Analysing Mise-en-scene

Genres of music

Intertextuality

Intertextuality references to other texts- e.g. TV programmes, films and adverts  

"They are the ideas and images borrowed and repackaged from other text"

 "Can be used for humorous or serious effect"

 Theory:

 John Stuart believes the music promo “incorporates, raids and reconstructs”

 Julia Kristeva “any text is the absorption and transformation of another”

 Film Noir

French ‘Noire’ describes stylish crime dramas and that emphasize on cynical attitudes and sexual motivation. This film is influenced by German expressionism; an artistic movement of the 1910s and 1920s that involved theatre, photography, painting, sculpture, and architecture, as well as cinema.

The setting is usually poorly lit and quite dark, mirroring the name of the title. Film noire is also known for its range of low angle shots and wide angle lenses. The film usually involves flashbacks and other editing techniques that disrupt the narrative sequence.

The Femme fatale

This means fatal woman in French. The film gives the woman a very central role and privileges her as active, intelligent, powerful, dominant and in charge of her own sexuality.

This film intertext with the Music video

Pulp “This is Hardcore”

Links- the setting and the camera angles 

 

This certainly contains a link between the film Noire (the first image), and the music video from the Pulp. This is because both stills show the same camera angle, with the same amount of people. The only difference is that the film Noire was in black and white and the music video had brought it back to life.

The Femme fatal

In the film Noire;

This intertextuality shows the two women that are looking very similar. They are both close up shots, showing cheerful facial expressions. They both have the same haircut and hair colour, expensive- looking clothes which gives them a sense of power. 

Other examples of intertextuality 

Madonna and Marylin Monroe 

Music videos (Blink- 182- first date), Bjork- (all is full of love)

Blink- 182, First date

"Analysing mise-en-scene, editing, camera and sound"

This man wrote about his and his wife’s first date, based on 1970’s, almost mocking the hair styles and clothing. There are aproximately 164 shots in this music video, creating a great visual beat that goes well with the up- beat song. 

This low angle two shot suggests the power that the boys thought they had that age and mirrors the eager of wanting to be popular and when they were younger. The shot fulfils their desires of being seen as ‘big’. The shot also implies almost the audience hiding and spying on them because they are quite further away from the camera and they do not seem to know that they are being filmed. 

This is a slowed down close up shot of the boy falling out of the campervan. The fact that the shot is slowed down could represent the fact that they were clumsy as we can see he seems unstable on his feet as he ‘falls out’ of the van. The close up shot allows us to notice the mise-en-scene- the costume that is quite old fashion and matches the 70’s mood.  The smoke that we can see behind the boy suggests the trouble that the boys had used to get up to back in the 70’s. 

This is a transition that the band had used; it is quite simple but distinctive because we know that it is there. The simplicity of the transition underlines the simple life that they had before and also separates the different settings in the music video too. 

This jump cut has been used to highlight the chaos of the boys’ holidays. It also creates a feeling that this guy standing here is quite strange and emphasizes on this. The huge amount of sun cream on his nose helps us to determine that this guy is strange. The cropped top could imply homosexuality (if being extremely stereotypical).

 

This is a close up of the boy’s favourite band. It is reminder of the people that they used to look up to and wanted to be like.

The fact that it had zoomed in to get to the close up shot makes the audience focus more on the band and gives a clue about what happens next:

This almost re- acts the dream of being like the boys in their drum. They are almost taking the mick of the dreams that they used to have because of the way the guy on the left hand side reveals his tattooed body (but actually isn’t masculine) and also because of the over dramatic background. 

Bjork- All is full of love

 

History of music vidoes

A music video is a short film that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song.

These are used primarily as a marketing device to promote certain genre or the song itself.

 



1960’s

1963

Be my baby- The Ronettes ,

It is mainly popular to us due to the film Dirty Dancing, where the song is also being promoted with people dancing to this song in the film. The vidoe is in 'black and white and sepia', which emthasize on the age of the music video. The range of shots is ok but there is no sub story to the video- only the Ronettes singing at different concerts.

1968

The rolling stones- Sympathy for the devil.

This music video is quite different as it starts on a 'talk show' . There is still no sub story to the video but there is a main focus on the singer through out the video. The instruments are focused when appropriate- where there is a instrumental gap, the focus of the camera turns to the guitar, and occasionaly there is a long shot of the whole band.

1969

Elvis Presley- suspicious minds

the biggest impact that yhis video would have made is that it is not black and white anymore. However, some of the old conventions are still in place for this music film and that is; a fair amount of shots, this time with transitions of the Elvis singing and all of his fans. Also, there is a different mise-en-scene in this video that none of the above had- the lighting changes from light to dark in certain parts of the song to try and dramatize the song.

