Friday 21 June 2013

Video Analysis: Mr Right by A Rocket to The Moon

Band Name: A Rocket to the Moon
Song Name: Mr Right
Genre: Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Pop Punk

Narrative:
Two girls have two different boyfriends and one is symbolised in red and the other in blue. The one in blue has less money, but they have more fun, suggesting he is "Mr Right", whereas the one in red has all the money, but she doesn't really love him. The boyfriend in red tries to buy her affection, but fails, because she is ungrateful. 


What is the relationship between lyric and visuals? 
The lyrics of the song follow the narrative of the video easily and they complement each other. The lyrics talk about a "Mr Right". The video shows a contrasting between two different boyfriends and is described almost straight away... 




"My girlfriend's got a boyfriend, funny
He doesn't make a dime all day
And all her girlfriends' boyfriends make money
What more can I say?"


These lyrics are represented in a split screen. Red on the left and Blue on the right. This emphasises the contrasts between them and also focus's on the girlfriends reaction. By the way the girlfriends are portrayed we can already assume, the one in red has more money and nicer things, then the girl on the right who, in comparison is seen as plain. The girl on the left is identified as red because of her red lipstick and red clothing, whereas the girl on the right has a distinctive blue streak in her hair.  

However, as the music video progresses the girlfriend in red is seen as ungrateful and isn't really bothered by what her boyfriend does. Whereas it is clearly obvious that the blue girlfriend, does care about her boyfriend and they are having fun. 


There are many examples in the music video, but the biggest contrast is the gifts given and the reaction on the girlfriends birthday. The one in Red gets expensive presents and a big cake, whereas the one in Blue gets a small cupcake with one candle and she appreciates it more, than the other girl.


There is one contradiction with the lyrics, is that the song tends to complain about the boyfriend, when they are shown innocent in the video. It's the one girlfriend in Red who is the horrible one and isn't 'Miss Right'.




Nearing the end of the video the two girls meet and it is noticed that they know each other. The individuals behaviour emphasises their situation. As they pass Red gives a sneer and also looks jealous of Blue's happiness in the relationship. The mise en scene of the boyfriends also follows the colour trend and a similar facial expression as their girlfriends. 



The ending shots showing them both enjoying the same band (A Rocket to the Moon). The Red couple sit together, he tries to cuddle her and touches her leg, but she smiles and goes on her phone. He looks away showing his disappointment. Where as the Blue couple are together in a two-shot and she is showing affection by putting her head on his shoulder. They both smile showing they are happy. Contrasting with the Red Couple, who are distance and are mostly shown in close ups, suggesting they aren't as close as the others are. 





What is the relationship between music and visuals?
The transitions between cuts follow the beat especially at the beginning of the video. The band are shown near the beginning as the main emphasis is on their instruments. The pace and the music follow each other. The cuts at the beginning are soft and suit the distinguished beat, once the vocals kicks in the transitions aren't as fast, but they are still frequent as their is constant switching from split screen to full screen.



Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?
The band feature a lot in the music video and are shown in between the narrative and at the end as the band performing merges with the narrative. To my knowledge I can't think of any bands which have this similar narrative. However, mixing footage of the band performing and a narrative to go along with the music video is commonly done. This allows the band to be identified as well as the ability to make a impact with a story to follow.  

Are there any references?
The artist nor the actors are put on any sexual way as you would expect in typical rap videos. There are references to looking, but only windows. There isn't any intertextual references which relate it to a TV Progamme or film aspect.   

Overall, the music video complements the lyrics of the song, with only a small contradiction. The ratio of the narrative and band performance is similar to other music videos. 


3 comments:

  1. Well done for following Goodwin's structure. Make sure you carry out some more detailed textual analysis (as you did for TV Drama) within your response.

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  2. It would also be useful for any analysis-based posts, to include a comment summary of any ideas influences that the video gave you.

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  3. When looking for inspiration for my own music video, I mainly focused on the performance of the band and how the edit has been constructed. It was also to look at the narrative of the song for ideas for our first song "Weighted Paradise" which had a similar Girlfriend/Boyfriend narrative to it, but since the song changed it hasn't become applicable.

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