Music Video Analysis #4

Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj - Beauty And A Beat 

This music video is different from many others because it is all shot by Justin Bieber himself using a handheld camera. This makes this video very individual and would be accepted well in the press due to the originality. The main purpose of this music video is to promote the singer, Justin Bieber and his new song. This video also includes female rapper Nicki Minaj. 

The start of this video features the following message: 

This is used to make viewers believe that this video was not mean to be shown and that it is Justin Bieber's own personal footage. This is a good publicity stunt as the press would write articles debating whether or not this is genuine footage or a planned music video, which it is. This message is followed by clips of Justin Bieber playing table tennis, playing a key board and hanging out with his friends. This makes the video footage seem like it was actually stolen.

This is quite similar to the start of Michael Jackson's Thrilller video. Bieber also takes inspiration from Michael Jackson's Thriller video as this is a long video, much like Thriller.

The style of this music video is performance as it shows Bieber singing Beauty And A Beat at a water park surrounded by lots of his 'friends' (extras). There are lots of artificial lights used both under water and in the building. The video is filmed at night, although sufficient light is used to make everything clear to see. I like the way that this is filmed as it makes Justin Bieber the center of all filming, so you can clearly see him miming to the song lyrics. The shots used throughout are close ups (When Justin is singing), medium close ups (When he holds the camera at arms length) and long shot (When the camera is put down, presumably on to

a tripod. The surroundings are captured well and this video has clearly been well planned as things happen when he aims his camera at them, for example swimmers dive underwater or start dancing as soon as the camera pans over in their direction. There is a wide variety of camera angles used, even though it is filmed by Bieber himself. 

Another original quality of this music video is that it is filmed underwater. This effect is great as it adds an entertainment quality and the audio changes to make it sound as though it is under water also. A waterproof camera and speak must have been used here to capture the footage as you can hear the under water noises and bubbles. 

When he comes up from the water he is still holding the camera and dancers swim around him.

Justin Bieber wears the same outfit throughout, a black vest top and black jeans. His outfit is not used to add to the video and black has probably been used to stop the outfit drawing attention away from the singer and background.

Justin Bieber walks down a pathway and dancers jump off into the water as he passes. Nicki Minaj is stood at the end of the walkway and the camera pans to her. The camera then glided around her so that we can see her from different angles and the camera zooms in on her face (medium close-up) when Bieber joins her to mime and dance. I think that a light source is used to illuminate Nicki and Justin as they are both well lit.

I do not think that there are any visible cuts throughout this video as everything is very smooth and everything links well. This is due to the fact it is all filmed on a hand held camera and the dancers and extras in the video are very rehearsed and know exactly what to do. This makes it very obvious that it is not 'stolen footage' and that it is a very well rehearsed music video. 

Music Video Analysis #3

Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

This music video is basic and simple. It stars Vanessa Carlton and starts with her unveiling a piano in a garage. Then the piano starts to move with her as though they are being pulled along. This could be classed as a 'Tracking Shot'. The background keeps changing from the road, a children's party with a bouncy castle, outside a house, on a mountainside, the middle of a busy city, by a market place, next to running horses, a city at night, below skyscrapers then back to her house where the piano becomes stationary once again. Once the song has ended she leaves the room.

The piano must be mounted on the back of a vehicle with the camera sat opposite. This is a clever technique to use as the singer and the piano move together. This also make the singer and piano are the main focus of this music video and most of the emphasis is on the singer. Natural light appears to be used as most of this video is set outside, so little or no artificial will have been used. 

The background changes so often that it can be quite distracting, although if an interesting background was not used then this video would be quite dull and boring. The changing scenes are the only other focus of this video.

I don't think that the music video represents the songs lyrics well. The song is about love and how far she would travel to be with the one she loves, although this is not represented in the video. The background changes frequently, showing different places around the world, which could be representing the '1000 miles' that she sings about.

The camera mostly uses long shots although halfway through the video switches to 'medium close up' then 'close ups' of the singers face and eyes.

The purpose of this music video is to promote both the song and the singer.

