Analysis of Plan B Writing's on the wall

       

Mise-en-scene

The opening shots of the scene in the house show us a girl in her home moving around doing domestic chores such as cooking the meal. This fits in with the stereotypical image of a wife at home working while the man is out enjoying himself. The kitchen is white connoting purity. She is not to blame for the break-up of the relationship.

She has curlers in her hair and puts on make up to make herself look lovely for her man. Again this is a stereotypical portrayal of gender as the woman should make herself look attractive for her husband.

The scene in the club is much darker. There are people dancing and having fun. This contrasts to the solitary state of the woman at home connoting that she is isolated from her boyfriend.

The girl is shown to be taking a lot of trouble over laying a romantic meal for her boyfriend. She has created a romantic meal with candles and she has chosen oysters which are expensive and meant to be an aphrodisiac. The scene is colourful and vibrant. She is wearing a bright orange, sexy dress connoting that she has a good evening planned.

When she receives a phone call from her boyfriend she is sitting on the stairs. She realises he is not coming home and her whole demeanour changes. Her isolation denotes her sadness and connotes the fact that she is alone as her relationship has broken up.

She burns herself connoting that the relationship is burnt out.

There are scenes of the singer out enjoying himself with his friends. He is eating and drinking and having a good time. This contrasts to the girl who is seen drinking alone.

At the end he is seen kissing a woman. This is an act of betrayal against his girlfriend. This is stereotypical of the celebrity lifestyle as they are stereotypically seen to have affairs typically the males. This action connotes the end of the relationship.

With the shots of Plan B playing in the theatre, there are shots of the woman getting ready and cooking diner. This is a stereotypical representation of women as they are typically seen to stay at home and do all the cooking and cleaning while the male goes out and has fun with his friends.

Sound

At the beginning there is loud cheer from the audience as the singer comes onto the stage. This shows what a great star Plan B is and shows all his adoring fans.

Throughout the video Plan B is on the stage singing the song which fits with the visuals and tells us the narrative of the video.
 

Camera Angles

Throughout the video the shots cut quickly from the scene at the club to the scene of the girl at home. This serves to emphasise the contrast between the two.

There are lots of close up shots of Plan B performing. This connotes he is a star and instantly recognisable by his audience. The record company would want close up shots of him in order to promote him and the single.

When the girl is getting ready for her boyfriend to come home there are lots of establishing shots of the rooms of the house. This is showing us that this is where he should be and that she is waiting there for him.

There are long shots of the girl looking beautiful in her dress which is stereotypical of this genre of music, for it attracts the male gaze. This uses the male gaze theory, where the camera is the males’ eyes.

There are close up shots of the band on the stage playing their instruments which is stereotypical of this genre of music video. It is also a form of advertising for their live shows as it will encourage people to see him play live.

After the phone call there are close up shots of her face showing her pain as she realises the relationship is over.

Narrative

The narrative content of the video fits with the lyrics of the music. The song tells of a relationship which use to be good but has slowly died and there is very little left. With the narrative there is no final conclusion to the story as it ends before the whole story is told.

Titling

The video begins with a shot of the top of the venue where the singer is playing. The sign is made of large, dark capital letters against a white background. The dark colours connote a dark theme to this video, which gives the viewer an idea of what to expect from the video. It has the name of the fictional character that Plan B is playing, Strickland Banks, and the Sold Out beneath it. This connotes he is a major star and very well known. He is so popular that there are no tickets left for the concert.

Andrew Goodwin's theory analysis of Madonna Material Girl

Narrative and Performance

In this video there are two narratives portrayed throughout. The first narrative is of Madonna being impressed by the Hollywood fame and riches. The second narrative is of the Hollywood director falling for Madonna and trying to win her over, but realises that all the expensive jewellery and items are not the way to win her heart, so he pretends to be penniless so she would go out with him.

The overall concept of the video is of Madonna as an actress playing a role of a gold digger, but when she’s off camera she just wants to be like any normal girl who likes the simple things in life, and in the end falls for a normal guy with an ordinary car.

The Star Image

The star image of Madonna as an artist is a very powerful factor in the video. She is seen wearing wonderfully expensive designer clothes which are incredibly striking and make her stand out. The colour is vivid and intense against the black suits of the other characters which makes her the centre of attention. She is wearing expensive and sparkly jewellery which defines the term “material girl” as the jewellery is materialistic. The use of the Ferrari is also chosen to promote her star quality as this is an extremely rare and prestigious car. She is driven around as if she has her own chauffeur which again promotes her star quality.

There is also an element of promotion of Madonna as a star as there is a separate narrative thread which follows the journey of Madonna and her role in a film. She is seen discussing this role with the two directors. This promotes her image as a famous film star.

Voyeurism

There are many examples of voyeurism in the video Material Girl. At the beginning of the video Madonna is performing on the screen and two characters are talking in the cinema. They are directors who are discussing her involvement in a film they are producing. Another example is where Madonna is in the changing rooms.

