The Strokes: Reptilla
The video for Reptilla focuses on selective cinematography to keep the concept of a performance video interesting.
Mise-en-sène:
The mise-en-scène in this video is very limited because of the extreme close ups throughout.Cinematography:
Compositionally this video is built up of close ups and extreme close ups of body parts of each member whilst they perform the track "Reptilla". A lot of the shots in this video use the pulled focus effect to shift the attention of the audience. It is often successfully done from elements of the instruments. This is an effect that I will use as it adds interest and energy into the shots. The movement varies throughout the footage. The majority of shots are motionless which adds emphasis to the movement of the band members however there are some acceptions where slight motion is added in to liven up some of the more still shots.Editing:
The editing in this video follows a rhythmic approach. All of the cuts are to the beat. As the video develops the cuts become more frequent. This culminates at the end where the cuts become extremely fast. Another note worthy editing technique is the way that towards the end of the video a split screen effect is applied. This shows two or at one point four perspectives of the musicians performing. Both the split screen and the cuts add pace and energy into what would otherwise be very dull motionless footage.As with many music videos this video breaks the rules. Within the indie music genre this video follows the conventions fairly steadily however in general most genres have a certain element of voyeurism, this video doesn't have any typical form of voyeurism. Some could say the very selective framing and slow reveal of each band member creates a slight voyeuristic undertone.
Jeff Buckley: Grace
I love the video for Grace because it follows the formula that I want to use. The video is hugely successful in my opinion because it strikes the fine balance between performance and abstract. With videos that are majority performance there is a negative connotation as the majority of people tend to assume that performance videos aren't interesting.
Mise-en-scene:
The mise-en-scene is hard to distinguish in this video because of the very dim lighting.
Cinematography:
Within the video there is a huge amount of movement. Obviously not every shot is shaking but throughout the video there is a range in level of motion. Some of the shots are relativly steady with a very slow track or pan being used whereas others have more of a handheld feel. Although there is a range in the level of motion throughout the video, there is a general level of energy that the repeated use of motion achieves. The framing within this video is interesting. With many of the shots of Jeff Buckley only select portions of his face are in the frame due to the use of extreme close ups. This makes the performance aspect of the video far more engaging and interesting as it adds mystery because the star of the video is slowly revealed. Obviously the polar opposite would be if there were motionless tripod long shots. Although that could work it would be impossible to achieve the same level of intrigue with that approach. Some of the shots of Jeff are from head on however there are a lot which show his head from a profile perspective. This contributes to his star image as it makes his outline appear like an outline. Many recognisable products and people are recognised by their silhouette. That is the intention behind a shot like this. Obviously this is a technique that I will be using except as my video will be of a band I will use this technique on all of the members.
Editing:
One of the obvious editing techniques that has been applied to this footage is the very strong colour grading. Unless the video was actually filmed on film with a sepia tone a very conscious decision has been made to give the footage an inherently vintage look. Also within the editing is the cutting of the sequence. Each clip is cut to the beat with the shot duration varying. The shots that are held for the longest are the ones of Jeff Buckley, the star of the video.
