montage
noun
- the technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole.
This music
video immediately introduces the montage by cutting to different settings; this
allows us to view the artist, her costume and the genre in which this music
fits into. This is helpful to acknowledge as I can mirror this within my own
work in order to target certain audiences and allow them to decode the video at
its beginning. Lorde's 'Perfect Places' video only features herself in a multiple
of shots, ranging from close ups, long shots and mid shots which connotes to
the song itself as there is not the one 'perfect' shot like there isn't a
'perfect place', this is further established through the use of different
settings, for example, the beach and the forest. This is an example of how
Barnes' Symbolic Coding is shown within some music videos.
Interestingly,
she uses a point of view shot which allows the audience to follow her and
almost be in her shoes, this engages the audience into the video itself
allowing them to relate to the artist (Dyer's Star Theory).
The montage
of settings are linked together through fast cuts and some of the setting
angles are changed on the beat on the song, for example from a mid shot to a
head and shoulder shot to then a side angled shot, this places a lot of emphasis
on the song but also the setting and the artists facial expressions from
different angles.
Lighting is
very varied throughout this music video but mostly is very high key and always
lit through natural lighting, whether that is daylight or a fire. There is no
dialogue or diegetic sound other than the song itself. This is helpful to learn
as it means we can challenge these aspects, for example incorporating diegetic
sounds within our video or do some of our video in artificial lighting.
Halsey - Him & I
This is another example of the use of a montage in a music
video however this is more of an unstructured video. By this I mean like an
everyday 'video blog' of their relationship. A filter has been placed over the
footage in the video in order to make it almost like a recording making it
retro and stand out from other videos within this genre, the originality however
also conforms to the genres conventions as uniqueness is an important factor
within the alternative genre.
The different settings and videos are fast cut between one
another in order to follow the tempo of the song; this helps the audience to
engage with the same and also follows Barthes' Enigma Code as it creates
mystery for the couple feature in this video. The camera comes across as if it
is being handheld which adds authenticity to the editing and makes the audience
feel like it's real to engage further and relate to the couple shown. The video
once again features a great number of shot types to portray the couple in
different ways and angles. This then allows the audience to view the costume,
in which is very basic and follows indie conventions, by doing this it gives
the audiences a role model to follow and identify with (Dyer's Star Theory).
An edgy tone is placed upon the video through the low key
lighting, it creates tension and thrill to the narrative (Barthes' Enigma Code)
as it almost means the audience can't view the couple fully placing a barrier
over them as if connoting the idea that we don't 'understand' the what seems to
be dysfunctional relationship. However, the use of the montage allows us to see
a great deal of what goes on within the couple's relationship as this montage
features short cuts of their time together kissing, being reckless and driving.
The Uses and Gratifications theory suggested by Blumler and Katz can be applied
here as this narrative and the montage provides entertainment for the audiences
by allowing them an insight into these two peoples lives which suits
individuals needs upon Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
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