Moaning Lisa Smile music video analysis

For one of my music video analyses I decided to go with Moaning lisa smile by the band Wolf Alice. I found this video the most interesting because it seemed to follow a particular narrative about the girl who features in the video. The video starts off with a wide shot of a house, which we can presume is the characters, and then several other shots of other locations, only 1-2 seconds long even before any music starts. At this moment, we only hear slight buzzing along with the ambient sounds of birds chirping and cars driving past. After this, the music starts and we are introduced to the main character who is shown in a wide shot in her back yard. This particular bit is interesting as a record player is introduced and as she puts the arm on to make it play, the tempo increases as the main guitar is introduced to give it an upbeat atmosphere. We are then shown a variety of shots of the female dancing, which seems to be paced with the beats of the song as it quickly continues to the first verse of singing vocals.

At this point, we are shown a back of the head shot of the female character walking as the first lyrics "Clinging to love, escape a father and mother" are brought into it. The verses are quite slow as we see the character walking somewhere, we presume it is the main part of the narrative as the tempo immediately increases as she arrives in a building of dancing women. The upbeat chorus and guitar riffs give the video a sense of "rock" which swiftly links into the bands genre of alternative rock and keeps the audience interested as we wonder about the narrative of women dancing and where it's going.

The chorus is then introduced as we start to understand what exactly is occurring in the story the video is telling. We see several groups of women taking part in their own dance routines but all with something different about them, as the main character goes up to one of the groups in a medium shot and a facial expression showing she's slightly hesitant of them. The next shot we see is off the group of girls, they have no dialogue but shake their heads meaning no. We begin to understand that the female wishes to join a dance group but is being turned down, and as the video continues and she's turned down by several other groups; she sit's slouched disappointed at which point the tempo decreases showing a slight turning point in the storyline.

As the relatively slow second verse is introduced, we see a close up of the main character who by her facial expression, is hosting negative feelings about the situation, as she has been rejected several times. This soon changes when the chorus bounces back as a group approach her who host a slightly odd feel about them. This shows an apparent change in the narrative, as things start looking up.

The setting changes to an outside location, after the character and the group who approached her seem to be doing a dance routine of their own. We now feel the narrative has reached a turning point as after being rejected many times, she's finally joined a group. A pan shot of the group is shown as everyone is walking by each other and we see each one as the camera moves from left to right. The main character is in the middle of these, perhaps showing that she has gained confidence and is an overall climax to the story because she has suddenly gotten what she wanted. The lyrics, "it's time to glow, lose your way" play here, showing that it's the groups time to dance and prove everybody wrong, including the people who refused to have the character in their group in the first place.

The next and final scene in the video portray the setting of a dance competition room with a stage and judging panel opposite. We first see a wide shot of another group dancing which escalates to close ups of the judges facial expressions, harbouring what we can tell are quite nonchalant feelings, as they hold up scores on a piece of card. As the bridge of the song plays, the group enter the stage with quite a vibrant and bold out fits, linking into the mise-en-scene. We are introduced to a pan shot of the lower half of the characters legs as they are dressed in high boots and colourful pants. The previous "nonchalant" expressions from the judges soon changes, as the elderly woman judge seems to hold forward her glasses in confusion, and the judge on the left looking shocked. The group begin dancing, as we discover the main character with a completely changed look to what we presume is to fit in with the groups look.

The bridge lyrics stating "It never is enough No, it never is enough" could link with the narrative, as the female character who wanted nothing more than to fit in and be part of a dance group has realised it's simply not important anymore, and is left feeling down as the song fades to an end and holds a bearing smile to the judges, who still remain in shock. Overall, the video harbours a very interesting narrative, which seems to be in pace with the song. For example, the high parts of the story were often paired with the high tempo chorus, which made it more interesting to watch. It had a variety of shots and filming locations and offered several meanings to the lyrics as it could be interpreted in many ways.

R U mine analysis

For my music video analysis I decided to look at Arctic Monkeys’s song ‘R U Mine?’ because I thought it was an interesting example of genre relation. The music video starts off with a man talking, appearing as if he is a radio host of some sort as he introduces the track “you’re listening to Jones’ jukebox, this is a brand new song by the arctic monkeys, it’s called R U Mine, take It away”. This seems to fit in with the style of the video as it appears to be a kind of simple, self-videoed by the band.

