Detailed Research into 3 music videos.

1. Detailed Research
By Josh Manley

2. Foals – Late Night
https://vimeo.com/60057960

3. What institutions are responsible for
the music video?
• http://www.nabil.com
• The video was directed by Nabil Elderkin
who is an American/Iranian freelance
professional photographer and music
video/film director.
• He was born in Chicago and raised in
Australia, he is now based in Los Angeles
California.
• He has his own company called N E
Direction where he has many employees
working for him. The company is very
established as its previous clients include
artists such as Kanye West, Nicki Minaj,
Frank Ocean and John Legend as well as
manufacturers such as Coca Cola,
Footlocker, Nike and Adidas.

4. Codes employed by the institution
Nabil’s work has a specific style in terms of his direction but also in relation to his mise-en-scene
and themes which he explores. As shown above, the majority of his music videos are based in
rural settings and only follow one character. This allows the audience to connect very effectively
with the characters as there are no other characters to consider. He explores different elements
of the world such as forest, ocean, mountain, sky and roads. The setting is always relevant to the
narrative and contributes to the overall theme. Death tends to be a featured theme of Nabil’s
work as he explores it in many of is products. Also it is noticeable that he uses a rather natural
colour palette but also sometimes relatively gritty dependent on the location. For example when
in forest he uses many greens and browns which is very effective in contributing to the overall
mood and atmosphere and theme.

5. What are the key selling points of the
video?
The fact that the music video includes the band performing would instantly be the
biggest selling point of the video. Recognisable figures, especially the band, hold the
audiences the attention very effectively. Also the fact that diegetic sounds are
included contributes the immersive experience of the music video. This allows from a
much greater connection to be made with the audience as they would feel closer and
can relate to the visuals on screen. Also the reoccurring themes of nudity and blood
could be considered as a selling point of the video as it would entice the audience,
especially the more youthful audience. It is proven that younger audiences are
interested in the gory aspect of products and also generally tend to feel more
comfortable when experiencing forms of nudity.

6. What appears to be the target
audience for the music video?
Foals – Late Night
Both males and females
Younger audience due
to theme included in
The music video
(16-25 year olds)
Indie / Indie Rock /
Foals Fans
Musicians Aspiring Film makers /
Students
Potentially couples due to
events of the birth of a
child and also sex

7. Success of the music video
This music video was very successful for many of reasons. Its success is depicted
through its nomination in the sixth UK Music Video Awards in 2013 and also a
nomination in the Best Colour Grade category. Although it didn’t win the Best
Rock/Indie Music Video, It claimed first place in the Best Colour Grade category.
Therefore illustrated the great success of the video due to being nominated for such
highly prestigious awards. I believe the parts of the music video that are successful
would be the concept, theme and colour. I feel that narrative is very meaningful and
open to many different interpretations. Also the music video relates very well in
targeting a specific audience and I feel the whole mise-en-scene as well as the
colour grading work very well in contributing the the overall mood of the video.

8. Sia – Elastic Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWZGAExj-es

9. What institutions are responsible for
the music video?
• There wasn’t a specific institution responsible for this music video. Instead it was
directed by the artist of the track, Sia Furler and also Australian filmmaker and
artist Daniel Askill who uses film, photographs, video installation and sculpture in
his work.
• Sia is an Australian singer and songwriter. In 2000, Sia signed to Sony Music’s sub-
label Dance Pool.
• By having Sia as a director for her own music video, she was able to apply her
own perspective and ideology which worked very effectively, despite receiving a
mixed response.

10. Codes employed by the institution
• Sia’s video trilogy, “Chandelier”, Elastic
Heart”, and “Big Girls Cry”, all feature the
young dancer Maddie Ziegler performing
elaborate choreography. A deeper look at
the symbolism in these videos reveals the
disturbing story of a young girl’s abuse
inside the elite’s system of mind control.
Sia tends to set her work at very dingy
and derelict locations. She also ensures
that Maddie wears the same costume
(nude leotard and white wig) in order to
show consistency in her work. The
content of her music videos also always
include a peformance from Maddie in her
established abtract style where her facial
expressions and body language and
movement convey a particular message.
Sia als tends to include the camera
movement of spiralling around the
performance, particularly in Chandelier
and Elastic heart, therefore showing a
trend.

