Music Video analysis
The first thing that had to be done for this task was selecting a music video and a song that came with it from David Guetta's 'Titanium', Fatboy Slim's 'Push the tempo' and Radiohead's 'Burn the witch'. I chose Radiohead's song because I thought their music is much more diverse and abstract. Their song not only had an imaginative and powerful sounding, but the video was making it even more unreal. Furthermore, I prefer to work with this piece of material because it's much more thoughtful and creative and as a result, it gives me a lot of ideas to talk about.
When I first watched each of the three videos, they all seemed to be abstract and unusual to some extent. David Guetta's Titanium felt so lonely because the artist itself was not included in the video and me as the viewer could not distinguish the difference between the main character and myself as a result of actions taking place over talking in the video giving more personal space and dramatic effect.
On the other hand, Fatboy Slim's song creates a lot of attention because of the role plays throughout the song and the interesting context of how their song is so musically powerful and effective. The atmosphere appeared to be truly distinctive from the mood of the song and this is mostly what grabbed my attention.
Finally, Radiohead's song was quite similar to the earlier video as the song didn't really match the video that came with it. Especially because it was animated which usually implies positive thoughts as an animated video is usually made for children whereas the song ended up having a negative impression and effect on me.
When I first watched each of the three videos, they all seemed to be abstract and unusual to some extent. David Guetta's Titanium felt so lonely because the artist itself was not included in the video and me as the viewer could not distinguish the difference between the main character and myself as a result of actions taking place over talking in the video giving more personal space and dramatic effect.
On the other hand, Fatboy Slim's song creates a lot of attention because of the role plays throughout the song and the interesting context of how their song is so musically powerful and effective. The atmosphere appeared to be truly distinctive from the mood of the song and this is mostly what grabbed my attention.
Finally, Radiohead's song was quite similar to the earlier video as the song didn't really match the video that came with it. Especially because it was animated which usually implies positive thoughts as an animated video is usually made for children whereas the song ended up having a negative impression and effect on me.
Burn the Witch by Radiohead
First of all, I would like to go into detail on the song itself and how it sounds to me as an outsider to the artist as I don't think that the song and the music video matched at all because of the different moods they created.
There is no doubt that 'Burn the Witch' had an incredibly intense compilation of instrumentals combined of the orchestra and guitars mainly. The reason why it was so energetic is because of the precision and effort that was put into the sound.
There is no doubt that 'Burn the Witch' had an incredibly intense compilation of instrumentals combined of the orchestra and guitars mainly. The reason why it was so energetic is because of the precision and effort that was put into the sound.
(For more information of how the song was made, visit the website in the link below)
http://thekingofgear.com/post/144025326245/radioheads-burn-the-witch-instrumental-and
What was particularly interesting about this video apart from the fact that it was animated whereas the mood of the song did not really seem to match with it is that none of the characters had a mouth which could be because the lead singer didn't really say much throughout the song. As a result, this could've been a metaphor to the audience that this song is not specifically about what the artists had to say but what they had to show.
The fact that the song didn't really match with the video is what has created the abstract image in the viewer's mind at the beginning, of several realities occurring at the same time which in the end was explained. The reason it has interpreted so many realities or dimensions is that people always have a choice to make and their future is only altered by them and not others. In each reality people make different decisions and depending on what the characters int eh video will accomplish will affect their future. This could be a way in which the artist/band tried to communicate with the viewer and distinguish the difference between a ruler and a hard-worker.
The story was roughly about an analyst inspecting a local town where people were truly enforced to stand out and bring their best to appear happy, honest and respectful. Throughout the actions taking place, the man seemed to be very grumpy and disliked the local people. Also, the fact that the beginning started with the local community council leader being so enthusiastic could've foreshadowed that this wasn't the first time it happened. Moving on, the video ended with a twist that the community was always against this analyst and their only attention was to deceive him in order to trap him. From the start till the near ending of the video, I thought the story was much simpler than it really was. This is because the artists purposefully mislead the viewers in order to achieve a greater level of shock and surprise for success. This is when the community turned against the analyst.
Throughout the video, whenever the analyst looked or spectated something specific it always turned out to be negative or to have horrid imagery. For example, when a little girl was standing next to a rope imitating death as if it would be a good thing or when the meat on the table starts to bleed although it was cooked on the outside suggesting internal pain and again, foreshadowing of the community's cruelty.