The next thing we see is a black and white effect over the Frontman, Alex turner and drummer, Matt helders as they sit in a car. Linking to the mise-en-scene, the outfits appear to be dark clothing, paired with sunglasses which link in extremely well with the rock or alternative genre. The fact that it’s in such dark colours is conventional and conforms to such stereotypes as bands like Arctic Monkeys, who produce rock songs are well known for possessing characteristics which make them fit so well with the genre.

Although the video has no narrative behind it, it’s still very interesting to watch as it looks as though they have simply gotten a video camera, or even a phone, to record them singing or lip-syncing to the song in the car. The frontman, Alex turner sits in the passenger side lip syncing to the song whilst mimicking the guitar and drum as he does hand gestures to match them. The driver, who is also the drummer, Matt helders sits there and lip-syncs to the backup vocals he sings and bangs his drum sticks on the steering wheel. The whole feel of it relates to a kind of amateur vibe as it doesn’t exactly look professional or costly to make, but still show a certain perspective from a rock star as they make it feel very ‘Rockish’

Next, the singer Alex turner grabs the camera to angle it to a close up of his face, as he sings the lyrics “I guess what I’m trying to say is I need the deep end, keep imagining meeting”. He looks in the camera for a few seconds, then out the window which could conform to a stereotype “rockstars” possess, that they are quite arrogant. Throughout, many stereotypes of the genre are conformed, quite possible on purpose. An example of this is when the singer flips down the mirror to comb his hair back into the slick style he has. This arguably is conventional as they are also known for being vain and overly careful of maintaining their appearance. The next shot we see is of another member of the band, lip syncing to the back up vocals “R U Mine tomorrow, or just mine tonight?”. He is sat in the back seat, previously an angle of which recorded Alex and Matt, as to give off the impression that the new member we’re introduced too hand-held recorded it. Thus, enhancing the feel that it’s being made by them, and not by a team of fancy directors and producers. Nick O’Malley, the one we’re just introduced too only stars in it for a short amount of time, perhaps showing the audience that he isn’t the most important member as Alex Turner hogs the spot light for 90% of the video. Understandably, as he is the lead vocalist. They are all continuing to lip sync and do hand gestures suggesting banging drums etc, thus enabling the video to maintain its rock-genre vibes.

Throughout the video, there are very limited shots as the camera doesn’t really cut at all. It seems as though it recorded the whole thing by hand and kept it continuously recording as they lip synced along. Alex turner gets out of the car to mimic playing a guitar with his hands, continuing to give it the rock feel. It also emphasises the movement of the camera as it literally follows him out of the car, instead of cutting and recording it separately. The amateur feel is very enhanced in this video, compared to others by the Arctic Monkeys as it gives off more genre characteristics than ever.

The next shot we see is of a girl walking to where the band start actually playing guitars, and singing. This is the first time actual instruments are introduced as it starts looking like an actual performance because the front man is singing into a microphone, as opposed to lip-syncing the entire video. This could be a climax to a previously long build up to the point where the song reaches it’s rock atmosphere, because of its excessiveness. For example, using a girl is stereotypical as people from the rock genre are known to be ‘womanisers’, also there’s smoke and lights which give it a very real stage-like presence; even though it’s still being hand-held recorded and they are literally on a floor, not far from the car they just left. The shot is a wide shot, as it shows the entirety of the band, rather than just close ups of the lead singer. We zoom in on the drummer as he drums to the pace and the song comes to an end.

The genre of the video is very easily seen, as the amount of conventions and genre stereotypes are countless. The lack of narrative could arguably make it less interesting, but because it’s so different from other videos, being hand-held and all, it becomes very unique. There don’t seem to be any relation of visuals to lyrics as it seems to purely be based off lip syncing through the entire thing, but the use of linking the visuals to the beats, for example banging drum sticks on the steering wheel when drums are heard in the song becomes very interesting as it plays into the song pace and band perspective as it comes to an end and they are performing the thing for real. Amplification seems to be the key here, as it has no illustration, but instead plays of the actual song itself.

Andrew Goodwins theory and its application to our video

Andrew Goodwin is a theorist who came up with a range of different ideas regarding music videos within the media industry, linking to how successful are based on the 6 principles he believes are important elements.

