Narrative Research

Deconstruction of similar videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt51uPCdOrM&feature=fvst

The Eagles - Busy Being Fabulous

When i asked Peter, lead singer of That Blues Band, what bands they looked up to and were similar to his band, he named a few. Bands such as The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Eagles. I looked at these artists music videos and found The Eagles - Busy Being Fabulous. This video is an amplification video so i decided to analyze it since this is what type of video i would like to produce.



The video begins with a woman doing various stereotypical routines that women go through on a daily basis. The first shot is a long shot which shows her talking on the phone, this establishes the woman's personality showing that she enjoys talking on the phone. The second shot is also a long shot. In this frame she is sorting out her clothes which shows that she cares about her appearance. The last shot is an extreme close up in which she is putting her lipstick on this also shows she cares about her appearance. All these shots reflect the songs title 'Busy Being Fabulous' because they all show how much work is put in to being fabulous.



The next shots are of the band performing. Tracking is used to establish all the performers and the setting. It shows they are performing outside at night so they could be performing at an event. The first shot is a two shot which shows the two guitarists, they both look happy which shows realism. They wouldn't get on stage with a frown because this wouldn't entertain their audience.



The video then goes switches back to the narrative. The first shot is a close up of the woman's face, again you can see her applying make-up and talking on the phone. This shot establishes that she is going somewhere and that she is very happy. The second shot is a long shot of the back of her. The camera tilts down her body to show the audience how fabulous she looks. This shot also creates a mystery for the audience because they can't see the front of her. The rule of thirds is also used because she is just off centre of the screen, this makes the audience only focus on her. The mise-en-scene is good in this scene because her dress shows she is going somewhere important because she has tried her hardest to look nice.



This shot is in the narrative, and it reflects what the singer is saying. It shows that the narrative actually fits with the lyrics to the song. The shot of the man is used to show that he is the woman's husband. It also shows the audience she has no time for him because she is 'Busy Being Fabulous', again this fits in with the lyrics of the song.



A pan is used to establish the setting and show the audience where it is set.



This shot is a medium close up in the form of a shallow focus. This makes the viewer focus on the singer, it shows that the singer is oblivious to the world around him because he is really concentrating on singing. The background is blurry but you can still see the drummer. A shot like this is used to make the audience concentrate on the object that is in focus.

The narrative starts intertwining with the performance. The first shot is a low angle of one of the band members carrying drinks. I think this shot shows the audience that even though they are in a band they are still normal people, they show this by the use of mise en scene, the band member is dressed as a waiter which is a normal everyday job.

This is an over the shot of two women gossiping and applying make - up in the toilet of the venue. This is a stereotypical shot because women always gossip and go to the toilet in twos. Again this reflects the song title and the lyrics.

.

Throughout the video there is a lot of hand held shots. I think this reflects her husbands state of mind because she is out all the time and he worries about her and their relationship.

I really like this video because the lyrics go with the narrative and they all fit together nicely. This is how i want my video to look, I want it to make sense and go with he lyrics. I think amplification videos are better than other videos because they make the audience want to watch them because there is something going on that they can follow.



The title of the album is the same as one of their song titles. If the audience have heard the song before and enjoyed it they will pay more attention to the album than if it was a name of a song they didn't know. The photo on the album also features in one of their videos, again the audience will pay more attention if they have seen the video and enjoyed it. The photo also gives a sense of peace and relaxation which reflects the genre of the music. It would have a different effect if there was a monster on the front.