Music Video Conventions Analysis

Conventions of Music Videos

3x Video Analysis

In this section, I will be briefly analyzing three types of music video, including; Narrative, Performance and Conceptual based videos. From this, I hope to gain a stronger understanding on how they differentiate from each other and which video type appeals to me the most...

Goodwin's Theory - Paolo Nutini; Candy

In this section of my project, I have analysed a chosen music video, and used Goodwin's theories to produce a short analysis on the video. Shown below is the finished analysis sheet...

Goodwin's Theory - Analysis

Throughout my project, I will be consistently analyzing different works in relation to Goodwin's theories. Shown below is a list that I have produced on Goodwin's theories with given analysis on each point...

Textual Analysis 2; Paolo Nutini - Coming Up Easy

What is the purpose and function of the video in representing the artist?

Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9^th January 1987) is a Scottish/Italian singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. Paolo Nutini’s debut album “These Streets” was released by Atlantic Records in the United Kingdom in July 2006. “Coming Up Easy”, is the second single from the Scottish/Italian song writer, taken from his second album “Sunny Side Up”.  It was released on the 10^th August 2009 as a CD single, 7” single and download single. and is the second track on Nutinis album “Sunny Side Up”, co-written by Nutini and Matt Benbrook. It was produced by Ethan Jones. The song itself talks about Paolo’s struggle against marijuana and how it affects his life. He states that it’s about habits and break-up, but wanted to keep it positive. Throughout the video, the marijuana itself however has been represented in a strange way to help the viewers understand Paolo’s conflicts against it a little easier. In this case, he as used a human sized rabbit as a metaphorical representation of the drug. Paolo has also stated that the song can also be viewed from other perspectives of life, including relationships, compromising, having to deal with someone else’s emotions...etc. The video itself shares a mixture of both narrative and performance based features.

There are many ways in which Paolo’s image is represented and promoted throughout the video. One of the ways this is shown is through the camerawork used. At the beginning of the video, we are introduced to Paolo Nutini. This is shown through a medium tracking shot of him as he approaches the front of the house. In this shot, we are able to analyse Paolo’s clothing; in this case, a green polo shirt, beige chinos and dark brown loafers. These can be seen as casual clothing, showing that Paolo is not trying to create his own image; however it exploiting his love for singing and creating music; all of which have been exploited through various wide and medium shots of Paolo – A Convention used commonly in hip-hop music videos. This shot is shortly followed by a close-up of Paolo as he calls to the upstairs window. This shot allows the viewers to observe Paolo’s facial features so that they are able to identify the star behind the music video. Also; relating back to Goodwin’s theory, the close-ups may also be used to reinforce Paolo’s image to his target audience. We are also able to see the tattoo around his forearm. This is shown to be a Texan tattoo, consisting of three Texan stars. This is shown simply to provide the viewers with a little insight into Paolo’s personal appearance and unique image. 20 seconds into the video and we are then introduced to Paolo performing to the camera. During this shot he is seen to be sitting on a park bench alone, shown through a close-up and medium shot. This shot is used to justify to the audience who the star of the video is. 

We are first introduced to the metaphorical character 45 seconds into the video. Before this takes place, the viewers are left with numerous clues as to who the character may be. A  pan shot of the characters mantle piece reveal numerous framed images of rabbits; all but one, which shows Paolo standing beside what seems to be a full grown, human sized rabbit. This rabbit however is shown to have normal human characteristics, shown through a close-up of the rabbit grabbing his keys and jacket before leaving the house. Once they meet, a two shot is used as they are walking down the high-street. This shot allows the viewers to establish their relationship with each other; in this case they are laughing along-side each other, suggesting they are good friends. The slow motion effect also provides the viewers with time to establish the setting – a small town in Scotland. As they enter the pub, they are welcomed gracefully and begin their drinking session together. This is shown through numerous close-ups of them both interacting and having a good time with the other people in the bar. During this particular time, the lyrics begin to explain Paolo’s true feelings towards the “rabbit”. Lyrics such as; “I love you, but you see I resent you all the same...all my other friends they’ll just say your pulling me down”. This speaks clearly to the viewers in relation to Paolo’s feeling towards marijuana. He feels that even though he loves it, deep down he knows he want to break free from the habit and listen to what his other friends are saying. Other lyrics such as; “Because now my best friend, my partner in crime... I’m afraid we’re going to have to go our separate ways”. This suggests that Paolo wants to separate from his addiction and the only way he feels he can do this is by walking away. During this part of the song, the video shows a medium shot of the rabbit dancing alone in a tunnel. This exploits rather selfish behaviour in relation to the lyrics at this particular point, suggesting that the “rabbit” is refusing to listen. Also, the walls on the inside of the tunnel have been painted red, white and green (Italian Flag). This is shown extremely vividly however has been used to show Paolo’s Italian heritage in that it is a huge part of Paolo’s life. The way in which the “rabbit” is shown alongside the flag dancing can almost be seen as a mockery in that the “rabbit” – marijuana, is more important to him and that it has become an obsession. This effect is used numerous times throughout the video. 

