Final Music Video

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Music Video Analysis 3 - The View From The Afternoon

Arctic Monkeys - The View From The Afternoon

This music video for the song 'The View From The Afternoon' by Arctic Monkeys is based in one location throughout, a deserted council estate with the only common feature throughout is a drummer situated in the middle of this deserted council estate. Firstly the opening shot is a long shot of a man walking through a deserted scene establishing the themes that will continue throughout the music video as a whole, the black and white colours used also add to the sense of emptiness. The first recognition of the drummer in the video also perhaps establishes what genre of music the song is in, as the drum kit and the way the man playing the drums looks has a relevance to rock music, which is ofcourse the genre that Arctic Monkeys are a part of. 

There is also the use of a black and white cut-away a few times, I interpret this to be showing the drummer zoning out before he prepares to play the drums which would make sense as he is playing the drums non-stop for such a long period of time. Most importantly for this music video the drummer hitting the kit is in time with the music, there are several long shots of the drummer and his kit emphasising a sense of isolation. The switch between night and day time makes it clear that he is playing the drums for a long period of time and that he is very dedicated, perhaps reflecting the bands ideology towards their music. In this music video they show the drummer from several different angles (e.g close up, long shot, from behind, overhead) and they also use lots of different shots to establish the council estate location (long shots of buildings, close ups of signs + people on their balconies). 

The shot of the three men tormenting and throwing things at the drummer adds comedic value and also shows how focused the drummer is, also as if he is addicted to playing the drums and nothing can distract him. The music video ends on an uncertain ending leaving the viewer wanting to know what happens next.

Music Video Analysis 2 - 212

212 - Azealia Banks

The music video for the song '212' by Azealia Banks is based in one main location, against a brick wall. The main focus of the whole music video is Azealia Banks as a musician and an icon for modern-day hip/hop music. A close up of Azealia Banks mouth is used repeatedly throughout the video, this emphasises the importance of lyrics in rap music and also points out the fast pace she is rapping at it in points of the song. A effect used in the music video I like is how the video becomes blurs when the music does too, linking the on-screen action to the song itself.

The mid-shots of Azealia Banks on her own and the general movement of her during this replicates the attitude of her as an artist and matches the tone of the song. The two male actors in the music video only have very small and insignificant roles in comparison to Azealia Banks once again showing her importance as an artist. The fast pace of the cuts at the end of the music video match the pace of the music giving a good flow and tempo to the on screen action. The limited use of locations adds simplicity and focus on the artist.

Music Video Analysis 1 - Ni**as in Paris

N****s in Paris - Jay-Z and Kanye West

'N****s in Paris' released by Jay Z and Kanye West in 2011 is an influental music video for me due to the use of editing and link between the music and live show/band performance.

Firstly the artists 'Kanye' and 'Jay' are introduced at the start of the music video in bold point emphasising their importance straight from the beginning of the video, furthermore the song title 'Paris' is also shown. This is an odd feature for a music video and may have been used to created a sense of an epic build up to the on screen action, this follows on to the use of live footage constrasting between on stage footage and crowd footage showing the connection and link between artist and audience. The use of heavy strobes throughout the music video emphasises a sense of their live show and also reflects the fast pace of the music, this is also suiting to the double screen zooming effect used throughout the whole music video, which gives the video a specific theme which is not common is any other music video I have seen.

The fast pace of both the music, strobing and double screen effect is then elaborated on the movement and dancing in the crowd emphasising a connection between the music and the crowd, whilst this connection between crowd and artist is used often there are quite often close ups of both Kanye West and Jay-Z using the double screen to show their importance to the crowd. The cutaway to the quote by Will Ferrell links the video the song lyrics and also slows down the tempo for the only time in the whole music video. It also adds a sense of humour to a video which is otherwise a serious performance based video. Finally, the link between 'Paris' and the music video is elaborated on with the use of different landmarks, for example the Arc De Triomphe is used with the use of never ending walls. I believe the purpose of this music video is not only to promote to song but to also promote Jay Z and Kanye West's live show perhaps appealing to a younger audience as the music does aswell.