11. What are the key selling points of the
video?
• The keys points of the music video would
be the fact that one of the characters
included is a worldwide renowned actor
which would attract many audiences. Shia
Labeouf is known for his inclusion in the
Transformers films which can be considered
a family film, so audiences from all ages
would be attracted. Transformers is a series
of American science fiction action films
directed by Michael Bay, and based on the
toys created by Hasbro and Tomy.
Therefore attracting audiences who are
fans of Shia's work. Also the concept of
the two performing together in a rather
abstract form would also be a selling point
as it is unique to most music videos. The
fact that the characters are wearing nude
coloured costumes imply a sense of nudity
which would attract younger audiences.

12. What appears to be the target
audience for the music video?
Sia – Elastic Heart
People who suffer
from paranoia or
insecurty
Younger generations
(16-25)
Mainly females,
but also males
Pop fans

13. Success of the music video
• The success of the music video can be undermined by nomination for the 2015 VMA
Award for Best Female Video and also MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video. In
June 2015, Billboard selected the video as one "of the 10 best music videos of 2015 so
far. PopCrush also chose it as one of its favorites of the first half of 2015, commenting
that the video's "lopsided choreography and filthy warfare yields a raw, junkyard
beauty that doesn’t ask who will make it out alive, but whether escape is ever really on
the table. Also the video had received more than 440 million views on YouTube.
However the video faced criticism due to the depiction of an adult and child dancing
together, clad only in beige dancewear. Despite Sia’s intention was to create some
emotional content , some commentators perceived the piece as pedophilic. I feel that
the message of the girl being the man’s inner issues or child which he is unable to
control is very effective as I regard it as intellectual content.

14. Beyonce – Pretty Hurts
https://youtu.be/LXXQLa-5n5w

15. What institutions are responsible for
the music video?
• Melina Matsoukas (born January 14,
1981) is an American director of music
videos and commercials. She is a
Grammy Award winner for her "We
Found Love" video.
• Matsoukas started out at Black Dog
Film, then the now-defunct Gorilla Flix
film production company, and is
currently a director at Prettybird, which
she has been signed to since 2011.
• Prettybird is a production company who
has worked with artists such as Pharrell,
Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Rihanna
as well as other well known brands such
as Nike, Gatorade and Levi’s.

16. Codes employed by the institution
In Melina Matsoukas' music videos I have
noticed that she tends to apply a strong
colour filter/fade or she makes the
visuals look very natural. I found that it is
also evident that Melina explores many
cultures in her work, mainly the sapeur
culture. The movement embodies the
elegance in style and manners of colonial
predecessor dandies as a means of
resistance. They are in stark contrast
with the environment they live in. This
contrast can be illustrates through the
great contrast she uses in colour. She
also explores heavily on the youth of the
cultures. At some point in most of her
products she shoots at night which
seems to be a trend. She employs
intimacy a lot in her work where her
content explores relationships between
people.

17. What are the key selling points of the
video?
• An instant selling point of the music video
would be the fact that Beyonce is include as the
main character in which the narrative follows.
By including the artist and the fact that she is
such a prestigous and recognisable figure would
instantly cause a variety of audiences to want to
watch the video. The content and narrative
would also be a selling point as it plays a big
part in today's society, by including this subject
the audience will want to see the project in
attempt to gain Beyonce's view and
perspective. The fact that it takes place at a
beauty pageant causes many models to be part
of the narrative which would also be a selling
point to males due to the 'male gaze'. The parts
where the soundtrack cuts out and diegetic
sounds and dialogue take place adds to the
immersive experience and allows the audience
to connect more with the visuals. The dialogue
used is also very effective in presenting
Beyonce's perspective and view, making it clear
to the viewers.

18. What appears to be the target
audience for the music video?
Beyoncé – Pretty
Hurts
Females and males
Particularly young
Females ( Teenagers
And young adults)
People interested
in beauty/fashion
Power pop/ soul
fans

19. Success of the music video
• At the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, the clip was nominated in four categories:
Best Editing, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Video with a Message,
ultimately winning the latter two. The inspiration of the music comes from the
pressure on women to have outer beauty in society. It investigates the extremes
women go through to achieve the sense of outer beauty, keeping up with the
pressure in which society places on beauty. The visuals and narrative are
extremely relevant to the lyrics of the soundtrack. The whole mise-en-scene is
very effective in contributing to the intended message and atmosphere of the
video and allows the audience to understand the intentions of the artist.