Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

Ellie Goulding's Anything Could Happen is featured on her new album Halcyon. At the start of of video it has a range of quick shots that consists of establishing shots of the beach, waves, mirrors and her in a car with her on screen boyfriend. She then wakes up on a large rock as if she has been swept up on the beach but she looks confused as to why she is there but also really weak and unable to get up. Throughout the video it is very confusing as to why she is on a beach with floating mirrored balls and triangle mirrors. Also, it is very confusing as to why she is standing on top of a car. Towards the end of the music video, you see the couple (Ellie and her on screen boyfriend) in the car and then in a different shot them outside of the car with Ellie crying and the boyfriend with his face covered in blood and then you see her nose start to bleed. At 3:05 you finally realise what the rest of the music video meant, she and her boyfriend are involved in a head on collision in the car. To start off with the car accident is all in slow motion and then as the music kicks in the crash speeds up and so do the shots. With a range of overlaying images and the use of reflection with mirrors and reflective spheres, the video is very technical with different effects in.

The theme of the song and the title 'Anything Could Happen' links in with the content of the music promo as when thinking of a car crash you do not expect it to happen to you but as Ellie Goulding states 'Anything Could Happen' to anybody including yourself. Throughout most of the music promo the lyrics and the content do not relate at all so it would be classed as Disjuncture but then at the end of the music video it Illustrates the lyrics. It doesn't quite Amplify the lyrics, even though it is saying that 'Anything Could Happen' it doesn't really show it in a way that more things than just a car crash can happen so it is illustrating it by showing a way in which something could happen but not more than that one thing.

There is a wide range of shots involved in the music promo and camera skills used such as pans and tilts. Most of the shots are close ups but there is also establishing shots, birds eye view, long shots and two person shots. At the start of the promo the editing is very quick showing a range of shots setting up a location and the characters involved. When the singing kicks in the editing slows down a bit to show her on the flat rock and the location around her. When the car crash appears the editing is slightly slowed down but with quick shots in between the shots of the cars hitting one another. The camera work also focuses on the characters mainly Ellie Goulding as she is the main performer.

Ellie's outfit when she is in the car is a normal outfit that you would wear on a drive anywhere and so his the on screen boyfriends outfit. But her dress makes her look angelic especially when she is suspended by a cloud and floating about. Her dress is a similar colour to her hair but also it is slightly tatty which could suggest her destructive death of being in the car crash. The mirrors make the space look different and add a new dimension to the promo of a surreal location to be in.

Ellie Goulding's audience was also taken into account by helping her make a lyric video. On Twitter she asked her fans to send her pictures via Instagram that inspire them or relate to them or the song. This then enabled her audience to get involved in her song and add their take on it.



Overall, this music conveys a meaning of love, death and surreal feelings. It achieves this using different camera shots and special effects of smoke, silver balls floating about and witnessing a car crash.
 

The Milk - Every Time We Fight

The Milk is a British band that was formed in 2008. The 'Every Time We Fight' music promo was directed by Inbetweeners star James Buckley, known for his vulgar acting as Jay Cartwright. Not only did he direct the promo but he also was the main character.

The video has a narrative of a factory closing and people fighting or protesting for it to stay open. The promo is set in a Mill House Social Club which all the workers from the factory go to after work. James Buckley the main star and director leads the protest to stop the factory from closing down and to stop them from losing their jobs.

The only performance aspect of the video is 4 men from an older generation performing in a band but they do not sing the lyrics that are in the song. You see the band members throughout the music promo but not as key characters. At one point you see the band outside the social club with James Cartwright in the middle and it swaps between this shot and a shot of James surrounded by lots of the factory workers. The shot with the band either side him is split up with a close up shot of the each member singing the lyrics of the song.

The chorus of the song is:
'Every time we fight
We get a little stronger
Any time we lose
We gonna lose control'
This links in with the images that are seen in the promo, for example, the protest, James doing a big speech before they all go outside. The lyrics amplify what is happening in the promo.

The characters costumes are that of people who cannot afford expensive designer clothes and fits the characteristics of a factory worker. The location looks like the rough side of town which can suggest another reason as to their attire. Even the children that are some times involved in the promo are not in extravagant clothes that look like they are worth a lot of money.