The alternative to this story was that the audience itself was the grumpy analyst because people, in general, are negative and a lot of people don't do the right thing although they know they should. This is emphasized by the very ending of the video where everyone character turns around and they start looking at the potential person looking at the video itself. The only thing left in the background was the burning man who is now captured as if people would only have a few chances before they start regretting things so bad they could no longer change the past. In this case, the several realities were the positive nature of the town and the brutal mentality of people hidden within them. In relation to the audience, the different realities represent the kinds of choices that could be made and the overall difference between good and evil. We could say that this song's purpose was to act as a moral compass from an outsider's perspective.
About the compositions which were applied, they can't be criticized in my opinion because everything was animated and this could, therefore, suggest that the whole idea with the material contained within the frame was to give space to the viewer to analyze things and not to mislead them or to give any emotional signs. This also worked well with the climax as it made the ending more surprising.
However, the compositions in general, which were directed by Chris Hopewell included a lot of Medium Long Shots (MLS) in order to split the difference between a full shot and a medium shot. This enabled the creators to put more detail into the characters' movements and gestures which the audience could look at. There wasn't much articulation in the song and therefore, body language was important in conveying emotions.
The fact that the song didn't really match with the video is what has created the abstract image in the viewer's mind at the beginning, of several realities occurring at the same time which in the end was explained. The reason it has interpreted so many realities or dimensions is that people always have a choice to make and their future is only altered by them and not others. In each reality people make different decisions and depending on what the characters int eh video will accomplish will affect their future. This could be a way in which the artist/band tried to communicate with the viewer and distinguish the difference between a ruler and a hard-worker.
The story was roughly about an analyst inspecting a local town where people were truly enforced to stand out and bring their best to appear happy, honest and respectful. Throughout the actions taking place, the man seemed to be very grumpy and disliked the local people. Also, the fact that the beginning started with the local community council leader being so enthusiastic could've foreshadowed that this wasn't the first time it happened. Moving on, the video ended with a twist that the community was always against this analyst and their only attention was to deceive him in order to trap him. From the start till the near ending of the video, I thought the story was much simpler than it really was. This is because the artists purposefully mislead the viewers in order to achieve a greater level of shock and surprise for success. This is when the community turned against the analyst.
Throughout the video, whenever the analyst looked or spectated something specific it always turned out to be negative or to have horrid imagery. For example, when a little girl was standing next to a rope imitating death as if it would be a good thing or when the meat on the table starts to bleed although it was cooked on the outside suggesting internal pain and again, foreshadowing of the community's cruelty.
About the compositions which were applied, they can't be criticized in my opinion because everything was animated and this could, therefore, suggest that the whole idea with the material contained within the frame was to give space to the viewer to analyze things and not to mislead them or to give any emotional signs. This also worked well with the climax as it made the ending more surprising.
However, the compositions in general, which were directed by Chris Hopewell included a lot of Medium Long Shots (MLS) in order to split the difference between a full shot and a medium shot. This enabled the creators to put more detail into the characters' movements and gestures which the audience could look at. There wasn't much articulation in the song and therefore, body language was important in conveying emotions.
Going back to the idea of giving space to the viewer, a lot of 'long shots' were used in order to help the audience feel involved and relieved. Also, about the colors I just want to say that the developers did a good job enhancing the emotions and the ending where they deliberately used the idea of the sundown as a metaphor to the ending pain with the dramatic orange color.
(For more information about compositions or the music video, visit the website in the link below)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn_the_Witch_(Radiohead_song)
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-camera-shots/
Burn the Witch by Radiohead
Music Video analysis 2: Titanium
by David Guetta (feat. Sia)
After I finished analyzing Radiohead's song, I've been told that I will also need to analyze David Guetta's 'Titanium'. After I will finish analyzing this music video, I will do a comparison between both videos and how the artists tried to achieve the climax par stage and just in general how the separate videos work with the audience.
Starting off with the first scene, the camera slowly zooms out of the screen to show more perspective of the actor. For the following seconds, the surrounding is shown in more detail as the camera keeps moving throughout a low depth of field.
A lot of 'close-up shots' were applied that are basically filmed from the shoulder up to the face in the frame. This helps to give more detail of the person's emotions and mostly, this breaks the barriers between the actor and the audience as this is no longer just a scene from a music video, but more of a physical record of emotion that the viewer could look at in order to feel the same way as the character.
