Student Music Video Analysis - Problems (A Grade)

Genre

The genre of this music video is pop. This can be clearly seen as the singer is represented as a 'Star', which is expected in pop music videos. There are also lots of dance routines, which are common in pop music videos.

There is an intertextual reference in this song to Jay-Z's '99 Problems'. At the end of the rap section, Azelia says "There's a million you's baby boo so don't be dumb. I've got 99 problems but you won't be one", which references the line "If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you son. I've got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one".

Narrative

This music video doesn't have a narrative. It consists of shots from various locations, some with dance routines, some without.

I wouldn't necessarily expect a narrative from a very mainstream pop video, like this, as they often consist of little - no storyline, as they focus on creating a 'star image' for the artist, and so avoid focusing on a character.

The video does not reflect the lyrics for the most part but there are points (when the artist sings "Head in the clouds") where an image of clouds is projected over the actress.

Representation

Representation of women is stereotypical at points in this video as three of the four women are seen performing dance routines, which is common in female artists' music videos.

The women are also quite sexualised, which is also very common in female artists' music videos.

Visual Codes

The video is set in several different locations:

• An alley
• In a room with a projector putting different images over the lead singer
• On the floor of a road at night
• Next to a lamppost at night
• Against a black background
• Against a brick wall, inside
• Against a white wall inside
• Against a pink wall inside
• Against a brick wall outside

The font of the text saying "Ariana Grande" is the same font that the artist uses in her music videos, so it is used to make the video look more professional.

Is not one dominant colour in this music video - the whole video is very colourful, but also has moments that are in black and white.

There is no iconography in this video.

Technical Codes
In the shots of the lead singer kneeling on the ground of a road at night, there is a vignette on the image, making the outer edges of the shot fade into black. This makes it seem that she is in an enclosed, quite claustrophobic space, possibly used to connote that she felt trapped when she was in a relationship with the person that the song is aimed at.

Most of the shots in this music video are hand-held static shots. However, there are some shots which track backwards as the group of girls walk towards the camera.

The editing is very fast-paced, which suits the fast tempo of the song. It helps to keep the audience interested in the video.


Analysing this video will help me when making my own, as it has highlighted the importance of having several locations to film in.