Mr Brightside analysis

Mr Brightside - The killers 

Singer - Brandon Flowers
Genre - Alternative Rock 
Label - Lizard King
Writers - Brandon Flowers, David Keuning
Producers - The killers 

Relationship between visuals and lyrics 
The relationship between visuals and lyircs in the music video are weak but they do have a direct connection. There is a lot of shots of the band performing and playing in time with the lyrics. There is also a narrative of a love triangle. There are performance and narrative shots. There are common conventions of a indie/rock genre. The common convention of the killers performing and then the indie convention is the narrative and the extravagant colours and clothing. The video and the lyrics are both about to men a female in a love triangle. These characters are played by actors and then the lead singing himself Brandon Flower. The visuals show us that the female kissed another male and that Flower is getting jealous. The lyrics "jealousy turning snakes into the sea" reflect this. The narrative doesn't directly have a relationship with the lyrics; however it the narrative reflects the lyrics meanings and ideas. 

Genre Characteristics
The genre of the song "Mr. Brightside" is indie/rock. The typical conventions of a indie are usually unique and abstract. The song writer and director created an artistic and abstract video out of something small and simple. Typical genre characteristics of an rock would be for the music video to show some performance in the video instead of being a simple narrative. Pop music usually sticks to the narrative; whereas rock either mixes or just performance. the majority of the camera shots are close ups of the bands faces or instruments. These are also typical genre conventions of rock music. The face of the band is flower himself therefore most of the camera shots (whilst they were performing) are focused on his face.

Intertextuality
The music video has taking inspiration from the film "Moulin Rouge". It is similar to "Moulin Rouge" in the way of the love triangle and the mis-en-scene. There are also a few references to "snow White". In the first few seconds we denote the female protagonist gets thrown an apple and she is dressed in all white. The red apple is symbolising poison and the story of Adam and Eve. The apple is causing destruction in the means of temptation and mistakes. flower chucks her the apple and then she goes to kiss another man. He is pushing her away and towards other men with his possessiveness. We are also able to connote Flowers possessiveness through the lyrics; "I want it all".

Performance and narrative
The first thing we see in the initial wide shot is a stage and the killers standing on the stage performing. Gradually throughout the video we see the performance and the narrative having interlocking shots. There is a "Moulin Rouge" setting, the location is all set in one place however it is a large location with multiple rooms. The rooms allow the multiple relationships that are going on to be shown in private. Even though most of the time the couples are running into these private rooms alone, the other member of the love triangle ends up being there and seeing what is happening. This is another representation of how jealously can effect a person in love. The audience is able to connote that the song and the visuals are about jealousy in a relationship and how it can become toxic due o the jealousy turning into possession. There are also shots of the instruments and they are plugged in; making the performance authentic. This allows the audience to denote the band is playing live to this "Moulin Rouge" audience. The girls are dancing to this song therefore making it even more authentic and realistic.

Narrative
The narrative is about a man that falls in love with a women that is already in a relationship. We denote that Flower and the female protagonist are dancing together, this could signify that they are having relations. The other man in the relationship finds out about Flower and the female protagonist, therefore finding out about the affair. Both Flower and the other man argue over her and flower looses her. Flower doesn't stop seeing her. Overall the narrative is about adult relationships; however we connote that they are playing childish games. This can attract to the younger audiences. There is a closed non linear narrative. The close narrative occurs due to the fact the audience can denote in the beginning that there is a love triangle and Flower is jealous and pushing the female protagonist is being pushed away. In the middle of the music video we can see the action occurring. Initially we denote the band performing on the stage; then in the middle we see the action occurring, both Flower and the other man are with the female protagonist. Finally the last shot we see the other man in the love triangle walk away from her. We can connote that Flower and the female protagonist end up together. However the narrative is also non-linear due to the fact that there are performance shots interlocking with the narrative shots. Propp's theory can be applied in this music video. We can denote that there is a 'hero' that is Flower. There is also the villain that is the other male in the love triangle. The audience can also denote a princess. That was the third wheel in the love triangle. the hero is the character that seeks something; that something being the female protagonist. We can connote that the other male is the villain due to Propp's theory stating that the villain in  the music video is the person that gets in the way of the hero getting something. Finally we can apply Propp's theory to "Mr. Brightside" by calling the female protagonist the princess. She acts as the reward for the hero. The hero (Flower) ends up with the female protagonist. One of Barthes codes can also be applied to the music video. The proairetic code can be applied. We are left wondering throughout the video what is going to happen next and who is going to end up with the female protagonist. The tension is building up throughout the video; the killers do this by the audience viewing the females and the males love affair. The man she was originally with is gradually figuring it out. This is building tension because as the audience we are unsure as to what the male is going to do. We can also apply Levi-Straus' theory of binary opposites. We can denote that there is a love triangle. We can denote the other male in the love triangle, being a negative character. We connote him being evil and the male protagonist (Flower) being the hero. This shows the binary oppositions of evil vs. good.

