Music Video Analysis By Connor Davidson

Comment on the following aspects in relation to your music video choice. How will these techniques appeal to the target audience needs?

Target Audience & Needs

The music video I am analysing is Am I Wrong by Nico & Vinz ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg1sT4ILG0w ). The genre is pop music, which is a genre which has always and will always be popular. The target audience is probably very large for this genre of music; but the main audience will probably be teenagers to young adults. The song is suitable for any age though as there is no explicit language used in the song or video. This song could also be targeted for older people as it is a song which is easy to listen to and not hard on the ears.

Lyrics (Meaning Implied?)

Song lyrics always have meanings that maybe aren’t clear after hearing it once, but majority of them have a message. A lot of lyrics which are included in songs are relating to the artists themselves. They often talk about things which have happened to them or thoughts they have had. For example, Nico and Vinz were a small African-Norwegian group who were unknown across the world until their hit single ‘Am I Wrong’. The lyrics in that single related to both the men in the group.The lyrics for the main chorus are “Am I wrong for thinking out the box from where I stay?” This is talking about them maybe not following the norm and going their own ways away from everybody else. They send the message that it is about following your heart rather than just doing what everybody else is doing. “Am I wrong for saying that I chose another way?” this is meaning he isn’t sure if the road he has taken is the correct one, but he calls it home and hopes it leads him somewhere good. He wants to venture off from the mainstream paths and find his own way and find the meaning of life. He cannot see where the road leads; he just wants to follow his feelings.

Tempo The tempo means the pace or speed at which a passage of music is being played. The song will be sung at a different tempo depending on the topic the song is about. For example if the song is about a dark subject or death/suicide, it wouldn’t be upbeat and happy. The song and music video are quite upbeat but not too quick. The movement in the video is quite fast, as the men are travelling around for the majority of it. The editing of the video match the pace and tempo of the song itself.

Music Video Analysis By Connor Davidson

Genre The genre of this song is pop. This is a very popular genre and is what the music charts are flooded with and based around. The mise en scene used in this video often reflects the type of genre that the song is. There are no dark and dull colours however there are no exotic bright colours, as this song isn’t about everything being good. This may be different for other music videos. The video includes lots of other ‘extras’. All of these extra people look and act as though they are happy and become happy when the main characters interact with them. This helps create a positive vibe and show that the main characters bring happiness to everyone. They don’t look the most privileged people, but they can still enjoy life. The lyrics correspond with the music itself.

Camera Technique The majority of the camera work is on tripods or dolly’s. This makes the feeling that you are watching a film or story within the song. It almost looks like a documentary for the audience as they watch the 2 men go around the villages playing with the people. There aren’t many props used, just a little TV which they carry around, everything else is simple and plain. There are lots of different camera angles, majority of them being long shots. This is to show the surrounding and environment they are in.

Editing The editing for this video isn’t too extreme; it is mostly just cuts to the different scenes. There is no fancy editing used, as it would ruin the message from the song. There is lots of editing in the sense that they are just walking around the country and the camera follows them, however there aren’t many effects added. The only effect that may be slightly used is for the lighting. They may have edited this to match the mood of the song. There wasn’t any CGI used within the video as it was mostly filmed live.

Use of Digital Effects There aren’t many digital effects added to this music video. Digital effects are usually used to enhance the editing that is performed on the video and also to add to style or the audience’s experience. There aren’t any extra sounds added to the backing track after it was made. The video is mainly relying on the lyrics and narrative to tell the story and the message of the song. There isn’t many vibrant colours within the video, however it isn’t a dark video. Towards the end of the video when the 2 singers meet each other, the sun comes out powerfully to add effect, and show the mood through the brightness.