Music Vid Analysis 1

ACT: Bee Gees

TRACK: Stayin' Alive

YEAR: 1977

DIRECTOR: 

GENRE: Disco

MAIN AUDIENCE: M/F 15-35

 Opening shots are of abandoned and derelict buildings. We initially see no performers although the opening of the track is playing. This creates a narrative enigma as we have no clues as to the location or characters.

The three performers are introduced in a mid-shot that tracks with them as they walk. This signifies their importance, particularly the one who is centrally framed.

Another tracking shot; this follows the performers from the other side of the derelict train carriage.

 This is the first full body shot of all three performers walking together.

The mise-en-scene is notable as it depicts a run-down and decrepit location, similar to a studio back lot that in the earlier days of Hollywood film-making would've featured a number of permanent standing sets.

The central framing and zoom on the lead performer here reinforces the notion that he is the most important.

Another 'travelling' shot that features all three performers together moving across the landscape. These shots are used to fill in the breaks between the chorus and the verse.

The low angle here reinforces the performers importance and dominance. Still, the backdrop is quite striking and the three appear small next to it.

The lead also has many close ups which the other performers don't have. This would also reinforce his dominance. At this point, the video reuses various shots and some complete clips from earlier points.

The joint arm pointing action would signify that the climax of the song has been reached.

The performers grow increasingly small, and the long shadows of their surroundings would suggest that the day is drawing to a close, and so is the song.

This shot seems to suggest that they are travelling on a train which is slowly moving away.

Group Planning

For our group Mini-vid, we had to come up with 60 seconds of a music video and then plan and shoot it. Afterwards we would each edit an individual version of it and add effects, utilising Final Cut Pro to the best of our abilities.

The track we chose was Stayin' Alive - a cover version by Ozzy Osbourne. Roughly the opening minute of the track would be used to create the video, as our concept matched the track in that both featured a long introduction before the song started.

Our main idea was originally thought up by George, and it created a narrative around a character who would eventually be played by Jake; this showed his entry to the school and his journey through the main hall and into various corridors. The rest of the group recruited various extras, who along with ourselves, filled in the background and played the rest of the parts. Very few props were needed for the video and we all wore our own clothes. The main notable exceptions were the large pair of mirrored sunglasses that Jake's character had to wear, and various paper balls that needed to be thrown to create an atmosphere of chaos.

After the narrative was shot, including scenes where characters were required to be throwing the paper balls and running past each other, we moved onto some performance footage. This consisted of Jake lip-synching to the track against a plain white background, so that it would be easier to layer him into existing shots in our edits. It also was necessary as it was realised that in our haste to shoot all the footage we had neglected to include any shots of lip-synching in the narrative - something that was vitally required for the video.

Originally further scenes of Jake's character in the corridors were to be filmed and the chaos going on the background would've been longer and more elaborate, but these were cut due to both timing concerns and the practicalities of organising a large group of people to perform such an elaborate routine - especially as any finished result would've had to have been shot from several different angles!

Mini-Vid Editing

I started with the original, unaltered, track, with video to be added later. The track provided a structure for the footage to follow, and ensured that the timings would remain accurate throughout.

My pitch

My pitch for the track I chose and my concept for a music video.

Urban Hype - Trip to Trumpton

Trip to Trumpton is a dance track released by the group Urban Hype in the early 1990's. It followed a short-lived trend of basing dance tracks upon audio sampling from various TV shows of the previous few decades; other examples of this included the track Sesames Treet by Smart E's. In this case, the track features audio snippets from late 60's children's show Trumpton, and the video also uses several visual references to this show.

The fast paced editing is common for such a fast, upbeat track, and the surreal imagery helps to reinforce the link with the 60's culture and style. The track's lyrics solely consist of quotes lifted directly from the show and the track itself opens with music taken from the show, before becoming more traditionally dance based. The video includes performance footage, notably mixed with deliberately surreal clips.

Mini-Vid Task Explained

The task set is to create a music video for 30-60 seconds of an existing track; we have each been given a selection of songs to choose from. The actual content of the video can be anything from a humorous remake of the original video, similar to Sweding, to a completely original idea that can have very little to do with the song and lyrics. This task is designed to test creativity and demonstrate effective group participation.

My tracks

This is a list of the tracks I was given to choose between. They all have an old-skool dance genre.

The Shamen - Move Any Mountain

Urban Hype - Trip to Trumpton

Smart E's - Sesames Treet

Bomb the Bass - Beat Dis

Timo Maas - Pictures

Music vid pitch

Urban Hype - Time for Trumpton

A2 Brief

A promotional package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following options:


1. a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);

2. a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).