Research; Music Videos

The music video ‘Now You’re Gone’ by Basshunter start by showing a contrasting shot of a woman and man in the same situation. This is done using the iconography of a phone to allow a smooth transition between both settings. The settings used are bedrooms, which seem to be a conventional setting for the start of many dance music videos, which could be a possible setting to use within my dance music video. This setting also appeals to the target demographic, as it would be a place they would listen to this type of music, but also to the younger audience, as they would be able to recreate the scene within the music video.

The contrasting shots of the man and the woman at the start of the video portray to the audience they are linked someway, creating enigma as the audience want to know who they are. There is then a close up of a woman’s face. Her facial expressions convey that she is sad and upset, which challenges the ideology that dance music makes everyone happy and creates a good atmosphere. As well as this, she has dark brown hair which is unconventional to the blonde haired women seen in many of the other dance videos.

There then goes on to be multiple close ups and medium shots of the man and the woman in separate settings, but composed with the same movement, gesture and facial expressions, which challenge the ideology that with dance music comes happiness as within the frame they portray a depressing and upset tone and atmosphere. The use of extreme close ups upon both of their faces allow the audience to read there emotions clearly and gain a sense of their identity.

You then see a long shot of the two people with their friends, contrasting images and different settings, getting ready to go out. This links with the conventions of dance music as it is played at night in night clubs and at parties. This also builds up tension within the music video, which links with the pace of the music, as the audience anticipate where the man and the woman are heading to.

The use of costume within this shot is of a common convention when relating to the dance genre. The woman is wearing a short, revealing, shiny black dress, which accentuates her features, along with her friends who are wearing mini dresses and mini skirts with a bra-top. This is a common convention with the dance genre as a lot of skin being shown and little clothing tend to appear multiple times, within album covers of dance music and other videos, possible suggesting that this could be a feature we could use when creating our dance music video.

The use of a two shot of the women applying makeup and doing there hair also are conventional aspects of the dance genre, as the women are always wearing heavy makeup, and they hair is all perfectly done. This connotes femininity within the women, but with the costume they wear as well, could be seen as seductive and is done so they are able to use their looks to get their way.

You are then shown a medium shot of a silhouette shape of a woman throwing her head back to flick her hair very seductively. There is then a tracking shot of the woman’s body, where she is playfully dancing, which is a typical convention of the dance genre. This creates mystery towards the audience as they are unsure of the woman’s identity and want to find out who the woman is, therefore creating enigma. The bright yellow light within the background grabs the audiences attention from far, attracting them within the frame and therefore towards the mystery woman.

The next setting within the music video changes to a club, which is a typical convention of the dance genre as it has appeared in basically every dance music video I have watched, and it is also relatable towards the target demographic. Also the medium shots of a dj reinforce the dance genre and remind the audience about the music being played.

The next shot is a close up of a mobile phone, which is important iconography as this prop has been used all the way through the song to link the man and woman together, and to allow smooth transition edits from each setting. The audience will also be able to relate towards the mobile as they are likely to own one and use it for communication with a friend of boyfriend, such as within this video.

The use of a two shot of the man and the woman with the club background blurred out ensures clear focus of these two character, portraying importance towards the audience. The lighting with the frame is reflecting on the key feature upon their face, which also adds to the importance of the both of them. With the use of the two shot it enables the audience to see the facial expressions of both characters clear, which connote happiness, but you are also able to see that both characters are very good looking, which may appeal to the audience as they may aspire to be like this man or woman within the frame.

When viewing the video, I believe I would be able to apply Todorov’s narrative theory towards this music video. I believe this as the video begins with the sense of a equilibrium, which is then disrupted by the break up via text between the man and the woman, then a sense of a re-establish of the equilibrium when they meet on the dance floor and their relationship is repaired. This works in the audience’s favour as Todorov’s narrative theory will enable Basshunters, Now You’re Gone video easier to follow.

I also felt that Propp’s theorem could be applied slightly towards this video as I found elements of a ‘princess’, ‘hero’ and possibly ‘villain.’ I feel with the use of this theorem it would allow the audience a to get away from the reality of like and escape into the narrative of the music video, engaging the audience and keeping a constant link between the music video and the audience.