Massive Attack 'Unfinished Sympathy' Context and Timeline

Music Video Assessment Task: Katy Perry ''Firework''

Quick question, 'Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting thought the wind, wanting to start again?' or 'feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in? Katy Perry's "Firework" is arguably one of her best songs and can be seen as her breakthrough hit that kick-started her career. The question is, What was the secret behind this successful song and what makes it so special?Simple, it is to do with the codes and conventions which are different techniques that are used to construct a music video and the meaning behind them.

As the music video begins we get an establishing shot of what seems to be a city with bright street lights but the scenery seems dominated by darkness as at some spots look almost pitch black, overall creating a gloomy atmosphere and sets the mood that this is not your typical joyful song which is a smart use of lighting. The establishing shot is then followed by a series of other camera shots and fast paced transitions which eventually lands on Katy Perry who strolls slowly to the end of a balcony with a solemn look, isolated and alone.


Media Language and Representation

The key behind the success of this music video is to do with the language and representations used in this video for the purpose of promoting Katy Perry and her song. Firstly producers of music videos may construct representations of the artist in oder to empathise the key aspects of their image, for example their performance prowess  musical prowess and artistry through the use of various techniques. With this in mind, I would say that the producers of this music video did not focus on Katy's prowess as a performer but rather empathised her beauty through her narrative performance.
The reason why is because through the music video the amount of screen time Katy Perry gets is unquestionable, as she gets the most. Despite the use of cross cutting to give the music video a deeper meaning and the ability for her target audience to gain an insight of different narratives, 'Firework' is dominated by a series of camera shots and angles that focus on the pop idol and it is  clear that she is heavily made up, from the style of her hair, down to the shoes she is wearing. Through the use of glamour the typical audience according to stereotypical views and ideology. The producers have intentionally made Katy the star of the show by empathising her beauty, with the knowledge her target audience (teenage girls) would aspire to match her appearance while attracting more teenage girls. The money they may also spend to buy the clothes and make up she wears also benefit the producers as that money comes back into the economy. Furthermore her beauty is empathised to the extend that at the end of the music video she appears to be glowing and looks almost angelic. 

The next thing I would like to highlight is the groups of people who appear in this music video. Throughout the entire video you see groups of children as well as different narrative points; achieved by cross cutting. Not once do you see an infant or even an old man within the mix, this is no coincidence as the producer does this intentionally as a representation of the target audience that Katy Perry is trying to appeal to. By getting the children (who are most likely to all be teanagers) to dance around the Katy Perry in order to imitate a firework in last few scenes, the producers implicitly hint that that is Katy Perry's desired fan base who she wants to revolve around her. Other teenagers seeing this video will also be more likely to join her fanbase because of the feeling they relate to the people they see around Katy Perry. 
In addition to this, thing that I felt was the most effective technique used to boost the succses of her song was her use of language in her verses. For instance, as soon as the music video begins the viewer is questioned 'Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting thought the wind, wanting to start again?' The use of the personal pronoun really adds an impact to the words she saying. This opening line could be asked to anybody no matter their age, but mostly applies for people in their teenage years who may feel insecure and want to change their life. These is a constant theme that runs through the song which is backed up by other narratives which teenagers will feel they can relate to. By following it up by the direct message 'cause baby you're a firework, come on show 'em what your worth' makes Katy Perry seem like the messiah as she lifts her followers (target audience) spirits. Other teenagers listening to her would also want to be apart of something/a family greater than themselves which will attract more teens in the longterm. This of course would mean more album sales for the upcoming idol therefore not only will teenagers enjoy the music but her industry gains money, everyone is happy. 

In conclusion I must agree the production of this music video was put together well both visually and harmonically. The videos success was not down to only Katy Perry but was made possible through the smart use of mise en scène as well as media language and representations to ‘inject’ ideas and messages straight into the passive audience; an effect media has on some people according to the hypodermic needle theory.

1min Video compitition: The Lyrics

The Lyrics:



This is the short 1 minute film clip I made and to be honest I think it is no that bad in proportion to the amount of troubles that were encountered while making this short film, but overall the process of putting the short clips in order to make a film is one I did enjoy. The requirements that needed to be taken into account when making this film were to have:

• At least 5 basic camera shots 
• At least 2 basic camera angles
• at least two basic camera movements

In terms of camera work i fulfilled these tasks as a got a range of camera shots, camera angles and a few camera movements some being the tracking shot, tilt shot, close up, etc. The film also had to completed using a title at the start and contain a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. As you can see the title of this video is 'The Lyrics' and according the use of sounds, the diegetic sounds are natural sounds that both you and the people in the video are able to hear therefore speech and sounds like footsteps are the type of dietetic sounds that can be found in my video, as for the non diegetic sounds in my video they were made possible by editing, like the 'hello darkness my old friend' at the end of the video


If there was one thing I would improve about this video it would be a simple decision, repeat the filming prices but this time taking the clips the right way around. The fact I did it on the phone confused me a bit which was the reason in my I forgot the key rule of recoding a video. I could play it off by arguing it was all intentional as it now allows people to lie down and watch a video the right way up without modifying the ergonomics and design of our current devices. A breakthrough in the world of technology.