Michael Reeder

Unit 29: Music Video Production

Leicester College

Music Video Analysis

In this post I will look at four different videos and videos that relate to these four. I will break
them down into four different analysis chapters which are purpose, styles, conventions and
techniques. I will comment on all four of these chapters for the individual video.

Weird Al Yankovic Foil

The first music video that I will look at is from the famous parody artist Weird Al. In this
video Weird Al takes the original pop song Royals by Lorde and changes the lyrics to talk
about tin foil. The purpose of this video is for pure entertainment, Weird Al as he always
has been focused on entertainment and has made parodies for a lot of songs. You can also
class this music video as an insult to the original but in doing that he also advertises the
original video because it will want people to see the original video after seeing the parody.
Lorde can be offended by this but it is unintended publicity so should embrace it as it is
drawing a different fan base to her music. As already mentioned this music video is in the
style of a parody, this means that there is an original song and the new song is taking the
original and changing it for entertainment purposes. A parody will often change the lyrics but
stick to the same beat so the song is recognisable, the lyrics will be changed to something
funny as this is a convention of the parody style. Due to it being a parody there is not many
conventions the whole point of a parody is to do what you want and change the original song
in whatever way the performer feels would be funny. A big convention associated with the
parody style is to insult or make fun of the original artist in whatever way possible. This is
done by insulting the basic beat of the song because any lyrics can be put on top of them
and still sound okay.
Throughout the video is in high key lighting as there is no need for low key lighting and the
artist is needed to be in high key lighting to see him lip syncing, when the video reaches a
controversial topic the video goes to low key lighting to show there is something to hide and
it suits the tone of the video. The editing in this video are very simple as there are straight
cuts on the beat so to hide the cut better, most of the editing cuts are also made when the
performer isnt lip syncing the track. During the video most camera shots are used and for
their individual purposes for example long shots are used to show the whole set for more
information and close ups are used for emphasis on key points throughout the song. At the
end of the song and on the back wall of the set effects are used, these add humour to the
video and add to the video in general because it adds information to the scene.
This video is similar to the original because for a lot of the video Lorde lip syncs in front of
camera so Weird Al follows that trend and lip syncs a lot of the video, other than that the
two videos are not similar at all because one is a parody of the first meaning they have
completely reinvented the original song.
Weird Al Foil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urglg3WimHA
Lorde Royals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc
Foo Fighters The Pretender
Foo Fighters are a well know rock band and are well known for their concert performances.
In the video for The Pretender the whole band lead by Dave Grohl are in what looks to be in
an abandoned aircraft hangar, the style of the video is a performance, they are performing
the song as a band in front of what turns out to be an audience of police officers. This is a
performance style for the music video because they dont leave the same set and are set out

Michael Reeder

Unit 29: Music Video Production

Leicester College

as a band would be. The purpose of this music video is very simple, they created the music
video to make the song more popular and to make the band more famous. As this video is
very monumental it would bring attention to the band and raise their fame. There are few
conventions related to this style of music video but the conventions which are in place for a
performance style are abided by in this music video. These are that the band is set out as to
be performing as they would a concert, they also have included the generic shots of all band
members either playing their instruments or singing strongly into the microphone. This video
is set in a high key set and it doesnt change, this is to emphasis the clarity of the lyrics. A lot
of close ups and medium shots are used to show the band lip syncing and miming while
performing the music video, this just shows that they are performing and adds to the effect.
Close ups and long shots are used to show the power and the fight between the band and
the police, they show the opposing side of the video and are clearly set out. Just before the
red screen explodes the shots slow down and go into slow motion to add effect and build the
suspension for the red to explode, the explosion of the red shows the band fighting back
against the police and therefore enhances the confrontation between the band and the
police. This music video and the song itself is very upbeat and has fast tempo so quick cuts
are used to build the speed of the music video.
This music video is similar the music video for These Days by Alien Ant Farm, they are both
in the style of performance and are both going against authority and conventions. Within the
music video for The Pretender the band are going against the police and within the music
video for These Days the band are not just going against the police but as well as artists of a
different genre at a music awards ceremony. Like The Pretender, the music video for These
Days also uses most of the same camera shots for the same effects.
Foo Fighters The Pretender https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjQ9tuuTJQ
Alien Ant Farm These Days https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNM2tV3PA_8
Will Smith Men in Black
Men in Black by Will Smith is hip hop and rap, this is because the artist has put his style into
the song and he is a hip hop and rap artist. This Music video has a well-known film tie in to
the film Men in Black. This is to bring advertising to the Men in Black movie and also
promote Will Smith in the film. The style and the purpose for this music video is very similar it
is to promote the film and draw attention to the release of the film. The song would have
been released before the film so it can start people talking about the song and therefore the
film. This will be used as a promotional tool for the film. This so like all hip hop and rap songs
have a strong steady beat so it is easy to rap over, this also falls into the hip hop genre
because there is a womens voice overlapping the rapping from Will Smith. This uses the
conventions of most music videos that have a film tie in, this is that they have footage from
the film and have elements that wont be in the film. The lyrics of the song explain and have
elements of what is going to happen in the film and as said before this adds to the
advertising of the movie. The majority of the music video is in low key lighting, this is
because it is a secret organisation so it has to be dark to hide this, and like their uniform it is
dark and inconspicuous. This music video has straight cuts for simplicity and doesnt mess
about with any different techniques, this is because it is a fairly fast paced song and doesnt
need slow cuts or fades. As the film is on about aliens the music video uses animations to
enhance the looks of the aliens, also the alien starts singing in the video so it needs to be
animated. Due to no instruments being played by the performers there is only lip syncing in
the video, this is done by not just Will Smith but the two women with him and the main alien,
this is because they are backup singers so lip sync their own part.
This is unlike many music videos that have film tie ins, this is because the music video is
completely to do with the film, whereas music videos like You Know My Name by Chris

Michael Reeder

Unit 29: Music Video Production

Leicester College

Cornell which was featured in Casino Royale has clips of the artist performing the song as
well as clips from the film. Chris Cornell would have produced the song separately then
would have been approached by the makers of Casino Royale to use the song.
Will Smith Men in Black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiBLgEx6svA
Chris Cornel You Know My Name https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=867iyhVFyEw
Darude Sandstorm
This music video falls into the trance genre, this is based around club and dance music. This
music video could be classed as either post-modern or nihilist. Within the video there are
people fighting each other so could be classed as nihilist because they dont care for
anything. This also could be classed as post-modern as it features actors in what was
fashion at the time and in a modern setting. The purpose of this video is to further sell the
song and bring the song to a new platform being YouTube. This video further expresses the
action within the song because it is a high tempo song so the video keeps the tempo of the
song. This song is intended to be played in clubs so it doesnt have any lyrics, this is so the
beats of the track can be fully heard and get a good rhythm going in a club. The trance genre
is originally from Europe and is dominated from the Europe scene, this therefore means
them music video is very European and shows the fashion of Europe at the time it was
filmed. Like Darude, Eiffel 65 is another band in the trance genre; this band creates more
music with vocal backing whereas Darude mainly just produce music without vocals. Both
these songs feature a heavy beat which the listener with memorise.
Darude - Sandstorm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6120QOlsfU
Eiffel 65 Blue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ugkg9RePc