Mode of address
Flower does look directly at the camera whilst there is a close shot of his face in the beginning. This is breaking the fourth wall. It is said that Flower was looking at the camera because he was the face of marketing for the killers at the time. With Flower looking through the camera it is making a direct connection with the audience and it makes the audience feel like he is looking at us. The gratifications theory would state that Flower is building a personal relationship with the audience.

Star Treatment
The lead singer of the killers is singled out throughout the video. He was known as the key marketing angle for the killers. In many of their music videos there is close shots of Flower looking directly into the camera at the audience. Therefore in "Mr. Brightside" when he looks directly at the camera we are able to connote that he is the star of the music video. We are also able to connote this through the fact that he is playing a character in the love triangle. Not only is he involved in the performance with the rest of the band; but he is also deeply involved in the narrative, instead of getting another actor they use him, so that the audience is able to get involved in the love triangle and are able to connect with him and the love triangle.

Representations
The imagery has strong intertextualty references to Moulin rouge. the girls are seen wearing provocative clothing. The audience can denote the girls being controlled by the men in the music video. Over the female gender is represented as being an objects of pleasure for the men. The colour red also represents lust and love in the music video. Also red can represent the emotion anger; we can connote that the men in the room may be feeling lust for the women, Flower may be feeling love for the female protagonist. Then the women may have a sense of anger towards the situation. As the narrative proceeds the audience emphasises with the male protagonists (Flower) wanting him to get the girl in the end.

Male Gaze
There is voyeurism in the music video. The main female protagonist is displayed as a prostitute and is being controlled by another men. There are shots of the girl lifting up her skirt among with the other girls. This is showing the voyeuristic side of men and how they observe women as an object of pleasure. The females in the music video are mainly shots of their body. There are close shots of their legs and they are lifting up their skirts to show more leg. This relates to what Carole Clover stated; saying that women are showing their bodies in order to imply that they wish to express their sexual confidence.

Pace
The overall pace is fast. The drum beat is fast and all the visuals are fast moving.

Shots
The shots are 80/20 narrative to performance. We denote the performance of "The Killers" is occurring to break up the narrative. When the audience denote the performance we can see that there are more close shots of Flower himself and then medium shots of the rest of the band due to the fact that they are not as important to narrative as Flower himself. Because Flower is the protagonist in the narrative the shots in the performance are mainly on him and the instruments. The audience can connote that Flower is more important than the rest of the band members. The shot variety in the narrative are more varied. The audience can connote in the narrative that the video is focussing on both the female and male protagonist and the male antagonist. Overall the shots are focussing on the main characters and the mis-en-scene. There is one location throughout; however the location has several small rooms, enabling the two protagonists in the love triangle to run off together and then have the antagonist following them. In the narrative there are generally wide shots of the characters; this allows the audience to denote the Moulin rouge theme in the music video. We can see the females dancing and lifting up their skirts in a provocative way. The medium long shots are also used to enable the audience to denote that their are three people in the relationship. Also there are shot reverse shots of the female protagonist and male antagonist and protagonist. This is allowing the audience to infer the relationship between the three characters. went tre is shot reverse shot, they use close shots to enable the audience to see the characters facial expressions. The facial expressions allows the audience to connote the emotions that are occurring between the three. For example when we see Flower looking at the male antagonist, we can understand there is some hatred and jealously occurring in the eye contact. Then when Flower looks at the female protagonist; we can connote there is a sense of love and want to be together.

