Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai and Im On A Boat

Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai contains many signifiers such as a crow, beetle and blood within his music video, which gives the video quite a dark connotation, and of course, insanity.

To begin with, the audience instantly notice a clinical mise-en-scene, and the bleak white colour connotes a feeling of emptiness. The beginning mid-shot of the setting focuses on Jamiroquai's entrance, which is him sliding down the symmetrical room and landing in front of the camera. Throughout the beginning of the music video, the camera is held very steady throughout the beginning scenes, enabling the audience to focus on Jamiroquai's dancing, as the editing of the video remains quite slow paced, as the camera doesn't switch angles that much. For example, the steady pace movement of the camera matches the symmetrical feel to the video, and is in fact used as a hooking technique due to the fact the audience are completely involved in Jamiroquai's dancing.

Another hooking technique which is used to engage the audience is the moving furniture, which of course connotes insanity. The moving furniture also connotes a sense of mystery within the music video, as the audience can associate the moving furniture with the supernatural. This technique is followed by the camera panning upwards into a high angle of a crow flying above, which furthermore connotes insanity and the supernatural, and the colour black of the crow and beetle contrasts against the clinical white of the setting, making them stand out more. After the camera pans down and focuses on the beetle crawling beneath, it pans up again into a mid shot of a group of white dances, allowing the audience to fully engage into the chorus of the song. As the chorus is playing, you can still notice the black beetle crawling down the wall, which connotes darkness upon the video, despite the sing itself being quite up beat. However, the clinical setting matches the lyrics, as Jamiroquai mentions the future, and the clinical white setting can itself be interpreted as futuristic.

There's one shot where Jamiroquai slides to the camera, and despite the camera staying steady, it turns into a extreme close up of his face, allowing the audience to see his facial expression. However, toward the end of the music video, the camera pans down and the audience see blood appear on the floor, which connotes darkness, and again the red contrasts strongly against the white setting. Therefore, this shows that music video defiantly connotes insanity, and furthermore, connotes a sense of darkness.

Im On A Boat

I'm On A Boat is a music video, which is clearly mocking rap artists, from the over use of swear words and exaggerated mise en scene of the boat.

The music video begins with a mid shot of a group of guys eating breakfast in a basic mise en scene of a kitchen. The beginning shot is effective in the way that at this point there is no music playing, therefore the audience are purely just focusing on the men's conversation - which it's made clear that there acting very immature. The shot then transitions into a panning long shot of a mise en scene of a boat in the sea, and then into a mid shot of the men standing on the boat. The colour at this point in preliminarily blue and white, connoting the sea, and quite an open air feel. The editing is quite fast paced, and uses a variety of shots, ranging from panning mid shots, and close ups of the guys rapping. It becomes very apparent to the audience that these are clearly three men mocking rappers, and you can tell this from there over the top use of dress code and "bling."The use of the low angle shot used makes the men seem powerful and loud, furthermore portraying certain aspects that a typical R&B video has.

The shots being used aren't held as steady shots, instead the camera is shaky, and the purpose of these shots gives a motion of waves in a sea, matching the mise en scene of a boat. The camera continues to stay "shaky" throughout, and becomes more exaggerated when the mise en scene changes to the men rapping from inside the boat. The lighting is very effective, as it shines through window, giving the effect of actually blinding the audience, resulting in the audience engaging more in the song.

The main hooking techniques of this music video is the way that the men act and rap within the video, and are clearly acting immature in the way that they are dancing. Their costumes are also a hooking technique as it engages the audience in the genre of music, for example the suits and hats. Overall, this video is clearly amusing to the audience and clever in the way that it mocks R&B rap artists.

Music Video's

My un-conventional music video is Afrika Shox

I chose Afrika Shox as my unconventional video because it stands out amongst the typical music video's you see with pop/rock/R&B bands etc. For example, Afrika Shox is quite a un-settling video with quite disturbing scenes, such as the mise-en-scene is quite un-nerving and makes the audience feel uncomfortable when watching it. For example, the way the camera tracks and pans until the audience are introduced with a mid-shot of a man who is obviously in pain, and almost looks as if he has been possessed. The way that the music video fallows his struggle as he wonder's round through a busy city stood out for me, as it's enticing the audience to feel guilty towards him; not a typical storyline you see with other conventional music video's. Therefore I chose Afrika Shox as it was a chilling music video directed and produced by Chris Cunningham, and didn't contain the same techniques and hooks that you usually see with other music video's.

My conventional music video is Fall Out Boy - This Ain't a Scene

I chose This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arm's Race by Fall Out Boy, because in terms of it's hooks and techniques it's extremely conventional and typical of a rock music video. For instance, the band playing in a recording studio is a typical mise-en-scene which I have seen many times before, and furthermore the way the film is shot is very conventional. For example, the camera is held quite steady throughout, with mainly a range of mid shots and close up shots of the band performing and the "shock and impressed reactions" of the other people watching them in the recording studio.

Furthermore, this music video raises certain questions. For example, as you watch it, you can't help but wonder if Fall Out Boy are almost mocking themselves and their own inadequate interpretation of being a rock band? Or if there irony is being pointed more at the rock/music.hip hop industry itself? For instance, at certain points in the video whilst the band is performing in a recording studio, the camera pans to a mid shot of certain hip hop artists, (we can tell they are rap/hip hop artists by there symbolic dress sense of heavy gold "chains" and bright baggy "gangster" clothes, connoting an idea that they believe themselves to be "cool"). Therefore, producing an image that Fall Out Boy are perhaps mocking there type of music? Although, are Fall Out Boy simply exploring cultural ideologies internalize the arms industry? This video makes it difficult to distinguish between weather or not they are in fact mocking the image they utilise, or if they are reinforcing the video as a domain of actual, good rock stars.
Therefore, I chose this video as my conventional video because it didn't hold anything unique about it, and raised a number of questions of who the irony of there video is actually pointed out.

The music video I like is Feeder - Feeling A Moment

I chose Feeder, Feeling A Moment as the music video I liked, because the way that it was shot attracted me to it. For example, I liked the way that the camera panned round the band, and quite fast paced in terms of editing, as to me that kept the music video interesting, and the range of close up shots used of the guitarist I thought was quite effective. I also quite liked the Mise en scene used of the band playing on the roof top, as I thought it was more effective than a Mise en scene of the band playing in a garage of music studio. (A setting which is often used in music video's, therefore this type of mise en scene soon becomes boring to an aduience.)

Throughout this music video, what furthermore draws me in the spectacular sweeping camera movement while the band is performing on the roof top, which perhaps, is a symbol of the band attempting to break America like so many previous bands have tried to do. The animation along in this video creates good over powering effects which enhances the songs power itself, hitting the audience with the creativity and smooth camera movements. The desaturated palette of this video is unusual, yet produces a more powerful and constructive image.
Overall, I personally like this music video, despite it being 4 minutes, 19 seconds long, which means it does drag on, yet I feel that the music video does the song itself justice.

First Post

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