Music Video Analysis

Music Video Analysis

Coldplay - Paradise

The title ‘Paradise’ is used as a prompt. It asks the audience ‘What/where is your paradise?

The main character is the lead singer of the band in an elephant costume

At times in the video, there is a connection between the lyrics and the video. This is when the protagonist is holding up signs with the lyrics on them. The link is played throughout the video and they connect on various different occasions.

The record label is an independent company called Parlophone which shows their logo at the start of the video

The people are dressed in elephant outfits. They look directly into the camera and dancing and playing musical instruments. This gives it a child-friendly feel which isn't an attribute of rock music. There is normally a significant amount of loud volume and drums rather than quiet beats

This music is an alternative rock which means that it is rock music with a different feel to it. However, the video does not reflect this due to the people dressed up in costumes playing in a deserted area.

It gives audiences a different look at the alternative rock which makes them understand its a good song. And that it's not affected by the heavy metal or loud drums. This will make people rethink the genre.

Taylor Swift - Bad Blood

Mise-en-scene - The props that the characters use are different weapons including rocket launchers and swords/knives. This subverts the idea that females are stereotypically too weak/vulnerable to use such dangerous devices, on the other hand, weapons used by the females are also stereotypically very-feminised - a bag that transforms into nunchucks and a compact mirror that shoots bullets.

Fast cuts are used throughout the video, mimicking the upbeat, quick tempo of the song that accompanies the action. Slow-motion is another important aspect of the video, putting emphasis upon the action as well as bringing attention to the various different celebrity characters being introduced

The record Label is a company called Big Machine Records which is an independent American record label specializing in country and pop artists.

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

Genre Characteristics

Billie Jean seems to be a Pop/R&B style music video and so seems to follow those

characteristics but with a large basis on a narrative and having dose of showmanship

mixed in along with Jackson’s own flair. Pop and R&B music nearly always has an upbeat

tempo that’s catchy and makes you want to dance along with it. Something that Billie Jean

definitely has with its continuous beat throughout and the tempo.

Image Motif

This video has a lot of moments of showing Jackson as a star. He’s shown literally turning

everything he touches into gold, for example, the Tiger and the Homeless man into wearing

a suit. His dances are definitely aimed to show his star qualities of being able to do a very

difficult dance moves that have eventually been recognized to be one of his signature

moves. One of the main scenes that particularly show the notion of looking is when the

camera in the window is taking a shot of the man sneaking up behind Jackson and the

print out showing just the man and the pole with Jackson missing

Between the lyrics and video

Michael Jackson doesn’t use very over the top and focused lip-syncing. The main focus of

the videos are on his dancing ability and synchronizing certain parts of the music video to

the lyrics; for example, when the lyrics say ‘round’ it goes in time with Michael spinning

around. The lyrics’ portrayal is more done so through visual replications rather than

lip-syncing. For example, when the lyrics talk about him not being the baby’s father,

which something Michael Jackson was actually accused of in real life, you can see a

suspicious looking man walking past behind him looking at him with an accusing stare.

A strong link between the music and the video is shown through the iconic scenes in

which when Michael takes a step the floor lights up where he steps. This relationship is also

shown through his dancing which has been made to perfectly go in time with the music.