Friday, 24 September 2010

Video Analysis

We have chosen Alfie by Lily Allen for our detailed analysis, we chose Lily, as she is quite a similar artist Kate Nash. This is because they both use a similar singing style that has been described as “mockney” – a fake cockney accent.

This video is based on performance, as there is a great deal of lip-synching throughout. It is also an illustrative video as there are aspects of the video that is acted out by the two characters, along with the lyrics of the song.

Due to the video having references to sex it is more than likely targeted at older teenagers or a young adult audience, but this video is not typical of a generic pop music video. This is because of the strong reference to cartoons throughout the video, which are typically used in connection with children. These are contrasting attributes that are noted subtly during the video.

The opening of this video bares a strong reference to Warner Brothers, with the use of the opening graphics and an iris shot that were both used in early production of films and cartoons alike. This is an example of intertextuality as the video has been directly influenced by outside factors. This theme is carried out throughout the video by continuous cartoon references, such as the mouse hole seen behind Alfie towards the end of the video. This can be seen to be creating a direct link to Tom and Jerry, which is also in fact a Warner Brothers cartoon.

For example, the small door to her brothers’ room, this can be seen as a connection to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by the juxtaposition of a normal size Lily and the comically small door. The cartoon theme is also highlighted by the use if bold bright colours and high key lighting that express the cheerful mood that is implied by the beat of the song. However, it also clashes with the lyrics of the song as Lily is singing about her lazy problematic brother.

The music video is performance based, this is clear throughout the video as both performers act according to the songs’ lyrics, for example, the scene where Alfie is giving Lily a rude hand gesture along with the lyrics, “Now, now there’s no need to swear...” this provides further evidence of the intended target audience being older teenagers and young adults.

Alfie the puppet is dressed as a stereotypical teenager in a hooded jacket and cap. This stereotypically view of teenagers is reinforced by many of the things Lily sings about, such as suggesting, “Surely there’s some walls out there that you can go and spray.” This also shows how openly teenagers are discriminated against in society today.

The shots in this video are used to create a contrast between the two characters such as many of the times when both Lily and Alfie are in shot, Lily has had to either crouch down or sit in order for them both to fit. This also links back to the Alice in Wonderland theme as it shows how awkward the size difference is between the brother and sister. The contrast between the two between the two characters is also expressed through their actions. Lily is seen doing housework, whilst Alfie is in his room playing video games. This could also be seen as a contrast between good and evil, as the negativity around Alfie’s character is also expressed through the low key lighting in his room, which is a direct contrast to the high key lighting in the areas around Lily.

Close up’s are often used in this video to express the difference between the miniature objects around the house and the size of Lily. They are also used to show the different emotions on the characters faces throughout the course of the video.

Cross cutting between the characters is also changing between the illustrative and performance aspects as Lily is fulfilling the performance through lip-synching, and Alfie fulfils the illustrative as the lyrics are about his actions.

This video is effective in its promotion of the song as it uses humour to deal with issues in society regarding the stereotypical teenager. The use if cartoon references ensure that the interest of the viewers is held by the video as well as through the lyrics of the song and the cheerful beat.


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