Narrative, Conceptual and performance

Narrative, conceptual and performance video analysis

Narrative

This video had a strange narrative to me but from what i understood is that the video was about Justin Bieber paying a man to do a fake kidnapping to him and his girlfriend where they would then be taken to a party. At first it was not clear so i have watched this vdieo multiple time to understand it and this is the narrative i have decided to follow.

The video is in a chronological order which is clear by the certain cuts it does for example justin outside in the rain to entering a apartment wet also some slight cuts for example when he starts making out with the girl we then have cuts showing clothes going off implying they are having sex however we dont see it and then see a mid shot of justin putting a shirt back on with the girl laying behind him. As a narrative video it is always good to have good locations which is the case in this video and if not a good location it has been changed by certain mise en scene such as lighting to make it an interesting place. An example is the motel which you think is a very bleak and boring place however they add a red mood lighting making it have a certain loving effect which relates to the love making of Justin and the girl. The ending part which has them in the skate park having a big party still follows a narrative of them having a good time and meeting towards the end of the party sequence however it then turns more conceptual as we see all of these shots of people skating up a ramp rather than following Justin around the party.

The mise en scene plays a large part in making this video work straight from the start where we see the star (justin bieber) giving money to a shady guy out front of a motel. The man is seen as shady because he is dressed all in black with a hood up and then we have the cliche setting of a motel and the rain falling. This is cliche because every time something bad happens in a film or tv show it will often have something to do with a motel. Clothing for Justin Bieber and the girl are very basic and didn't tell me much about them or what they could be outside of this situation. Mood lighting is used to set the scene as very loving because it is red and this is a colour often represented with love and the idea of loving lighting matches the scene. As the people break in with the masks on the masks are seen first which is a representation of a crime because people wouldn't want to be caught and we then see a reaction shot of justin's facial expression which adds to the thought of them being dangerous people. When it goes towards the end of the video it starts to get more fast paced which is matched by high energy people partying. People are seen dancing in large groups and in the background there is a skater going around the area.

Editing at the beginning of the video is very slow and a lot of long takes are used showing the two together in bed. This is matched by the song being slow but then because the two are making love it is not expected to be a fast paced action. Short takes are also used in this video but they areused when the song gets fast paced such as the ending with the party and the part when people break in the apartment and this is vecause the short takes show more facial expression and more of the situation.

Cinematography is used in order to show a lot of the star being justin Bieber and his girlfriend especially when they are making love we see a lot of different panning shots down the girls body for the male gaze and to show what they are doing with each other. a tight camera shot is used when they are in the trunk of the car to imply it is a trunk because you hear the car engine but dont actually see a car. Then wide shots are also used at the end during the party so you can see more of the people partying and more high energy activities taking place.

Conceptual

Calvin Harris is a Dj/house artist so for him to make a video that has a narrative or performace in

Performance

I have chosen this performance video because I think that is unique compared to the typical performance video where you have the band or artist just performing on one stage, in this video they travel around to wedding s and surprise the couple as they are dancing and no indication is given that they are showing up. It has the common conventions of a performance video including instruments and stage as well as the band it’s self.

Mise en scene for a video that is performance is less controllable especially in this circumstance because they are showing up at random places and they must work with it. Since the song is about love it means that is not hard to match with the setting which is always a large hall that has been cleaned up with fancy decorations. Seen through a lot of wide shots you can see the band stood at the front surrounded by lots of decorations such as flowers and large ice statues. The band in the video dress appropriately as they all wear tuxedos because they are going to a wedding so they will fit in and out of respect for the couple having a wedding. The tuxedo doesn’t tell us a lot however it shows that they are caring guys in the band and that they are able to dress up smart rather than following their star personas of partying as most other videos they have involve a party. Lighting is very high key and natural in some cases because you see large church windows with light shining through. This high key lighting could relate to the lyrics of how he is talking about love which is a happy subject rather than gloom. Even shots where he is seen performing at night the band have spotlights surrounding them aimed inwards to the center of the group.

Extra sounds added in to this video are very minimal but it is all diegetic sound of the audience cheering and the band being announced the reason for adding this is because firstly it gives the video a better look and also it helps in showing the video is legit and that they did actually go to these events. As for the actual song I think that was recorded in the studio and placed on to the video because the quality sounds too good for that to have been recorded in the church.

Cinematography for this video was a lot of close ups of peoples facial expressions such as the couple getting married at all of the weddings they go to you always see a shot of their faces close up. This is to capture their reaction as the whole idea behind this video was the element of surprise and they want to amaze people. The group travel in a very luxury car between events and this is shot with a tracking shot to show they are on the move as we see the main singer Adam Levine lip syncing through a mid shot which then goes into a long shot of the car driving down the street as people freak out as they pass. Low angles are often used at the same time as a POV shot from the crowd view as they look up towards the band and this is the only part where I noticed it was using hand held camera other than that all camera shots are stable and must have been on a tripod.

Editing is the last micro element and the main thing I noticed was a lot of shot reverse shot from the lead singer Adam Levine to the couple that are getting married. We see it using mid shots as we first see Adam Levine appear from behind the curtain and start singing and then it cuts to the couple who react very shocked and same as Adam Levine they are shot in a mid shot. A high angle is used when looking at the couple, which to me looked like it was a POV shot from Adam’s perspective. Editing speed varies at different parts of the video for example when the ban appears on stage it is always in the fast tempo parts of the song so short takes are used to show many peoples reactions all of the band and people dancing. Compared to the slow tempo parts where we see the group travelling between events in the car often shot in long takes or short takes of the same scene from a different angle or shot.