3. FRAME 1: 00:14 (4 SECS LONG)
At the beginning of the music video, there is a
panning establishing shot of a town, followed by
the name of the artist (M.I.A) and the title of the
song (Born Free). This technique is very unusual to
be seen in a music video as it is usually a feature
that is seen in films. This gives the music video a
more cinematic feel, as if we are not just meant to
be listening to the music, but also pay attention to
what we see, as if we are watching an actual film.
4. FRAME 2: 00:35 – 00:39 (4 SECS LONG)
This medium close up shot of a man highlights his
attire. He is shown to be wearing a helmet and
wearing protective body armour. From this we
assume that he works for special forces, perhaps
working for the Police or the S.W.A.T team.
Throughout the few seconds he is shown, he
remains still and maintains an emotionless look on
his face. He is also sat in front of what looks to be a
cage. This would make us assume he is preparing to
raid a house or come into contact with criminals.
5. FRAME 3: 01:08 – 01:10 (2 SECS LONG)
This low angle shot shows 3 members of the military
force racing down a set of stairs. We can see from this
angle they are carrying riot shields and wearing gas
masks. This gives us the impression they are about to
raid some criminal’s apartment and are prepared for
a violent outburst.
6. FRAME 4: 02:27 – 02:54 (7 SECS LONG)
This frame is a medium two shot showing a member of the
Special Forces grabbing a man and arresting him. Shots
just before this frame showed the special forces behaving
violently to innocent people. This shot shows that this man
was who the special forces were clearly looking for.
7. FRAME 5: 03:34 – 03:36 (2 SECS LONG)
This medium shot shows a very interesting frame from
the music video. It shows the man who was arrested
sitting next to other people who all have ginger hair.
They are sat in a prison bus (the natural framing of the
bars emphasises this). This makes us assume these are all
prisoners based on their ginger hair.
8. FRAME 6: 05:00 – 05:02 (2 SECS LONG)
This frame backs up my point from the last slide. This is a close up
shot of a man with ginger hair but the frame of the bars of the
prison bus are over his face. This shows how trapped he and the
other prisoners are. It shows that he can not escape while he is
around these bars.
9. FRAME 7: 06:50 – 06:52 (2 SECS LONG)
This is arguably the most controversial part of the music
video/short film. It features a Medium close up shot of a
young ginger haired girl getting shot in the head, with
blood spurting out the other side. This delivered a sense of
narrative shock as viewers would not expect to see in a
music video, a young child getting shot for them to see
clearly. This shot also shows that there could be a potential
genocidal situation, after violently killing the young girl.
10. FRAME 8: 07:05 – 07:07 (2 SECS LONG)
This frame shows an extreme long shot of all of the ginger haired
prisoners running for their lives. Other frames show them getting
shot at and getting blown up by bombs that were placed on the
ground. This frame shows that they are desperate for their
freedom but it is being withheld from them, being shot at.
11. FRAME 9: 08:38 – 08:41 (3 SECS LONG)
This final frame shows a low angle shot of one of the special
forces officer beating down on the ginger haired man
arrested earlier with a stick. This cements his dominance in the
video, demonstrating how vicious he and the other officers
are. The low angle shot insinuates he is a much more violent
and dominating character.
