Detailed Video Analysis (Serena)

Florence And The Machine - Spectrum 

 The video stars with a  long shot and used rule of third of singer sitting in the light chair in a flamboyant place which suggest she is the protagonist of the video and she is powerful. The red outstanding hair and the shiny cloth let her standing out of the dark room.

A long shot of singer performing in the middle wearing a long white feather dress,  ballet dancer dressing like the dancers in 'Swan Lake' standing around her in ordered.  The lyric 'when we first came here, we were cold and we were clear' and 'we are shining 'could be represented by the white costume of the dancer which also visible in darkness.

With the climax of the song the dancers started dancing ballet, some of the feature of ballet could be seen, such as the lifting. The lyric 'say my name, and every colour illuminates,we are shining, and we will never be afried again' could are represent with the image, they are shining in darkness place, by the strong performance of the dancers. The scenes change to the performing of two dancers by a cutaway which suggest they not longer afried of anything metaphorically. Then the shot change to a medium close up of the singer with her confident performing.

A long shot of the singer performing in the midel of the scene with a shiny tight dress which looks like a mermaid, her feet are in the water, on her back there is an metaphor flamboyant throne, some 90s building around her, most of the lights of the building are turned on, on the left there is a clock which showed the time is about 4.40, with the sky color, this three feature suggest that now is sunset time. There is two man dressed exotic with a lots jewelries on, they keening in the water, suggest that the singer is a queen who is powerful.

The lyric 'with the ocean in my arm'  represented by she splashing water in a longshot, suggest she could be the queen of the ocean.

 Camera change in to a bonzer room with an transition. The singer lying chaise longue,  a red ballet dancer performing on the left of the scene who is young that suggest audience she might be the singer's teenage time.

On the later climax of the song, ballet dancers start dancing morden dance and they start fighting each other,  pulling other's hair etc., and the place are smokey and dirty.  Those thing remind us the lyrics' when we first came here, we were cold and we were clear', suggest us they changed now, they are not like before. With the tempo of the music the lights are changing as well. Those sequence suggest they need someone's help, help they walk out the situation.

The music slows down, the camera jump to a lighter room with the singer and a dancer(who looks like the singer). The performing are in order again.

The end of the video, a hight angle shot of the singer crawling on the floor, suggest she want to get out from here, at the end a over head long shot of she lying on the floor without any movement which looks like she is dead that she didn't get away successful while the ballet dancers still performing.

This video's narrative are linear with a clear idea that the protagonist want to be strong and courageous.

By analysing this music video I learned that we need be careful of the mise en scen because it is a big part of the creation. And also good performing will help the narrative of the music which make the music video more attractive.

 

By Serena Chu