Starting off with the first scene, the camera slowly zooms out of the screen to show more perspective of the actor. For the following seconds, the surrounding is shown in more detail as the camera keeps moving throughout a low depth of field.
A lot of 'close-up shots' were applied that are basically filmed from the shoulder up to the face in the frame. This helps to give more detail of the person's emotions and mostly, this breaks the barriers between the actor and the audience as this is no longer just a scene from a music video, but more of a physical record of emotion that the viewer could look at in order to feel the same way as the character.
The video ends with a cyclical structure as the boy ends up being in the same position as he was at the start reminding the audience how he ended up there and why his life is forever ruined as the recurring event will constantly take place in the future which is clear implicated through the climatic sound of the song.
The vibrancy of the colors was greatly reduced although it's hard to compare it to black & white they are still well-balanced. The reason I believe this was necessary in order to achieve a successful outcome is that the harsh colors help to feel more emotional as they link together with the idea of the past and the things that took place a while ago. As a result, the fact that the video linked with the past has interpreted ideas to the audience about the types of things which had a major effect on individuals.
Another aspect which I did not like is the movement of the cameras. Although the song had a great and effective build up, the cameras were barely moving to after the first half of the video which is where most of the action took place. This made the story appeal less interesting since the story is usually partly explained through the video. Instead, the creators used fast cuts to make the scenes look more full of action. In my opinion, the movement of the camera helps the audience imagine that they are in the video with the character but otherwise, the relationship between the video and the audience does not exist.
My overall opinion on the video is that it's not even close to being as good as it could've been. This is mostly because of the simplicity of the video and how poorly the story is conveyed through the actions taking place. For example, although it is clear to see what has happened and I as the audience is aware of what was going on, a lot of questions don't get answered such as why the boy in the video had supernatural powers and how does this relate to the song.
All of this should be implied by the lyrics from the song itself which is why a lot of videos can't be criticized as their meaning is expressed through the song and the video is only necessary to have a physical representation of those feelings expressed through the singing in order to process the information more easily or realistically.
Titanium by David Guetta
Music Video Comparison
The songs will not be directly evaluated and then compared because they are both different genres and it would not be a fair comparison. Also, the artists for both songs have tried to achieve different objectives. However, the music videos still have a similar intention to their audiences which I can tell from the dramatic sounding of the songs. Overall, their intention is to entertain and interest the audience with emotional waves of scenes. For example, both music videos have their own style that enables different emotions to be explored. Speaking briefly, I think Radiohead's video was more abstract and complicated which is part of the reason it was so special to me. On the other hand, David Guetta's video was simple but emotional because of the context behind the story.
The one thing in both videos which may relate to their songs is about the characteristics of each person that are present. For example, none of the characters spoke in either 'Burn the witch' or 'Titanium' which could be because the artists or the music video creators tried to enable their audience to feel the same as the main character in order to have a more intense effect.
As I mentioned before with the compositions applied, 'Titanium' was a more emotional video as a result of zooming in on the characters a bit more with 'close-ups' whereas 'Burn the witch' has applied a lot of 'medium long shots' and 'long-shots' in general.
In relation to the pace of the scenes in the videos, both had a slow and smooth selection of camera movements. This has enabled the viewer to interact with the actions taking place as there always was a certain amount of time to think about the action taking place and the interpreted context behind it.
The one thing in both videos which may relate to their songs is about the characteristics of each person that are present. For example, none of the characters spoke in either 'Burn the witch' or 'Titanium' which could be because the artists or the music video creators tried to enable their audience to feel the same as the main character in order to have a more intense effect.
As I mentioned before with the compositions applied, 'Titanium' was a more emotional video as a result of zooming in on the characters a bit more with 'close-ups' whereas 'Burn the witch' has applied a lot of 'medium long shots' and 'long-shots' in general.
In relation to the pace of the scenes in the videos, both had a slow and smooth selection of camera movements. This has enabled the viewer to interact with the actions taking place as there always was a certain amount of time to think about the action taking place and the interpreted context behind it.
Questionnaires
After I finished comparing my videos, I created a questionnaire about 'Titanium' so that I could see what the majority has thought of it. The results are below.
These answers helped me to understand how the majority of the audience is influenced by the video and what could be the reason for a huge target audience. For example, I can now tell how the majority of the community feels about certain things and how video makers get to earn the viewer's trust. By that I mean the creators of a video know exactly what would make the audience feel emotional.
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