We are going to research into the music videos created by our chosen artists Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello because we want to learn about the themes they use in their music videos and their style of producing it. We want to look into how they represent themselves as an artist so we have an idea of what our own music video should be like in terms of how they perform and the mise considered so we can make our own music video look more realistic by making our actors appear like the artists. Shawn and Camila have both created a lot of music as well as many music videos that go with some of them. They have very similar generic conventions between them as both of their genres consist of pop throughout their music career. They are also both in a similar position in the music industry in terms of how they are beginning to become more noticeable by being at the top of the charts. Furthermore, their age and how long they have been singing as their career puts them in a similar position so they are attracting a similar fan base.
Camila Cabello
Havana
The music video 'Havana' by Camila Cabello is quite heavily based on narrative because it is has a short film to it. The song it about her hometown (Havana) in Cuba where she spent her early life. She explains that she hasn't forgot about where she came from and that this place means a lot to her. The narrative in the lyrics of her single is about a girl who falls in love with a boy, and metaphorically is referencing this 'boy' as Havana to her. For example when she mentions in the lyrics 'Half of my heart is in Havana', she is mentioning that half her heart belongs there but references half her heart belongs to the boy. This is a good way of making her music relate to her audience whilst also making it personal to herself because she can be singing both about Havana and the boy.
The music video contains a short film about a girl (Camila) who is inspired by an actor on TV (also played by Camila) and wants to be like her. She plays two characters in the narrative of the music video which I think works really well as it shows two sides to Camila. Although this music video is heavily based on narrative, there are a lot of performance aspects too. For example, there are shots of Camila (the version in the cinema show) of her performing on stage which involves lip syncing and people playing instruments, then tango-style dancing on the dance floor.
I really like the theme of this music video. There is mostly low key lighting used throughout the music video and I like how it looks quite gritty and traditional to the place its set in. The culture has been represented in a traditional and modern way through having the TV show and film of her wearing traditional costumes and acting out love stories, then having her modern day self at home in a typical small house you would find in a less economically developed country.
In terms of theories I noticed that Andrew Goodwins theory of using a screen within a screen is quite prominently used throughout this music video. As well as close ups on the artist and performance and narrative aspects. Some of Propps theory is used in terms of characterisation. It can be used quite a lot in this style of music video because films are shown within the music video which specifically include typical characterisation.
Camila's music video for Havana actually references Micheal Jackson's music video for thriller, which I one of the most famous and successful music videos. The cinema scene uses the same theme as Micheal Jackson's music video and I really like how this has been done because it brings more meaning to her music video. For example it shows that Micheal Jackson has inspired her music video, so it shows how traditional music videos are influencing contemporary music videos. It is also attracting a broader audience as its using themes and ideas from Micheal Jackson's music videos. Therefore people who like his should like Camila's in terms of themes.
Crying in the Club
The music video 'Crying in the Club' by Camila is a very personal to her as it was released 5 months after the day she left her previous band 'Fifth Harmony'. The song has a message about healing through the power of music, and the music video is about her in a club very upset about a boy. They have similar themes, about love and deep meanings that are linked towards her as the artist. The differentiation between these music videos are that Havana is a really upbeat song giving off a positive effect whilst referencing a sad narrative, and Crying in the Club is quite emotional and negative because its about her being upset. However whats similar about both these music videos is that they both represent the narrative in a metaphorical way. She is singing about a boy but truly she is singing about personal events in her life.
Our favourite aspect of this music video is the editing used. It is quite slow paced making it suit the sad emotional narrative of the song rather than being upbeat. To make this even more powerful, slow motion is used as well to work a long side the slow paced editing, making the music video more interesting for the audience to look at. There are also a few effects/filters used for example the black and white shots which work well because it makes the setting more dull suiting the mood, then there are parts where the colours of the shots change and they they quite vibrant referencing the idea of a 'club' whilst still showing she is broken. This shows that colour was really considered throughout the production of this music video. We quite like this idea and will take it into consideration for our own music video.
