R&P Post 42: Analysing Music Videos Related to our Song and Artist

Hey there! In this post I will be analysing different music videos that relate to our own artist and song to help my group gain inspiration for our own music video. Enjoy!

One music video that really relates to our ideas for our own music video is 'Every Kind Of Way' by H.E.R:



This video follows the romantic relationship between a couple and shows them doing simple, fun things together. They are showed lying in bed together, cuddling, walking with each other, on a rooftop together, playing bowling together and more. Although these are all rather simplistic things, the various different shots and range of lighting is what attracts the audience to this music video because these are the features that make it more interesting.

Below you can see a collection of images showing different shots of the couple having fun together:

These different shots show very simple moments but the use of varied angles, including several close-ups and point-of-view shots, and different lighting makes it a much more interesting video to watch. The use of point-of-view shots emphasises the intimacy shared between the couple and this is also reinforced by the use of close-ups. Since the narrative of this music video is very similar to our own (as our narrative is centred around the romantic relationship of a couple), this tells us that in order to successfully portray the narrative of our music video, by using close-ups and also perhaps experimenting with point-of-view shots, this is partially how we would be able to do this, providing us with inspiration and ideas for different shots that we could include within our music video.

Below you can see a clip showing a certain section of the music video which shows the couple messing around and having fun together:



In these shots, there is a wide variety of lighting, with blue, pink, yellow, orange and pink tones used. The use of blurred multi-coloured lights in the background of mid close-up shots and close-up shots gives a depth of field to the shots which makes them more intimate, representing the intimacy of the couple.

On the left you can see screenshots taken from this music video. It is shots like these (taken in what seems to be a casino-type place) that makes this music video so interesting. This is due to the range of lighting used, with the neon blues and pinks attracting the audience into watching the music video. What this tells me and my group is that lighting plays a key role in filming and in music videos, by using different coloured-lighting, it makes it a much more interesting for the audience to watch. Thus, we should try and experiment with lighting when filming to make our music video more interesting and unique for our audience.











Another music video that is useful for inspiration for our own music video plans and ideas is 'Lonely Together', featuring Rita Ora, by Avicii:


This music video is centred around the romantic relationship between a couple, which is extremely similar to our own music video. During this video, everyone else is frozen in time whilst the couple themselves appear to be the only ones who are actually moving in time. They explore the world together as it is, frozen in time with people stock-still and mess around with one another, having fun.








Above you can see three different clips taken from the music video that show key parts of the music video that show the couple having fun, being silly with each other and doing conventional romantic things, such as kissing, holding hands and hugging. During these three parts of the music video, the relationship between the couple is really strongly portrayed through the things that they do together, including the more intimate side to their relationship but also the more general side of just having fun together. The scene where they cover each other in paint and then begin to kiss and cuddle each other especially attracts the audience because while it shows the couple as fun and reckless, it also portrays them as intimate and loving towards one another which is the key combination for a narrative like this.What this tells us is that for music video, in order to actively engage our audience within our video we will have to convincingly portray the relationship between our couple. One way in which we can do this is by including exciting shots of the couple enjoying their time with on another and having fun, for instance in the music video for 'Lonely Together', the couple run around and discover new things together which makes it an exciting music video. In our music video, we could include this alongside more intimate shots showing the couple holding hands, hugging and perhaps kissing.

Another interesting feature of this music video is its use of point-of-view shots:

The use of point of view shots is very similar to the music video for 'Every Kind Of Way' by H.E.R which I analysed above. From this research, what I have found that is that point-of-view shots appear to be a convention of music videos with a romantic narrative that is focused upon the relationship between a couple. Also, both in 'Every Kind Of Way' and 'Lonely Together', the point-of-view shots always show the girl leading the boy in front (if it is a heterosexual relationship), which tells me and my group that if we plan to use any point-of-view shots in our music video, in order to show how we have used conventions, we should place the girl in front. However, if we chose to subvert this convention we could show the boy in front rather than the girl. 

Overall, what I have learnt from this research is that in order to engage our audience within our music video, we will need to create an exciting yet also intimate narrative to the story between our couple. We will need to show them having fun together, providing the excitement for our audience, but also show them being intimate with each other, e.g. holding hands, kissing, cuddling, etc., to give our audience another side to our characters and the narrative of our music video. 

Thank you for reading and come back again soon!