Flash the Readies - Susie Lyric Analysis, Music Video Ideas

Flash the Readies – Susie

I’m leaving the station and cold weather kills my past lifetime

Establishing shot of the roof top which the actor is standing on. Close up shot of the actor breathing out steam (implying it’s cold) direct link between the lyrics and the visuals.

But I’m not lonely, for so many years, so many years...

Long shot of the actor from behind as the audience sees him fall down

My new location? Case for some fucking analyst, now I am going to leave the town.

Flash back (in black and white) to the actor walking down the dark alley way to meet his girlfriend which get into a fight and end up breaking up. All of this will use a range of shots from mid shot to long shot

The one and only air that we breathe is cold as we are, cold as we are cold as the...

Eye level shots of the band performing, main focus on the lead singer

Fools that never shed their tears when they lose someone they will miss

Close up shot of the lead singer during the chorus

Flakes are falling on my outlying wills and they wake a new lease of life

Mid shot of the lead singer singing this time during the flash back as the camera is in front of him as he is walking forward/towards it

My vacation will never end, will never end will never end

No performing is involved this time, however a long shot is used on the lead singer and his girlfriend (the flash backs will show different moments of the actors past)

And the fools will never shed their tears when they lose someone they will miss

Back to the band performing, close up shots of the lead singer

I’m waking into the night, where everything seems so bright

Late evening, it's getting dark and we see the lead singer walking towards the building we see him jumping off at the beginning. For this there could be a range of shots used, either an eye line match or simple a long shot from behind of the lead singer showing the building and him walking towards it

And road is running on and soon I am going to be at home

High angle shot of the lead singer going up the stairs

I’m staring at the scene wondering what it might mean

Back to the flash back of the lead singer and his girlfriend laying on a roof top of their house looking into the sky

As candles light the sea of raindrops with no gravity

Lead singer is playing guitar under his girlfriends windows during the rain

Fools that never shed their tears when they lose someone they will miss (x2)

Back to the band performing, close up shots on the lead singer and other members of the band. However seeing as the song is almost finished other ideas are to be considered which would be more to do with the narrative.

I’m leaving the station and cold weather kills my past lifetime

Point of view shot in which we see eyes almost closing and his girlfriend shouting for help

Note: The flash backs may not be black and white. This is still to be considered and evaluated.

Textual Analysis of Music Video

The music video that I am going to analyse is dance genre music and it was directed by ThirtyTwo (Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern). This genre has the following characteristics: fast pace, upbeat, sudden change in pace (a.k.a. beat drop) and the music video would never have a lead singer present or any performance at all, making it a narrative based music video. The whole video is an intertextual reference to the daytime television talk show 'Jeremy Kyle Show', but instead the talk show in the music video is called ‘The Patrick Chase show’ named after the presenter that we see our screen as soon as the video starts. There is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, examples of which can be found throughout the whole music video. For example “No where you can hide” and we get a shot of the camera filming during the show. This suggests to the audience that Patrick Chase is always being watched and is unable to have personal space. However this is a miss-leading intro as we soon find out as the music video proceeds.

As the music video progresses the audience can see that the lyrics may contradict the visuals. Example of this is “Can’t go on this way” and “Things have got to change”. These lyrics contradict the actions of the actor lives a wild life style that some audience may even consider sadistic for his status of being a daily TV show presenter and accusing his guests of being bad people and even telling them how they ‘disgust’ him. Furthermore at the start we get montage editing of the actual ‘Patrick Chase show’ and the use of low angles and high angles outline who is dominant during the show and who are being looked down on. Clearly low angle shots were used on Patrick chase and high angle shots on his guests, making Patrick dominant in the current situation. Also the uses of lighting during the ‘Patrick Chase show’ makes Patrick seem like a righteous person. We can see this during the last low angle shot of him with the bright light over his head which appears like a halo. Few shots after this we see Patrick in his car raising his head up making it very suspicious for the audience and imply that he has just taken drugs.

Furthermore during the whole music video there is a lot of fast pace editing with slow camera movements, which makes the music video easy to understand and engage with as we see the crazy lifestyle of Patrick Chase who at the start of the music video is seen as a role model for his audience. However as the music video progresses it is obvious to the audience that Patrick is a hypocrite, who does exactly the same things as the guests of his show without getting judged by anyone. On the other hand almost near the end of the video there is a close up shot of a picture of his family with the lyrics saying ‘When you’re gone’. This implies to the audience that Patrick is suffering from depression and is finding every possible way to get his mind off things, further implying that their death could possibly be his fault. On the other hand this may not be the case and Patrick could be suffering from depression after divorce. There are a lot of theories to attempt to explain his sadistic behaviour and life style. However from the lyrics the audience would suspect him to be divorced.

