Music Video Analysis: Frames For Inspiration
I decided to have a look at a number of music videos that I personally liked, and picked some of the shots that I gained inspiration from or I felt had a big impact on the effectiveness of the video,
Jarryd James - Do You Remember
These two shots work to compliment each other. The focus being away from the character gives the audience an idea of mystery and leaves them asking questions. The blur could be representative of how the character is feeling inside in the world around them. I feel that this would be a significantly effective shot as it has an important message behind it, one which I feel would support our music video for "Control": the character is struggling with Bipolar Disorder and how they fit into the world with it.
Furthermore, this shot contrasts the previous one; the fact that the background is now blurred and the character is not could be suggestive of the idea that when the character is focused, the world is blurred. This links back to the idea of not feeling a part of society or where you fit into it. Therefore, this shot is just as effective, as there is no shot where both the character and the background are in focus at the same time, implying that they do not belong or work well together.
Selena Gomez - Bad Liar
This shot also uses lens focus for effect. It also cleverly uses position to almost hide the focused character from the audience. Due to the narrative nature of Gomez's video, it may not portray the same analysis as it would if we used it for "Control". Personally, I see the focus and position choices as being representative of hiding something such as feelings or emotions. It could also link to how a character feels they are unimportant or unnecessary, therefore aren't centrally focused or positioned. I feel it would be a relevant message for our music video as, similarly to "Do You Remember", the lens blur could parallel the character's unacceptable or misunderstanding of the world around them, therefore they hide themselves within it to escape.
Imagine Dragons - Thunder
The shots I have found inspiring for our music video work in a very similar way to the others. The use of focal points leaves the audience questioning what is out of focus a lot of the time. It arguably means that the audience's eyes are not constantly focused in one place, and they are interacting with the video as well as just watching it. Furthermore, the use of positioning within these shots is enticing and creative. It creates the idea of power, with the vocalist being at the front of the shot as he is the one singing.
Harry Styles - Sign Of The Times
These shots use both focal points and positioning.
This first shot is completely blurred, to the point where the audience can just about see Styles' figure. It creates a sense of mystery and misunderstanding, and I feel it would work well with the theme of our Music Video: the idea of mystery creates fear in "Control", and we want this to be fully recognised by the audience. It could be representative of the misunderstanding of the audience in regard to the Disorder the character lives with.
These next two shots are appealing to me as they use positioning to create the idea of being hidden or unrecognisable. The fact that Styles does not look at the camera or even turn towards it creates the feeling that he doesn't want to, or that he is hiding something. I feel this would be a very good message to put across in our music video as our character tries to hide their fears and keep them inside. They hide themselves from society as a way to stop people from knowing their issues. It would be beneficial to use positioning to portray this, and these two shots work well to achieve a similar effect from the audience.
