MG: Technical Analysis

High Maintenance - Never Enough

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xgDt28910c&list=UUr8oc-LOaApCXWLjL7vdsgw&index=3&feature=plcp

Shot Number	Shot Type	Duration	Mise-en-scene
1	Black screen, post-filming effects & filters added	6 secs	Flashing text on the black screen - random numbers intercut with the title of the artist, fast cutting rate
2	Panning shot, left to right, long shot	9 secs	Interior of a derelict building,  dark lighting, black and white effect, the title of the song is in 3D text in the centre of the corridor in the building, post-production effects added - flashing blotches of colour on the screen
3	Panning shot, right to left, low angle	7 secs	In a room of the derelict building, messy, a very blurry programme is on a tv which is against the wall at an angle, the colourful blotches are still flashing on the screen, white dissolve into next shot
4	Long shot, jump cuts closer and further away	6 secs	Rule of thirds - couple (dressed in black) are sitting with their arms round each other on the beach towards the righthand side of the screen, natural lighting, jump cuts to the same shot but with just the girl sitting there on her own, fast cutting rate
5	Long shot, jump cuts closer and further away	5 secs	Walking down a lit street at night, blotches of colour are still flashing on the screen, jump cuts to reversal shots of him walking and reverts back to him walking forwards at a fast cutting rate
6	Low angle mid-shot, stills in a montage, jump cuts closer and further away	6 secs	The couple are in the arcade, the girl is trying the get the boys attention but he is ignoring her, bright lighting from the arcade machines, fast cutting rate
7	Worms-eye view, static long shot	5 secs	There are silhouettes of the couple standing against the bright lighting of club entrance arguing, the post-production effects are still flashing on the screen at a fast cutting rate
8	Panning mid-shot	5 secs	The couple are now sitting next to each other in a restaurant with the camera sitting opposite them on the table, a waitress walks behind them and gets the boy’s attention, he smiles at her and his girlfriend looks at him in disgust, dark lighting, flashing effects remain on the screen
9	Birds-eye view, jump cuts	5 secs	The girl is sitting with her hood up on the side of street drinking out of a plastic bottle, jump cut montage of this same shot but in close ups and long shots, fast cutting rate
10	Long shot, jump cuts closer and further away	7 secs	Outside a warehouse with a blue filter, jump cuts closer and further away at a fast cutting rate and then jump cuts into a split-screen of the same shot, large pixels then come in a random order, piecing together the next shot
11	Close up, montage of stills	5 secs	The couple are playing together on the pier, montage of static shots, fast cutting rate
12	Long shot, jump cuts closer and further away	8 secs	The girl is waiting at a table outside on her own, the boy comes along and puts a drink down for her, she throws it off the table in anger, jump cuts zoom in closer and further away again, the blotches of colour flash on the screen
13	Over the shoulder shot, high angle	7 secs	The boy is playing on a car racing game in the arcade, the girl comes along and pushes him off and shouts at him, the blotches of colour are still flashing
14	Handicam, Long shot	6 secs	Rule of thirds, the couple are sitting on a table outside a club arguing, blotches of colour still flashing, jump cuts to a close up of the girl’s face, jump cuts back to long shot to her knocking another drink off the table
15	Low angle, Long shot	7 secs	They are on the beach again against a wall that runs vertically from the upper end of the beach into the sea, the sun is behind them so they are shown as silhouettes again, there are jump cuts zooming in and out of them playing and arguing on the beach at a fast cutting rate
16	Static mid-shot	5 secs	The boy is holding a plate of food and the girl throws it out of his hands and walks off, blotches of colour are still flashing at a fast cutting rate
17	Jump cuts	3 secs	Several short shots of inside a dark club with bright lights are intercut with the flashing effect still on the screen
18	Panning shot, left to right, long shot	6 secs	Shows the title of the song in 3D text against a blocked off doorway back in the derelict building from the beginning as the lyrics say ‘never enough’, creating an synchronous relationship between the lyrics and visuals, the flashing effect continues
19	Jump cuts between static and moving shots	7 secs	Again, several short shots of inside a dark club with bright lights are intercut with the flashing effect still on the screen, this time static and moving shots are both used
20	Long shot	7 secs	They are sitting at another table, the boy tries to grab the girls hand but she pulls away, colours are still flashing on the screen at a fast cutting rate, synchronous to the beat of the music
21	Jump cuts of close ups to mid shots	5 secs	Shows the boy and girl with a group of people, pink filter, colours still flashing
22	Long shot, jump cuts closer and further away	6 secs	A repeat of the shot where the girl is waiting at a table outside on her own, the boy comes along and puts a drink down for her, she throws it off the table in anger, jump cuts zoom in closer and further away again, the blotches of colour flash on the screen
23	Tracking shot	3 secs	Following people through a busy crowd, at night, lit with bright artificial lights, colours continue flashing
24	Long shot, jump cuts closer and further away	6 secs	Rule of thirds, the girl and the boy are sitting either side of a busker on the side of the road glancing at each other, pink filter, white screens flash up with words cut out on it meaning you can see the shot through each letter
25	Panning shot, left to right, long shot	5 secs	Back to the derelict building, the words ‘never enough’ are again against a wall as the lyrics are being sung simultaneously, flashing colours are still on the screen
26	Tracking shot, jump cuts	4 secs	Blurry, pixelated tracking shot following a crowd down a darkly lit road, jump cuts closer, pink filter, flashing effect
27	Over the shoulder shot, high angle	5 secs	Boy throwing pebbles into the sea, pink filter, shot freezes a couple of times, flashing effect
28	Mid-shot	7 secs	Fast cutting rate of shots of people outside a club talking and socialising, intercut with a countdown, blotches of colour continue to flash over the screen
29	Tracking shot, into a montage	7 secs	The boy pushes through the crowd and into the club and starts a fight with someone, a montage of static shots is shown with a pink filter on
30	Tracking shot, mid-shot to long shot, jump cuts closer then further away	5 secs	Boy walking down the street drinking, zooms into his shirt and to the drink he is drinking, zooms back out to a long shot of the road he is walking down and he bumps into the girl, flashing colours
31	Long shot	10 secs	Static shot of the pavement with the blotches of colour flashing over the top of it
32	Mid-shot, jump cuts closer	7 secs	Girl facing the camera, jump cuts to a close up, flashing colours continue

Questions:

1. From this music video, I have learnt that in order to ensure that the visuals are synchronous to the beat of the music, you don't need to have a very fast cutting rate between shots, you can use a post-filming effect in the editing software which flashes up quickly on the screen in time to the music, like in this video.
2. The shots in this video are actually very long and last for 5 seconds or more but there is the illusion that they are shorter due to the flashing effect.
3. Camera movement isn't really used to create pace as almost all the shots are static. Again, it is the flashing effect on the screen which sets the pace of the video.
4. The rule of thirds is used a few times in this video such as, when the couple are standing either side of a busker on the streets.
5. The only transition that is used is a white dissolve at the very beginning of the video.