Music Video Analysis Comparison

Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is "Summertime Sadness" from American singer Lana Del Rey. I will be making comparisons with my previous video analysis ("Sacrilege" by the band Yeah Yeah Yeah's) to this video.

The genre of the song can be classed as trip-hop, which is electronic music; a more experimental version of breakbeat. Breakbeat is influenced by jazz, funk and soul. There are not many defining characteristics appearance wise - Lana Del Rey, who features in the video, looks more like a pop star than anything. The music is very subdued and has a steady, rhythmic beat; it carries an element of soul or jazz infused with electro. 
 
The video is a mesh of narrative and performance, unlike Sacrilege, which is purely narrative. Summertime Sadness tells the story of two women who are in evidently in love but commit suicide. There is not much concept present - no dancing, no abstract ideas - but performance is, as Lana Del Rey lip-syncs along to the words throughout. It was directed by Kyle Newman and Spencer Susser, filmed in Santa Clarita.
 

"Telephone wires..."

There is a clear, direct relationship between the lyrics and the visuals for the majority of the video. For example, the line "cruising down the coast" coincides with the shot of Jamie King (video actress) driving her car angrily. As well as this, "telephone wires, above" is incorporated by the image of telephone wires being projected onto a wall. Within Sacrilege, the lyrics and visuals had a vaguer link, whereas Summertime Sadness seems to concentrate largely on the story being brought to life through the visuals. The relationship between the music and the visuals is apparent through the use of heavy sepia tones and the slow, almost melancholy music. The sepia tones give the video an old, worn look that melds with the atmosphere of the song; vaguely reminiscent of Super 8 film cameras and days gone past.
  
There are dozens upon dozens of close up-shots that focus on Lana. She is shown making various poses and looking into the camera with a sultry gaze; this could be a form of self-promotion, as she is signed with large, well known labels. This is much unlike Yeah Yeah Yeah's, who instead had their video directed for them and did not appear in it at all.

There is a vague voyeuristic element to the video that comes from the fact that we, the viewers, are watching the events of the video transpire - intimate events, such as suicide. After Lana jumps she is shown in front of some large wrought iron gates. Presumably, she has passed on; however she is seen in the car of her lover, who looks over disbelievingly, almost like she doesn't believe Lana to be there. If this is the case, Lana is in fact a ghost, watching over her lover - another voyeuristic element to add to the mix.

There were no clear intertextual references that I could infer from the video. However, Lana Del Rey does take much inspiration from artists such as Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, amongst others. Whilst this isn't clear in this particular video, it is evident in others, such as Chelsea Hotel, etc.

The video doesn't feature anyone other than Jamie King and Lana Del Rey. As such, there isn't much that can add to the misc-en-scene other than the set. The video was filmed in California, Santa Clarita. Various shots of greenery and a bridge are shown - the bridge that King jumps from and the ravine-like area Del Rey throws herself from. This is dissimilar to Sacrilege, which used numerous characters and different scenes to make their video. Their (Yeah Yeah Yeah's) video was shot in Texas, opting for wider, clearer shots that included much more background to give it a more authentic feel. The most apparent difference between the two is that Sacrilege is a short film, in it's own rights, whereas Summertime Sadness is just a compilation of shots put together to create a small story.

Music Video Analysis

Sacrilege - Yeah Yeah Yeah's

The music video I chose to analyse is ‘Sacrilege’ by the band ‘Yeah Yeah Yeahs’, an indie rock band originating from New York. The genre of the song is indie rock; but there are not many defining characteristics present in the video due to it’s film-like nature. As well as this, the band is not present in the video at all, meaning no characteristics can be inferred from their clothing or style. However, the song itself has a certain “atmosphere” that most indie rock songs give off - more melodic and not as heavy as rock, incorporating the electronic music genre more than rock. 

The video does not feature the band, but it does tell a story, making it a narrative. There is no singing or lip syncing from anyone in the video, nor any sort of dancing or routine, which erases the idea of it being a conceptual or performance based video. It literally is a small film, shot in non-chronological order, starting at the finish and ending at the beginning in a sequence of shots. The video was directed by the French director group Megaforce, and was shot in Texas.

There appears to be an evident relationship between the visuals and lyrics - the song is titled ‘Sacrilege’, which is to desecrate something regarded as religious. The whole idea, or concept, of the video is the desecration of marriage. The video depicts a congregation of people who are burning a woman and her presumed lover alive. 

The video then travels backwards, where we see the girl having multiple affairs with various people of a town, until we reach the beginning, where she marries a man with all the townspeople present. The video is heavy throughout with religious connotations, which relate to the lyrics - for example, “fell down from the sky” and “halo ‘round his head” etc. The video does not correspond to the lyrics exactly but it does relate to the religious theme of the song. As well as this, a gospel choir was used alongside the band, which adds to the religious aspect of the music. This hints at a little intertextuality - Madonna similarly used a gospel choir in her hit single ‘Like A Prayer’.

Whilst the band was not present, they did use Lily Cole as an actress, Cole being famous enough that it would likely garner the attention of a wider audience - much like Weapon Of Choice, Fatboy Slim; famous actor Christopher Walken starred in the video. However, most Americans would not know Lily Cole if they saw her, in comparison to Weapon Of Choice. There were many close up shots of Cole, who was present throughout the majority of the video.

There was a very voyeuristic element incorporated into the video, which begins with the townspeople being present at the wedding - they are avidly watching the union; or rather, they are avidly watching Cole, whom most of them desire. If the video were to be in chronological order, the start would be the wedding, and the affairs would come afterwards.

However, upon closer inspection, it appears that the affairs might not have even transpired. Cole isn’t caught in the act once despite having multiple affairs, which begs suspicion - did the affairs occur at all, or were they just the fantasies of the townspeople? If so, it adds greatly to the voyeuristic element of the video, especially the sexual side of it. In addition, when Cole and the priest are found together, a man watches them together through the window. It looks like he mumbles the word “sacrilege” which again relates to the lyrics and title. The video itself seems to be voyeuristic, or giving the impression of looking in, as we - the viewers - watch on as the events occur.