Effects
There aren't any visual effects added to the music video. The theme of the Moulin Rouge and the colour red are strong and it represents love, lust and anger. There are mainly quick cutaway transition shots. They are quick cutaway shots so that the audience don't notice the cut away shots and the narrative is coherent and fast paced.

Mis-en-scene
The mis-en-scene was heavily inspired by the film "Moulin Rouge". The location and the room was designed heavily in the colour red. The colour red can represent the feelings of love, lust and anger. In the film Moulin Rouge the girls are portrayed as being items of pleasure and they are dressed in provocative clothing much like in the music video. Moulin Rouge is about a young writer to comes to Paris to the drug and prostitution lifestyle. "Moulin Rouge" is about an underground night club in which the rich and poor men are able to visit and have a good time. Things then take a turn for the worst when the main character has a love affair and becomes in danger. He is in over his head. The audience in the music video can connote that Flower relates to the main character in Moulin Rouge. The room is red and the costume designs are over dramatic and the female characters aren't wearing a lot of clothing. The men's costume's are three piece suits, therefore the audience can connote that they are of higher status.

Dani california analysis

dani california - Red hot chili peppers 

Singer - Anthony Kiedis
Genre - Funk Rock
Label - Warner Bros. 
Writers - Flea, Fruciante, Keidis and Smith
Producer - Rick Reubin

Relationship between visuals and lyrics
The relationship between visuals and lyrics in "Dani California" are indirect. The characters in the music video are members of the band. We can denote that each performance that we see is a different era represtented by the costume and makeup. The song is about a girl called Dani California in which the singer (Anthony Kiedis) wrote about a young southern girl who died young and ended up living in California. Kiedis stated that the girl in which the song is about is a composite of all the girls Kiedis dated over the years. Dani featured in a few other of the Red hot Chili Pepper's songs throughout  the years. Dani California is about how Dani travelled from Mississippi to California and  ended up getting killed by a man "gunnin" from North Dakota. The visuals don't have a direct connection with the lyrics. We can denote that the RHCP's are changing costumes throughout he video. The RHCP's are dressed representing important figures and movements in the history of rock music. The band mainly focussed on the different eras of rock music. The audience were able to denote this through the mis-en-scene. Therefore the visuals and the lyrics were focussing on different subjects.

Genre Characteristics
The genre of the RHCP is rock/indie. Typical rock genre conventions are that the band perform their song instead of a narrative performance. the shooting material appropriate is that they chose to suit the typical rock conventions. The audience are able to connote that the RHCP are a rock band through the use of the performance and also due to the fact they are performing representing rock through history.

Intertextuality
The RCHP use intertextuality all the way through the music video. Intertextuality is shown through the use of the mis-en-scene. The RHCP dress as different acts and themes of rock music in history. The RHCP represent era's such as; rockabilly, British invasion, psychedelic, funk, glam, punk, Goth, grunge and hair metal. They also represent rock artists such as; Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Cream, Parliament-funkadelic, David Bowie, Sex pistols, Slade, the Misfits', Glenn Danzig, Poison, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers themselves. these are all people who played a part in making rock music what is it today and what it was in 2006 when "Dani California" was recorded.

Performance
All throughout the music video it is a performance by the RHCP. There is lip syncing throughout. However it is made to look like the RHCP's are performing live in different era's. In the initial scene there is static movement of the camera and the shots are in black and white. They then use a brighter hue to give the atmosphere of the 80'.s All the different era's are shot on the same stage in the same place. However the props and costume change with every era or representation of a rock act. With every change of era or act the shot is directly in front of the RHCP and is a medium shot; giving the audience chance to get the full image. the camera is directly across to make the audience feel like they are the audience live. The instruments are plugged in and they are electric towards the end. In the first scene there are instruments applicable to that time. We see Flea playing the cello instead of the bass. The band are mainly rocking around the change in an un practiced fashion.

Mode of address
the singer (Kiedis) never loos directly at the camera. He is performing in different era's as if there is an audience; therefore he doesn't look directly at the camera be' (ut mainly focuses on performing "live". there isn't a direct connection with the band and the audience.

