Music Video Analysis

Biffy Clyro – Mountains



The video is mainly performance based; a lot of mid and close up shots are used throughout the video. These are effective because they showcase the bands energetic performances. This is something that will probably be used in our video due to the song being energetic.


Shots are changing frequently, and snap on to pushes in the music, these keep things hectic and up-beat. In order to keep our video fresh and interesting, I think successions of quick shots should be used.
The amount of seconds per shot varies throughout the video, nearer to the end, when the music gets busier, the amount of seconds per shot decreases rapidly, and at one point 3 shots are used in a one second space. There are times when one shot is held over 2-3 seconds as well. With the song in our video being quite up beat and poppy, the camera use will sway towards using more shots per second.

The transitions of shots during the band performance are snappy and look like hand held cam shots; they feel a little bit wobbly and swing around quite a lot. This could well be a shot type and transition we use in our video. Jump cuts are frequently used as well.

The four pictures above can provide an insight into the jump cuts, follow from left to right, then bottom left to bottom right and it shows type of cuts that are used and what sort of shots are linked together.





Twin Atlantic – What is Light? Where is Laughter?



The video is a healthy mix between band relaxation shots, live performances at Glasgow QMU and a staged performance set. The song is quite summery and it helps that the video style isn’t aggressive like the Mountains video, the blend of relaxation and live performance complements the song and the band very well.


There is frequent use of hand held cam angles during the band’s cutaways when they’re on the beach. This provides the effect that it’s home-made and personal; this might be a camera shot we use in our video, especially for the cut away band shots.

There is also frequent use of live shots, this would be really good to use if we could do it, and they show the energy the band has live, but there are also staged live shots later on, which are probably an easier thing to do. These still stage the bands live presence and is probably the favourable of the two live shots.

There’s a succession of jump cuts with different guitars that link in with the accents in the song. This part is very creative and unique; if we could incorporate something into the video it would look really good.

Kids In Glass Houses – Youngblood (Let it out)



This is an incredibly new video from the band and it showcases live staged performance. The director uses lots of jump cuts and varying shots to create variety and keep a relatively simple video, fresh and interesting. The use of lighting immediately appeals towards me and the use of flashes are something that would look good and effective.

The video is very simple, and low budget, so using ideas from it aren’t going to break the bank. The camera angles are very effective in keeping it fresh. It switches from long shot to close up, then mediums frequently. In the live performance in ours, a wide range of camera shots will be ideal in keeping the video exciting and fresh.


The main thing I’ll take from this video is the use of different camera shots to keep the audience captivated and keep it upbeat and exciting, it really works well in ‘Youngblood’ and I think it will in ours too.




We then researched various different camera shots, angles and transitions, not all of them will be used in the music video but we intend to use as many as possible.

Common shot sizes:

· Extreme close-up: Focuses on a single facial feature, such as lips and eyes.
· Close-up: May be used to show tension.

Medium shot: Often used, but considered bad practice by many directors, as it often denies setting establishment and is generally less effective than the Close-up.

Long shot

Establishing shot: Mainly used at a new location to give the audience a sense of locality.

Mise en scène" refers to what is colloquially known as "the Set," but is applied more generally to refer to everything that is presented before the camera. With various techniques, film makers can use the mise en scène to produce intended effects.

Camera view, angle, movement, shot

Aerial shot
Bird's eye shot
Close up
Crane shot
Dolly zoom
Dutch angle
Establishing shot
High-angle shot
Long shot
Long take
Low-angle shot
Master shot
Medium shot
Pan shot
Point of view shot
Reaction shot
Shot reverse shot
Tilt (camera)
Tracking shot

Transitions

Editing and transitional devices
Cross cutting
Cutaway
Dissolve
Establishing shot
Fast cutting
Flashback
Jump cut
Master shot
Point of view shot
Sequence shot
Slow cutting
Split screen
Wipe