Music Video Film Study

This past week our Senior Literature class studied film and the multiple aspects that take place when it comes to analyzing and closely viewing music videos. Upon listening and observing each kind of genre of music it can be determined that there can be up to ten elements that take place within a music video. The first is Auteur, french for author, and is commonly used by critics to indicate the figure who branded the video with their personality. The genre is another important element as this presents the type of film in addition to the story or plot that introduces the music video and explains what the video is about and when and where it takes place. The next component is the diegesis which is an action or attitude not definitively shown in the film but assumed by the audience. This can include objects, events, spaces, and the characters. Then there is editing that takes a very major role in the production of any video. The editing determines how the scenes are placed and why they are placed where they are,  also known as a scene sequence. Another factor is a flashback or flashforward as these are commonly used in the aiding of telling a story as it allows for the audience to better understand what is occurring in the lyrics of the song. This can be assisted by the focusing of the camera to show confusion in addition to the different types of camera shots that can help the audience infer certain types of emotions. The last component that takes place in music videos is the mise-en-scene, "put in scene", which includes a scene in the video that clearly displays the setting, decor, lighting, costumes, and performance and assists in intensifying the significance of the video.

For my music video I chose the song Wings by Macklemore (Ben Haggerty) and Ryan Lewis. The video was directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi about Ben when he was seven years old and infatuated with basketball shoes as this was his way of showing to the world who he was and that he was cool. The genre is alternative hip hop and narrated by Macklemore about the pursuit of identity through consumerism. The flashbacks that take place are of Ben at the age of seven receiving his first pair of expensive basketball shoes and the different stages he goes through from believing that shoes were everything to eventually realizing that being cool can be a dangerous label. At 1:16 there is a shot of Ben looking around and comparing himself to others and the feeling of judgement and competitiveness can be inferred by the audience. At 1:20 a scene sequence takes place from Ben clearly feeling cool and caught up in himself and the high social status his shoes provide until suddenly receiving a wake up call after his friend's brother was murdered for his expensive pair of shoes. At 1:36 the scene focuses only on Ben and that ball while he is accepting the wake up call and realizing that "cool" shoes aren't the only best thing out there and they're definitely not worth anyone dying over. A mise-en-scene occurs at 2:57-3:10 where it shows Ben walking in to school and the light is on him and his shoes and then he spots that another kid is wearing the same shoes and suddenly the light shifts off him and on to the other kid, his shoes, and all of his friends. The strand of occurred events allows the audience to assume that no matter what you will be judged on who you are as a person more than you would for your ability to own lavish products. Ben was clearly consumed in the idea of a high social status and once other kids where catching on to the same desire Ben was put back socially where he started. These same sequence of events included editing because it aids the audience's understanding of how everyone uses consumerism to find their identity. At 3:35 a clear diegesis takes place because it can be assumed that Ben was robbed for his shoes and this isn't surprising because it is also assumed that he doesn't live in a safe town from the images that are being shown and from the lyrics that Macklemore sings.

Upon viewing music video presentations in class that contain these ten elements there were three films that really stood out to me. Mae Grigsby presented the video Gone Gone Gone by Phillip Phillips and this film really stood out because of the fact that it had so many flashbacks and flash forwards. Each one of these flashbacks/forwards displayed memories from Phillip Phillip's life and usually had his wife in each of these memories. Another outstanding music video was shown by Kirky Moonie. Kirky presented La La La by Naughty Boy and this was noticeable for its diegesis as this film took on an interesting version of the Wizard of Oz. Upon further understanding this video followed another folktale very similar to that of the Wizard of Oz. The third intriguing video that our class watched was Hero of War by Rise Against presented by Braden Pape. Within this music video the topic was of Post Traumatic Stress and the affects it has on the soldier and the people who surround. The most prominent element in this video was the camera shots because of how unique they were using different lighting and angles that really provoked emotion in the audience and better helped the understanding of how serious war can be and how intense the effects of it can change the lives of those involved both directly and indirectly.