Due to the genre of the music there are no solos present in the song itself, therefor there are no solo parts illustrated by the music video. In addition, seeing as the music video is narrative based rather than performance based there would most likely be no solos present in the video. However the video itself changes pace with the music. Example of this can be found from 3:04 to 3:20 when there is fast pace montage editing to follow the beat, in addition to Patrick Chase having sexual intercourse with the beat. Also during that time, the fast pace montage editing has been used to represent the frenzy of his life, showing everything he has been through over one night. At 3:20 he crashes his car into a lamp post, which can be a hidden meaning behind his life crashing the same way. At 3:30 we see Patrick Chase driving to work the following morning (judging from the lighting one would believe it is morning) with his looking like a mess with his dirty costume with a hint of white powder which further suggests to the audience that Patrick Chase is a drug user.

The music video is actually different compared to other music videos by this group. In another music video which I have looked at for comparison there is some performance present although 'End Credits' is the same genre as 'Let you Go'. However the performance was not done by a member of a group. In addition there was some footage present from a film called 'Harry Brown' which is also the intertextual reference of the music video. From all this one would believe that the target audience would be people over the age of 17 who live in Britain. This is due to the intertextual references and even some of the lyrics (in certain songs) could only be comprehended by the British audience.  Over all the music video is easy to follow and engage with, not challenging the audience too much.

Textual Analysis of a Music Video

Music video that I am going to analyse is by All American Rejects – Dirty Little Secrets, it was directed by Marcos Siega and the genre of this song is POP rock which differs from the Rock genre by being more mainstream and use light hearted themes to relate to the audience. Additionally the music video itself is performance based. This means that the band focuses more on the actual performance in their video rather than narrative or the actual concept. There is however, despite it being more performance based, a direct relationship between the lyrics and the video itself that makes it more entertaining for the audience rather than just watching the band perform. Example of this can be found across the whole video, there are close up shots of flash cards being held by different people with different writing on them and most of them are in fact ‘Dirty Secrets’ or just things a person would not tell their friends or relatives.

During the chorus ‘I’ll keep you my dirty little secrets’ there would always be a zoom in on a flash card which has a secret written on it. This creates a challenge for the audience, creating curiosity as to what is actually written on the flash cards. Furthermore because the song is about ‘Dirty Little Secrets’ some people in the music video have their faces blurred, covered with a bag or covered by the flash card itself, this represents their humiliation over their secrets. In addition to this the lyrics contradict the music video because the audience gets to read peoples secrets and there is a verse that says ‘Don’t tell anyone or it will be just another reject’. During the close-up shots of the lead singer, he makes direct eye contact with the camera at certain times. He is fully aware he is being watched and this suggests the band being exhibitioned to the audience. On the other hand it’s only the lead singer who makes direct eye contact with the camera, but when there are mid shots and close up shots of other performers from the band, none of them do so. This emphasises the importance of the lead singer in this music video.

The editing of the music video is fast paced with slow camera movements and panning shots/close up shots of the flash cards, giving the audience time to read. There is a guitar solo along with drums playing and close up shots on the performers from 2:04 to 2:16 and during this time there are close up shots of the guitar solo performer along with two more flash cards and the drum player, there is no singing present during that time. During the chorus the pace speeds up and comes back to its original pace during the verse. There are a number of different camera work used like crabbing, tracking and panning shots when showing the flash cards, this helps the audience see the location of the person holding the flash card, as well as chiaroscuro lighting is used on these people to represent their dark secrets, the members of the band are also performing in a dark area which suggests that they also have dark secrets. The background of the stage is covered in the flash cards that are being shown in close up throughout the whole music video; this may suggest that some of them may relate to the members of the band.

There are a few similarities between the band’s music videos and as comparison I have decided to look at one of their other songs ‘Move Along’. Both of these songs belong to the same genre, however ‘Move Along’ has a much faster pace and faster montage editing, this is due to the different meanings behind the songs. However there are a few similarities between the two music videos. For example: Montage editing and close up shots of the lead singer. The close up shots are very important when promoting the band and in both videos close up shots are not only used on the lead singer but also on the other members of the band, although they may not be close up shots, the use of mid shots of other members of the band emphasises the importance of the lead singer. The similarities between these videos would be due to the fact that they are both the same genre and already have an existing audience that would watch the music video and have to be familiar with their style in order to be challenged by any rapid change.

The music video is influenced by a photographer which took pictures of people holding up flash cards with different meanings behind them. Making it very simple and straightforward. This could be due to the target audience being teenage girls/boys that would be more interested in the actual ‘Dirty Secrets’ that people may have and possibly even relate to them. Additionally the intertextual references in the other music video are unclear or may not be present, which further backs up my point about the band being more performance based rather than narrative or concept based and actually treating the music video like a live concert with a few extra shots of different concepts to make the video more entertaining and interactive for the audience. Seeing as it would be rather challenging to create a music video that would be interesting and challenging for the target audience as they are very likely to get bored and not watch the music video so instead there is more emphasis on the performance.

In conclusion this music video would attract the target audience by being original and simple, it would also make the audience actually engage with the video by attempting to read what is written on the flash cards. The song itself is very catchy and fast pace with the video being able to keep up with the pace but at certain points there are slow camera movements in order for the audience to be able to read the flash cards. 