Star Treatment
All the shots are of the band. There is no other shots of the audience of other people. However there is star treatment in the way that the RHCP's are playing era's and rock artists through the years. they are idolising people like Elvis and Jimmy Hendrix. In the end of the song 'Dani California' there is even a guitar solo that is a different verion of Jimmy Hendrix's guitar solo in the song 'Purple Haze' (wikipeadia). By the end of the video we see the RHCP's as themselves. They finish as themselves.

Audience
The audience in their video is shown because they are performing the song as if there is an audience watching them .The stage is in there same location all the way through but the props are changing therefore making it look like there is a different audience each time.  By the RHCP's dressing up as famous rock artists in history they are signifying that their audience will know who these artists are and possibly be fans of them as well as the RHCP's themselves.

Representations
The representations of the rock genre are presented as being inspiration for rock music today. The RHCP's are dressing up as certain rock era's and artists. Everyone who that are dressing up as are being represented as being powerful and leaders of the rock music genre. The music video end with the RHCP's themselves and the music artists that they have been dressing up as could represent what inspired them to become what type of artist they are to this day. The British band "The Sex Pistols" were represented through the costume and makeup  (much like David bowie was). They were also represented through the close ups and the fast paced movement of the camera shots. the 1980's (glam rock) was also represented by the band singing on stage as if they were playing live rather than in an music video. They all wore sleeveless tops with black hair. This helped the audience connote that they were playing to the era of glam rock and this applied to the typical rock conventions. The 70's era was represented by the band members wearing floral shirts and the hue of the shots was increased, this emphasised the colours and made them appear brighter to the audience. These effects were common in the 70's. Anthony appears to be playing prince at this point. The audience is able to denote this due to the costume and makeup. He is wearing a black wig and is wearing clothes that prince is likely to be associated at the time. The second scene is were the RHCP's represent the Beatles in the 1960's. They were a very popular band in the 60's.

Pace
The music doesn't change pace throughout, however the speed of the camera shots and the variation changes with every era or artist. In the first era we see 1950's rock music. The video is in black and white and the camera movement is static and has few different shots. this was common in the 50's to have little variation in the speed because it cost a lot of money to create a video. whereas in the "Sex Pistols" section the camera pace increases and the shots are shorter. This is authentic British music video conventions in the 70's. This helps the audience denote the era in each section. The audience is able to denote each era through costume and through the camera work. for example in the glam rock era. We are able to denote it being glam rock due to the fact that the RHCP's are performing the song as if they are live, which is a typical convention of glam rock. The camera angles help us as the audience connote that they are singing as if they are live due to the low angle shots of them playing the instruments and the crane shots. the shots are fast and mainly focus on the instruments and the artists faces and hand movements.

Shot variety
The shot variety changes throughout the music video. There are 22 different era and artists that the RHCP's represent. The shots vary throughout. For example in the first scene there it is 50's rock and the shots are long and they are static. The transition with a harsh cut. There is a black and white filter to make it look as if it was set in the 50's. Minimal transition edits are applied to this section; this enables the audience to be able to denote the 50's theme. The second scene is supposed to represent the Beatles. They presented this by the video also being in black and white however the intensity has been lowered and there isn't as much contrast. We then denote the prince scene. the camera movements are coming in and out of focus. There is a lot of shots of Anthony's shoulder in focus and then the background drummer or guitarist is out of focus. With in the same shot the focus changes. The shots are transitioned by a swipe effect or an fade out. We then see the glam rock; in which Anthony is dressed up in a white suit. The shots are static zooming out of him initially. There is also low shots of the guitarist. This allows the audience to denote the glam rock theme and how the RHCP's are performing live. There are shots of therefore and multi-coloured lighting much like in the 70's. There are also shots that multiply the musicians. This reminds the audience of there band queen. We then see the representation of Bowie. Anthony is dressed in a shiny blue suit and his dancing is denoting Bowie and his extravagance. There is then the Goth stage in which the shot variety is face paced and there is different angles of the artist every 0:02 seconds. This is fast paced and the shots are generally close shots. There are side and direct shots of their faces and instruments.

Effects
There are different effects in each era. Each effect applies to the era making it look authentic to the audience.

