Mise en Scene
- White plastic + rotating machinery creates soulless, inhuman atmosphere (contrasts lyrics about love)
- Flickering fluourescent white lights - leaves little shading, almost monochromatic colouring - bleak surroundings
- Machines resemble those used on car production lines
- Fully expressive human face on robot ties in with music: industrial instrumentation with lyrics about love
- Water running over machinery when the robots are kissing makes the technology seem more 'organic'
Editing
- Extremely slow cutting rate - each shot on average lasts at least 5 seconds
- The slow-paced editing reinforces the intimate visuals and subject of the song.
- Also allows for the technology to be 'shown off' in way, giving the sense that the machines are moving quickly around the singer.
Camera
- Variety of different types of shots e.g.: CU, ECU, LS
- Slow camera movement works with slow cutting rate to further build on the intimate atmosphere
- High angle shot on first robot makes audience pity her?
2.) The White Stripes 'Fell in Love with a Girl' (Gondry, 2002)
Mise en Scene
- Use of stop-motion animation of lego bricks is coherent with the basic instrumentation and structure of song.
- The solid colours of red, white, yellow and blue also create a sense of simplicity
- Able to use lego bricks to form morphing shapes which would normally only be available through special effects.
Editing
- Fast-paced cutting rate
- Bricks appear to create montage of images such as roads, people on bicycles and swimming underwater
Camera
- The camera used to create this video took thousands of still images of the lego bricks in order to give the illusion of movement, so no different angles or ways of movement are used.
Beastie Boys 'Sabotage' (Jonze, 1994)
Mise en Scene
- Vintage filter applied
- Costume: Mustache, dull coloured suits, aviator sunglasses, old car 70s haircut wig - parody of 1970s police drama
- Location is an urban/city centre
- A lot of on-screen action e.g.: forward rolls, kicking down doors, running through corridors
Editing
- Fast cutting rate intensifies action
- Use of slow motion
- 'Retro' title
- Still shots with introductory credits imitating the beginning of a sit-com
Camera
- A large number of fast zoom shots - commonly seen in 1970s police dramas
- Handy cam/steady cam - places audience within the action
4.) Radiohead 'Street Spirit' (Glazer, 1996)
Mise en Scene
- Greyscale effect - bleak aura
- Layered images creates the effect of two of the same person
- Low-key lighting
- Abandoned caravan park
- Blood dripping from man's head
Editing
- Layered images allow different speeds of slow motion footage to be in the same shot
- Slow cutting rate
Camera
- CU, ECU of singer's face shows changing expressions
- Very slow movement
- Eye-level for majority of video
5.) Kanye West - 'Jesus Walks' (Milk, 2004)
Mise en Scene
- Depicts images of prisoners, drug dealers and other people who are part of the 'underworld' of society and mixes them with images of religion such as crucifixion and white doves
- Locations include deserts, labour camps and the back yard of a tin house
Editing
- Fairly fast cutting rate
- Goes between main storyline of video and performance clips
- High contrast filter
Camera
- Low angle shot of rapper gives him prevalence in the discourse of the video
6.) Beck 'Black Tambourine' (Levite, 2004)
Mise en Scene
- Entire video based on typewriter text
- Monochromatic
- Performance based video
Editing
- Fast cutting rate of different formations of letters and characters
- Images also increase and decrease in the number of letters
7.) Mister Heavenly 'Bronx Sniper' (Adams+Craig, 2011)
In this video, it is clear that the narrative is the driving aspect of the clip, as there are no shots of the band members on their own or even performing. The video is based on surreal humour which I feel captures and even exaggerates the essence of pre-pubescent/teenage angst. The video shows the boy's fantasy coming true and ultimately taking revenge against his parents, therefore this is a dominant, positive representation of youth, as the father is made to look stupid by his appearance and short temper.
The video also references the transition from boy to man, and mentions the primal action of being part of a group or 'pack', as the father asks his son: 'do you wanna run with the pack?' Later on in the video the doll which becomes a life-size man has a patch on the back of his jacket which reads 'Man Wolfs'. This deliberate spelling error connotes to childhood, as the word 'Wolfs' could be something a child says as they start to learn new features of language, this is then partnered with the word 'Man', which connotes to what the father has said previously about raising his son not to play with dolls, and reinforces the video's sub-text of the course of adolescence.
There is a clear binary opposition in this video: one side being a 'civilised' adult - portrayed by the parents, and the other being an adult who never grew up - portrayed by the dolls. The video is also a metaphor for the helpless boy's anger at his father. The father character is an over-reactive, short-tempered man, who expects his child to grow up the way he has intended him to. He shows a belief in residual male ideology as he believes that boys should not play with dolls. On the other hand, the dolls represent the boy's angst, which is conveyed in how they completely destroy the house and humiliate the boy's parents. The dolls also represent the opposite of how the father expects his son to grow up: they have tattoos and wear similar clothes to that of a biker gang.
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