Towards the end of the video, the rabbit is shown to be getting more and more out of control. Having drunk more alcohol, the rabbit is slowly becoming more and more animal like, and soon loses control. This is shown through a medium shot of him and numerous girls arguing inside the pub. As the alcohol takes its toll, Paolo is forced to physically remove him from the pub – showing that Paolo is now becoming the more responsible person by taking control of the situation. At this point, the editing becomes a lot faster in terms of its pace and the volume of the music begins to increase – relationship between the music and visuals. The “rabbits” actions throughout this particular point once again are shown to be similar to the characteristics of a human, or in this case a young man on a night out. By constantly interchanging through cross-cutting between Paolo performing and the story allows the viewers to fully understand Paolo’s feelings and emotions towards the song. This is seen clearly through his body language and facial expressions. 

Overall, I believe that this song has not only been written to explain Paolo’s conflict against his addiction to marijuana, but to represent him-self and what he can become when the addiction takes over. Although the rabbit may be seen as a metaphorical interpretation of marijuana, I do also believe that this character can also be seen as him-self (Paolo) in a different perspective; a perspective where he is in such a state of un-controllability that he does not accept himself as a human – being, instead he sees himself as an animal. 

Daniel Lisle

Textual Analysis 1; Linkin Park - Numb

Textual Analysis Essay

Throughout this essay, I will be analysing the music video “Numb”, performed by the American rock group, Linkin Park.

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Once formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory. The specific music video that I am analysing is a song taken from their second album, Meteora (released in 2003). The video itself shares a combination of both narrative and performance based features, providing the viewers with a story to go alongside the lyrics of the song. One of the ways in which the story is portrayed throughout the video is through the camerawork. From the beginning, there is a wide range of shots used, one of which being a medium shot of the protagonist; shown at the very beginning of the video. This shot in particular allows the viewers to identify the character behind the narrative. This is then followed by various long shots of the city used for the video; Prague, Czech Republic. This again allows the viewers to identify setting and scenery at which the narrative will take place. After the short intro, the music begins to intensify in terms of its volume. At this point, the viewers are introduced to the band. This is portrayed through a number of different camera angles and movements, including high angled shots, close-ups, slow zooms and pan shots; all of which are edited in sync with the sound, creating a comfortable flow of continuity throughout the video. These shots also allow the viewers to establish the setting used for the bands performance. In this case, the band is shown to be playing in a dark, worn down church. This I believe creates a cold and uncomfortable presence to the video, showing strong relevance to the song title, “numb”. Also, the only source of light displayed in the church is that of natural light – candles, windows...etc. This produces a low key pallet, resulting in a dark and depressing atmosphere. The pallet stays this way throughout the whole music video. Throughout this scene, we are also able to identify the numerous props and clothing used by the band. In this case, the band are shown wearing their own clothing, a well known and commonly used genre characteristic for rock music videos. 

This also shows the bands passion for music in that they do not show too much interest in their image, a well known genre characteristic for hip hop music artists. The band is also shown to be playing their own instruments throughout the video, another genre characteristic for rock/ indie rock music videos. 

Once the lyrics begin, the narrative becomes the dominant factor of the video. A close-up of the young girl sketching provides the viewers with information about the girl in what she enjoy doing in her spare time; the sketching suggests that she alone a lot of the time. This shows that the band and producer have gone into great lengths to show the characters personality and hobbies, resulting in the viewers to show greater forms of sympathy for her throughout the video – notions of looking. During the narrative, the bands performance is continuously brought back in and out of different shots through cross-cutting. This prevents the viewers from becoming too enticed to the story, and more inclined to the bands performance and musical achievements. Once the chorus begins, people that are currently surrounding the girl begin to move at an extremely high speed, whereas the girl remains normal. This I believe is used to reflect the influence the song title has on the girl’s story; through its lyrics – “I’ve become so numb”. The way in which everybody else is moving so quickly in comparison to the girl creates a strong feeling of numbness and inability to move or feel like everyone else. This brings a great sense of sympathy and emotion towards the girl. As the video approaches its end, reality takes its toll on the girl and as a result, she becomes overwhelmed by her “numbness”. This is shown through various close-ups, tilts and pans in and out of her home life. During these shots, she is shown to be aggressively hitting a canvas with paint, showing that the numbness has even taken over her most loved hobbies. The song concludes with the girl running into the church where the band is playing, only to find that there is no-one there. This is portrayed through numerous shots, including; a low shot, a high angled shot and a high zoom. This I believe provides the video with a slight sense of realism in that the girl was so close to coming into contact with the band, even though no-one was there when she arrived. The fact that they never come into contact with each other brings a more realistic approach to the narrative of the story, suggesting that she could be a real person rather that someone simply acting.

Daniel Lisle