Toatal eclipse of the heart analysis

Toatal eclipse of the heart - Bonnie Tyler

The music video was filmed in 1983

Relationship between the visuals and lyrics

The location is at a private school in america and there is a dark emo theme. The lyrics sing 'turn around bright eyes' and in the initial scene there is a male character walking through the door in which Tyler in upstairs. His eyes are bright and glowing. There is a direct connection between the lyrics and the visuals. It is a narrative video however Tyler is miming the lyrics at 1:25 for the chorus and this is a performance from Tyler. The performance is in the same location as the narrative. Everything that occurs in the video occurs in this private school; however there is cut away shots between performance and narrative. At 3:05 we see Tyler running through the halls of the private school and there are no lyrics being sung. This is a narrative that she is trying to find someone or running away from someone. There is then the backing track "turn around bright eyes" and we see a choir of people with literal bright eyes singing and then Tyler begins to sing again. She is singing amongst a group of dancers. The lyrics are about a vampires love and Tyler said in an interview that "it is all about the darkness of love, the power of darkness and how love is in a dark place". From the audience's point of view we are able to connote that there "total eclipse of the heart" is a dark love song due to the location being in an abandoned private school. Also the lyrics "total eclipse", and eclipse is where the moon covers the sun to create pitch black throughout the world at different times. This allows the audience to connote and denote a sense of darkness and how the song is about dark love. The visuals of the men with the bright glowing eyes allows us to denote a vampire theme. The songs writer (jim steinman) planned the video so that the lyrics and the visuals would be directly connected and it was very much intended.

Genre characteristics

The genre of "Total eclipse of the heart" is a slow rock/pop song. The ballad is about a dark love and it has a slow pace. However it made it to the top 40 in six different countries and it was the Tyler's first hit. Typical genre characteristics for rock would involve a performance from the artist and in the music video there are several clips in which tyler is performing in the private school, this is breaking up the linear narrative. Pop music is short for popular music therefore the genre characteristics vary. Because is it a dark ballad (within the pop genre) the characteristics are usually involving a dark location and with low lighting giving the music video a creepy dark effect. In "total eclipse of the heart" these genre characteristics have been applied. The music video is set in an old abandoned private school in America and the lighting is minimal. Mainly set by the lightening strikes outside and the dark chandeliers above. The low lighting helps emphasise the bright eyed characters that are sung about in the song. Most of the characters are wearing dark clothes as well; therefore the blend into the background. This once again helps the bright eyes be emphasised and stand out. We can connote that the bright eyes are a key and it is a typical convention in a love song to sing about the eyes. However tyler is singing about the bright eyes but hey are like supernatural bright eyes and don't fit the typical ballad genre characteristics.

Intertextuality 

There are aspects of a wilder culture that are in the music video. Tyler is singing about vampire love and this would be the intertextuality. Not only is Tyler singing about love; but she is singing about vampire love which is a dark love.

Performance or narrative 

In the beginning of the music video we see a wide shot of an old private school. The camera is zooming into a window in which Bonnie Tyler is in. The room in which the camera is zooming in on has light whereas all the other rooms are dark. This allows the audience to connote that there is something happening that is relevant in this particular room. We see a wide shot of Tyler with her head bowed down and she is not singing to the lyrics implying that this is a narrative video. There is then a male sining "turn around bright eyes" as if they are having a conversation and we can denote a man standing in the doorway when the male is singing, then the camera switches back to shots of Tyler when she sings. The video is telling a story. There is then a classroom full of biys in uniforms. This is a open non-linear narrative. We then see Tyler performing the song half way through the video. There is limited location variation. However because it was set in a school there is a wide variation of shots due to it being a large location within it's self. The audience see's several different classrooms within the school and we see halls and a large cathedral area in which tyler is performing. There isn't any movement surrounding tyler in her first performance, however later on in the music video we see tyler surrounded by vampire dancers, they are dramatically dancing and this creates a sense of drama and supernatural themes.  The audience can connote that this isn't real life and that  there is emphasise of the over exaggeration of movement to imply how much love effects someone.

