Analysing a pop Video (No.1)

In this post, I will be going through the different elements in a pop video and how it has made it successful, amazing and effective enough to be a brilliant music video.

The first pop song that I will be discussing about is Mirrors by Justin Timberlake.

Mise en Scene: The Mise En Scene was used very effectively throughout the whole of the clip as it used a variety of different micro-elements involving in this category. The first micro-element that I will be going through involving Mise En Scene is costume. The costume was used very successfully and effectively. The reason for this is because the people involved in this music video decided to use very smart clothing to represent high status and authority. There were also people in the music video that were wearing casual ordinary clothing. This is because some of the people were in a party celebrating and having a fun time. The reason why there were two different contrasts throughout the whole clip is because if you listen to the lyrics Justin Timberlake is saying, it is reflecting back to the music video which is set in a low key lighting. Not only costume made it very successful, but also the props were used to perfection to amaze the audience. For example, there were snooker cues being used by the people in the party to represent them having a fun time. There was also choreography involved in both contrasts but they had two differences. There was a slow paced dance from the two old people to represent a minor tone whereas in the party there was more atmosphere to make it feel like there was more going on in the location.

Cinematography: The cinematography was used to perfection and was used very effectively throughout the entire 8 minute clip. The way how the cinematography was used to an outstanding level was that they involved various different shot types in the whole clip. For example they involved close ups to show facial expressions of people having a fun or emotional time. The close ups also revealed props being used like the snooker cues and cusions being thrown around the room. There were also mid shots being used in the clip to show the whole characters personality and body language and to also reveal what location each character is at. There were also longshots to show the whole background certain characters were at and to reveal what they were surrounded by.

Editing: The editing was also used very effectively throughout the whole 8 minute clip. The reason for this is because of the cutaways. Some of the cutaways in the clip were in time with the music so it gave it a lot of effect and amazment for the audience. Not only the cutaways made the music video so successful, but also the shot durations were amazing. There were long shot durations to show the most important parts of the song. For example, the choreography shots was filmed for a bit to show important significants and to reflect back on the emotions for some of the people in the clip. The short shot durations were used to show the less important parts of the song but it was still quite important to reveal the facial expressions for some of the people in the music video.

Sound: The sound was not really used a lot throughout the whole music video. The reason for this is because you could only here the music being played and Justin Timberlake singing. You couldn't here anyone in the music video having any discussions or having a fun time so basically all of the sound from the music video has been cut out. The reason for this is because it is important to listen to Timberlake's lyrics as it involves depressing words that relate back to the quiet music video.