Textual analysis

Lorde - "Yellow Flicker Beat"

The Flicker beat video to me is in the genre of electropop / art-pop you can easily spot this if you break down the codes and conventions within the music video.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

You can see a lot of medium shots with lorde, this is customary for all music videos, this allows us to see the artist or character in detail and make a connection based of off what we see.

A really interesting aspect of this video is the panning from one area to another, this is also a part to do with the editing of the video however the camera will pan either left or right into darkness to then reveal a new location. This is the type of content that puts it into the genre of Art-pop. Also panning in this way then proceeds to break the 180 degree rule, this, in turn, then makes the viewer feel disorientated.

Another aspect of cinematography would be the zooming in and out. This creates drama within the video and almost has a mysterious quality and an intimacy about it, once again enhancing the relationship between the artist and the audience.

It only occurs a couple of time throughout the video, but the variety of low down angles. these make whatever you look at seem a lot larger and a lot more intimidating, they can commonly be seen used on men, however in this instance it's used with lorde, who happens to be a woman, this then also brings forward a representation of gender and goes against the convention that women are less powerful and less intimidating compared to men. This also works well with her facial expressions being quite aggressive and very powerful so they go hand in hand with the lower angles.

Rather than using a dolly, it seems like a lot of it was shot using what is known as a steady cam which allows the use to hold the camera, but it gets rid of the jumpiness that you would usually have from that of a hand held and creates a smoother picture, this works well for the slow motion shots within the video as in slow motion the jumpiness becomes a lot more noticeable as it is slowed down.

The lighting for this video is very interesting, for example the sections of the video where she is dancing around the blinds, which we can see is being shot in a black studio. In the first shot of this section is a close up so from the angle, it looks like she's looking out of a window but then as it goes on we see the reality of it. This shows how lighting can be used in different ways to create something that isn't necessarily true. 

MISE-EN-SCENE

The mise-en-scene is the main aspect that puts it into this art-pop genre due to the fact the it is very different from one another and does not go with a running theme, for example, in the very first shot we see, lorde is in a motel room, with a late 60's -70's vibe with a tv with nothing but static showing, a neon sign and a metallic wallpaper, This then completely contrasts and juxtaposes with the next shot where she is in a office room with white walls, with a large pendant light next to her and there are green plants all over the room. The two shots are completely different however the one similarity is the costume, but in the first shot her jacket is off and she has her hair styled differently and because her hair is in its natural state in the second shot, it gives me the sense that its a broken down narrative and the shots are not in chronological order. Also in the second shot the various plants could signify life and regrowth which is very subliminal, but very effective.

The song was actually written for the Hunger Games franchise as the soundtrack for part 1 of mocking jay, And lorde said that she tried to get into the lead characters state of mind so for all the scenes where lorde is alone in the black studios could represent how alone the character feels as at the end of the film her best friend is captured and has been hypnotised to kill her meaning she has lost everyone close to her and can now only trust in herself.

The scenes where she is on the road could be commenting on the main characters journey and how it is almost coming to an end this could also be the same as the bus stop scene where we see lorde just sat waiting, once again it could connote that she is waiting for the end.

Going back to the bus stop scene, at the end we see lorde wearing all white, this the pushes the message of purity, light and hope, however this then juxtaposes with the clothing she is wearing in the street and black studio scenes which is a red blazer and wide legged trousers, red connotes such things as danger, blood and death. I believe this contrast is very effective as it pushes the ideals of good vs. bad which in turn is what the movie's main plot is about, creating synergy.  

EDITING

Finally the editing follows conventions such as, rhythmic editing, which means that the video is edited in a way that the cuts happen on the beat. This creates more impact and dynamics, it especially works well with this as the visuals we also see are very powerful and the editing then enhances that.

As I have already said, one of my favourite aspects of this is the way some of the shots are designed to look like they are all one big shot however they were actually cut in away so it all flows together.

Another thing would be the parts that are in slow motion, this type of editing is very dramatic so it goes very well in this video. It allows the viewer to look at something for longer and with a lot more detail. When lorde is dancing and singing out the lyrics, you can really see how dramatic and intense her movements and facial expressions really are.