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.
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