Music Video Research 10: Instrumentals in Music Videos

Ian Brown - Keep What Ya Got

In the whole instrumental of the video location shots are used of an urban area, this seems to be breaking conventions as the artist is normally shown throughout doing something, these may be used to show the location of where the music video is going to be set.

 A caged fence is used here, it doesn't have a direct meaning however it could symbolise escapism, there also could be a reference to how trapped and restricted an urban lifestyle could be.

A time lapse is used here over the city of Manchester, this may be to show how quickly time passes however it also satisfies a Northern audience by using a Northern location in a video. As Ian Brown loves where he comes from he uses Manchester in a lot of his videos however there seems to be no hidden meaning behind his use of the city.





 
  Youth - Glass Animals

In the video of Youth by Glass Animals throughout the instrumental intro the two main characters are used, however they do not address each other, so it seems the intro is portraying the moments before they met, using the main characters in the intro also adheres to the conventions of an Indie music video. Scenic, outdoor locations are also used, this could be applying a sense of how free the youth are.

In the shot of the other main character during the instrumental intro a stressed woman at work is shown, she is at work and the fact she is indoors enhances the fact that the young boy outdoors is enjoying himself a lot more compared to the woman who looks to be portrayed as trapped. The woman is also wearing bright colours which could indicate inside she is a very bright and fun person, yet her fun spirit is overshadowed by stress from work and priorities of her everyday life. I think these shots are very effective as they already begin to unravel the theme of the video even though a lyric hasn't even been sung. This can also be linked to Camerons theory of Forking Paths, these two different story lines heavily contrast and although it is clear to see their current state it is quite implicit of how the outcome of the narrative will conclude.


 How this has influenced my planning and research:

• I really like how powerful semiotics combined with facial expressions can portray sadness and a sense of escapism in the latter video, it is very effective towards the narrative and this may be used in our music video
• I also like the time lapse of the skyline of Manchester, so much so that we have decided to put a time lapse of a skyline in our music video.