Narrative

There is a non-linear narrative. From 0:00-0:50 we see Tyler by herself. Then by 0:51-2:58 there is the first fantasy the from 2:59-4:40. Finally we see the daytime until the end of the music video.  In the first section we see Tyler on her own in a room and she is singing "turn around, every now and then i get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round". The setting is romantic in which she is surrounded by candles and blowing curtains. There is then a shot of a full moon which allows the audience to connote a gothic feel to the music video.  We then denote a dove trying to fly into the building through a window. We can denote a struggle for the dove. The dove is a symbol of love and because there is a struggle we can connote that it represents the struggles of love. We then see a male student walking through the door with glowing eyes. There is then a cross dissolve of Tyler and the boy. This signifies that Tyler is getting wrapped up in the fantasy because she is desperate for love and she is lonely. The connection between he student and Tyler is emphasised by the lyrics 'turn around bright eyes'. The second fantasy kicks off by an open door with blowing curtains this matches the bass drop of the song. Tyler then leaves the lonely room and runs down some corridors. Tyler then looks through a door and a group of students look up at her and look at the audience which lets us connote that we are now apart of Tyler's fantasy. We are following her fantasy. We then see a small student who looks like a demon or a dark angel who then realises a doge from his hands. When she leaves the chamber she is free to explore her fantasies. She then walks into a room and there is a bright light shining behind her, denotes a sense of power and she becomes a silhouette. The light is a continuation of the original headlights and eyesight that penetrated her private chamber and let her imagination run further and further. One of Barthes codes is the semantic code that points to an element in a text that suggests a particular, often an additional meaning by the way of connotation which the story suggests. Therefore in "total eclipse of the heart" the school boys that have bright eyes re symbolising the fantasy that tyler is seeing and how there is such ting as a supernatural love and how there is a dark love.

Mode of address 

We see a group of student looking up at tyler as she walks past their classroom. The audience denote that the students with the glowing eyes are looking at tyler and registering that she is there, however the audience also feels like they are following her fantasy and living it themselves therefore the students look like they are braking the fourth wall and looking directly at the camera. There is a direct connection between the characters in the music video and tyler and the audience. Th audience is being made to feel as one with tyler and like they are living her fantasy.

Star treatment

Th singer (Tyler) is singled out through costume. She is wearing a long white dress that stands out in comparison to the rest of the characters in the music video. The rest of the characters are wearing school uniforms and they all look the same. Most of the other characters are of male gender therefore Tyler stands out in comparison. Thiis alows the audience to denote that Tyler is the main charcter and the song is about love and her type of love. We can denote ths because we are following her fantacy and tha she is the main character.  There are more shots of her than anything else in the music video. There are several tracking shots and panning shots of Tyler whereas for the rest of the characters there are single shots and most of them are medium shots therefore we cant denote detail. We can connote that they are not as important than Tyler. 

Representations 

The music video is representing dark love and vampire love. Tyler said that the music video was meant to represent dark love. The audience denotes the full moon and the full moon is associated with the supernatural. There is male gaze, due to Tyler being the main character in this music video she is wearing a long white dress which is seen as being formal and feminine. She is represented as being along and innocent. The colour white is representing purity enabling the audience to connote that she js pure. However there aren't any single shots of legs. She is not on the screen for sexual titillation but to sing the song and for us to live her fantasy.

Pace

The pace doesn't vary throughout the music video. The music pace stays the same throughout. We see that there are four sections to the music video (in which i stated earlier) in the beginning there is a slow pace in which Tyler is standing alone in a room singing about how she is alone. The we see her fantasies in which she leaves he room and runs around. The pace of her actions increases without the pace of the music increasing.  We continually get long takes of Tyler which are usually tracking shots of Tyler running through corridors or panning low shots of Tyler performing the song. We then see short takes of students and longer takes of Tyler letting the audience connote thaT this story is focused on Tyler and the students are in her fantasy and probably not real, however she is creating them in her mind because she is alone.

Shot variety 

There are several set ups within the same building. In the first scene we see Tyler alone with candles and blowing curtains. We then see her running through the corridors of this school and looking in classrooms. Then finally we see her in a larger room, which looks like a church room. This is where Tyler begins to sing and perform the song.  There are several types of shots throughout the music video. Te reoccurring shots are mainly tracking shots, panning shots, long shots, medium shots and a long medium shot in the beginning of the private school. There are no close shots in the video, this is letting the audience not see the detail of the films.  Tere is also a arc shot of Tyler when she is performing in the church of the school. This shot is usually used in music performance because it gives the singer or band member power. Especially if they are playing an instrument the audience is able to denote how they are playing and the emotions are put across. 

