Analysis of Music Video - Katy Perry, The One That Got Away

KATY PERRY, THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

This is a very interesting music video which is very different to its genre characteristics. Unlike some of Perry's other pop song music videos this has a much deeper storyline rather than being about appearance of the artist and money. The video shows the artist as an elderly lady looking back at a time of her life that was very different. The lighting is very different when on the elderly lady and when she is looking back at her younger in love self. We can really see the contrast as the elderly lady is in a very dark room whereas the younger girl is in a much brighter one. The tempo of the music also changes and becomes more upbeat when looking back at the young girl.

 Notions of looking are used when we see the artist painting her face in the mirror and this gives the viewer the effect of looking back at the younger girl just as the reminiscing old lady is. The visuals are fairly contradicting with not much of the video being exactly the same as the lyrics although the story being told in the video relates to the song. Although the artist is acting the role of an old lady in the video the demands of the record label are still obvious as the elderly woman is very attractive in a posh, modern house driving expensive cars. This helps to keep the star persona of the artist.

The video offers a great deal of intertextuality referencing singer Jonny Cash both in the lyrics and also at the end when a verse of his song is played, this has a great affect and adds to the emotion of the character.

Alt-J Star Persona

Alt-J appear to use a variety of media to promote the band and communicate with their fans. Their website is very basic and only consists of links to other sites such as Facebook and Twitter. However it is notable that their website is the top hit when you type 'alt-j' into google. Their website also features a very large image of their logo, which is a triangle symbol that appears in text when you press alt and j on a mac ∆. 

The bands most used medium of promotion and image control appears to be their Twitter account - @alt_j
Here is an example of one of their  promotional tweets to their 27,347 followers (30/9/12).   


'An Awesome Wave' out now. Touring throughout 2012. Δ 


Bellow are images of the band from the first page of results on google images.

It is obvious from these images that Alt-J are not a stereotypical rock or pop group, and their star-persona is very alternative, which compliments their music.

Alt-J - Something Good - Analysis

This video does not feature any shots of the band, much like the video for Breezeblocks. Also like Breezeblocks there is a story to the video, although this story is even more difficult to understand. Therefore it can be stated that this video does not conform to any genre characteristics.

The video does not seem to have any relation to the lyrics, however the song is titled 'Something Good' and the video does feature bright and elaborate costumes (pictured above) which gives the video a happy and positive feel. In terms of music and visuals there is a a contradicting relationship as there is no relation between the two and there appears to be no editing to the beat.

Once again the record label has not demanded that the band appear in the video, although both the Breezeblocks and Something Good music videos are well filmed and unusual have an unusual storyline which is a trait that may become associated with Alt-J. This may therefore be a unique way of raising brand awareness for the band. 

There are many unusual and extreme shot types and camera angles in this video, but as mentioned above none of them show the band.

Lyrics With Music Video Ideas

Sometimes we fall down and can't get back up
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough
How come we don't say I love you enough?
Till it's to late, it's not too late

Band playing




Our hearts are hungry for food that won't come
We could make a feast from these crumbs
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you
What would you wish you would've done

actor eating, shot of barrel down gun prop




Yeah... gotta start
Lookin at the hands of the time we've been given it
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying

shots of clocks ticking







We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

Shots of band playing with quick cuts to clock faces


And if your plane fell out of the sky
Who would you call with your last goodbye
Should be careful who we let fall out of our lives
So when we long for absolution
There'll no one on the line


Airial shot of actor - climb a tree or stand on building, preferably so location looks like open space ie fields, or alternatively urban busy city.


Yeah... gotta start
Lookin at the hands of the time we've been given it
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying








[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_script/live_like_were_dying.html ]
We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

Like we're dying oh-- like we're dying [x2]






Same idea as previous chorus but using different shots of band











We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live -- like we're dying

We never know a good thing till it's gone
You never see a crash until it's back on
All those people right when we're dead wrong
You never know a good thing till it's gone

Yeah... gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we've been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start livin it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

Like we're dying oh -- like we're dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying
Live like we're dying
(Silence)

Examples of different shot types to consider using

EWS (Extreme Wide Shot)
The view is so far from the subject that he isn't even visible. Often used as an establishing shot.

VWS (Very Wide Shot)
The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment.

WS (Wide Shot)
The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible.
AKA: long shot, full shot.

MS (Mid Shot)
Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

MCU (Medium Close Up)
Half way between a MS and a CU.

CU (Close Up)
A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.

ECU (Extreme Close Up)
The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail.
Variation: Choker

Cut-In
Shows some (other) part of the subject in detail.

CA (Cutaway)
A shot of something other than the subject.

Two-Shot
A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

(OSS) Over-the-Shoulder Shot
Looking from behind a person at the subject.

Noddy Shot
Usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.

Point-of-View Shot (POV)
Shows a view from the subject's perspective.

Weather Shot
The subject is the weather. Can be used for other purposes, e.g. background for graphics.