The lighting of the promo is well lit but in a dull manor to be able to create a dingy atmosphere of the factory atmosphere and that the tension is building. The weather isn't glamorous but it also isn't chucking it down with rain making the location have a tense atmosphere.

Overall, the song links to the title of it as they are fighting for what they think is right and that is for them to keep their jobs so it amplifies the lyrics.

Analysing a Music Promo - Princess of China

Coldplay featuring Rihanna - Princess of China is part of Coldplay's album Mylo Xyloto released 24 October 2011 by EMI. Princess of China was released as a single on 14 February 2012. The music video, directed by Adria Petty and Alan Bibby, was released 2 June 2012.

The lyrics of the song almost tell a story about a complicated relationship and how they could of been anything and had everything but something went wrong. Each verse starts with 'Once upon a time' which is usually the beginning of a story. In the second verse Chris Martin sings the words 'You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart' this could suggest that Rihanna, who features in the video and the song being the other part of the destructive relationship, has broke his heart. Rihanna in the third verse, when she first enters the song, sings these two lines:
'Once upon a time, we burned bright
Now all we ever seem to do is fight'
This suggests that when they 'burned bright' they were both really happy and we in love but now all they do is argue so the relationship is struggling.

The music video reflects these lyrics and almost illustrates them by using a martial arts fight between the two singers. The music video is a narrative video but shows Chris Martin, lead vocalist of Coldplay, and Rihanna, solo artist, singing their parts of the song involving a slight performance element to the video. 

Throughout the music video there are a range of camera shots. Thoughout the video it shows a close up of Rihanna singing with some chinese lanterns in the background showing a slight location as to where she is and it also links in with the title of the song. The shot that is here is of Rihanna in a hall singing whilst doing a dance with others behind her to make her look like a goddess with multiple arms. This shot shows her in a full makeup and part of her dance but in a close up shot of her singing and some of her hair.

The shot of Chris Martin from behind shows him walking across a bridge to a temple or palace which is designed in a chinese style. This is a medium shot but also has a slight establishing shot element to it as the composition of this shot does show the location in which the narrative is set in as this is where he is heading in the video. This shot opens up the music video.

The shot of Rihanna and Chris Martin shows how even in a open space they have to either be touching in a nice gesture or close to each other tio intimidate one another. This shot is an establishing shot showing the two singers in the middle of the shot so that you don't lose them as the characters and also to draw the audiences attention to them and the space around them.

The shot of Rihanna's hand reaching for a knife or samurai sword to begin the fight between her and Chris Martin is a close up. The close up consists of her hand, the handle and part of the blade. This shot is not on for a very long time but it gives the audience a shock as to what they are seeing due to the proximity of the two singers before hand and all of a sudden she is starting a fight with him.

Most of the backgrounds appear to be greenscreened in the music video as the shots consist of wide open spaces, deserted landscapes and extremely large rooms with a lot of graphic aspects to them.

The mise-en-scene of the music video is based around a chinese theme which links to the title of the song. In this shot Chris Martin is surrounded by 6 drummers in similar attire to him which has a slight ninja element to his outfit. Dressed in all black to add a darkness to the song could illustrate a darkness to their love.

Rihanna's outfit in this shot is very sultry and colourful. The top of this outfit is similar to an authentic chinese robe but in a shorter version so it is similar to a shirt. By adding this glamour to the music video and the expensive look about the room in which she is in it makes her look like royalty which again links to the song title of being a princess.

Each artist has an equal amount of screen time and focus on them and make them equally important to one another. There are a free other characters that get some screen time but the are of little importance and are only on screen when it includes Rihanna or Chris Martin in. This is so that the main focus is on the two main performers. The rest of Coldplay isn't involved in this video, but most of Coldplay's videos follow this trend as Chris Martin tells the story as to what is happening.

The audience, when watching this music promo, feel the tension between them but also the love between them. because of the content in the video it can become quite confusing. When I first watched it I realised that the directors may have been trying to make Rihanna look glamorous and almost like a goddess and for Chris Martin to be somebody that she cannot fall for due to his social status. For the audience though they may not be thinking this as the atmosphere of the video is almost desire yet hatred.

Overall this music promo links its content to the title of this song and the lyrics.