Music Video Analysis

STAN



Editing

-At the start of the video before any music is played the cuts make it look more like a short film than a music video
- A mixture of straight cuts and quick fades to and from black is then used which suits a music video format and the dark colours in the video and general night time setting.
-Towards the end of the video it cross cuts between Stan’s funeral and Eminem’s response letter to emphasise that it is too late.
-The narrative can be split into Stan’s obsessive actions and actions with Dido and Stan’s letter writing. In the former shorter shots are used and cuts often reflect the music and beat whereas in the latter longer shots are used and the emphasis is on Stan’s face and his erratic writing.

Lighting

-It is clear that in the video low lighting is used to reflect the shattered homelife of Stan and Dido
-The low lighting helps to create an image of gritty realism

Colour

-The contrast is overworked in Stan’s house so that stains and dirt on the walls and tiles are more obvious and so that even white is yellowish. On Eminem however the contrast isn’t overworked and his white t-shirt is actually white compared to Stan’s vest
-Tones of yellow and green reappear in Stan’s house which gives all the colours a dark tint and works with the low lighting to give the house a gritty feel.

MES

-The first obvious examples of MES reflecting the mood and narrative of the song is the bathroom in which dirt is visible everywhere, contrasting with our ideal idea of a clean bathroom. The dirty bathroom in which Stan and Dido argue could reflect their shattered relationship
-The basement is Stan’s own room and we get to know this as it is covered with his obsessive pictures of Eminem and Dido intrudes on it later. The messiness of the room reflects his erratic nature and fragile state.
-The lightning and general weather are iconography suited to the video because they represent a scary atmosphere and perhaps violence that is present in the video.

Framing

-Most framing is quite tight as the focus is on the person singing
-This is not true in some of the shots however as their purpose is to establish the situation or area that the shot is in.

Movement

-Sometimes tight framing is used but the camera circles around the target to give an all round view.
-In establishing shots too a pan or track is often used
-To bridge both the chorus and verse but also the situation in the song and how Stan’s obsession with Eminem affects his relationship with Dido a very good descending crane shot is used from the first floor bathroom to Stan’s basement.

Costume

-Stan significantly dyes his hair at the start to make himself look like Eminem
-Stan is also significantly wearing a ‘wifebeater’
-The clothes that Eminem and Stan wear are similar as they both wear white t-shirts. This and their similar hair established a relationship between the two, whether it is that Stan wants to be Eminem or how some people have interpreted the video: they are the same person.
-Dido wears homely clothes (a big t-shirt and dressing gown) which show her as domestic in contrast to Stan

SFX

-Lightening is used throughout the video
-Car crash and fall into river
-Stan’s face appears as a mirror image of Eminem as if he is looking in through the window at the end of the song when Eminem realised that Stan is dead

Representation

-Stan is represented as obsessive about Eminem but also aggressive towards him (when he doesn’t reply) and Dido. His state is represented as unstable as his mood shifts. Eminem has commented that this video is just about all the obsessive fan letters that he gets and Stan is Eminem’s representation of an obsessive fan.
-Eminem is represented as a good guy in the song but not perfect as he cannot always be there for his fans but he DOES try.
-Dido is shown as weak in the video and vulnerable. Despite Stan’s aggression towards her she stays with him.

Narrative

-The whole video follows an obvious narrative which builds up, both towards the end of each verse and the end of the song with a volatile ending.
-The narrative starts without music to set up the situation between Dido and Stan before showing how that is affected by Stan’s obsession.
-Interspersed with Stan’s letter writing are ways in which Eminem lets down Stan (letter dropped in the post office, pulled away by bodyguard outside concert) to show that it is not Eminem’s fault.
-The video comes it it’s conclusion with the last verse and Eminem’s realisation that Stan is dead. It is ironic that Eminem only writes the letter when it is too late.

Genre

-The images and narrative in the video separate it from stereotypical rap and hip hop videos that focus on girls, bling and violence and this has probably led the video and song to be so critically acclaimed.
-This sort of ‘deep’ song is present in hip hop and rap music and not unheard of and the genre conventions come more from the basic structure of the song, longer and greater number or verses and beat.
-Such a narrative based video however that does not focus on performance is unconventional of the genre.

Audience

-This song targeted an incredibly broad audience and had great success with widespread radioplay and music video play even leading the song to be played live at the Grammys with Elton John
-The video in particular targets quite a wide audience as said before it doesn’t focus on genre conventions that often limit the audience to young males.


ELEKTROBANK



Editing

-Straight cuts are used throughout

Lighting

-There is no obvious studio lighting and most lighting seems to be from windows. The Protagonists face is nearly always well lit however.

Framing

-Lots of POV and actions shots are used at the start to establish the drama between her and the rival girls.
-The framing is generally wide apart from when it is just her and it is tight. It is wide to include the crowd and scene.
-During the previous girls dance the framing is wide and distance so we do not get so attached to the rival girl


Movement

-The camera is quite static at the start but does move in some tracking and POV shots,
-As the girl becomes more active so does the camera as it follows her about and mirrors her movement with tracks and pans.
-It is generally noticeable handheld.

Costume

-The costume is all suited to the gym acrobatics environment

SFX

-Slow motion is used
-Perhaps SFX when the baton thing is thrown?

Narrative

-The start sets up the narrative story and competition making her dance more important

Genre

-The video does not particularly follow the genre but this is often common in techno videos as there are no lyrics.