Mis-en-scene

There was one main location that was the private school. The video was shot in different sections of the private school. The lighting is dark, most of the rooms are lit by candles.  This connotes that the song is about dark love and when the audience sees the visuals and lyrics they can connote that it about dark love and how love isn't always what it is. The dark lighting is anchorage for the dark love and the vampire love that Tyler explained in interviews. The glowing eyes also allow the audience to denote vampirism. There is enigma all the through the song and the music video. We are u sure about why Tyler herself is singing about vampire love. The narrative is confusing and although it fits with the lyrics this doesn't explain why Tyler is creating these fantasies in her mind and sharing them with us. We don't get to understand why this is happening or the reason behind Tyler being at the private school in the first place. The only thing that comes clear to the audience is that Tyler is alone and therefore we are bale to infer from what we have seen that she is creating these fantasies and fake people to keep her company because she is alone. 

 Costume is key in this music video. It allows the audience to connote that there is difference between the other characters and Tyler herself. Tyler is wearing a white flowing gown and the other characters are wearing black or dark colours which blend into the background. We only really notice their eyes. They all look the same, this signifies that Tyler is special and we are following her story and her fantasy. 

Effects

There is a cross over fade of the bright eyed boy and Tyler i  the beginning. This gives the effect that they have a connection and that they have met before or something has brought them together. His two bright eyes are in her left eye, possibly representing that she was thinking or hoping for him or someone in particular to come for her and give her company. Now that he is there she has someone and there is hope. 

Take On Me - Analysis

Take On Me - AH-HA

1985 - AH-HA

Producer - Alan Tarney

MTV picked it up and it quick became a number one on October 19thof the same year.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

At 00:36 the lyrics begin and we see a female character when the lyrics begin "We're talking away". However the female is sitting alone reading a comic in a coffee house. The animation we see in the first 00:36 seconds is the comic she is reading. When the chorus begins "take on me" the audience see's the females eyes meet the animations eyes and there is a shot reverse shot of the characters eyes meeting even though one of them is an animation. This allows the audience to connote that there is a connection between the animation and the female. She isn't just reading the average comic; it means something to her. The animation then comes out of the magazine towards the female. This is occurring whilst the chorus is continuing. The female protagonist then looks around the coffee shop and there is a medium shot of the people in the room. They aren't taking notice of what is happening; we can connote that the female is in her own world seeing this and she is intrigued by this comic. The lyrics are "take on me, I’ll be there". She then grabs the hand coming out of the comic quite literally. We then denote that she then gets taken into the comic by the man in the comic lifting her down. We can then also denote that he is holding her hand and leading her around the comic. We then denote there is a large doorway and the male character walks behind the picture frame. The comic animation of the male character then turns to a real life character; much like the female character in the beginning of the music video.

Genre characteristics

The genre of 'Take on me' is pop, chart. Pop genre is an abbreviation of 'popular music'. In the 1980's, when 'take on me' was released pop music was often crafted from films or rock music. Pop genre characteristics in the 80's were mainly rock. Therefore they could be pulled from films and the music videos, such as 'Wake me up before you go' (WHAM!) involve protagonists. 'Take on me' however doesn't involve a performance from AH-HA, unlike in 'Wake me up before you go' and 'eye of the tiger' music videos. Therefore 'Take on me' doesn't follow the typical conventions of a 1980's pop genre.  However there is some shots of the band performing the main singer isn't singing, we only denote the band playing the instruments in half cartoon and half realistic. 

Intertextuality

There is some intertextuality in 'Take on me'. The comic book theme shows some intertextuality. This shows a wider culture than just music. The art of comics and storytelling through animation is also shown. We see the drawings telling a story between a woman and a man who belongs in the cartoon. This could represent how a book or comic can bring you deep into the story line. In the end we see both the female and male protagonists coming out of the comic and ending up together. This allows us to connote that the whole time we are watching the non-linear animation and real life shots that they have been trying to end up together. She has fallen in love with a character in a comic and felt a connection. She is deep into the book. There is a sense of narrative enigma throughout because we are unaware as to why they are together and trying to be together the whole time. 

