Music Video Case Study 3

This music video by Childish Gambino is a mixture of a conceptual and narrative video, as there clearly is a story going on however the way it is told is abstract. The video starts off with the artist in a diner looking at a woman and then proceeds to dance along to the song until the woman joins in after being reluctant at first, however the woman leaves and the artist goes back to sitting in the diner. The theme of the song and the lyrics ties into drugs and hallucinations, which is reflected by the abstract narrative of the song. The song itself is similar to a techno beat near the end which sounds strange and ties into the theme of the video.

Depth of field is used to show the relationship between the artist and the woman, it also could show how he is acting 'weird' as he dances when he is out of focus which gives a strange effect. there are many closeups to show the reaction of the woman and there are low angles of the artist to show how he is the centre of attention in the scene, and there are a lot of panning shots which match the movement of his dance moves. a  narrow depth of field shot from the outside of the diner emphasises how the woman tries to ignore the dancing, this shows how the narrative is shown through filming techniques and sound (as the music is lowered) rather than just showing it in the video.

There is minimal use of editing as a lot of long takes are used, which Childish Gambino does in a lot of his music videos. These create a more surreal look which matches the tone of the video and song. there is minimal lip syncing as the dance and body language of both actors tell the story. visual effects are used in the video near the end to show the surreal nature of the song as snow starts to appear inside and the lights flicker, this also matches the melody of the song. 

The video takes place in one location and the diner is coloured in mostly yellow and green, and the woman is also wearing a yellow and green jersey. these colours connote drugs and fit the theme of the song, they also compliment each other which allows for a visually appealing look to the video. the use of one location is also a more unique take on music videos which could attract of people who are fans of the genre. also the artist himself is portrayed in a strange way rather than overly rich or famous like most other videos which is another unique selling point for music fans in general.

The use of one location is very unique and i could use this in my own video as well, the mixture of narrative and conceptual themes is also something I could consider in my music video, as this allows for a wider range of possibilities when filming or editing. Overall, there are many concepts and ideas that i could use in my own work which would make my video interesting and captivating to watch.