music video analysis = Slam, Pendulum

The video for Pendulum’s “slam” is incredibly individual and entertaining yet very simple in its filming, editing and narrative.
The video beings to set the scene of the narrative and events that will take place within it in unison with the introduction in the song building to the music. The first shot is a high angle shot looking down on a car being driven by a man through a small road with a sign at the end of it. As the car approaches the sign the shot changes to dolly shot that gets closer to the sign reading “Road Closed” as if we were the front of the vehicle. The man’s face is then revealed in a close up shot into his mirror followed by the camera panning round from the back of the car to the front of it to a mid shot of the man sitting in it.
A close up of the back seat and in particular a gym bag being removed from the car suggest to the audience that this will play a part in the narrative and its necessity to the man will be revealed later thus keeping the audience’s interest. Another example of a close up is when the man takes a bite from what appears to be a Cornish pasty the audience will relate back to later in the video.
The producers and makers of the video have done their best to include as many interesting features in terms of filming and being artistic as possible with over cranking being used in places combined with an effect that wipes peoples movements across the screen as if they’ve been smudged. In contrast, around twenty seconds later the man is standing in the middle of the street with people walking past him and activities happening very fast.
Quick editing is evident when the music has three quick, successive drum hits and the man starting off quite far back is suddenly right in front of the camera. Point of view shots are also used from the point of view of the main character looking at other people walking past him and giving him funny looks.
Around one minute twenty seconds the use of the bag is revealed when the man removes a CD player and a CD with “slam, Pendulum” written on it. This happens in a number of different locations in different streets. Then as the music speeds up the main character beings to take off his tie, tie it round his head and rip his shirt off to reveal a rather large stomach and unfit figure. He then, in unison with the music, starts to dance topless in the street with on lookers amazed. This is the individual and entertaining element of the video, something viewers will find amusing and want to watch again and they will want to show their friends etc. which means it gains a lot of views and popularity (ultimately popularity for the band and their music).
The rest of the video is just composed using different types of shots of the man dancing to add variation to it and ensure it doesn’t become too boring to watch. The editing fits in well with the music. Transitions between shots are fast when the music is and slow when the music is slow. A good example of that is when the music slows down and takes a break, the man takes a breather and the shots of him in frame become longer but when the music comes back the shots are short and sharp to allow the viewers to get a real feel of the music and feel involved.

Questionnaire summary

I got 6 female and 4 boys to fill in my questionnaire. These are my results in a summary.
Drum n Bass and Hip-Hop were the preferred music genres out of the rest of them. They all enjoy watching music videos and the most popular music channel between them is MTV having 9 people saying they enjoy it and Kiss is then second. When i asked the question of if they enjoy seeing artists in their music video 8 people said they enjoy seeing the artists and 2 people said they didn't mind. 6 people said they like watching narratives in music videos and 4 said they didn't mind. All of my people i got to fill in the questionnaire said they like watching music videos on the TV and then 8 of them said they like watching music videos on myspace. 7 people said they enjoy watching live performances in music videos and 8 people said that the music videos they watch change their opinion of the song if it is bad.

50 cent - candy shop. Music Video analysis.

50 cent - Candy Shop

In this music video, the visuals are illustrating and amplifying the lyrics throughout. The video begins with an establishing shot of the location that the video is going to be set in. There is a close up shot of the name of the castle it is set in being “candy shop” and then the camera pans around the courtyard showing the exact setting. The lighting is dark throughout showing the place to be deserted and eerie and making the viewer want to know what is inside. A red Ferrari pulls up on the drive and the camera does an extreme close up on 50 cent’s feet as he steps out the car. The camera focuses on the trainers that he is wearing as they are G-Unit ones which are his own brand. Focusing on the trainers is key iconography in a hip-hop music video as this is the image people go for and are normally very proud of their clothing and footwear.
When the castle door is opened it then reveals a room of colourful girls wearing little clothing, all being very pretty. This is also a key iconography that occurs in hip- hop music videos as well as flashy, fast cars, both of which encourage voyeurism. The video being shot at night conveys a sense of danger outside but as he enters into the house he is safe with all the girls. There are a lot of wide shots throughout showing the viewer a better picture of the location and making them more involved.
Throughout the video the girls are being really seductive to the rapper, 50 cent, showing how everyone is looking up to him and how important he is in their lives. When 50 cent walks into the room all the girls stop what they are doing and part for him to walk down the middle, the camera follows his movements. This emphasises the power that he has and the “godlike” figure he is to all of the females surrounding him. The editing in the music video is very fast paced showing the speed of the song, making it more upbeat and catchy. The way the audience like to relate to the video is created by the speed also because if it was slow paced it would not match the music and the target audience would be getting bored.
In the middle of the video there is a scene where there is a group of girls dressed in red shiny clothing making them stand out from the dark room and making them seem seductive and sexy. There is smoke around them on the floor emphasizing their bodies. There is an extreme close up on one of the ladies behind which is also an iconography of hip hop music videos again encouraging voyeurism. There is also a scene where a mid-shot is used and 50 cent is surrounded by black walls where women have been painted the same colour to blend in, They then start dancing adding to the gothic look of the music video making the house seem eerie and lonely.
There is a shot when girls are in a bath pouring chocolate all over each others bodies, this is emphasizing the luxury of it all and displaying the wealth throughout the video. There are a few over-the-shoulder shots throughout making the audience of the music video feel nosey yet still part of the scene. There are a lot of close up shots of 50 cent with girls all over him and them teasing him, this showing how wanted he is by the girls in the video and possibly making the audience feel as sense of jealousy aswel.
At the end of the video there is an extreme close up of a bubble-gum being blown and popping. This then leads on to 50 cent sitting in a car outside a drive-through of a fast food restaurant called candy shop. There is a close up on his face when he is being woken up by the bubble gum popping and him realising he has actually only been dreaming. The close up on his face emphasizes how he is feeling at the time so the audience can relate.
Overall, the video is an image of a “real” hip-hop music video with its meaning conveyed through the song with the lyrics and music.