Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

The song was released in April 2008, and was 11th in the UK singles chart. The video was debuted in March that year, and was directed by Darren Doane.

The song is part of the pop rock/folk rock genre, and the music video is Performance and narrative based, as there are scenes of Mraz singing and also of him traveling.



There are establishing shots of landscapes and mid shots of signs, at the beginning of scenes. These are used in the video, as the whole narrative is just about Mraz on holiday, so then the audience can recognise where he is.

This song doesn't really fit with the visuals of the video, and goes against Goodwin's theory of doing so. The only link between the lyrics and visuals is when Mraz draws a face on the glass at the line "I drew a new face". However the visuals link with the music, for example the waves crash with the drums.

Motivation editing is used in the beginning of the video, when we see a birds view shot of the air plane on the ground and then Mraz in the plane with plane sounds. This clearly states that Mraz is travelling and therefore is the start of the narrative. It is also encouraged by sound effects of a plane. If I'm considering to do a narrative based music video, it is best for me to use motivation editing so the story can be shown clearly.

There is a lot of different light used in the video, usually dark when Mraz is by himself and lit up when he is with others. This suggests to the audience that he is happier when he is with others as everything lights up, whereas with him being in the dark makes him seem more concealed and hidden away, linking to the concept based theme.

Again, silhouettes are used, mainly for showing Mraz. This shows to be a definite style in Mraz's video. As I am going to create a Mraz music video, I'm most likely going to include silhouettes.

Even though Mraz's identity hidden, the audience can still tell that it is Mraz, as we are shown his clothing and face (his hat) before hand, also, we are able to tell it is him through his body language and dancing. Mraz usually dances about in his music video's.

Close ups are used a lot on Mraz's face, usually when he is in the dark, again following Goodwin's theory.

There are high and low angles used at the skate park, following the skaters moving. I like this effect of following, as it feels as though the audience is there watching.

There are also visual links with the lyrics: Mraz draws a face on the glass window on the line "I drew a new face". This has quite a cheesy feel to it, and I'll probably have something similar in my music video.

Overall, this music video holds a happy vibe, and has many similarities to the 'I Won't Give Up' music video: silhouettes, performance, close ups on faces and objects.

25/09/13 Update

Today I decided to do some filming with the green screen just to see if my idea would work. It was very roughly done, but you can see that it is possible to have two of the same person walk around each other without split screen. I also wanted to try out transitions by using key framing.




If I'm to use this technique in my music video, I would probably have to use the bigger green screen and a tripod.

Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up

Released in January 2012, Jason Mraz's song I Won't Give Up is part of the folk rock/pop rock genre, and was in 11th place in the weekly charts in the UK. The music video was directed by Mark Pellington, and was released in February 2012. A lyric video was made, and Mraz himself said he preferred it.



The video is performance and heavily concept based, as it is made up of Mraz singing and a montage of people.

At the very beginning, before the song its self even starts, there is a wind noise which fills up the muted clips. I'm not too sure on the reason of doing this, but it achieves a very eerie atmosphere that is supported by silhouettes and quick glimpses of the characters.

There are many silhouettes used in the video, especially on Mraz (Goodwin's theory, which usually are focused on showing the profile of the face. This makes everything seem mysterious, as the audience isn't given much identity of the character; it portrays them to want to hide, for instance there is a woman in a woodland area who is usually silhouetted. The lighting behind the silhouettes are different, which suggests that the characters have different meanings to why they are hidding. Mraz has a bright sunset light behind him, whereas the woman has cool blues and grey. This tells the audience that Mraz is more in the opening with nothing about, suggesting that the silhouette shows that no one is there to see him, whereas the woman is closed off by the trees, showing that she doesn't want to be seen or she can't be seen. They both wear dark coloured clothing for the silhouette to be more effective.

There are extreme close ups used on the characters faces throughout the video. By having this, the audience can see emotions, which suggest the meaning behind the song of not wanting to give up - their faces show determination.

There is a few overlapped, transparent transitions between some scenes. An example of this is at the very beginning when an extreme close up of an eye is overlapped with trees. It gives a sense of being watched. I quite like this way of making transitions, as you are creating a new image, and comparing scenes, or make a smooth change between shots.

Goodwin's theory of visuals linkin
g with the lyrics is used in the video. For instance, a close up is used on Mraz when he is staring directly at the camera on the line "When I look into your eyes". This makes the video and song seem personal to the audience as the camera is their point of view. Also, on the line "I see that you've come so far", there is a shot of an elderly man walking on a hill of stones. This represents how the man has come so far because of both his age - lived through a lot - and also the fact that his clothing doesn't suit the setting, making him look as though he wasn't planning on getting this far. Another example, is that there is a shot of the woman in the forest reaching out on the line "still looking up". The camera angle used in this shot is a low angle so it supports the fact that she is reaching out and looking up.

