Influences

As apart of my research I have been looking at existing music videos to gain some sense of what I would like to include in my video. The original meaning of the song was 'not to give in to the pressure of been perfect' I wanted to incorporate the original meaning to my project, mainly to keep the originality of the song but to use my own ideas. The kind of videos I watched were ones that reflected self-image but also ones that were almost like a cry for help just to gain an insight into how they used a meaning as strong as the one that 'Skyscraper' reflects in a music video. 

The first video I watched was 'Perfect' by Pink, this video basically reflects the meaning that nobody's perfect and that sometimes people feel they live in a world were nobody understands or excepts them. For this video key elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography and sound to reflect the dark meaning behind the song. For example in 'Perfect' the lighting is very dark and stays that way as the character in the video goes through issues with herself and the way she looks as well as issues of bullying I like this idea as it reflects the mood of the video as well as the character, however the lighting does change as the video takes a more lighter note and things start to look up for the character within the video. 


In this shot I like the use of the long shot to show both rooms, the dark bedroom and then the girl stood on the scales. I like this shot as lighting shows her mood and the long shot shows why the girl is feeling down.

I like this shot from the Pink 'F****in' perfect music video because I like the use of medium close to show the emotions of the girl, I also like the fact that the makeup used brings the focus onto her eyes which attracts the audience attention to her eyes which visibly show pain. I also like how the girls is in focus and the background is out of focus, it could represent how the girls world seems like a blur and he emotions are the only thing that matters in that moment in time, the focus pull on her also attracts the attention of the audience onto her and the way she feels. 




The transitions between shots are mostly cuts but follow a rhythmic pattern and go to the beat of the music therefore making the video flow more and makes the audience engage with the action on screen as well as the beat of the song. 

A lot of medium close ups are used to expression emotions but close ups are use on the performance of the artist to show the emotion that the artist puts into the song. The use of close ups for performance help the audience to engage with the song and artist more during the performance and it also makes the audience want to sing along to the song. 

Another key feature of the video is the use of projection from the shots of the action to the shots of the performance by the artist. The use of projections help the video to flow well between cuts and also makes the video a lot more interesting because the audience have more than one feature to focus on. 






The second video I watched was Selena Gomez 'Who Says' I liked this video as again it reflect the meaning that everybody is perfect in there own way and that there isn't a certain way to be to just be yourself. In this video Selena uses more brighter lighting to give the video the pop genre feel but to keep the topic of self-image something positive. Also in the video I like the way Selena uses split screens to spell out words of signs and billboards, this a fun a creative idea which again gives the video a less serious feel but reflects the meaning well. I also like the way the use a steady cam to make it look as though it's from Selena's point of view and that makes the video feel more personal to the artist and therefore engages the audience more. 

Selena Gomez 'Who Says' hidden messages in split screens of billboard messages.

 At the beginning of the 'Who Says' video we are show the artist in medium close up, this introduces the performer to the audience as she starts to sing the song. Because of the initial close up we are engaged with the performer from the beginning. 

In the video split screens are used to show change in location as well as different angles of the artist. The split screens help the audience establish what's happening in the video, for example in the video the artist gets into a taxi to go from one location to the next, we are shown the taxi in one of the split screens and then the artist performing in the back of the taxi. 

Towards the end of the video we are show a performance of the artist and her band, this adds to the performance based music video in which we see. This shot shows a long angle making it look as though the artist and the band are looking performing to an audience at a gig or concert therefore making the audience feel as though they're a part of the concert/ gig experience and making the artist and band available to the masses without performing at an exclusive gig or concert, most performances in videos are for that reason making a performance from an artist available to all fans in masses. 

 In the video there are a lot of camera movements that keep the audience interested. For example at the beginning of the video there is a shot were the artist is singing for more then 5 or so seconds, because the camera pulls back from a close up to a long shot the audience stay interested with the shot. Another shot used is a pan round of the artist who again is singing but because of the pan round the audience stay interest in the shot. This is something which I hope to use in my video, so that a shot doesn't go on to long without the audience getting bored.

The video is constructed very well, making all parts of performance fell believable in terms of a music video. And again making an artists performance available to all fans rather then use of exclusive to gigs/ concerts.

The next video I have looked at is Rihanna's 'Unfaithful' purely for the piano scenes. I wanted to create this within my music video as I like the idea of showing my performer, playing the piano as this is a sound heard within the 'Skyscraper' track. I liked the idea of mixing a sound that was already there to be used in a performance with my artist. I think this idea really reflects the performance element of my music video. 

I like this close up of a person playing the piano, I like the idea of the audience not been able to see the persons face but seeing them performing. The close up also emphasizes the sound of the piano in the track which is then reflected within the performance. 

The next shot we are shown of the piano is a long shot, I like the idea of pulling out or cutting to show a long shot of the performer because it shows them performing in their entirety. Also by pulling back or cutting the audience's attention is diverted therefore keeping them interested in the performance and therefore the music video. 

The other element I like about this long shot is we are shown a thearte location, complete with chairs and a stage. I liked the idea of using something like this because it reflects the performer as been good at what they do. Also the long shot of the thearte could reflect an establishing shot as this is a change of location and therefore the audience need to see this. 



















The last video I watched was the original video to Demi Lovato 'Skyscraper' and for this video it reflected some of the ideas from the videos above but 'Skyscraper' video was much more simple and yet effective in portraying the message. In this video Demi uses much lighter lighting to give the video a happier feel as this video reflects more of overcoming bullying or prejudice that she and many others can relate to. The lighter lighting makes the video seem more positive. Unlike the other videos 'Skyscraper' is kept in one location and this location I like the best out of all three of the videos, it's a natural location which could be connotative of natural beauty and that beauty shouldn't be spoiled with the pressure to be perfect using cosmetics etc. Also the mise-en-scene of this video is kept to a minimal and therefore doesn't over power the performance of the artist which essentially is the bases for the video. 

I like this opening sequence of an establishing shot. It sets the scene of a natural location and sets the scene for a simplistic video without right colouring and over the top dancing and music. The establishing shot also reflects the mood of the song.

This shot was used to show how the camera again pans round the artist as she's singing. The pan goes from a long angle into a high angle which makes the artist look like an authoritive figure. Because of the camera movement the audience stay interested in the video and this engages the audience more.

 The video overall is simplistic but because of the camera movements and the change of camera angles the audience stay interested. Camera angles such as close ups into medium shots make the audience stay interested.

All these music videos have a lot of camera movements and angles in common. For example in all music video close ups are used to emphasis the lyrics within the song as well as showing emotions from the artist.