thousands of singles and albums by this time.
Audience (Popular?): Kate was very popular at this time and had a large audience range. Therefore her videos were made to appeal to a wide range of people muchlike her music.
Mis-en-scene: This video begins with a crisp clean black background and floor with a large whit spot on the middle of the floor, here Kate kneels in a plain black dress as she beings to sing. A bright light shines down on her to emphasise that she is the whole reason for the video. Kate is then shown from a 360 degree angle as gold glitter falls down upon her. This adds an element of fantasy that surrounds Kate as a singer and also involves the idea of love. This is linked to the next seen where we see a montage of gold objects at a close up shot. This makes the video look very expensive through the use of lots of gold. Ballet dancers then appear dressed all in white, which is very contrasting to Kate in her black dress. Individuals then dressed as priests appear which fits with the lyrics of the song. Throughout these scenes Kate's hair is flowing backwards in the wind much like a film. The final change of actors occurs near to the end of the video where we see Kate dance and sing with a band. There are many musical instruments and members of the band shown to be playing. For the finale of the video gold glitter falls from the air. Yet again looking very effective and glamorous.
Camera Angles: A tracking 360 degree shot of Kate is shown within the first scene, this establishes the set and all that is occurring. A close up is shown of all of the gold objects to add a sense of glamour and sophistication. There are numerous long shots of the dancers and the band throughout the video to show their movement. The close up shots of the video include shots of Kate’s facial expression adding feeling to the song and video and also of the dancers feet used within a montage. Close up shots are also seen of the band members instruments to emphasise the quality of the music.
Editing: There is a close up of Kate’s face with a montage of the dancers feet and priests feet overlaid to add interest and texture to the video. It also links the differing scenes together to make the video flow better. Slow motion is also seen within the scenes of Kate and the band used to emphasise their movements and emotions. It also adds another element of interest to the video to entice the audience.
Conventions: Like many videos the content of the video relates to the lyrics of the song. For example Kate mentions priests within her lyrics to “Love and Anger”
Budget: As Kate infact directed this video herself the budget would have been as large as she had wanted. Budget was not of an issue as at this point in 1990 Kate was very popular and had sold thousands of singles and albums by this time.
Audience (Popular?): Kate was very popular at this time and had a large audience range. Therefore her videos were made to appeal to a wide range of people muchlike her music.
Conclusion
From studying the wonderful Kate Bush and her music videos overtime, i can tell that the video really has to relate to the target audience more than anything. As technology has improved overtime so has the quality of music videos and there importance of being available to join with a song. As Kate became more and more popular, her videos became more daring and a lot more thought and emotion went in to them, yet the focus was never taken from her beautiful music ! Even though these music videos are all very different throughout most of the above videos we can see Kate's trademark dance moves, seen as a motif through her videos. Many artists also have something that is instantly recognisable through their videos such as Madonna's triangular bra. I will need to take into account everything i have learnt and come across when creating my own music video to make it as successful as possible.
Iconic Video - Analysis
Here i viewed and analysed some iconic videos in order to find out what made these music videos quite so successful and memorable !
Irene Cara - Flashdance
Sound: There is no added sound to the video, with the only sounds being the actual soundtrack. There is no need for any special sound effects within the video. All of the movement within the film corresponds to the song and the timing of the beat and the lyrics.
Mis-en-scene: As the song begins the shot is completely black then develops into a sepia tone scene of a river, the camera then pans upwards revealing a bridge. As the singing begins then pan shot reveals people walking on a bridge in silhouette and someone on a bike. The pan shot continues upwards to the sky and the sun rise. The whole of the first verse continues in a silhouette fashion too add mystery and suspense. This also adds an extra interesting element to the video. As the audience we then follow the bike rider on their journey throughout the city. Just before the chorus begins we finally see Alex’s face who is the main character in the film of “Flashdance” then as the chorus begins we finally see her dancing through the smoke. This adds a sense of theatre and contrasts to the previous scene. Alex is also seen in a club dancing and in an ice skating rink, these all add extra interest to the video.
Camera Angles: The song begins at a very slow pace, where lots of long shots are used to establish the scenes and action. A pan shot shows the movement of the bike rider as we follow them along their journey, this pan shot comes to a halt and the rider pedals down the hill into the distance. Many tracking shots are used to create a fast paced effect through the use of a long shot, this would usually be created through the use of lots of short shots. Many close up shots of the main characters face are shown to show her emotion to the audience and to show her determination. As the audience we then feel more involved within the action.