Performance

In this music video we see a narrative throughout, watching a male and female trying to be together and going into each other’s worlds. However at 2:02 we see AH-HA perform, playing the drums and the keyboard. This is a general convention for a pop song in the 80's. Often pop songs were rock therefore were mainly performance videos. 'Take on me' wasn't a rock song however they took notice of the characteristics and parts of the music video were performance. There is a heavier balance on the narrative of the music video. We can infer from this that the point to this music video is to focus on the narrative and the shots of the performance are short, usually lasting 0:03 seconds.

Performance style

The short clips of the performance from AH-HA were all in the same place in the two times we see them perform. They are in a white room with wall paper in the background. The clips are short and they are medium shots of the band members looking directly at the camera whilst playing the instruments. This is breaking the fourth wall. Denoting a break in the narrative. There is someone playing the keyboard and someone playing the drums. 

Narrative

Take on me has a linear narrative; it has a start, middle and an end. In the beginning we see a girl reading the comic about this man and then falling into the story. The middle is us following the story of both the girl and the boy together in the comic. Finally they end up together out of the comic. There is also a proairetic story line meaning that there is protagonist and an antagonist. This means that the narrative creates suspension through action. Todorov's theory can be applied here. We see a beginning of equilibrium; the girl is reading the magazine and drinking coffee like a normal person. This state of equilibrium is then disrupted by the event that she gets lifted into the comic by the artist in the comic. They are then chased and she gets out of the comic. The artist in the novel then also makes it out. We see fiction being restored after a state of nonfiction. 

Mode of address

The artist never looks directly at the camera. However the artist in the animation looks at a mirror then walks around the mirror, this mirror then becomes a window and through the window is the performance. We see the real life through the window. However the female protagonist then walks through the window and this is makes it look fourth dimensional in the animation. The audience doesn't build a relationship with the artists. But we are able to denote are the artists building a relationship together; we follow their story.

Representations

There are representations of the female being attached to the male in the comic. She is getting involved in the comic; this implies that she is interested in comics and that she has fallen for a nonfictional character. The male in the comic is represented as a typical male protagonist. He is found attractive by female by just reading about him. The female protagonist enjoys reading about him so much; that by the end of the music video we see her cry due to the fact she is out of the comic and is reading to the end to see if he dies. However the audience denotes that they end up together out of the comic. The two shots below represent where the tempo increases. The shot on the left is where the video starts and represents the speed and agility of the motorbike race. The second shot is where the tempo is at its highest; where the antagonist is chasing the protagonists. There is then the performance and we see the angry woman crumple up the comic and put it in the bin. This is when we see the antagonists enter the later scenes. There is a representation of love throughout the music video. It is clear that from the beginning of the music video the female protagonist has a crush on the male protagonist in the comic. She is reading the comic to find out specifically what happens to the male character. The shot in which he takes his hand is representing how much trust she has in the male character. There is then the shot in which the male protagonist is holding her and their eyes meet for the first time. When the female protagonist walks towards the window with the male protagonist is on the other side, it lets the audience connote that the male protagonist wants her to trust him. There is then a shot in which one of the antagonists grabs hold of the female protagonists and the male protagonist then punches the antagonist in the face; this lets the audience connote how he will do anything to protect her and earn her love. They continue and then end up getting trapped. He saves her representing his love for her. 

Pace

There are several shots that show the variety in pace. The shot below is when the pace and the tempo of the music are at its highest. This is when the protagonist is getting chased by the antagonists and there is a strong sense of narrative enigma. There are several long tracking shots of the protagonists being chased. This allows the audience to see what his happening clearly.

Shot variety

There are several shots throughout the duration of the music video. The Norwegian pop group were able to mix narrative and performance in the music video. There were mainly close ups and extreme close shots to emphasise the artists for promotional uses. There are also several panning shots and tracking shots of the artists to follow them and the story.

Effects

The transitions were usually jump cuts; this allowed the editors to switch between the narrative and the performance.

Mis-en-scene

Initially there is the location of a coffee house. The female protagonist is sitting reading the comic that the male protagonist is in. She then gets dragged into the comic and this is the location in which most of the music video occurs.