SIGNIFICANT MUSIC VIDEOS

As a media student i take great interest in music videos. The two videos below, in my opinion, are both very effective and clever videos, however for different reasons...

Katy Perry - Firework

This music video is personally one of the most touching ones i've ever seen. It articulates the meaning of the song; what it means to be an underdog and have the courage, if you're on the outskirts of society, to be your own person.

At the very opening song the lyrics say 'do you ever feel like a plastic bag?' as this occurs, there is a cut to an establishing high angled shot of Katy standing on a balcony. 

The muse-en-scene includes a white dress blowing in the wind, perhaps being metaphorical of the 'plastic bag' she feels like. It's also somewhat ambiguous as, owing to the dark foreboding lighting coupled with the high angle which makes her look weak, it could be suggestive of desperation or even suicide. 

Another effective moment is the over shoulder shot of a boy at home. However this home is no sweet home, it appears to be a living hell for the child. 

This is shown through the mother and father fighting whilst the sister blocks her ears. The parents have been edited so that they are blurry rather than completely clear. This could be suggestive of the young boy trying to blur them out of his head, however they are omnipresent. As an audience we then sympathise for him as we decipher how much he is struggling. 

This shot involves a medium close up of Katy Perry standing on a balcony whilst an eye-catching shower of sparks (created with special effects) emit from her body. 

This is the first time the realism of the video is broken. Although this can be risky, i find that it works in her favour, making the video somewhat moving as the audience can decipher that people have a spark to be a firework. It's just up to them, and a lot of times it's only us that's standing in the way of reaching our goals, fulfilling our destinies and being the best version of who we possibly can be. 

A very effective shot involves a close up shot of a young girl with cancer watching in awe of a pregnant women with sparks coming out of her.

The close up shot allows us to see her amazed emotions more clearly and furthermore feel a slight rapport with the character as we have been allowed to get so close to someone who seems so distant. As a result of this, we feel touched by this young girl's hope and therefore we too begin to believe that perhaps her fate could be bright. 

The close up shot of two young men kissing at a party also contains the sparks, thus making this feature a consistent motif which we begin to associate specifically with this shot. 

Because of the society we live in today, youngsters feel intimidated if they are supposedly 'different'. As we watch the two kiss in front of a large sum of people we therefore respect and admire them for their self confidence as well as true passion. 

This is one of my favourite shots. It involves a tracking shot of a young girl who we previously discovered was insecure about her body, coming out of her shell at a pool party and literally exploding like a firework as she jumps in to the pool to join her friends. 

As she jumps in to the pool the shot becomes low angled, thus presenting her as a powerful figure which contrasted with the use of high camera angles when previously showing her. Therefore we can decipher that this character has had a transformation as the song progressed, and we are all the more touched and all the more hopeful as a result. 

This is the last moment of the music video, which includes a pan shot of a group of happy people looking up to the fireworks in the sky. 

This image is particularly impactive as it not only is a literal metaphor of the song but it also gives the viewer some aspiration. This is because we see the happy, free individuals dancing in the streets coupled with the colourful, beautiful fireworks. Consequently, we long for this feeling of hope and freedom and therefore are left with a motive, that being to become a 'firework'.

MIKA - Lollypop

Not only do i love this song,  but the video makes me adore it. It has been said that Mika wrote this song as a message to his younger sister, warning her not to rush into a relationship and obsess on love too much as she could get hurt ('love will get you down'). I think this video helps to portray the message and lyrics of this song in a very light-hearted and catchy way. 

The main feature of this video which really catchesmy eye is the surrealism of it. For example, the whole video being in cartoon. This reinforces the fun nature of the song whilst also eliciting the main theme of the song which is youth. Another inspirational aspect of this video is the variety of colour. When watching this video i felt very drawn to it's vibrancy as I was always being shown numerous bright colours. When creating my music video i will ensure that there is a variety of colour in order to avoid it being consistent and potentially dull. An unconventional yet attractive part of this video is the lyrics. They are shown on various items, from speech marks to clouds to sweets. This makes the video exciting and different as usually we would be presented with an artist lip syncing over the music. Perhaps i could use this idea of showing the lyrics to the audience on interesting items as it doesn't just make the video original and different but it also makes the audience remember the lyrics of the song, which then leads to further publicity. 

Overall i think the tuneful song itself coupled with the vibrant video helps to evoke a feeling of happiness from the viewers.