Reference: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/

the scripts live like we're dying, video and lyrics

Lyrics of the scripts 'live like we're dying'

Sometimes we fall down and can't get back up
We're hiding behind skin that's too tough
How come we don't say I love you enough?
Till it's to late, it's not too late

Our hearts are hungry for food that won't come
We could make a feast from these crumbs
And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you
What would you wish you would've done

Yeah... gotta start
Lookin at the hands of the time we've been given it
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

And if your plane fell out of the sky
Who would you call with your last goodbye
Should be careful who we let fall out of our lives
So when we long for absolution
There'll no one on the line

Yeah... gotta start
Lookin at the hands of the time we've been given it
This is all we got and we gotta start pickin it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_script/live_like_were_dying.html ]
We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

Like we're dying oh-- like we're dying [x2]

We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live -- like we're dying

We never know a good thing till it's gone
You never see a crash until it's back on
All those people right when we're dead wrong
You never know a good thing till it's gone

Yeah... gotta start
Lookin at the hand of the time we've been given here
This is all we got and we gotta start livin it
Every second counts on a clock that's tickin'
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got
86, 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying

Like we're dying oh -- like we're dying [x2]

We only got
86 400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or throw it all away
We gotta tell 'em that we love 'em
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying
Live like we're dying
(Silence)

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_script/#share

Ideas for our music video

>footage of clocks- show passing of time (direct link to chorus, also poss. smashing a clock)

>time lapse footage- somewhere like a train station


>use pale/washed out filters

>shot of the sky through a leaves

>

Reflection Homework

What are your practical strengths?
I feel I contribute towards the rest of the group well and I'm not afraid to put my ideas across.

What are the things you would like to improve during the practical project?
My camera work and vary the ways in which I use the camera.

What are your ambitions for your music video project?
I would like the video to be succesful and improve on my previous work.

song for our music video

for our music video we have chose to do 'live like we're dying' by the script.

Alt-J, Breezeblocks Analysis

Alt-J’s music video for Breezeblocks does not conform to any particular genre characteristics or stereotypes, as the storyline of the video is what appears to be a domestic dispute in reverse. However because it is very hard to label Alt-J with a particular genre it could be argued that the music video does conform to their ‘genre’ by not displaying stereotypical characteristics of any one genre.

This is a screenshot of the two main characters in the video, the lighting is consistently dark throughout.

The lyrics and visuals appear to have a contradicting relationship as the story depicted in the video is not directly relevant to the lyrics, and the video is in no way amplifying the content of the lyrics. In terms of music and visuals there is some editing to the beat although it is not constant. An example of editing to the beat in this music video is that there is a cut every time the more upbeat and louder bar in the song is played.

It is clear from the video that the record label did not insist on the band being present in the video, therefore it can be inferred that the label is not focusing on using the bands image to sell their music. However the video does impact on the bands star persona as viewers will associate the complicated story of the video with the band. This could be effective in selling the music because the video is so confusing that people are likely to discuss it after watching it which may encourage others to watch the video and perhaps buy the single.

Above is the video on youtube.

Self reflection and hopes for music video project

What are your practical strengths ?
Filming - deciding on shot types, angles etc.

What are the things you would like to improve during your project ?
Organisation and planning
Camera skills, e.g incorporate more shot types
More advanced editing / better understanding of the features of Final Cut

What are your ambitions for your music video project ?
To produce a music video that looks as professional as possible.
Finish filming early / on time to enable more time to be spent on editing.

self reflection and hopes for music video (Thomas Barton)

Personal, practical strengths
analytical skills
literary ability

Areas for improvement
personal and group organisation and co-ordination

Ambitions for the project
to make an aesthetically and technically sound music video

Our Star Persona

This is the star persona mood board we have created for our chosen artist, Katy Perry. This tells us about her life both before she was famous and now she is a global sensation.

Star persona

Task 3 Ben, Tom, Maya and Chloe

Personas Message: Fairness and fun for everyone!!!!!!

Genre- Pop

The genre of our music works well with our persona as pop music is very good hearted and fun. The persona gives out the message that everyone should be happy and enjoy their lives and pop music works hand in hand with this. The idea of fun is for people to be happy and upbeat pop music can have a massive impact on someone’s mood and how they are feeling. Our music aims to affect people in this way and keep everyone feeling upbeat. We also believe that everyone deserves the right to have fun and therefore aim for everyone to enjoy our music, our lyrics mention equality and fairness for everyone and we aim to share peace and happiness. We compare our music to Lady Gaga who also inspires a large number of people by representing equality and reaching out to all types of people. Lady Gaga’s music is also of a pop genre and we are aspiring to her achievements, we hope for our music to also reach billions of people and make a difference to their lives. Another massive inspiration of ours is Bob Geldof and the Live Aid members who have also raised a lot of money for charity by spreading the message of love, happiness and equality for everyone in the world. Very much like the Live Aid music video we feel it is appropriate to highlight world issues through the power of music.  Music has always been used to reach out to others and express emotions, often to great effect, and through these expressions the world can be changed, for the better of the majority

this magazine advert communicates the initial ideal and genre of our star persona particularly well. in particular the bright colours and styled font clearly shows that it belongs to the pop genre. also the pose of the persona shows an attentiveness to others as he is neither looking directly at the audience or appearing 'self obsessed'. by looking into the distance the star is showing an interest in the actions, and as their ideals go, the well-being of others