Editing: Many jump shots are used to move from one piece of action to another at a fast pace to keep in time with the music and the beat. The very famous shot of the dancer pulling the water down onto herself within the film is shown twice to emphasise this point one straight after the other. Many jump cuts are used to keep the pace throughout the video. The movement is also shown from a variety of angles to add interest. A great effect is also used where there is a match on action from one scene to another where she is dancing in a club then shown ice skating.
Conventions: This video contains mainly scenes of the film Flashdance where this song accompanies the film.This is also mixed with fresh filming to link some of the scenes together. The video has a narrative so the audience can follow the storyline even if they have not watched the film.
Budget: The music video would not have been very expensive to create as much of the content was already available from the film footage.The video would have only had to been edited and put together. As the song was already made successful by the film there was no need for an expensive video as it is still iconic.
Audience (Popular?): The film would have created the popularity of the song and would have the same audience. Geri Halliwell even mimicked the dance moves seen in this video for her own video of “its raining men”
Mis-en-scene: As the song begins the shot is completely black then develops into a sepia tone scene of a river, the camera then pans upwards revealing a bridge. As the singing begins then pan shot reveals people walking on a bridge in silhouette and someone on a bike. The pan shot continues upwards to the sky and the sun rise. The whole of the first verse continues in a silhouette fashion too add mystery and suspense. This also adds an extra interesting element to the video. As the audience we then follow the bike rider on their journey throughout the city. Just before the chorus begins we finally see Alex’s face who is the main character in the film of “Flashdance” then as the chorus begins we finally see her dancing through the smoke. This adds a sense of theatre and contrasts to the previous scene. Alex is also seen in a club dancing and in an ice skating rink, these all add extra interest to the video.
Camera Angles: The song begins at a very slow pace, where lots of long shots are used to establish the scenes and action. A pan shot shows the movement of the bike rider as we follow them along their journey, this pan shot comes to a halt and the rider pedals down the hill into the distance. Many tracking shots are used to create a fast paced effect through the use of a long shot, this would usually be created through the use of lots of short shots. Many close up shots of the main characters face are shown to show her emotion to the audience and to show her determination. As the audience we then feel more involved within the action.
Editing: Many jump shots are used to move from one piece of action to another at a fast pace to keep in time with the music and the beat. The very famous shot of the dancer pulling the water down onto herself within the film is shown twice to emphasise this point one straight after the other. Many jump cuts are used to keep the pace throughout the video. The movement is also shown from a variety of angles to add interest. A great effect is also used where there is a match on action from one scene to another where she is dancing in a club then shown ice skating.
Conventions: This video contains mainly scenes of the film Flashdance where this song accompanies the film.This is also mixed with fresh filming to link some of the scenes together. The video has a narrative so the audience can follow the storyline even if they have not watched the film.
Budget: The music video would not have been very expensive to create as much of the content was already available from the film footage.The video would have only had to been edited and put together. As the song was already made successful by the film there was no need for an expensive video as it is still iconic.
Audience (Popular?): The film would have created the popularity of the song and would have the same audience. Geri Halliwell even mimicked the dance moves seen in this video for her own video of “its raining men”
Robert Palmer - Addicted to Love
Sound: The music is very prominent within the video due to the harsh beat and the movement of the dancers to the definite beat.Much of the movement begins and ends with the music and jump cuts are made with the beat. There are no extra sound effects used within the video as there is no need for them in such a simple yet effective video.
Mis-en-scene: The background consistsof a red background with red clouds that look like fire, with sand on the floor. The colours used here indicate love and being hot which is the point of the song. we initially see five “band members” that are women who are all dressed in perfect uniform of a black dress and heels, with black hair scraped back, a pale face with red lips and black eyes. They are made to look very sexy which may greatly attract the male audience. Throughout the video they all keep the same blank facial expression and move in the same unison way from side to side to the beat. All of the women have white instruments and are mimicking playing them. They all begin and stop moving at the same time to emphasise the moves. They are dressed as vixens to reflect the nature of the very sexy song.
Camera Angles: A mid shot is used greatly throughout the video to show the whole band, here we can focus on the part of the shot that we wish to and can see the women all moving in time with one another.There are no tracking or pan shots used within the video very intentionally so that the movements of the women and of Robert are more prominent and emphasised. Close up shots are shown of the band members faces and lips to add an extra texture to the video and an extra interest. Some of the shots within the video are very surprisingly long, there is a long shot of Robert and the band which lasts for almost 10 seconds which is very long for a music video. Yet as it is a very regimented style of dance we are seeing it works very well and does not become boring. There are a couple of pan shots used within the video to show the female band members whole body from their legs to their instruments to their faces. This shot shows of the attractive women and emphasises their attractiveness which ultimately makes the video the success it is.