There are quite a few religious connotations to this music video, such as the woman looking and reaching out, but also when Mraz is in the sunset setting; there are two electrical posts in the background that look similar to the crucifix cross. These stand out clearly against the sunset background, as they (and Mraz) are the only silhouetted objects that stand out. There are also people praying in the video, which could suggest the meaning behind the song of how the characters have faith.

A straight cut is used to show the difference between a boy and a man: Boy raises arms the show muscles, and when he starts to move them down it cuts to a scene of a fully grown man lowering his arms at the same speed. This represents how the boy will grow up to be a man, possibly of the same structure, as he "won't give up".

There is close up used on a persons hand reached out in front of the sun, which they then close blocking the light. It was used on the line "see want you find", which may suggest that the person has found light, relating again to faith and hope. I really liked this effect, because of the symbolism behind it, also I was thinking of something similar for my own video, where instead of the sun taken the moon is, symbolising more of the opposite.

23/09/13 Update

Today I started on analysing Jason Mraz music video, so I can get a better idea on his style and maybe be influenced by it.

I've released a link between the three video's I looked at of his, and that they all include silhouettes of Mraz's profile. I not too sure why as such, but it gives a bit of a mysterious effect.

I also started to draw out a few of my ideas of what I could do for my music video, focusing on shots such as close ups:

20/09/13 Update

At school, I managed to get a director study and my brainstorm done.

When I got home however, I decided to try and find some costume ears for the coyotes. I went on Ebay and first typed in dog ears, as there isn't any costume coyote ears, but I didn't have any luck as I came across ears like this.

So I decided to type in cat ears next, as cats have a similar shape ear to coyotes: pointy.

I came across quite a lot of types. But because I'm keeping to a low budget, I have to try and get ears as cheap yet decent as possible.

I came across two possible types to use:

The first one has a more coyote colour than any of the second ones, but the second ones are of a higher quality. However, the second ones are from china, so it may take too long to get here and also it says that it's made of fur (really not sure if it means real fur or not).

It's a bit annoying that the second one is from China, as it was the cheapest out of the two and came with free postage.

I would probably buy only one cat headband and share it between actors, as probably none of them will be in the same scene.

Brainstorm on Coyotes

Director Study - Sophie Muller

19/09/13 Update

Today I finished a music video analysis and decided on my song.

I've decided on Coyotes by Jason Mraz, as I love how up beat the chorus is and also I have many ideas to what I can do with filming and editing.

I also started making a brainstorm on paper on the song and all the possible things I could do, and then I'll copy it up on Bubbl to organise my ideas. I will also draw up some possible scenes that I've already decided in my head. That way I can develop and refine to make it perfect before filming.

SHINee - Lucifer

Having a look at foreign music videos, I decided to analyse a very successful Korean pop band's music video, Lucifer.
Released in 2010

The video is extremely performance based, as the group is usually singing and dancing as though they are on stage. It is popular for Korean pop band to be performance based like this, as they are typically trained for years to perform before they can be released as a group.

The song is about how they feel trapped by a girl's love, as they can't escape and feel like they are no longer themselves.

The beat is very heavy and r&b/pop like, with a specially choreographed dance to go with it. SHINee (pronounced 'shiny') is specially known for their dances for pretty much every one of their songs.



As it is a Korean song, I decided to first look at the lyrics translated into English to see if it follows Goodwin's theory of how the lyrics link with the visuals, however there are only a few signs of the video doing so; there are CGI glows floating about around the group suggesting 'Your undeniable magic is the Lucifer'. Also, they sing about how they feel trapped, which fits in with the members who are all individually are either confined in a closed up place, in a maze, or trying to drive away.


In this music video, the editing is perfect (personal opinion and fact).

In the very beginning of the video, there is fast cuts used at every quick beat, showing the audience very briefly close ups of the members of SHINee. This fast cutting at the beginning tells the audience that the video and song is very up beat, quick and dramatic. The close ups used support Goodwin's theory of how the record label requests loads of close-ups of the artists. The record label does this to please the fans of the group and promote the individual people of the group.

The members would also usually pose, which is a very stereotypical boy group thing; they make themselves seem vein and stylish for their female fans - perfect boy.

Tracking following arms

Straight cuts are used to view the dancing at different angles, following the smooth flow of dance moves and the beat. This also supports Goodwin's theory of how visuals link with the music. The editing here is also complemented by the camera work, as there is a huge range of angles filmed and also tracking helps make it quite smooth.

Near the middle of the video, there are cuts used between two or three scenes of the boy group dancing the same dance but in different clothing and at a different setting. I found this editing technique very effective as it was extremely smooth, as though there was no obvious cut - the dance wasn't out of place, and fitted well together in each cut. I also thought that the editing at most of the beats suited the sharp dance moves, which also went with the beat.