1970’s

1979

Gloria Gaynor- I will survive

We can see that this music video has been more thought through becasue straight away, from the beginning, there was a close up shot of Gaynor's face- half lit up by light and the half in shadows. There is a slight substory, where a girl is skating on ice, dancing to her music, looking like she is having a good time. It could be said that out of the videos so far, this one has been used for advertising properly.

1972

Johnny Nash- I can see clearly now

This is very different from the others that we have seen, becasue the setting is outside, actually matching- (amplifying) the lyrics more, with the fountain behind to mirror the fact that he is singing about water. We don't see no fans, no intrument, just Nash, igoring the boring, old conventions of a music promo.

1977

Abba- Dancing Queen

Straight away, we can see a clear link between the piano and the music- well synced. There are shots of the instruments, of the girls singing and dancing. Altough there is no sub-story, there doesn't have to be; they are singing about dancing queen, and they are dancing. Also, the quality of teh camera work and the picture is better than the precious videos.

1980’s

1986

Bon Jovi- Living on prayer

This is very unvenventional music video. This is becasue the shots are separated, so that we can see more. The mixture of black and white, and coloured shots add the effect of better technololgy, as the background changes to blue, pink, green etc. In the shots, we can see mainly the singers, the instrument and everything else in the shots is conventional, except the layout.

1984

Madonna- Like a virgin

Straight away, there is a substory and an outside location in Italy, Venice. This location automatically adds to the romance that is in this song. This is also a video where an artist has really dressed up to aimplify the lyrics- 'Like a virgin' amplifies Madonna's white dress.

1887

Guns ‘n’ roses- Sweet child o’ mine

This is an upgraded conventions of an old rock music video. This is becasue the shots actually vary depending on the rythm of the music, and it does have a little sub story to it that looks like the life backstage. It also emphasize on the women- which amplifies the lyrics.

1990

1992

Whitney Houston- I will always love you

A substory- amplifies the lyrics- 'i'll go' and the plane appears. Also, when she is singing about memories, she can see her and her partner dancing and spending time together, making the video emotive and powerful.

1999

Destiny’s child- Say my name

First modern vidoe so far, the mise-en-scene (costume) is very clever as their clothes changes colour with the colours of the rooms and the furniture that they are in. Although They are just singing, the substory is within that- they are singing about a bloke that is lying to the girls, and hence, they are holding and sorrounding him.

1996

2Pac- California Love

2000

2003

Justin Timberlake- Cry me a river 

2004

Usher- Let it burn

Music videos- (Naughty boy, Radiohead)

Naughty Boy- La la la 

Narrative

Naughty boy- La la la , Release date: May 17^th

Set in Bolivia, where a little death boy has ran away from his abusive parent. His father who has no heart, screaming and aggressively shouting at him and even though he can’t hear, the boy finds it extremely hurtful. He finds himself dog- (Chow Chow puppy) with which he stays with for the rest of the video. The fact that the father has no heart is emphasized on the scene where the person had taken a heart out of the freezer. He confides in two other people- a cement man and a dancing wool covered traffic cop that had too been abused by others. Together, they go on their Wizard of Oz- like journey of discovery. The songs describes a coping mechanism for the “spitting venom” whilst the other person shouts and screams. This coping mechanism is “covering” the ears “like a kid” so they can no longer hear the screaming The characters are also covering their ears and singing “la la la” to emphasize on the lyrics of the song, showing a great communication and highlighting the message clearer. They have walked through the deserts with a train in the background to underline just how deserted this place is. This could imply the prolonged journey to finally be somewhere where no one else is around to get their desired peace. They have obtained a great bond which is emphasized by the way the traffic man holds the little boy and the amount of time they must have spent together travelling. Hence, it was hard for the all of them to say good bye to the little boy that has arrived at the cave where the Bolivian legend stays. The demon (El Tío), who has cursed the traffic man because he did not worship him, was believed to be the demon of the undergrounds that people offer gifts to be protected. The prophet said that if anybody could hear the demon’s curse, could fall under his control. Thus, the boy only could go alone to this demon and over voice him with his scream to stop cursing others.

Bolivia is located in South America and shares its borders with Brazil to the North and East, Paraguay and Argentina to the South, Chile to the South West, and Peru to the West with the population of 10,907.778, Spanish speakers.

Bolivia was once part of the Inca Empire but after the Spaniards defeated the Incas, Indian society went down the hill and much of Indian population went to slavery. This could explain the Indians people that were the main characters in this music video, concluding that the video was made on the basis of the history of 16^th century and the myths that have still stayed within Bolivia to this date. 

Mise-en scene- (Lighting, location, props, costume), camera, editing and sound

This is a fairly long shot of the door of the building that the boy is living in with his father. The focus on the door is also highlighted by the lighting, as the light hits the wall that we are looking at straight in front of us. The long shot is making the door look mysterious because the only interesting thing in the shot is the door, making the audience believe that there is something unpleasant behind the door. The dark lighting that acts as a shadow on the wall creates a dark, uncomfortable atmosphere that could emphasize the boy’s unhappiness.