Editing: As all of the women look very similar within the video jump cuts are used to show different band members at the same level and doing the same movement. This adds an extra interesting element to the video and emphasises the likeliness in all of the woman band members. The video begins with many shots of the women and we do not see Robert until he begins to sing, this is then a very short shot broken up by jump cuts either side. A lot of cuts are used between shots to fit with the beat.
Conventions: Many of Roberts videos followed the same pattern of movement and mis - en - scene. His videos became instantly recognisable as his motif, the same style of video was used within his videos for “Simply Irresistible” and “I didn’t mean to turn you on” At a later date Shania Twain also did a take on Roberts video by using a band made up of male members in the same style for her “Man I feel like a Woman” video. This shows how successful a motif can be in producing an iconic video.
Budget: Although budget would not have been an issue the video would not have been too expensive to produceas there is no costume or set change and the video would not have been too time consuming. This indicated to me that even though we have a very small budget for our video this does not have to be an issue.
Audience (Popular?): The video would have been appealing to both genders and audiences of all ages.As Robert was popular at this time his video could become more risky and daring, like using the shots of the girls bottoms when dancing. A take on the video was also used within a Pepsi advertisement in the Uk.
Mis-en-scene: The background consistsof a red background with red clouds that look like fire, with sand on the floor. The colours used here indicate love and being hot which is the point of the song. we initially see five “band members” that are women who are all dressed in perfect uniform of a black dress and heels, with black hair scraped back, a pale face with red lips and black eyes. They are made to look very sexy which may greatly attract the male audience. Throughout the video they all keep the same blank facial expression and move in the same unison way from side to side to the beat. All of the women have white instruments and are mimicking playing them. They all begin and stop moving at the same time to emphasise the moves. They are dressed as vixens to reflect the nature of the very sexy song.
Camera Angles: A mid shot is used greatly throughout the video to show the whole band, here we can focus on the part of the shot that we wish to and can see the women all moving in time with one another.There are no tracking or pan shots used within the video very intentionally so that the movements of the women and of Robert are more prominent and emphasised. Close up shots are shown of the band members faces and lips to add an extra texture to the video and an extra interest. Some of the shots within the video are very surprisingly long, there is a long shot of Robert and the band which lasts for almost 10 seconds which is very long for a music video. Yet as it is a very regimented style of dance we are seeing it works very well and does not become boring. There are a couple of pan shots used within the video to show the female band members whole body from their legs to their instruments to their faces. This shot shows of the attractive women and emphasises their attractiveness which ultimately makes the video the success it is.
Editing: As all of the women look very similar within the video jump cuts are used to show different band members at the same level and doing the same movement. This adds an extra interesting element to the video and emphasises the likeliness in all of the woman band members. The video begins with many shots of the women and we do not see Robert until he begins to sing, this is then a very short shot broken up by jump cuts either side. A lot of cuts are used between shots to fit with the beat.
Conventions: Many of Roberts videos followed the same pattern of movement and mis - en - scene. His videos became instantly recognisable as his motif, the same style of video was used within his videos for “Simply Irresistible” and “I didn’t mean to turn you on” At a later date Shania Twain also did a take on Roberts video by using a band made up of male members in the same style for her “Man I feel like a Woman” video. This shows how successful a motif can be in producing an iconic video.
Budget: Although budget would not have been an issue the video would not have been too expensive to produceas there is no costume or set change and the video would not have been too time consuming. This indicated to me that even though we have a very small budget for our video this does not have to be an issue.
Audience (Popular?): The video would have been appealing to both genders and audiences of all ages.As Robert was popular at this time his video could become more risky and daring, like using the shots of the girls bottoms when dancing. A take on the video was also used within a Pepsi advertisement in the Uk.
Madonna - Vogue
Sound: To begin the video there is a long introduction where there is no singing at that point. While there is no singing all people within the video are statuesque. When the singing finally commences a close shot of Madonna’s face is shown as she is lip singing. Throughout the song the movement of the people fits perfectly with the pace of the music as well as fitting with the lyrics e.g. ‘Black or white’
Mis-en-scene: The whole video is in black and white tone, giving it an old fashioned yet very expensive feel to the video. The dancers and actors of both sexes are all seen in clean, sharp suits that look very expensive. Whilst Madonna herself changes outfit on numerous occasions, including a jewelled backed white dress, a white suit, a black lace top and long skirt and also her trademark triangular bra. All of these costumes add interest and show the expense of the video. Many different shots are shown within the video of expensive objects such as the opening scene where the screen is completely covered with feathers. Images and statues of naked women are also used. The video is very sexy and this would entice audiences into watching the video over and over. Even though there are so many shots each is as powerful as the last, a dance routine containing Madonna herself and many male dancers in suits is shown time and time with great impact. The ending of the video shows all of the actors from the video and Madonna creates the dance scene together, ending with the white feathers covering the screen again.