The costume used in this video is rather glamrock/ punk like: leather jackets, silver leggings, fur coats and big boots. By dressing like this they are able to fit with the dark, rough settings and complement their dance moves. Also their clothing isn't identical, which suggests that they may have a personal style (or character style).

Camera Roll

A slow mo effect is used in the video when the members jump in the air: on the part where they sing 'loverholic, robotronic'. It has a similar effect to the matrix: cameras are all placed in a circle and take a picture at the same time. I think it'll be extremely difficult for someone with such a small budget like myself to try to use this technique.

Camera roll movement is used in individual scenes of the members. By doing this they managed to achieve a smooth, hypnotised effect that followed the CGI glows. This could represent how the members feel trapped and lost by the girl (who is represented by the glow).

Jump cuts used at this part

There is a couple of jump cuts used on the group when they are dancing, just by repeating mili-seconds of the same part. This helped create a glitch-like effect, that was also part of the song. This suggests that this group has a modern style, as the dance is manipulated by technology. They however do incorporate it into their dance routine when they perform.

There is 'swoosh' sound effects added in the video at one part of the dance routine, suggesting the speed of their dancing. This kinda makes the group seem rather powerful in their dancing and suggests to the audience that they are so good that they are even able to simultaneously cut through the air at the same time. This supports the fact that the video and even the group themselves are performance based - I've looked at their other videos and all of them has their own dance routine.

I also found that some parts of the dance were more focused on than other parts. For instance, when the members are all in a line and moving their arms to the beat, there is a camera tilt/track to view them straight on but at different angles. This is to help the audience gain the full effect and appreciation of this complicated dance move.

If I was to have a group of dancers in my music video, they would probably have to train for hours every day to be this simultaneous and perfect. That's why it would probably be easier to have single dancers if I include dance. However, I am really inspired by the editing in this video, and would love to try and get it as perfect as this (however, would take a lot of time).

In contrast to English speaking music video's, this one is more up beat and heavily developed in most aspects of the video. Compared to and English speaking boy group such as One Direction, this video and group shows more skill, which helps impress its audience.

(However, to be fair, this one One Direction video was created by the boys themselves for charity so it wouldn't be as polished as their other videos, but their skill in performance (dancing) doesn't get much better).

18/09/13 update

Today in the unattended media lesson, I decided to analysis Linkin Park's music video: Castle of Glass.
It's quite a modern video and uses a lot of CGI. The reason I chose to analyse this video as it is very narrative based with a lot of concept hidden in the choice of camera work, lighting and editing. It is also performance based, as you see the band outside the narrative.

I'm thinking of next analysing some music videos that are very different compared to the ones if already looked at, and that way I'll hopefully have a better understanding of what makes a music video.

Linkin Park- Castle of Glass

Released in 2012, and is based of true stories of how families are affected by war, making it a narrative music video. Also the song was created for an EA game called Medal of Honor: Warfighter.



In the very beginning of the video, slow paced tracking is used when the boy is heading to the door. It shows that the film was slowed down slightly as it takes the boy a little longer then normal to reach the door and open. This effect suggest that the boy needs to stay a little longer clueless to what is waiting for him: finding out about his fathers death. Making it slow keeps the audience calm yet more focused on the situation, as they are waiting for what is on the other side of the door.

When the boy meets the soldier, the camera focuses only on those two, with the surrounding background and people blurred out. This suggests how the audience is meant to only concentrate on only them, and that to the boy and the soldier, they are focused on only each other: the soldier needs to tell the boy important news and can not be distracted by anything else, and also the boy is just focusing on the news. It also represents how a child stereotypically needs to listen to the adult, and also how children are main concerns for when it comes to situations like this. I'm quite inspired by this technique, as I find it effective to let the audience focus on a person or object.

When the boy is in his bedroom, the atmosphere and lighting/colour in very blue and grey based, which reflects the young boy's depressed mood. The soldiers fighting in the raid scene are in the same atmosphere, which suggests the relation between the two scenes - boy thinking about dad who died in war, men fighting in war. These two scenes however, also contrast against each other, because of how calm the boy scene is compared to the chaotic scene of the soldiers running about with weapons. This helps the audience
understand the link even better, as we are never told that the boy's dad is dead, we just assume from the obvious clues.

The editing technique of swapping between the boy putting the hat on to the man (assuming that he is the dad) putting the hat on, suggested 'father like son'. This refers to the possible strong relationship between the characters, and how the child is now reliant on memories.  I've also noticed in this scene that the characters are situated on the right of the screen with nothing on the left. This suggests that something is missing (the dad). Remembering that the narrative is based on true stories, it tells the audience how real life people are effected by loss. This is also shown when the boy is walking through the corridor after finding out about the news: his reflection is shown on the many frames on the wall, suggesting that he is feeling broken and lost, and also it shows how he only has memories (photos of the past = memories flowing back). It also shows Goodwin's of how the lyrics can link to the visuals as a line says "show me how to be whole again".

