Analysis of a past student music video

The main iconography within this video is that of a party. This is shown mainly through the use of props, such as the balloons and the flashing lights. However, this iconography would usually be used in a pop/electro video showing people having a great time in a club, whereas in this video they have been cleverly constructed in order to give a completely different, more eerie feel. This is through the use of both the low key lighting and the black and white shots, both of which connote mysteriousness and discomfort. This is what makes the iconography of a party appropriate in this video, as it opens more questions about exactly what the lyrics mean.

The most prominent technical codes within the video are the uses of editing and the switch between black and white shots for the artist on his own, and the low-key lighting of the shots which show the party. The most notable thing about the editing is that almost the whole video is in slow-motion. This is possibly to reflect on the sombre mood of the song, and in order to give it a nostalgic and blurry feel, which is often associated with videos which show people partying. In addition to this, the switch between black and white shots and colour shots helps to separate the two "scenes" in the video well, although transitions could be used in order to ease between the two different looks, as in places the video jumps between the two different colour schemes which can be uneasy on the eye. 

It is hard to put the song, and consequently the video, into a genre, as they are both very different in terms of style. Assuming the song is a ballad, then there are some features of the video which are key conventions of this genre. For example, the shots of the artist playing piano in black and white are typical of music videos for ballads, such as the video for Someone Like You by Adele. In addition to this, there are many close up shots of the artist - these are a convention of a ballad video, as the close up shot allows the audience to further engage with the emotions of the artist.

The song which the video was produced for was self-released, which means that there is no record company which can dictate what needs to be in the video, and how the star needs to be presented. This allows a lot more creative freedom for the director, as they are able to decide exactly how the video shall look. However, there is a downside to this, as having no record label would mean that there will be very little, if any, budget for the production of the video. However, as this is a student video, it is very unlikely that the record company would provide any funding for it anyway, so this isn't a huge issue. Another problem with the song being self-released is the low quality which it has. The song sounds like a home recording, as the vocals are hard to comprehend in places, which immediately makes the entire product seem a lot less professional than it otherwise could do.

The scenes showing people dancing are likely to help the video
appeal to a younger audience than it usually would

The target audience for this video is likely to be hugely varied, as pop ballads are popular with people from all ages. However, the iconography of a party and the bright lights in the video mean that this is more likely to be aimed towards a younger audience, of those under 35, than a more mature audience. In addition to this, it is clear that the video is selling marketing the artist as being attractive for women, in the same way that a video for the likes of One Direction would. This means that the video is most likely targeted towards young women more than any other audience.

Overall, the video is fairly well executed considering that it has been made for A2 coursework. The best parts of the video are the uses of lighting, the slow motion and the well considered props and iconography, in order to create a realistic scene for filming the video. However, the video would have been more impressive had they chosen a higher quality song, or at least used the schools facilities to re-record it. In addition to this, they could have perhaps included more than just the two scenes they used, as most music videos include more than 10 separate scenes, as once one scene is left, the action doesn't return to that scene.