Textual Analysis of A Music Video

Music video- Ariana Grande ‘Problem’

Mise-en-scene:

Throughout the video, there are mainly bold and colourful backdrops that make the artists stand out. For example, they are mostly striped and either black or white, or pink and purple. This creates a contrast in the outfits that the artists are wearing, which therefore makes them stand out. The colours pink and purple could create a stereotypical representation, as they are feminine colours and the artists are females. Meaning all the attention is focused on them, which could be the male gaze theory. This also links with the costumes that the artists are wearing, as they mostly coloured black and white. These colours could connote the two sides of the story, as the title is ‘Problem’, as the black could represent the power the females have over the ‘boy’. As the lyrics say, ‘one less problem without you’, this could connote that they have come out stronger. However, the white could represent and connote the purity they now feel, not have the ‘weight on my shoulders’.

Sound:

At the very start of the video, Ariana is heard to be laughing diegetically as well as Iggy introducing herself. The laughing could connote the happiness and freedom she now feels. There is no other extra diegetic sound or dialogue throughout the video, other than the song itself. Throughout the video, both artists are shown to be lip syncing. The lip syncing is shown to be professional, as it matches the audio correctly and isn’t delayed.

Camera Angles:

Throughout the clip, there are many different shots used. At the start of the video, there are two close ups on Ariana’s face, connoting the male gaze theory of her being looked at. This is evident throughout the whole of the video, as they are two female artists, therefore they will be the main focus of attention. Another close up is half way through the video of Ariana’s lower half of her body. Representing the idea that females are to be looked at from head to toe. This is also stated in Goodwin’s theory, as he says ‘The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist’. Other than close ups on the females faces, there are long shots of Ariana and the dancers. This shows the females are over powering the males, as they are lower down than them. Connoting the non-stereotypical idea of the females dominating the males, being more important.

Narrative/ performance:

The narrative of the video does fit with the lyrics, as the video shows that the females are stronger than the males. As they are higher and pushing the men around. The video starts with the shot of three females in the centre of the frame, connoting they take dominance which then switches to the men kneeling down. This shows the audience a clear representation and narrative that it is all about the overcoming of a breakup. This is then backed up throughout of the females always having the centre frame and close ups, therefore making it clear to the audience that they are better than the men. The performance of the video is represented through dancing, as Ariana has her back up dancers to make it more entertaining for the audience. They also highlight her position in the video.

 

Editing:

In this video, there are mainly quick cuts that transition each different frame, which is the most common within a music video. However, there are some slide transitions, which make the video more interesting and pleasing for the audience, so they don’t just see jump cuts, which can look quite harsh. These transitions range from sliding up, across and downwards, giving the audience something different. The video is also edited to show a range of different frames, from dancing to close ups of just singing. This gives the audience something interesting to watch and not watch the same thing for 4 minutes.

From this research, I have good idea of what a high production value video is like and will be able to take elements from this and apply them to my video. As this is a professional video, there will be some elements, such as the location and mise en scene, that wouldn’t be possible to use. Therefore when it comes to creating our own video, we will plan around the resources we have.