Shot Type Analysis

To help me decide what shot types to use in my music video and to see what shot types are used frequently in music videos, I decided to analyse Lordes 'Royals'. This song is within the indie genre and Lorde also has a very unique brand identity and style so it is useful so see a different type of artist.

The first shot the audience sees in the music video is an establishing shot with symmetrical farming. The symmetry uses a road to separate clearly one side of a road from the other. This is assists with the high key lighting on the right hand side of the road and the low key on the left hand side. This instantly helps to foreshadow to the audience that the song will explore some form of segregation.

The camera then cuts to a head and shoulder shot of Lorde with a glaring facial expression at the camera. The head and shoulder shot helps to portray to the audience that the song they’re about to hear is personal to her and she’s giving you a close insight to her thought and emotions. Also, the fact the audience already think it will be concerning segregation, this represents Lorde as the commentator for social issues, conforming to Deborah Holdsteins theory.

When the camera cuts again, it shows a further establishing shot of a room using asymmetrical framing of the window and an unorganised bed. This framing can suggest disorder within the room. The use of the establishing shots so far can also be argued to be using houses and buildings as symbolism for different groups in society. The fact the room is bare using neutral colours also suggests that whoever lives here doesn’t have much. However, the high key lighting in the window can also suggest that the only thing they desire is freedom, something that isn’t materialistic.

When the camera cuts back to a head and shoulder shot of Lorde, the lyrics say ‘I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies’. The personal pronoun I again helps to reinforce the head and shoulder shot of how personal this topic is to Lorde. The phrase ‘I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies’ can continue the representation from the previous shot. It suggests that she doesn’t have much as she’s only ever seen a wedding ring in a movie. As the camera continues to cut between different shots of the house displaying further rooms that are bare, Lorde sings ‘and I’m not proud of my address, in a torn up town, no postcode envy’. This makes it clear to the audience that Lorde is now singing about a lower class lifestyle that she has experience herself. The fact she says ‘no postcode envy’ addresses the upper class as she is almost mocking them; traditionally a person’s wealth is determined by their postcode.

As the camera cuts to a long shot of the previous room this time with a male in it, the long shot continues to display the want for his freedom as he looks out of the window. Also, the fact that the lyrics say ‘but everybody’s like, gold teeth, grey goose, tripping in the bathroom’ continues to mock the upper class who want for these materialistic things as the long shot suggests the male is content with freedom. Also, as the camera cuts, the male is shown again with a silver chain around his neck again highlighting the social hierarchy Lorde has referenced as ‘Gold’ is more desirable than silver which she sang that everybody wanted. When the camera cuts again, a close up of the male’s body is shown with the silver chain again. This continues to suggest that he is okay with having less, emphasised by the empty background.

Overall, the shot types used in this music video are used to emphasise Lordes thoughts and emotions as she is the ‘story teller’ and the one delivering a moral message. Also, the shot types are used less to suggest things and instead are used to emphasise things within a frame which have representations themselves.

How has this helped me:

I have learnt that in my music video I will use different shot types to emphasise on different props/characters within the frame. Also, I have learnt that in this performance video, the shot types are typically close ups of the singers face. This is also consistent with previous videos I’ve watched.