Interesting Music Videos

1. Red Hot Chilli Peppers- Californication:

note: click on link to watch video.

 

Although 'Californication' rather conventionally shows the band playing their instruments, the majority of the music video consists of a digitised, fictional video game, in which the audience's focus is fully upon the characters within the game, and not so much the band. An interesting concept also, as the video game exhibits aspects of a rather literal take on a narrative sotryline, combined with the surrealism of a video game; an example being 1.56-2.00, in which the character literally runs up to a 'a teenage bride with a baby inside'.

2. London Grammar- Wasting My Young Years.

London Grammar's 'Wasting My Young Years' exhibits very interesting camera angles, such as  those at 0.27-0.34, combined with a constant overlay, which achieves a distorted and obscured affect upon the viewer.  The narrative is very obscure too; not so much of a story, as more of a performance in the sense that we are fosued upon the obscurrity of the mise en scene (suspended figures) rather than following a story throughout (we are unaware to why they are suspended etc). Follwoing on from the choice of the suspended figures, i found this aspect particularly interesting because there is little movement from the poeple themselves; set in a 'freeze frame' like state, there is actually more movement from the camera, panning and zooming, in which a jaggered and fragmented affect is exhagerated through the overaly. Furthermore, the slow, lingering shot at 1.00- 1.14 creates quite an uncomfortable tone, as the camera slowly pans the figure. This is interesting in comparison to mainstream, up-tempo videos which favour to cut to multiple scenes upon the beat of the music. Finally, the female singer avoids direct eye contact with the lense of the camera, subverting any emotional connection between the artist and the singer, to which many music videos hope to achieve this.

3. The XX- Islands:

Finally, the music video 'Islands' by the XX has a very apparent, repetitive chereographed scene. Because of this smart, very practiced performance, we as an audience somewhat lose sight of the actual band, who are normally the main focus within their own music video. This is further supported by the choice of black clothing, props and background, in which we mistake the band to be part of the dancing routine. The video also begins with a 3 second long picture of a white X, then abrubtly starting with the routine; particularly interesting as many music videos prefere to 'set the scene' or narrative beforehand. Finally, the music video consists of, unconventionally, one camera angle and little movement; the stationary position of the camera, with a centre focus which zooms out to reveal more of the shot, is in contrast with London Grammar, to which the movement has been created by the people within shot, as oppose to the camera.