Another one of Goodwin's theory is used in the video as there is a band performance. The band is used with green screen, which first shows the house falling apart - linking to how the family is feeling from their loss - and turning into glass fragments (referring to the title 'Castle of Glass'). The performance scene contrasts against the other scenes as it is more emotionally based, whereas the other scenes are based on possible reality. The house falling apart and turning into glass reflects on how fragile the mind can be - the house portraying the mind as it represents a safe place.

At the very beginning of the video, there is a fuzzy unsettling noise alongside a piano which is played quietly. This makes the audience take in the distressed atmosphere of how the boy finds out about the death. The quietness of it all helps it make it more spine chilling, as the audience has to imagine the screaming and crying of the mum.

I'm not too sure, but the man we see put on the hat and who we expect to be the dead dad, is again seen at the end of the video telling bad news to a little girl.This suggests that the dad knows what it is like for families to lose loved ones, as he has experienced the pain his family is in through seeing other families in similar situations.

A video of the band with green screen

In this video, some of the band members discuss in an interview on what it was like to film with green screen.

Feedback on Possible Songs

Today in lesson, we all had to present our top three possible songs that we want to make a music video for.

The songs I chose to get feedback on was Coyotes by Jason Mraz, Sinners by Lauren Aqualina, and Only Tear-drops by Emmelie de Forest.

There wasn't much feedback when I was given the sheets back, but the little feedback I was given does help me a bit.

For instance, on one of the sheets, it said that I should try animation if I was to do the Jason Mraz song. I will have to look into what is required in animation for me to succeed if I want to use this technique.

Personally, out of all these songs, I would want to do Coyotes by Jason Mraz as I have quite a few ideas.

Jonathan Glazer

Karmacoma by Massive Attack

The video is based in a hotel, which tells us there is many different types of people: they all have there own lives that are all messed up or creepy. The colours of the corridor of the hotel are the same colours as the man who carries the gun clothes: purple, red, white and brown. This suggests how the man can't escape as he is trapped within the hotel trying to get away. It also acts as a camouflage, as it is suggested that he is running away from the creepy twins.

The twins and the man-with-gun's doppelgänger, suggests Goodwin's theory with how the lyrics are shown through the visuals; in the lyrics it says "you're a couple, 'specially when your body's double". This use of mise en scene and sound reflects the strangeness of the hotel Glazer has created for this video, as the twins give off a creepy horror-film effect of being silent and symmetrical and also it was unexpected for the man's double to appear from the shadows like that. This shows that the music video is like a nightmare; the man is trapped with no escape from the girls.

There is extreme close ups of the man carrying the gun, showing the sweat on his face and panic in his eyes, showing his stress. The audience is also able to hear him stressed out through his dialogue as he reads out numbers as though he needs to remember them. He seems to be the only member panicking, suggesting that he is the one having the nightmare. The character also reflects the lyrics "I drink on a daily basis... It never cools my temper", as there is motivation edit from that line being said to the audience seeing the man pointing his gun at everything, being jumpy.

Parallel Cutting is used in the video to show several scenes and situations happening in the hotel. It shows the audience that the hotel is unsafe and unusual as everyone is acting weird and murderous: man dancing covered in dirt and also man who's trying to kill mini self. Again, this could link to the lyrics "you're crazy, but you're lazy, must be lazy", as it could be a dream suggesting "lazy" to be an option - hotels are for resting.

A tracking point of view is used in the video to give a sense of walking though the corridor. This would make the audience feel unsafe, as we have just witnessed a man walking around with a gun and strange people in the rooms.

There are close ups used on the singers who seem relaxed with the events going on, as they just wait about in the rooms wearing janitor suits. This could show how maybe they are use to the craziness and it is suggested through their clothing that they work there.

The lyrics "emotional ties they stay severed" link to the character with messy hair who says "I killed. Nothing personal. I want to be free. And I am free." suggesting how his selfish, messed up thoughts have effected others. It is also shown though the fast paced jump cuts with camera flashes that he is a murder, as the camera flashes link to a crime scene investigation (maybe foreshadowing deaths). It could also reflect how lost he is, as camera flashes can confuse people when they are surrounded by it.

Overall, this music video strongly shows Glazer's artistic, dream-like views on things, leading to confusion and inspiration for the audience as they try to figure out the meaning.


I'm rather inspired by his work, as he usually shows a small story by having his videos extremely symbolic and dream-like. I think this would help me in my own production, as I love symbolic meaning and mind tricks, however my music video probably wouldn't be extremely confusing and crazy; I would like to make some sense out of it.