https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiqIush2nTA
This video is a performance video with a concept in the form of a story so it touches on all narrative, performance and concept. Haim are a pop rock band from LA, California. Most of their songs contain a feminine/feminist vibe and they also convey a strong image of 3 women.
This song very much follows the same message. The song is titled 'Don't Save Me', it is about how she missed how she was before, without the person she is with now. It is also about the lies that you tell when you're in a relationship to not lose the person e.g. 'you say you will save me' sung in this song. This whole song is about the struggle of being with someone and deciding to leave someone who doesn't give you what you deserve.
This song is different because traditionally a man is the one who makes the decisions and the man in this song is saying that he will 'save her' which is a traditional image but she is the one that puts her foot down and says no which might be considered as unusual. The song is also very much about herself and how she has changed as a person and if this is right for her and that sets a very strong image of the women.
Camera Works
This video contains a limited range of camera shots: long-shots, mid-shots and close ups. However, it does use a range of camera movements such as pans, action shots where the camera follows the action and zooms. The angles of the camera rarely change. Most of the video is shot with the angle straight on however the camera is tilted slightly during the action shots.
Editing
The cuts that are used in this video are clean and follow the music very well and the music, the base guitar in this case, also helps link two shots. The cuts are used to create a sequence of shots. In this, the sequence follows the pattern of shooting the performance and then cuts to the video that relates to the narrative although it doesn't become clear as to what the narrative is till later on in the video. I think this is a good technique because the focus isn't solely on the narrative or the performance but the focus is distributed on them equally.
Sound
There in a mixture of diagetic and non-diagetic sound within this video. Within the performance shots of the video, diagetic sound is heard. This is because we see the band playing the instruments and singing to the music. The music carries on when the narrative story shots are used so then the music heard would turn into non-diagetic music instead.
Special Effects
The playing of basketball and the stunts that are shown like the jumps and slam dunks can be seen as special effects because they add to the scene and makes what is happening on screen more exciting. Also the people doing these stunts would obviously have the skill needed so it would've been essential for the directors to cast able bodied people that fit the role and that satisfy them.
In the narrative part of the video, two of the band members get hit, one ends up with a black eye and one with a bleeding nose. The effective use of the make-up makes the injuries look realistic and believable. As well as this, dry ice/smoke machines were used to add to the mystery and it complements the lighting very well.
Mise en Scene
Props- Although the basketball that is seen from the very first shot seems like an insignificant prop, it is used throughout to aid the performance and is used as a central symbol towards the end of the video and is used as a metaphor.
In the beginning of the video, we see the basketball in the possession of the man and at the end of the video, the women have the ball. As this song is about the woman taking control of her life, the ball might symbolise the control and how the control changes over the course of the video. This is shown through the narrative in the video. The men are seen playing basketball already and a shot of the band in the bleachers, so we assume that the girls are watching the boys play. As the video progresses, we see the girls walking through a dark corridor taking their jackets off, getting ready to play against the boys. They start winning, and get hurt in the process but in the end get what they want and a shot of them standing together holding the ball with of them with a black eye and one with a bleeding nose is shown. Another shot is a revisiting of the first shot of the man spinning the ball on his finger but instead, one of the girls snatches the ball off of his finger. This also shows the change in power and control.
Location- The location of the basketball court is very helpful in telling the narrative. The performance location is helpful with the performance part of the video. Also, the benches, the lighted archway and the corridors all aid both the performance and narrative.
Composition- The composition of the band as together in a three and very central to the shots show that they are an important element in the music video, contrasting to the shots of the boys playing basketball because those shots don't focus on their face. Also, even though the first shot is of a boy spinning the basketball on his finger, it only shows his silhouette and therefore doesn't focus on his face like it does with the girls.
Lighting- The lighting in this video is used in a range of ways and in a very clever way. Lighting is changed using tube lights that you see turned on and off to create dramatic effect, light that mimics lightning flashes during some shots, lines on light that show on the screen, and a dim light that also adds a dramatic, mysterious effect.
Costume- The costume that is used would be considered as 'normal' clothing. For example the girls are dressed in quite feminine, fashionable clothing and the boys are dressed in basketball shorts and trainers suitable to the sport.
Performance and Movement- There are a range of different movement and performance elements in this video for example the athletic movements within the basketball scenes, the instrument playing skills that the band show in the video and the dance moves that the band do that synchronizes with the music.
The performance element is put at the start of the music video clearly stating their roles within the band and what they play. It also puts them in a different environment with different clothes on. This is good because it breaks up the narrative and puts performance elements within the video. The other type of performance they have is when they're standing together and lip-syncing. This adds variety to the types of performance in the video and varies the composition on the screen.