Camera Angles: A pan shot is seen to introduce the video setting the scene and showing all of the actors and props to begin. It is essential to catch the audience’s attention at first glimpse and this video certainly does this. Zooms are used for Madonna to show that she is the main feature and how important she is, one follows her movements towards a window where she is again seen lip singing in n expensive outfit. Extreme close ups are also shown of her face to show her beauty. High and low shots are also used to add interest.
Editing: A montage is used to show many shots overlapping each other to add interest and another element to the video. The same shot of Madonna is cut with various images of women in suits, men dancing and a maid cleaning. Fades are also used widely within the video to link one scene effortlessly to another. Many quick jump cuts are used of similar images, for example towards the end of the video many shots of Madonna are cut together where she is wearing different makeup or has a different hair style.
Conventions: Within the video many different conventions have been used such as lots of costume changes, location changes and many actors. The video looks incredibly expensive and the editing is so very smooth. A dance routine here also adds extra interest.
Budget: This video would have had a very high budget, as there are many props, locations, costumes and a lot of editing used. Without this high end budget I do not think this video would have been as successful as it is.
Audience (popular?): Madonna has been very popular throughout her whole career so could really play about with the content and budget of this video. She did not need to keep anything safe or become too eye catching as she already had a great audience.
Beyonce - Single Ladies
As this video was only recently released it cannot be fully classed as an iconic video. Yet throughout the time that it has been released the video has created such attention and popularity i felt i had to include it within my iconic videos. The basic concept of the video is Beyonce dancing with two other dancers throughout the whole of the video, they all wear black leotards and boast matching hairstyles and make up. The background is plain and in either black, white or grey throughout the video, with the whole shot being grey-scale in colour. Lighting is used to create extra interest through the use of shadows. The dance routine has a high impact upon the audience and looks to be a continual take. Yet i believe the video has been carefully edited to look like this when it is actually not. Tracking shots and zooms are used to follow the dancers moves, whilst Beyonce herself is usually central within the shot, and it is made aware that all attention should be upon her. The sleek and simple background makes the videos look very modern and does not take any attention away from the dancers. Many camera angles are used to create a fast pace to the video. This style of video can also been seen within many of Beyonce's songs such as; 'Sweet Dreams', 'Ego', 'Diva'. and 'Green Light' Beyonce's style is now instantly recognisable and her videos have been recreated many times, both in the hit TV show 'Glee' and a scene within the movie of 'Sex and the City 2'. Although this style of video would not be suitable for my song, i have learnt that a motif from an artist video is very successful.
Ah Ha - Take on Me
This video is very iconic and was seen as a great technological breakthrough at the time, with the videos use of animation and real life filming cut together effortlessly. A black and white comic strip style sketch is used within the video alongside regular filming. The video is incredibly interesting and was a great asset to the song at the time and still is very iconic at present. As far as editing and camera angles are concerned, the editing uses many jump cuts from one piece of action to another, at the beginning jump cuts are used between different sketched images. The cuts all fit in time with the beat of the song and the pace of the action within the video fits well with the pace of the song. Not only does this video tell a story it also includes the artist and band members playing musical instruments. At the time the video would have had quite a high budget as the making would be very time consuming due to the lack of technology at the time to create such effects. When this song and video were released 'Ah Ha' were rising in popularity and this only added to their popularity.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax
On researching iconic music videos of the past I came across this video numerous times. Yet when I searched for the video I cam across many versions, until I managed to find the original. When I done so I quickly realised why it was an iconic video, in fact the video was the first to be banned ! The video did show many scenes that people could find offensive and simply disgusting. In this case I decided against analysing the video. But found it too interesting not to include. I also learnt myself from this that my video has to be appropriate for a wide range of audiences and not be too daring as it could possibly be banned much like this video.
Conclusion
From analysing and watching these iconic videos i have learnt many things about creating a successful music video. I will take all that i have learnt into account when planning and producing my own individual video. Although most of the above songs do not fit into the same genre as my song a lot of the successful conventions are the same. I will ensure that the pace of my music video fits with the song, i will try to incorporate a motif from looking at other videos from the same artist, i will create a video of the highest quality possible and lastly i will try and make my video as interesting and original as possible.