How a star’s image develops over time through music video

I am going to analyse how Christina Aguilera’s image has changed over the years. Starting from her first son ‘Genie in a Bottle’ to one of her latest songs ‘You Lost Me’. Additionally I will be looking at how Christina Aguilera is represented in her other videos ‘Dirrty’ and ‘Candy Man’ in comparison to the first music video and the latest. Born on the December 18^th 1980 in Pennsylvania U.S. she had her first appearance on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search Program and went on to star in Disney Channel’s television series ‘The Mickey Mouse club’ from 1993 to 1994. Christina Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording ‘Reflection’, the theme song for the animated film ‘Mulan’. She is working in PoP, R&B, soul dance and adult contemporary music genre.

In Christina Aguilera's first music video which was 'Genie in a Bottle' she is represented as an innocent teenager. Taking into account her age during that time (19) this would be the most suitable representation. In that music video there are a lot of close up shots of Aguilera which suggests main focus on actually promoting her as a singer seeing as it's her first music video. Furthermore her clothing is not revealing in contrast to other female artists during that time, however the only body part on display most of the time is her stomach which makes her more appealing to the male audience. In this music video as well as all others Christina Aguilera is shown as the main character during the story. The singing is also always performed in her music videos. When 'Genie in a Bottle' was released in 1999 it became the biggest hit during that time. Also the year before Britney Spears released her first song 'Baby One More Time'. Which is almost the same style as 'Genie in a Bottle'. Both of these singers were only teenagers at that time. This would suggest that the audience was interested in young talented singers.

As Aguilera became an adult, her music videos have also became more mature. The best example of this would be 'Dirrty' where Aguilera is represented as the dominant female character surrounded by sweaty males. In addition to this she is fighting in a boxing ring while the men watch her. This emphasises 'girl power' and the fact that Aguilera has control over the situation by winning the fight. Furthermore Aguilera is wearing a lot more revealing clothes throughout the music video. Target audience of this music video would most likely be males due to this, seeing as females would most likely feel unpleasant about it. Four years later, Aguilera has released a new single 'Candyman'. In comparison to the 'Dirrty' music video, 'Candyman' is aimed more for the female audience. One could gather from the fact that Aguilera is not as sexualised as she was in her previous video and the style of the video would be appealing to a range of audience seeing as it also contains a lot of intertextualities. All of Aguilera's music videos are performance based with a possible story line in certain music videos. This means that the record companies promotes the star before the actual song. However this said, the songs I have chosen have been a big hit during their time.

Another four years have passed and Aguilera released a new single called 'You Lost Me'. The audience can see a big difference between her first song and this one. From a young teenage girl not knowing what to do with boys to a mature woman suffering a break up due to cheating. Over the eleven years Aguilera has changed a lot, this is mostly due to her growing up and gaining fame. Additionally her songs have became more aimed at the female audience rather than the male audience. This could be gathered from the 'You Lost Me' music video, as there is no male gaze present in that music video.

Analysing Narrative in Music Videos

Lady Gaga – Papparazzi

The music video does in fact follow a typical Todorovian narrative model which makes it simple and straight forward for the audience and allowing them to engage with the story in this video. There are all five stages present in the following music video. Equilibrium at the start of the video showing Lady Gaga making out with her boyfriend. Disruption when the boyfriend throws Lady Gaga off the edge. Recognition, Lady Gaga coming out of her limousine and being carried to her wheelchair. Reparation, Lady Gaga gets her revenge and kills her boyfriend. New Equilibrium, Lady Gaga being arrested. Over all the music video has a linear narrative making it easy for the audience to understand what is going on.

It is easy for the audience to identify the Propps characters in this music video and they are as follows:  Hero (Lady Gaga), Villian (the boyfriend). One could argue that the maid and the men which carry Lady Gaga on to the wheel chair may appear as helpers, however they appear only once throughout the whole music video and cannot be classified as such. In general the audience would see Lady Gaga as the protagonist and her boyfriend as the antagonist and throughout the whole music video there are certain Binary Oppositions which make the audience engage with the video. For example: Fame vs Privacy, Good vs Evil and possible others. On the other hand one could argue that Lady Gaga is not exactly the protagonist of this music video seeing as she murders her boyfriend in revenge.

Montage editing has been used in order to shorten the music video, however as mentioned before the structure is linear, providing the audience with the full story of the music video and does not confuse the audience and possibly make them watch the music video again. In the following music video there are no enigma codes seeing as the director would want the music video to be simple and straight forward and not challenge the audience too much. However in order to compensate for the lack of enigma codes there are a few intertextualities present. For example the gold metallic costume is a reference to a film called ‘Metropolis’ which is an old film and only a certain age group of audience would understand this reference. Also after Lady Gaga has been thrown off the edge and lies on the ground with the paparazzi taking pictures can be referred to a film ‘Vertigo’ which is also an old film. Furthermore near the end of the music video when Lady Gaga puts poison in her boyfriends drink, the costume she is wearing reminds the audience of a cartoon character ‘Minnie Mouse’ which is an innocent and childlike character and that image is the complete opposite of the main artist.

In conclusion the music video is simple and straight forward for the audience to engage with some intertextualities which make the audience more exited after being able to understand the reference creating a quiz like feeling for the music video.