This long shot lets the audience to understand the location. This place shown to us by the camera looks very hot but a less economically developed country. This is shown by the old cars and the building in the background that looks derelict with no windows. Also the gym that the boy is entering has graffiti on, implying that the location is quite rough and therefore dangerous.

This is a mid-shot of the cement man that shows the audience his costume and make-up. Although we can see that he is covered in cement dust on the face and his clothes look quite dirty and unwashed, his face looks friendly, making the audience feel sympathetic towards him. He gives a faint of a smile, giving out hope to get out of the place where he gets shouted at. He is wearing this costume however, to possibly underline the slavery years when the Spaniards defeated Incas, implying lack of money and self-respect. This shot also allows us to notice the stereo under his arm. This could reinforce the idea of slavery, as he was holding the radio for the women that were dancing at this gym.

The black smudged mascara on her face suggests that these girls are evil; the mascara running down her face could suggest the harshness of the women’s personality. This two shot allows the audience to see the two women’s facial expression, emphasizing on the contrast to the old, cement man that was working for them. This also creates a sense of the women ‘ganging up’ on him and therefore bullies him.

This close up shot reveals the father shouting at the young boy. This shows the audience a close shot of the father’s facial expression, allowing us to see his aggressive side. This is also a high angle shot, implying the father’s authority over the little boy. It also acts as a point of view shot from the boy’s view, allowing the audience to see what the little boy is seeing, almost justifying the reason why he had decided to run away.

This is a tracking shot were the camera is moving from outside the hall, through the door, to see a long shot of a man that is sitting in darkness, smoking a cigarette. The darkness that surrounds him reminds the audience of the evil that is within him. The red t- shirt could represent the danger that the man to the little boy.  The way the camera moves forwards towards that the man could mirror the anxiety feeling of the little boy as the camera does not get that close to him.

Editing 

The editing has done so that the clips have changed with the beat of the song. This has been done often but not regularly. This is because it had depended on the lyrics that the song had at that particular moment…

"Hush”…

"Don’t speak” ….

“When you spit”

"your venom"

New lines/ new scene- different shot

“I can’t find no silver lining”

This method has been used to help to keep up the upbeat of the song. If the lyrics are quite quick, we would expect the shots change quick too. They have to have this relationship between them to help the lyrics make sense and for the audience to start believing in the lyrics too.

Sound

 There is an introductory sound at the beginning for the first eleven seconds...

There are eleven seconds before the music starts playing. 

These seconds however have the sound of what seems to be a light wind, to increase the tension of the attention of the closed door at the very beginning. We can hear the sound at the end of the music video too, to emphasize the freedom.

 

Radiohead- Street spirit (Fade Out)

 

 

          

Background information

Released in March 1995

Noted by singer-songwriter and guitarist Thom Yorke as “one of (the band's) saddest songs” and describing it as “the dark tunnel without the light at the end,” “Street Spirit” was released as the band’s 9^th single and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, the highest chart position the band achieved until “Paranoid Android” from OK Computer, which reached number three in 1997.

Yorke has suggested that the song was inspired by the 1991 novel The Famished Road, written by Ben Okri, and that its music was inspired by R.E.M.

According to Thom, he “did not write the song”, but the “song wrote itself”. He also said that they were “just its messengers”.  “It drains” him every time he plays it, keeping the aim of the song real and mysterious.

Mise-en-scene, camera, editing, sound

The costume that this dancer is wearing is all black and floats in the air. The fact that it floats mirrors the idea of the person ‘dancing’ in the air, looking more elegant. It is a long shot, that allows us to see the caravans behind. By having the dancer at the front of the camera with the caravans at the background, it makes the audience think that the dancer is jumping higher than the height of the caravans.

The black and white location gives us the impression of death as everything is dark and sad. The dragon fly/ moth here could represent death too. As we often see in supernatural films, the demons are usually in the form of some sort of insect.

It is also a high angle shot that makes the moth look even bigger than the person, creating a sense of power.





This edit fades out the close up shots so they overlap each other. This creates an unrealistic effect, underlining the ‘death’ theme, as he looks like he is going to fade away. This shot also goes with the title “(fade out)”, creating more understanding and a link between the title and the music video. The slow motion combined with the sad, dark colours almost mirror the trapped feelings, almsot as time has distorted.





A long shot of the male character falling down on a chair by its self, could suggest the way they are all doomed and it is almost like there is something that is controlling their every move, as there are people getting hurt in this video throughout.

This long shot of the man falling down is at the instrumental beginning of the music video. The instrumental is quite slow guitar, and the man is falling at the same speed as the pace of the instrumental. This suggests that straight away, the time has slowed down. This is also so it makes the video more interesting to watch- if it was just a man falling down at full speed, it would be over too quick, but it catches our attention because it has slowed down at the editing, to suit the music’s pace. This also makes us focus on the instrumental more and the lyrics that follow.