Shawn Mendes
Stitches
Shawn Mendes has also created and produced fantastic music videos. 'Stitches' is one of his most important music videos because it is one of his first and most successful. It shows off his theme and style as it is introducing his personality as well as his skills. He has a similar theme to Camila when it comes to making a music video personal to themselves. For example Camila will be singing about heart break and so will Shawn. In this music video he sings about a girl who he has lost and wants her back and how much it is hurting him. When he says the lyrics 'And now that I'm without your kisses, I'll be needing stitches', this is metaphorically saying he hasn't got her anymore and it's really hurting him inside. The music video itself is quite dark with cuts all over his face as if he is physically getting hurt over the break up. It consists of low-key lighting to correspond with the dark narrative he has behind it.
In terms of the narrative within this song, we like how Shawn has represented the mental pain of heartbreak in a physical way and it shows how much he is suffering but trying to fight back and carry on dealing with it. The ending of the music video shows Shawn beaten, then he cleans his face with water, then it is fully healed. We like how this has been done because it shows that mentally he is now over the person who what hurting him, in a physical way.
The editing plays quite an important role within the music video to give it the right effect. Slow motion and fast motion is used to speed up and slow down the shots of Shawn getting beaten up making it look more powerful and painful for him which overall makes it look more realistic to the audience. The mise en scene also plays quite a big role in this music video. The special effects make up used to make Shawn look like hes been beaten is important for making the punches Shawn is taking look realistic, and making clear to the audience that the sort of physical pain he is showing is representing the mental pain he is experiencing.
Another important aspect of mise is the setting. The lighting is important for setting the mood for the music video which I think has been done well, because they have used low key lighting. Also the location is important for the narrative of the music video which I think suits it well because it shows Shawn trying to get from his car to the door of the car park which he struggles to get to without getting hurt. The location is also realistic and includes no other people or cars connoting how alone he is now.
Comparing this music video to Camila's you can tell they are both about a similar narrative and have similar levels of performance. One thing I dislike about this music video is that the visuals are so repetitive and it gets slightly boring seeing too much of the same thing. We will take this into consideration and learn from this when making our own music video so therefore we can keep our audience interested and intrigued.
You can also tell they are both on quite a low budget for a music video because the setting is kept simple and the choice of locations is set to a minimum. This however is understandable because they were quite new to the industry at the time. Stitches released in 2015 when Shawn was growing a global audience and becoming a bigger artist. Crying in the Club was released in 2017 when Camila became a solo artist and started growing her own global fan base as well.
There's Nothing Holding Me Back
Further on in Shawn's career he released a music video for his single 'There's Nothing Holding Me Back' near the end of 2016. This music video is the opposite to 'Stitches' in terms of narrative as its about being in a relationship and being happy, giving off a very positive impression instead of negative. This can be seen through the beautiful locations considered and high-key lighting. The narrative for this music video is actually above a movie script Shawn was reading that he was possible going to take part in. The girl who his character fell in love with really inspired him to create a song based on this narrative.
Location plays an important role in this music video. The producers have clearly considered what sort of location represents love for this music video as they have filmed a lot of the shots of their time in Paris which is famous for love. We will take into consideration this aspect of a music video and how we can use the location to represent the theme of the narrative.
We like how this music video includes performance shots of Shawn singing on stage in front of a huge audience in a stadium as this is how he would genuinely perform the song. We wouldn't be able to do something to this extent, but we could use this idea of a stage and instruments within our music video.
In terms of the narrative they have really considered the theme of the song with is about love. We like how the whole music video is based on Shawn and the girl who he is with and their relationship. The viewer gets to follow their trip and see how happy they are. This aspect as well as the strong connection between them makes the music video more enjoyable for the viewer as it makes their relationship seem realistic.
Shawn and Camila's songs/music videos have similarities in terms of the way the visuals link with the narrative and are very personal to who they are and their personalities. Also the themes that they include in both of the music videos are near towards the same. This is why we believe the song and music video of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' works well - the theme of love and heartbreak is used throughout a lot of their songs. From these music videos, we have been inspired by a lot of the features included, especially the editing pace. The pace of 'There's Nothing Holding Me Back' is quite fast, making the video interesting because it is switching between scenes telling a story whilst also showing new content and visuals, keeping the music video intriguing for the viewer. This has inspired us to incorporate a similar idea in our music video by filming at a range of locations and cutting to the beat of the music with more of a fast pace. Overall, doing this research has allowed us to look into what works well and what doesn't with the music videos of our chosen artists, and therefore has given us more inspiration and guidance for our ideas of what we could include and what is expected of our music video.
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