Research: Music Video Analysis

Artist: Emeli Sande
Song: Clown
Release: 6th December 2012
Record Company: Capitol Records
Director: Wiz

Camera:

                

Throughout the music video of 'Clown' By Emeli Sande, it is shown to use a variety of different camera angles. The first camera angle that is used in the music video is a close up of the women as she walks into the court. By using this shot type it makes the video more interesting to the audience as it allows them to see the expression and emotion on her face. Adding on to this, it connotes the idea that this is place that she may not want to be in or can't get out of this situation. The use of close ups in the video allows the artists characters emotions more clearly. The emotions this includes is the idea of panic and fear as this situation of being interrogated by the police is very serious and can make you worry, as well as this the shot also shows the close up in the angle that makes it look as she is having to look up to the policeman. The idea of this shows the power and authority that this character may have and the idea that this could could also make the character feel very intimidated.

Another camera angle that is included within this music video is a low angle shot when the artist is singing in the dark dimmed room. This type of shot is repeated throughout the video, to allow the audience the opportunity to see more of the artist. Having individual artist shots is helpful for advertisement as it allows the audience to see more screen time of the artist them self, as they are the main reason that they have decided to watch this video in the first place. Going into more detail about this specific shot type, it can be seen that when the artists character is in the dark dimmed room, it is showing the idea that her actions have meant that the outcome is going to lead her into prison. The way that this is shown is through the idea of the darkness, as this is representing what it would be like in a prison cell. As well as the darkness, the idea of being alone signifies the idea that she has committed a crime that is going to lead her in to jail.

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This music video also starts with an establishing shot of the location, where there is an officer stood at the door way point at someone outside. This shot allows the audience to be able to see the view of the entire location, and can get a feeling on how the video is being set up. From this shot allows the audience to make the assumption that the artist is going to be the person next called up the officers, and this story line is going to be followed throughout the video. This shot is beneficial to the video as it is a good, strong beginning for the video and is likely to make the audience want to continue watching.

Editing:

Editing in a music video can also affect the way that a music video is presented to the audience. The first editing technique that is noticed in the music video is the idea of focusing. Throughout this video the focusing is used to allow Emeli's character to be in focus during a shot, and the background is blurred out. This piece of editing is beneficial to the video as it shows the audience the importance of her character, as it takes the focus away from other people in the background and makes her more noticeable. Advancing on from this the use of focus could of been to show how isolated her character is and the idea that the officers are working together as a team to get every piece of information out of her. Isolating the character may make the audience side with the artist's character and want to understand more about why she is there in the first place.

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Another use of editing in the video is the idea of cross cutting. Cross cutting is the known as an editing technique that allows the video to alternate from one location to another when editing. Using this technique means that the video can be kept interesting for the audience, as the change of location from the dark room where the artist is singing to the artist being interrogated by the officer is in contrast from one another as their is more going on in the court room, with more happening in the background, allowing them to keep the audience engaged, whereas their is clips that is very basic in the location of a dark room where the artist is just singing, allowing it to be more direct address, and trying to focus their audiences attention on the artist.

Mise-en-scene:

One thing that can be noticed when looking at the mise-en-scene in the music video is the costuming. For the policeman in the video, their costuming was very obvious and had every little detail thought about from the boots, belt, hat and gloves. The detail to the costume improved the quality of the video as it showed the thought that had been put into it, and allowed the role to be played a lot easier, and made them be able to portray the story line. Another costume that is noticeable is the costume of Emeli, of which is a Black blouse and skirt. This costume is something that fits with the narrative of the video as the idea of this clothing is showing the character in a professional way.

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Another thing that can be seen in this music video is the idea of the use of the colour black. The colour black is the effect that is used throughout the video. In the video the courtroom is a lot lighter than the artist, allowing it to show the artist to become more exposed and show the vulnerability of the artist when she is getting interrogated by the policeman. Using the colouring of black means that it made the video throughout naturally darker. Having this being used allows the audience to be able to see the narrative of the video, rather than focusing on the way that the characters look throughout the video.