To start my A2 media coursework, I have analysed the music video to 'Turn It Up' by Pixie Lott. I thought this would be a helpful video to analyse as Pixie Lott is a popular artist in the charts at the moment, and this is a typical pop video, so I can easily see what some of the typical conventions of a pop video are.
◦ As this video starts, we immediately see a very bright setting. We can see natural sunlight, and this gives us the sense of a feel good, upbeat song. The first thing we see in the picture is someone walking along the street. Although we have not seen her face, we can gather that this person is Pixie Lott. The music starts straight away, and the lyrics echo the visual image on the camera. We hear 'turn it up, turn it up, turn it up, turn it up' and the camera tilts up her body. The music also gets louder each time she says 'turn it up,' which emphasises the lyrics even more.
◦ As soon as she starts singing we see a close up of her face. The camera changes from a couple of close ups on her face, to a close up of her bag swinging while she is walking, to a long shot of her walking along a street. These different camera changes are quite quick, which fits in with the pace of the music.
◦ The lyrics also echo the visuals as well here as the lyrics say 'lets go forward' and we have an over the shoulder shot of her walking up the street, which emphasises her going forward.
◦ There are a series of close ups of her face, and in most of them she is in the centre of the frame. As I watched the video I noticed that close ups predominate throughout.
◦ Once the pace of the music speeds up the camera quickly cuts to Pixie and other people dancing on a roof terrace. There are a series of cuts from dancing, to her walking along the street. When we see her dancing she is in the middle of all the dancers. She has the camera preference and she is objectified by the camera.
◦ There is also a close up of all the dancers in a line stepping forward. This emphasises the lyrics further as at this point the lyrics are about going to 'different places.' The dancers also spin around as we hear 'as the world turns around' which again is an example of lyrics echoing visuals.
◦ The dancing is taking place on a roof terrace, and we can see the tops of very tall buildings in the background. The lyrics are about the world turning round and going different places. The setting makes it seem like she is almost on top of the world, and emphasises the lyrics, as it gives the impression she is standing tall and is in control.
◦ During the chorus, there continues to be a series of quick cuts between her in the street and the dancers on the roof. As the pace of the music speeds up however the cuts get quicker. Although we can see other dancers on the roof terrace, Pixie Lott constantly has camera preference and is always objectified in the frame.
◦ Once the chorus is over, the pace of the music slows down again, and the pace of the cuts also slow down. There is a close up of her dialling numbers on a public phone. After a cut to her dancing, there is then a shot of a man on the phone, we can gather that this is who Pixie Lott is phoning. This is made even clearer with a cut to the close up of Pixies mouth straight after seeing him. Another way it is clear they are on the phone to each other is by the camera framing. He is on the far left of the camera, and then a quick cut to her shows her in the far right of the frame, giving the sense they are talking to each other. There is quite a great contrast between Pixie and this man. Throughout the video so far she has been in bright, natural sunlight emphasising a positive atmosphere towards her. This man is pictured in quite a dark lighted room, and there is quite a negative atmosphere towards him.
◦ We can understand what is going on here through the lyrics, as we hear 'it's so hard just to say good bye it ain't easy the more and the more you try,' and we can see how this man is struggling to move on. Another contrast between Pixie and this man is that throughout the whole video so far, Pixie is filmed dancing with many other people. However this man is on his own, conveying a sense of loneliness. Again this adds to the sense of a positive energy towards her, and a negative energy towards him.
◦ The second chorus is very much the same as the first one, with quick cuts between close ups of her and long shots of everyone dancing on the terrace. Again there is very bright lighting and generally a positive energy to the video.
◦ As the second chorus finishes, the lighting and the setting change. We see Pixie Lott for the first time sitting in a car. We can see her through the window and there is raindrops covering the window. It is quite a dark lighting, and we see her much more like we saw the man in the video earlier on. The lyrics are 'I might loose my mind for a while but ill be fine.' This is emphasised by the video, as we see her through the rainy window. There is the implication that the raindrops covering her face could represent tears. The music is much slower as well, and the camera is fairly still, and there is only one slow cut between 2.09 and 2.19, so the camera is very focused on her, which again emphasises the sudden difference in the pace of the music.
◦ Once the music starts to speed up again, we see her in the light again. However the camera still cuts between her dancing and her sitting in the car, so there is still a slightly negative atmosphere.
◦ Once she starts dancing we have another change of scenery, it looks like a street. They are dancing in front of a wall full of graffiti. The music has picked up and is much more upbeat, but there is still quite a dark lighting. There is also now only Pixie and two other dancers. By loosing all the other dancers we also loose the energy, and it looks much slower than before. This also reminds us off the man earlier in the video, as he was also on his own. Although Pixie is not alone, by loosing all the other dancers we loose the united feeling that we felt towards her earlier.
◦ At the end of the video, we see Pixie Lott and this man meet for the first time. The camera is still focused on her, with an almost over his shoulder shot so we can just see her face. It is a close up shot. This is followed by a close up of there hands as they leave each other. This emphasises them moving on, and forward, as the lyrics say.
This video conveys some of the typical conventions of a pop music video. Like with many other music videos, the video tells us what is happening in the lyrics. There are many examples in this video of the visual image echoing the lyrics, which is useful in helping us to understand the song a bit more. Pixie Lott also has camera preference most of the way through, and she is almost always objectified in the frame. Im sure that when I look at other videos this will be the same for other artists.
Here is a link to ellie's video analysis -
Annabel
