Passion Pit - 'Little Secrets'
The XX - 'Islands'
This music video breaks the typical conventions of the Alternative Dance genre. The same 6-7 second dance is performed on a loop throughout the video. This is a weird experience for the viewer, however, every time the dance starts again, something will change in the video. Like the effort the dancers put in, the position of the band that are singing, the costuming of everyone in the video and the background of the video.
The band are dressed in all black, this is a typical convention of an Alternative Dance music video because they want to look original and try to be different. The same camera movement/angle is used throughout the video, this is a track out from a close up of the four people at the back, slowly tracks out to the band singing, then reaches the two people at the front then starts again. This repeating process of the music video is very original and hasn't been used before. The setting is in a black room with a big 'X' on the wall, stating the bands name 'The XX'. The blank room allows the viewer to focus on the dancers and the band performing the song as this process is repeated. When the camera tracks to the end it cuts very quickly back to the beginning and almost drags the viewer to watch the same scene again. Although the same shot is used throughout, the viewer doesn't experience viewer fatigue as slight changes happen in the shots. The band moves positions throughout and the dancers slowly begin to change the routine.
This is the final motif in the music video. It has changed drastically from the beginning one. Some of the dancers have left, the lights on the walls have turned off. The dance routine is nearly non existent and the background begins to burn. Only then does the music video change. The final woman thats dances is in slow motion, allowing the viewer again to focus on the dancing, rather than the non existent narrative.
Pendulum - 'Watercolour'
This music video is very abstract and doesn't really have a narrative. Most of the shots are filled with the band playing instruments/singing, but some shots show weird looking planets, space, heavy rain and the audience that they are performing to. The video is primarily filled with a washed out pastel blue. The editing has been used to create a graphic match (see image 1 and 2). The first part of the music video everything is calm, the cuts happen off beat and shots don't change that much. But when the beat of the song begins to speed up as do the shots and what happens in the music video.
Heavy rain begins to fall and slow motion special FX is used to emphasise this. We get this euphoric feeling from the music and the video, this is a typical convention of the Alternative Dance genre. The blue colour of the miss en scene continues and we feel calm despite the beat being fast. We are bombarded with images of the crowd dancing in the rain and makes us want to dance (the main aim of the Alternative Dance genre). The costuming of the band is all black (again a typical convention of an Alternative Dance genre music video). The slight narrative begins to show - it seems they are playing to the weird looking planet which begins to release light (creating a very interesting composition). The video seems blurred and I think this was done so we get the euphoric feeling even more than we do normally. A variety of shot types and angles are used, but mainly close ups so we feel close to the music.
The colour then drastically changes from a pastel blue to a bright orange/yellow. This brightens the mood up and the music begins to increase in speed again. Light is shined into the camera to create a lens blur in most shots and this again adds to the euphoric feel of the music video and song. The performance is solid throughout the video and doesn't really focus on a narrative. We are positioned in the crowd in certain shots so we feel like we are a part of the performance and experience the atmosphere. This is a typical convention of this genre. In conclusion, this video is typical of that of a Alternative Dance music video. Its upbeat, the cuts happen often and we are bombarded with images of partying and laughing, the lighting is cleverly used and we get a feeling of euphoria when we listen to the song and watch the music video.
Baker - 'Not Gonna Wait'
No comments:
Post a Comment