TEXTUAL ANALYSISHaim- My Song 5

Released: 2014

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The video begins with the narrative, using a medium close up to show a woman speaking into a microphone, who I assume is the narratives protagonist. The medium close up is used to establish the location and also it shows us what the woman is wearing, so we can tell what type of person she is. In the next shot, there is a handheld camera used which creates the feeling that the audience is involved in the narrative. It also allows for more freedom within the camera movement. A tracking shot is used to show two people walking towards the stage and then it pans across as they walk on, showing them from behind, creating the illusion that the audience is following them.

There are a range of different shots within the video. The music video consists of both narrative and performance medium close ups are used to emphasise the performance of the singers lip-syncing and also the emotions of the people in the narrative. Two shots are also used frequently within the video as it shows the interaction between the two people and it establishes their relationship. At 2.19, Haim (the band), are seen within one shot. This shows them as a band performing and as the three of them are stood together in a circle formation, a tracking shot is used to circle around them and it captures them all individually. When the other performer (A$AP Ferg) appears, the camera movement becomes more frantic as he is a rapper, so it fits in with the rhythm of the music. When the girls are shown lip-syncing at 3.47, the framing has been done so that they are central. Therefore, our eye is drawn to the centre of the screen so we focus upon their performance.

As I spoke about the sexualisation of women before, I have decided to explore it more within this video. The video is very female based so the sexualisation is very easy to spot. We do not see this straight away but we do see a woman wearing a red dress. The dress is quite short and the long shot shows off the woman's legs. We see her again and this time she is in a two shot with the presenter who is fully clothed. We can immediately make the comparison between the 2 as she looks very provocative compared to the presenter. This is exactly why a 2 shot has been used here. In one shot we see the camera positioned at 2 girls who hug each other and one of them grabs the other ones bottom. This can be seen as quite provocative and controversial to some audiences.

MISE-EN-SCENE

In the opening scene, we see a woman with a microphone which suggests that she is a presenter of some sort and her costume suggests to us that she is old fashioned. We then see a range of different monitors which indicate it is a TV show which is being broadcasted. We are then shown one of the singers from the band who is part of the narrative but performs also. She is wearing black jeans and a leather jacket which matches the genre of the song as it is pop rock. As the narrative progresses, we can see that it is based around a chat show. This is obvious by the live audience which is in the background when the presenter is talking. Also, the setting of the stage with the cameras and security show how it is a typical American chat show. We are shown the camera crew with a point of view perspective from the audience so this creates verisimilitude as it is like we are there.

Another artist appears in this video called ‘A$AP Ferg’. We can immediately assume that he is a rapper/from the rap genre because of the way he is dressed. He is wearing grills in his teeth which are gold. These connotate his wealth and that he cares about his luxuries. Also, his actions when he speak are very much associated with how rappers act when they sing. He frequently moves his hands about when he is rapping, which can also be seen done by rappers like: Lil Wayne, Birdman and Drake. Also, in the audience, we see a man who is wearing a similar hat to the rapper. This could indicate that they have some sort of connection. He also throws the microphone on the floor when he finishes rapping which shows how his part has ended but also connotates rebellious behaviour. As I mentioned earlier, we see the lead singer wearing a leather jacket which shows the genre of the bands music. This is again shown when the 3 of them are in the same shot as they are all wearing similar clothing. This shows their connection as a band but also as I stated, the pop rock genre.

Although the sexualisation of women isn’t as strong in this video as others I am still going to explore the sexualisation with the use of mise-en-scene. The first use we see is a girl, a member of the band, wearing a short red dress. The colour red connotates passion but also evil. We see her giving a disapproving look to another girl in the narrative so this is possibly the evil side showing but also in the narrative as well, she is very passionate about a certain subject. The angle and shots show off her legs a lot in the video, making it more appealing for the heterosexual male audience. Another example which I talked about briefly in Cinematography is the 2 women who hug each other. The 2 are both wearing short costumes which can be quite revealing from certain angles. Also, as I mentioned earlier she grabs her bottom which can be seen controversial and sexual.

EDITING

There are a lot of different edits within this video. The video’s first edit is a page flip which looks like it is off a slide show presentation. This is used to flip through the different clips from the narrative. The text ‘Dallas Murphy’ is used which indicates to us this is part of the narrative, the name of the chat show. Then more text is used which introduces the band and their name, ‘HAIM- My Song 5 feat. A$AP Ferg’. Cut edits are used frequently within this video which also match the pace of the music, so this is use of pace editing. At 0.44, slow motion editing is used to show the presenter in the narrative introducing the show to her audience. At 1.04, the shot cuts from a medium shot to a medium close up, this is to emphasise what the character says. Going back to the text editing, when a new story happens within the narrative, the text changes to show the topic they are discussing.

At 2.27, one of the band members is shown performing and it cuts to the lead singer at 2.30. They both do the same movement and it stays on one then cuts to the other mid shot so that the move is continuous, showing continuity within the shot. At 2.39, 7 cut edits are used to switch between the band performance to the rapper, this is done very fast to emphasise the fast pace. Beginning at 3.48, approximately 23 cut edits are used within one part to alternate between the performance of the band members and the narrative. This shows the connection between the 2. This is also done quickly which gives a chaotic feeling to the audience and again, it emphasises the pace of the song within the editing.

SOUND

The sound within this video is both diegetic and non diegetic as there is a narrative and there are frequent narrative breaks. The diegetic sound allows for the characters within the narrative to speak as we can see these on the screen. At some parts of the video, we do not see the performer so the song is therefore non-diegetic at these parts and diegetic when the performer is seen lip-syncing. Synchronous sound is also seen in some parts, for example: when the audience laugh and clap, we can clearly see them on the screen so this is synchronous. The asynchronous sound of instruments is used in the video as we can not see any instruments during the performance, this has been done over the video with the soundtrack.