Music video comparison

Exam question: compare and contrast how media language is used in the music videos to Break My Heart by Dua Lipa and Riptide by Vance Joy. 

Make reference to:

• Cinematography and editing
• Music video conventions 
• How visual elements create meaning for the audience

Task: Watch the video to Break My Heart three times in a row, making brief notes

 This video has a convention of a music video, for instance, the dancing and a short narrative, although it isn't a chronological order it has different settings and it is a play on with the lyrics.

The music video starts of with Dua on a car and the camera pans in on her from a high angle shot and stops on her at the ping of the sound in the music video which shows her dominance and makes her an important character compared to the other people in the car she is above them, literally. There is also a lot of tracking shots where we follow around the cars then down the hallway which makes her the main focus of the music video as she is the one in control and mainly in the centre of most shots. We also get a slanted shot of her falling which later transitions into her rocking a toy yacht. 

There's a continuity of transitions in this music where it zooms in almost, then pans out again. For example with the car scene, it zooms into Dua then it pans out again into a toy car and makes her the centre of attention by then following her around the hallway, a tracking shot. This could have been done to grab the audience's attention as it is transitioning into an unexpected thing. And it is almost a surprise to the spectator on what will happen next, so it makes them focus and pay attention. As well as this the beat of the song is matched with certain moments in the music video such as the camera stopping on Dua in the car scene at the ding of the music, then we also get another scene where Dua falls on the plane seat on the beat of the music and the camera stops its movement and stays still. Which is another case of continuity we have in this music video, it is the same concept almost of Dua falling into another setting. A montage in the music video is when she is in the front of the frame and in the background we see the bed moving and each time there is a different guy in the bed which can symbolise time passing around her but she isn't putting much attention to it. 

The lyrics are about her saying she should've 'stayed at home' which contrasts from the music video where we see her walking about in different locations and even going clubbing. We don't we get to see her at home at all she is every but home. It represents her regretting going out and not staying at home. There is some intertextuality in the sense that her costumes and makeup are very 90s/2000s  aesthetic. The beat of the song also very similar to Queens-Another bites the dust so to may a reference to that. 

Task: Analyse and compare the music videos to Break My Heart by Dua Lipa and Riptide by Vance Joy. 

What key differences are there in style between the two videos?

Riptide by Vance is more sinister and creepy with their style, for example, the lady singing the song every time she got a word wrong her makeup and hair gets messed, as well as there is a moment in the song where Vance Joy slows down the tempo and it sings much quieter which creates an eerie atmosphere. Whereas Dua Lipa's song has more of a chilled calm aesthetic and isn't as spooky, it is more light-hearted. However, both of these songs include amazing visuals 

In what ways do the two videos visually match the lyrics of the song?

In Riptide the director made it so the lyrics match exactly with the video visually. So the music video shows what the audience exactly what the lyrics say. In Dua Lipa's song, it is more low-key and doesn't match the lyrics but it there is a subtle play on word. But it isn't that the music video isn't related to the song, It juxtaposes in a way that she isn't at home even though the song is about staying home. 

What is the preferred reading of each music video/ And who is is the target audience?

The target audience for Riptide is Indie Pop, as the music isn't mainstream and isn't liked by everyone. Been said that the music did well and did well with the majority and become a popular song. Break my heart is a piece of pop music and the target audience isn't niche, but we could say it was made for teenage girls. 

Both music videos rely heavily on costume and mise-en-scene as symbolic codes. What deeper meanings do these two videos hold?

How do these music videos use binary oppositions?
One video is conventional, the other unconventional. Why do music videos differ so wildly?
What messages do these videos encode about young women?