Music Video Analysis

T.I.A - K'naan



This video's purpose is clearly more than just to entertain or attract the attention of viewers. The artist himself states at the start of the video that he is aiming to show the violent nature of the culture of his native Africa through the video. Throughout the video there are references to African culture, but every positive aspect is contrasted with a negative, violent aspect.

Guns, explosions, death and violence are all present throughout the video, as well as the music itself having a loud, 'violent' feel to it, with the chorus being shouted. But despite the presence of these aspects, the people in the video are all singing, dancing and cheering, showing that it has become such a part of everyday life that they can put up with it and even be happy amidst it.

The colours used go in phases, with objects of one colour floating onto the screen gradually until it is predominantly filled with that colour. These colours are usually warm colours like red and orange to show the blood, anger and violence, but the artist's clothes are pale blue - associated with calm, and the peace that he says 'drives his art' at the start of the video.

The whole video is based on lots of different images and videos on top of each other, as if they are paper cut outs, which often multiply, merge or do other unexpected things. This, coupled with lots of fast movement and colour change, gives the video a strange, frantic feel.

The video generally follows the content of the lyrics, with some of the lyrics even being incorporated into the video, such as the words 'holly days' being painted on a wall, then replaced with 'hell days' as the artist uses these lyrics. There are also times when the video portrays what the lyrics are talking about, for example when he says 'this is Africa', things traditionally associated with Africa like lions are shown, and when he talks about death, he appears to kill himself and carries on rapping as a ghost.

Lazy Eye – The Silversun Pickups



Although the video is performance-based, with the band performing the song in a bar, it also has lots of aspects of a narrative music video. It is filmed using continuity editing and eyeline matches, making it look exactly like a clip from a film or a TV show. Following Goodwin’s theory, the music fits with the emotions and mood of the video: when the boy in the crowd smiles at the girl and she doesn’t smile back, he becomes angry and storms out, with the music suddenly becoming much louder and the vocals closer to screaming.

All of the characters, the setting, and the lighting have been used to give the video an old-fashioned punk feel to it, which fits the style of music and the image the band is trying to present. The lighting also changes throughout the video, starting dim and red during the song’s intro, and then becoming brighter throughout, until the girl goes outside at the end and it is in daylight.

The lyrics also relate to the content of the video: “I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life, but it's not quite right” relates to when the boy sees the girl and smiles at her but she doesn’t smile back. Many of the lyrics are about looking at or for people, which is a theme throughout the video, with all the characters looking around or staring at one another. This is expressed through lyrics like “blind”, “the same ol’ decent lazy eye, fixed to rest on you” and “straight through your gaze”.

There are also lots of close ups of the lead singer of the band, as per Goodwin’s theory, and some of the other band members. This helps to promote the band’s image, which is obviously something they use to sell themselves, and to help the viewers identify with the band.

Tightrope – Janelle Monae



This video is a very unusual narrative-based video. It starts with text on the screen as an introduction, setting the scene as the futuristic ‘Palace of the Dogs’, inhabited by androids, where dancing has been forbidden. It then shows the dreary everyday life of the inhabitants during the intro, where the music is quiet. The artist then comes into the video and begins dancing in secret as she starts singing and the music picks up. As the video progresses, the story unfolds and the number of people dancing goes up and up as the music becomes fuller and louder. In the end, however, as the music is slowing down, we see the artist being taken to her room in between fades to everyone dancing, and she lies down, it having all been a dream.

The mise-en-scene, specifically the costumes, is important in establishing the strange, science fiction factor of the video – the artist and almost all of the other characters wear very old-fashioned black and white outfits like waiters or bartenders wear, and the two figures trying to stop them dancing are wearing long black robes with hoods, and have mirrors for faces.

The music seems slightly unusual in the video, because it is most similar to modern soul or R&B. Videos for this style of music are usually not narrative, but performance based. They typically focus purely on the artist singing or rapping, and having effects and dancers in the background. Janelle Monae has subverted this convention to give herself an alternative feel and attract a different audience to typical R&B.

The lyrics relate to the video in a number of ways, including talking about ‘doing the tightrope’, referring to the dance they are doing. The lyrics also talk about the dancing being suppressed, saying “they love it or they hate it, you dance up on them haters , keep getting funky on the scene”, which is the main character encouraging the others to dance.

The camera angles and editing are also used to tell the story, with low angle shots up at the nurse who tells on the dancers and the mysterious figures. Match on action is used when doors are opened and other actions that would normally cause a pause in the movement happen, in order to keep the video moving with the flow of the song. While the artist is dancing, there are points where the camera actually follows her movements, such as doing a slight wiggle when she wiggles her leg. As the music builds up, there are lots of fast cuts to different dancers and different body parts, particularly the feet and face of the main artist. This video has a lot of jump cuts, making it look much more like a typical music video than Lazy Eye.