I have looked at numerous music videos and analysed them looking at how the camerawork, editing, sound, mise-en-scene, narrative, representations, conventions are used and what effects they have on the audience.

Laura Marling – New Romantic
Laura marling is an up and coming folk artist she has released numerous albums but is yet to make it to the main charts. She has a different style to the pop stars we see in the charts today, and this reflects in her Music. The lyrics to the song are telling us a story about how she’s in love with a man but cant live up to the new romantic ways, she taught she was doing everything right but its all ended up wrong, however she will never be able to love another man because 'love and pain go hand in hand'
I have looked at the mise-en-scene of the music video, it is set in a large white empty tiled room, which reflects the innocence and purity of the song, and her voice. It also reflects on her innocence within the character,as she is empty she has lost love and will never find it again. The story is portrayed through shadows on the wall, that back up what the singer is singing I think that this is effective because it puts what the singer is singing into context.The main focus of the music video is the singer who is sat on a chair in the middle of the room playing her guitar. The editing within the music video is slow pace, using close ups to show the emotion and feeling in the singers face and body. A 360 degrees shot is also used to circle the singer in the room to draw the focus right in to the singer in the middle. She is dressed in casual clothes and her hair tied up with not much make up on, this shows the audience the characters style and shows that she’s not trying to be anyone but herself buts sometimes just being yourself isn’t good enough. The fact that she’s dressed this way also suggests to the audience, that the singer is actually the character within the story of the lyrics, this is different from the normal conventions for this type of music video, as we normally see snippets of the singer/band playing, and then actors acting out the story within the lyrics. The fact that the singer is portraying the character strengthens the sound, it brings a greater connection between the singer and the audience because, the singer is feeling the emotions of the character, and this shows in her voice. The whole song is performed on an accustic guitar this is plain and simple and allows the audience to focus on the words and story within the song.

The Script – For The First Time

From researching different genres, I would say that this song fits into the conventions of the pop/rock genre. The song is about two people that are madly in love but going through some rough times and they are finding it very hard to cope. The video opens with narrative; this tells me that the song/video is going to tell a story. The girl we first see is portrayed as being very vulnerable, I know this because of the mise-en-scene, as she is lying in a white bed in a very bright white room, the white is to symbolise her innocence. Also she is in tears witch shows she is unstable, and writing to her parents back home this tells us that she is lost. The first shots we see of the band are in black and white this is to distract us from the narrative and show that they aren’t part of it, they are the story tellers. The editing through the video is fast pase, there is constant cutting between the band the featured girl and the boy, this adds to the temp of the song, and keeps the audience on edge. However the short clips we do see are easy for the audience to relate to as they show the couple doing things together like normal couples do. I think the video sends out a really strong message to its audience through the video, and it is that everyone has ups and downs but don’t give up!