Analyzation - Coming up easy - Paolo Nutini

Summary of song

Paolo Nutini is not only a great singer, but a extremely clever song writer. The song 'coming up easy shows off Nutini writing talents and creativity. Hearing the song for the first time most people would jump to the conclusion that it is a love song, but looking deeper into the song lyrics we can see it's in fact a love song but not for a girl, but for Marijuana. Nutini has cleverly written this to get people listening to the meaning of this songs. Nutini has become a lover of Marijuana but his friends can see its slowing him down and the weed has a down side to it, this is reflected in the song and video. In this video the directors Dan & Julian have used a rabbit to symbolize Marijuana, the link i have made though this is rabbit - grass - weed - Marijuana, also the rabbits use of the idea of how the drugs gives you a high, like the rabbit sweet,fluffy and funny. throughout the music video we see a decrease in the rabbits colour, happiness and friendliness, linking to the drug, you get highs but you will also have a comedown. the chorus of the song "we would watch the sun coming up easy as the rain came tumbling down" a metaphor for the drug. other metaphors used were "kiss my lips again and again and again" this was used to show taking Marijuana was a regular occurrence.

Analyzation - candy by Paolo Nutini

Starting with the meaning of this song we hear about a man and woman's relationship, what i take from this song is the woman feels the relationship is not working and she is not in love with the male character, but we hear in the song how the man is trying to prove to her he can be her guy, he she shows him some love. The word Candy is a symbol for love and sex, "give me some candy after my hug". The marriage has been taking place in a run down area, paolo talks about how it can work and that she is a "diamond in the ruff", it does not matter how or where they get married he will always love her and she is still this diamond figure to him.

Camera shots

We tend to see a lot of close up shots of Nutini, for he is an iconic figure, his dress sense is a large part of this stage character, especially the hat, this appears in several videos.

Crab shot - camera moving from side to side tracking family and friends to wedding, the shaky camera work was intentional giving the effect of a subtle unsteady, relationship and the environment of an LEDC.

long shot - this was used to show everyone walking together, the bride is submerged by other woman and the man is clearly seen by the camera, stating he was sure what we was doing but the woman was have regrets.

POV- point of view shot, we see these towards the end, when the couple have come together, everything seems to have fallen into place, we are then shown a POV through a door which see the couple making love (the man getting his candy) these shots pull the video together, conclude the song.

other shot used such as Pans, two people shot, establishing shot, over the shoulder and tracking.

Editing - we had a large amount of fast and sharp cuts flicking between the story line and the artist. at the beginning we experience cross cutting as he tells the story as it progresses into the song we see him performing at the wedding, with low angled shots, giving Nutini power and wisdom for being the over-viewer on the story. Towards the end we have more Fast editing as the chorus of the song builds up, and the couple making love, but as the song comes to an end we have fade editing shots showing passion and love, this is accompanied by close ups and extreme close ups of the couple together, as if their troubles are over. we then see children an image put to us to conclude the rest or the story.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is a french work and means "what you see in the scene". looking at the location of the music video we can see they have used a LEDC (less economically developed country) giving a setting for the video. we can also tell it is a wedding from wedding cake, bride and groom, family and friends, tables settings and many others. we also see in a close up Nutini singing on stage, we see a lady in red is in focus behind him pulling your attention towards her, showing danger about this idea of falling into marriage that it not 100% stable, but on the other hand it can be seen as a love which will grown and become stronger.

Steve Archer & Andrew Goodwin - Key elements

Andrew Goodwin
In Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992, Routledge), has identified the following features of music videos:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (eg stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

5. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc).

Steve Archer

In Media Magazine 8 has drawn attention to the need to consider the relationship between narrative and performance in music promos.The following are the key elemnts of a music video.

1. Lyrics

Lyrics tend to help establlish a general feeling, or mood, or sense of subject matter rather than offering a coherent meaning. key lines may play a part in the visuals associated with the song but very very very rarely will a music video simply illustrate the lyrics wholesale.

2.Music

A music video tens to make use of the tempo of the track to drive the editing and may emphasise particar sounds from the track by foregrounding instruments such as guitar, keyboard or drum solo.

3.Genre

while some music videos transcend genres others can be more easily categorised. some, but not all, music channels over a period of time, you will be able to identify a rage of distinct features which characterise the video of different genres. these features might be reflected in types of mise en scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles.

4.Camerwork

As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how images are seguenced has a significant impact on the meaning. camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany movement of performers (walking, dancing ect) but it may also be used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance, for instance, by constantly ciircling the band as they perform on stage.