Technical Aspects of the Music Video

Mise-en-scene

Throughout the video Madonna presents a stereotypically blonde Hollywood actress, materialistic and sexy. Throughout the clip there is a main colour of pink, which is stereotypically associated to women, the red background and the pink dress Madonna wears are also typically linked to women as it is seen to be a very feminine colour. There is a very stereotypical representation of celebrities as wanting expensive items and clothing. This is contrasted in this video as Madonna refuses the expensive items and in the end settles for an old farm truck. This goes against the stereotypical representation of the Hollywood celebrity as they are typically represented as having large amounts of luxurious items and clothing.

The colour pink Madonna wears is contrasted by the brown colour worn by the director which connotes a very common and dull outfit.

The long gloves, glamour and the fan are all signifiers of luxury, which is shown off by the simple background. The simple background makes Madonna really stand out, which connotes her status in everyday life, as she would stand out in a crowd of normal people.

When the male dancer is lying down Madonna comes and puts one foot on him. This connotes of her power and ability to stand over the male community. It also connotes that the male is just her plaything and there is no romantic connection between them.

At the end of the video Madonna is seen to wear a white dress. The white dress connotes of her purity and innocence, which is reinforced by the white flowers the director gives her. This goes against the stereotypical representation of the Hollywood celebrity as they are stereotypically seen to want the luxurious items and money and won’t settle for anyone without those two qualities.

Intertextuality

During this video Madonna makes a clear reference to the Marilyn Monroe film “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” where Marilyn Monroe sings the famous song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”. This ties in clearly with the overall meaning of the lyrics of Material Girl which is based around femininity, materialism and desirable wealth. Madonna has copied the mise-en-scene of the Marilyn Monroe film using similar clothes, and settings. This signifies a respect for the work of Marilyn Monroe and serves as a tribute to her.

Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos.

Andrew Goodwin’s theory of music videos states the separate components present in music videos.

These are the key points of the theory.

• There is a link between the visuals and the lyrics

• This link either illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the lyrics in the song

• In music videos, the meaning of the video can either be illustrated (explained and enlarged to the viewer), amplified (meanings and effects are repeated and portrayed constantly throughout the video so that it is drummed into the heads of the viewers), or contradicted (here the meaning of the song is virtually ignored and has no place in the video).

The most common method is to illustrate and very often amplify the meaning of the text. The mise-en-scene, the themes and the events of the video all combine to portray the message of the song.

• There is a link between the visuals and the music. Again this link either illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the music. The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song, matching specific notes or drum beat

• Each music genre has certain characteristics

• Every genre of music video has specific features that are associated with that genre. This would include style of music video and iconography.

Examples of this would include

• Girl bands / artists – would include lots of close up shots of the artist, lots of dancing and portrayal of the artists as beautiful and sexy, lots of colour both in clothing and scenery

• Rock bands – would include a lot of performance in the videos, close ups of the strict and their instruments, typical rock star clothing such as leather and tight tops, long hair

• Hip-hop / rap – lots of close ups of artist, casual clothing often sport based such as basketball, lots of scantily clad women portrayed as sexual objects for the men,
• There is often some element of voyeurism / looking

This is often particularly true in the way women are presented. Women are often presented in a way that will appeal to men. They are shown as beautiful and objects for men’s pleasure.

The record company will make certain demands of the video

This will probably include lots of close ups of the main artist. This allows the record label to promote the artist and possibly create a particular image for the artist or band, which will target particular audiences and bring the artist to the forefront of the public’s attention, thereby selling records.

• There are often intertextual references 

• These could be to other music videos or to films or television.

This theory can be used to analyse music videos and he outlines five points which the audience should consider when watching a music video.

• Thought beats – where you see the sound

• Narrative and performance

• The Star Image

• Relation of visuals to the song

• Technical aspects of the music video

Thought Beats

Step 1 – Look at the structure of the song and understand the chorus and the verses.

Step 2 – Analyse the main voice of the song. The voice of the artist will be totally unique to them and will be part of their trademark. This will be instantly recognisable by the audience and will form part of their star image.

Step 3 – Look at the way the artist is addressing the audience. The artist is a storyteller, telling us a story. He is showing us the story of the video through the vocals of the song.

Narrative and Performance

A music video can contain elements of narrative and performance.

Narrative is where the music video is telling us a story which is linked to the story of the lyrics. The lyrics of a song can only tell part of the story. It is then left to the individual listener to imagine the scenes from that story in their head. The job of the music video is to put images to that story to allow the listener to see those images on the screen.

Performance is where the artist or band is shown actually performing their song which is important for their star image. This tends to be a large part of rock and heavy metal music videos.

Star Image

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist. The artist may develop a visual style all of their own which will be instantly recognisable and will recur across their work.

Relation of visuals to the song

There are three ways in which the visuals can be used to promote a song

Illustration – Certain shots and images are used to explain and illustrate the lyrics to the song and the genre of the song

Amplification – Camera shots and images are repeatedly shown throughout the video. This helps those images to be drummed into the heads of the audience

Disjuncture – The meaning of the song is completely ignored in the video, or indeed can be contradicted.

Technical aspects of the music video

The technical aspects of the video are the aspects that hold the whole video together and actually make it work as a whole. These would include mise-en-scene, camera work, editing, sound and special effects.

This will aid me in creating my own music video as it has shown me the codes and conventions required to make a successful video. It will also help me to attract a larger audience as the video will contain the conventions that will appeal to large audiences.