Music Video Analysis #2

Michael Jackson - Thriller

This music video, featuring Michael Jackson, starts with titles to introduce it to the viewer. The use of these titles show the viewer right from the start that it is not an ordinary music video. The video starts with Michael Jackson talking to a woman in a car.  The start of this video is much like a film, showing the relationship between a young man (Jackson) and a young lady.  They run out of fuel for their car in a dark, wooded area. They walk off into the forest, and Michael asks her if she would like to be his girlfriend. She accepts and he gives her a ring. He warns her, however, that he is "not like other guys". At this moment a full moon appears on screen, giving viewers a glimpse into what is to come. 

After this scene there is a cut to another scene set in a cinema. Here Michael and his date watch a horror film called "Thriller". They leave and then walk down a foggy road as Michael teases her by singing the verses of "Thriller". To create this foggy effect a fog machine will have been used. As this scene is shot at night floodlights will have been used to illuminate the actors. The lights will have been placed behind the fog, to illuminate it as though it is the moonlight.

The next scene features a grave yard, and the 'zombies' begin to rise from their graves. The zombies corner the two main characters. This scene shows the camera spinning around them. This is used to what  Michael and his date see and how enclosed they feel. A fig-rig or camera dolly will have been used here. Michael then becomes a 'zombie' himself. 

Michael and his fellow 'zombies' chase the frightened girl into the corner of a nearby abandoned house. Michael then reaches for the girl's throat as she screams, only to awake and realise it was a dream. In this haunted house the lighting is very poor. This effect puts the viewer on edge and makes them nervous for the girl. This follows the technique used in most horror films, by featuring a dark room to make the viewer scared. Low artificial lighting will have been used here.  

Michael then offers to take her home and she accepts. As they walk out of the house, Michael turns to the camera with a sinister grin, revealing his yellow eyes. This makes the viewer think that what they have witnessed is real and not a dream at all. Much like a film this video features credits. Then the same 'Thriller' evil laugh is heard and the screen fades to black.

A range of different shots are used here. As this music video is very long it features a wide variety of shots, from extreme close ups of Michael and the zombies faces, Close Up shots of the girls terrified face, Long shots of them both and wide shots, allowing the viewer to see all of the 'zombies' and Jackson dancing.


This music video appears to have been the inspiration behind Justin Bieber's Beauty And A Beat video, as MJ is one of his inspirations and they both tell a story. 

The purpose of this music video is to promote the singer Michael Jackson and his music. As this advert will draw attention due to the length and content as it was unlike any other music video at the time the sales of the record would increase.

Music Video Analysis #1

Beyonce - Love On Top

This music video featuring Beyonce and her dancers is set in a large room overlooking a cityscape and harbour. It is a very simple video. The room is well lit with both natural and most likely artificial light. The windows allow natural light into the room and artificial lights are used to make sure that the viewer can see what is happening at all times.  There is a lot of movement in this video as it features a singer and backing dancers. The video focuses on the singing and dancing and does not tell a story like other music videos.

The first shots used are 'long shots' showing the whole room and cast. Then the camera gradually zooms in to show Beyonce's face in a 'close up shot' along with the dancers faces. She appears to be miming in this video and it is definitely not a live performance. Half way through the video the scene changes and we now see Beyonce and the dancers have changed into gold suits. The room is now dark and they are now lit using artificial gold lights behind them. This cut is not subtle or gradual. If I had edited this video I would have faded from light to dark to make this easier to watch.

Then the scene changes again and they are wearing white suits. It is still dark but this time the lighting is white instead of gold. Again the cut from gold to white light is not subtle and does not fade gradually. Throughout the video the shots keep changing from 'close ups', 'Medium close ups' and 'long shots'.

After this we see a long shot from behind and then the outfits have changed again. This time they are wearing black outfits and the white lighting is much softer. There is also a strobe light running across the room. When the song finishes the scene cuts back to a style the same as the start and Beyonce walk off past the camera. We see the camera so another camera is required to film this. This makes the video appear quite casual and almost as if it is of a rehearsal by the singer instead of a music video.

I like the style of this music video as it is very casual yet effective. I like the outfit and lighting changes that occur throughout. The video appears to be of a dance rehearsal with Beyonce and her backing dancers so the costume / lighting changes are unexpected. The only thing I would change about this video is if I was editing it would be when the costumes / lighting change I would make the cuts gradual so that they blend in as sometimes these appear quite harsh.

The purpose of this music video is to promote Beyoncé and her music, therefore increasing her record sales.