Textual Analysis Examples

This video is named One in a Million, and is by the known artist Ne-Yo. This video is based around the convention of a narrative type music video, and is interesting as it is a sort of film based montage of 3 videos put together, which all form the story. The story is about Ne-yo and two of his friends, and this is a theme that runs throughout the album 'Libra Scale.' Ne-yo uses many devices in this music video that make it more interesting for the audience, and we can also see his influences from the past that are shown by some of his actions and the directors choices.

The video starts off with the an opening title to introduce the video, which ireplicates the beginning of a movie sequence. The first few scenes after this have quite symbolic codes that come across throughout also. The misenscene creates symbolism, as Ne-yo is dressed like a 50's gentleman, smart and sophisticated with braces and a suit. He also wears a black hat, and the mannerisms he has when wearing this hat to replicate Michael Jackson, as he did wear this hat back in his youth.

From 1.24, we can see the story progress, as we realise at the beginning Ne-yo is trying to woo a lady sat at the table. At 1.50 Ne-yo tries to send the lady a rose, and roses symbolise romance. She then rejects this, and he then begins to follow her down the street not giving up, which does create humour for the audience. This could definatly symbolise Michael Jackson's 'The Way you make me feel', as the narrative is boy chasing girl, and the setting is important as both were set down a street which is very iconic. The difference is, at the end Ne-yo doesn't get the girl at all, and he sets a modern twist on the storyline to make it his own by having magic powers to stop the taxi from driving away. Also, the fact Ne-yo is influenced by the legend Michael Jackson, and how he has also used his iconic movements in his video, such as Michaels walk as we see in 2.08, shows how Ne-yo also wants to go down in history as being 'legendary' and also how music videos can be so influencial later on in the future.

The editing is important too. At 3.00, the sequence here is quite significant, as the camera shots cut from one to another with the beat of the music. This makes the music video more cutting edge and entertaining, as it's totally in sync with the song. The sequence itself is significant as we see Ne-yo dancing with his friends in the street, and this sort of goes quite well with a musical sort of theme.

The lyrics of the song also fit the theme of the video and the mood. The tempo of the song is quite upbeat, and the lyrics of the song are positive and upbeat. 'Baby you're the best I ever had.' This line really sets the scene of the video, as it replicates the idea of Ne-yo wanting this girl so much as she is the best of the best, and he'd do anything to have her.





This video, taken from the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,a 1953 film adaptation of the 1949 stage musical, starring Marilyn Monroe as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee. Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is considered an iconic performance that has been copied by the likes of Geri Haliwell, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and of course, Madonna. Mariyln has always been an influencial 50's star, and Madonna has also copied her image in videos such as Vogue, where she is seen wearing a smiliar dress to what Marilyn was wearing at the time of the 50's and the hair style she had.

If this had to come under any convention for a music video, even though it was featured in a film, it would be a narrative, but also performance, as the artist is involved in the story of the video, but the audience are getting pleasure from viewing the artist. The codes in this video show how Madonna sees herself as influencial, just like Marilyn was.

The analysis of the two videos together show how artists from this generation can be inspired by older icons, and see themselves as just as important. We can see the codes and conventions of both videos being very similar. The two videos do start differently, as we see Marilyn getting straight into the routine, but Madonna choses to have two narratives going on at the same time, and starts by having a an establishing sequence of a director admiring Madonna on a tv screen. This symbolises her importance from the start, and the medium shot of the two men having a conversation gives the audience a chance to see Madonna on screen doing the routine in both videos before it even starts.

Mis En Scene:

Marilyn is wearing a pink dress, and so is Madonna, which clearly is an iconic dress and connotates feminimity, as pink can be related directly to females. This symbolises how the women are being dominant in this video, as seen in some of the shots later o, and reflects the lyrics of the song. Madonna has chosen to have her hair and makeup/costumes the same to represent how she sees herself as important as Mariyln in this music world.

Props are used interestingly in both videos, such as red hearts being carried around by men in formal attire. This could indicate how the men think they have a hold on the women's hearts, but in reality they would just like the finer things like diamonds, hence the song title. The red carpets used in both represent royality, and shows how both women have big enough egos to show to the audience that they are seen as something above others. Both are shown to stand out, not just with the pink dresses but also with the lighting that is used, as in some point of both videos, each woman is stood in some spotlight in the middle of the room, indicating how they should be the centre of attention.

The misenscene in Madonna's video does have some differences to Marilyn's. Madonna, as I said, has chosen to have a narrative to her video, and to fit the conventions of a narrative music video, has decided to have cut to cut shots of two different settings, one of a man chasing her, and one of her glamourous lifestyle. In these cut to cut scenes, we see for example, Madonna strolling along in a red sports car, and she is also wearing 50's style red clotheing with both indicate how she is has the money to buy these things. 'We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.' The lyrics of the song fit the convention of the narrative, as both videos are trying to convey that the way to women's hearts is through money, meaning they dont need sentimental males to keep them going.

A male is driving the car however, and we see this when a medium long shot after the drive in shows that. The 50s clothes styling and choice of colour could represent to the audience how Madonna sees herself as something iconic, just like 50's filmstars where. The man who is chasing Madonna in the cut to cut scenes is dressed in all brown, which connotates poorness and how he can be seen as quite ordinary. Madonna is also seen at the end of the video wearing white clothing, and this could symbolise how she is seen as godlike, as white can be related to the theme of doves, which then relates to the theme of peace.