The features he writes about include:

1. Genre representation such as linking a genre such as pop with dance sequences or rock with a performance shot of the band singing. 
2.  A clear link between lyrics and visuals which is usually represented with the use of imagery
3.  A clear link between music and visuals, which for example matches the music through the use of a illustrative, amplificative or disjunctured video technique.
4.  A consistent need of shots such as close ups of the artist or band in order to establish a brand identity for the record label.
5. Intertextual links to other media products, for example TV shows or films
6.  Reference to notion of looking and voyerustic treatment towards the female body.

Our music video will change Goodwins theory, as although the genre is Indie rock, a branch of the well known genre rock, it will not contain any genre representation through the use of performances. Our video will instead portray more of a narrative and atmosphere to it, which only results in a considerably small amount of lip syncing from the protagonist.

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The purpose of a music video

1. What do you think are the main  elements of an album marketing campaign?

 Distribution is an important element involved in an album marketing campaign as it can be through physical or digital release. Through platforms such as Spotify, a music streaming app, people were able to listen to the album without even purchasing it. Another major platform is YouTube which allows fans to listen too it also. In terms of physical release, stores will sell the album and as it sells more and more, it will receive more and more attention from the media. An example is HMV which is a well known music store which has a digital platform as well, giving people the option to purchase the album online on their website, as well as physically going to the store. 

Apps play a major part too, which is a digital platform to interact with listeners and fans. Through popular apps such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc hype can be created about the album which increases it's overall sales as more and more people will hear about it. Artists/bands can also advertise their album via their social media accounts.

Physically, posters and billboards are created to advertise the album and are a major way outside of social media people can hear about a major album release.  This element is also important as it reaches more people all over and can boost recognition of the release. 

Another method could be via media platforms such as music channels, an example of this is UK top 40 and MTV music playlist which play songs that have entered the charts. These are random hits from any range of artists and so often these can boost sales as more people hear about the song when they are featured on tv.

Another is through radio as the same principle applies. 

2. Have you encountered these techniques in your daily life?

Well known bands, such as One Direction, use social media as a major selling point for their music releases. Their fans, named "directioners" rely on the use of their social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram for any announcements of singles they're releasing. Their new single "Drag me down" hit number one straight away through the use of digital sales, meaning so many people bought the song via iTunes and streamed it on YouTube or Spotify that it immediately went viral before the video was even released. The fact that it went viral so quickly meant that it would feature on music channels like UK top 40 which counts down the top 40 songs meant that more people who listen to that channel are also hearing the song, over all increasing sales. 

As a user of social media, One Direction are usually trending meaning you're always know what they're doing in the music industry, this helps them sell more and more as people who aren't technically fans are aware of them, may listen to the song on a whim and like it enough to purchase it. Overall, this helps sales and awareness of the band. 

3. What factors make you 'like' a band and therefore download their music, buy their albums and attend their concert? 

They're many selling points of a successful band which attracts more and more fans. Firstly, image is important as it can give a taste of what kind of music they produce. Typically, if a band were to wear black clothing you could guess that they were perhaps music that dips into the Indie, Rock or Alternative genre. 

The style of music is also very important as it attracts different types of people and fans, pop is controversially the most popular genre as many songs are featured on the UK top 40's song lists. Many pop artist's win awards, and have millions of subscribers or followers on platforms like YouTube and Twitter. A popular genre is also rock/indie which gain fans via social media and word of mouth because most of their songs don't hit the charts and are forced to be spread through other methods. 

Another factor could involve the bands lyrics or type of song. For example, Catfish and the bottlemen sing about personal experiences with girls, evident by their songs "Kathleen" and "Cocoon" which grew popular with many people. 

4. What makes the music video unique? 

They're many elements which make a video unique, firstly is the narrative the video is telling. Although not crucial, it makes a lot of sense to link the video to the lyrics the artist\band are singing as it makes it feel as if it is being told as a story.  Contrary to this, a video which has no correlation to the music could add uniqueness to it as this is not normally done, either way the video should be telling a story even if it isn't in relation to the lyrics as it is more interesting to the audience and could entice them to watch it. 


Variety of shots is also important as it can go hand in hand with the beat and make it a fast paced type of video, these are usually the most popular with people.