5.Editing

Although the most common form of editing associated witht the music promo is fast-cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple vewing, some videos use slow pace and gentler shot transitions to establish mood. This is partucularly apparent in promos for many felmale solo artists with a broad audience appeal, Such as Dido. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects, which play with the orignal images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This might take the form of split-screen, colourisation and, of course, the use of blockbuster film-style CGI special effects.

6.Intertextuality

This music video is often described as a 'post-modern' form, a slippery term which is sometimes used to mean intertextuality, on of the post modernism's more easily identifiable features. Broadly, if we see music promos as frequently drawing upon existing texts in oder to spark recognition in the audience, we have a working definition of intertextuality. Not all audiences will necessarily spot a reference and this need not significantly detract by those who recognise the reference and feel flattered by this. Arguably, it also increases the audience's engagement with, and attentiveness to product, an important facility in a culture where so many images and narratives complete for out attention.

7. Narrative and Performance

Narrative in songs, as in poetry, is rarely complete and often fragmentary. the same is true of music promos, which tend to suggest story-lines or offer complex fragments in non-linear order, leaving the viewer with the desire to see them again.

The Video allows the audience more varied access to the performer than a stage performance can. the close-up, allowing eye contact and close observation or facial gestures, and role play, within a narrative framework, present the artist in a number or ways not possible in a live concert.

Music videos

The first Music video was created in the 1960's by The Beetles and was first shown on MTV. In the 1980's the music video industry came into their own created new and original videos. Today in 2010 music videos are produced to promote an artists music. Depending on the artist the music videos will change to fit the genre, for example a pop song would be a performance based video including dancing, singing and glamorous male and female artists shown at their best. Narrative music videos stick to a story line which is played through out the video with links back to the artist.

Label

Paolo Nutini was scouted by Atlantic records at the age of 19. Atlantic records quoted

"Born and raised in Paisley, Scotland, Paolo Nutini, is a 19-year-old singer/songwriter who has been blessed with a soulful, passionate voice and the natural gift of being able to tell a story in a song. Nutini has absorbed the soul of the great American R&B singers and channeled it into something original, captivating, and dynamic."

Paolo's first Atlantic release, an EP entitled "LIVE SESSIONS," is an intimate introduction to this compelling new artist via performances captured at a series of small venues in London. Songs such as the bittersweet "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" and the anthemic "These Streets" reveal Nutini to be an artist who knows an awful lot about the vicissitudes of life and love, with a unique gift for expressing the attitudes and experiences of someone both of his age and well beyond it.

Genres

There are hundreds of different genres, a genres is where a band or singer is categorized due to the interments and style of their music. for example Nivina would fall into heavy metal, where as Bob Dylan's music would fall into a hybrid category, where he plays within in different genres such as folk, jazz, swing and rock. The artist i have chosen to use for my music video was inspired by Bob Dylan's music, a folk feel with a modern twist.

Paolo Nutini falls into the different genres of pop rock, folk and blue eyed soul.
Pop rock: Pop rock: is a mix of pop music and rock music utilizing a catchy pop style with light lyrics, and typically guitar-based songs.
Folk: The term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. Since the middle of the 20th century the term has also been used to describe a kind of popular music that is based on traditional music. Subgenres include folk rock,electric folk, folk metal and progressive folk music.
Blue eyed soul: is rhythm and blues or soul music performed by white artists. The term continued to be used in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly by the British music press, to describe a new generation of white singers who adopted elements of classic soul music.

Finding a new song

After the difficulty of finding the lyrics for ‘The man’s machine’ by Jamie T, we decided to change our song, along with a whole new genre. After looking around for potential songs we came across Paolo Nutini’s song ‘Alloway groove’. The song is an relaxing, happy and upbeat song which jumped out to us. We decided this is the perfect song for us to create a music video to.

How we started

We started off basing our project around the genre 'indie rock' which we thought would be enjoyable and fun to create a music video to. We searched for possible songs for a while but in the end we lead towards the song 'The Man's Machine' by Jamie T. The song fitted in well with the genre we were looking for. However after we found little research about the artist and the lyrics had not been posted due to the album being released early it was hard for us to make any progress at all. So we had to reassess our ideas.
We also found it hard to identify the main forms and conventions of the genre 'indie rock'. The main forms and conventions of indie rock were originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1980s. The term is often used to describe the means of production and distribution of independent underground music. Many indie rock groups consist of an electric guitarist, lead singer, bass guitarist , and a drummer, forming a quadrate.
On researching further, we discovered that Jamie T’s videos consisted of all of the conventions. When looking at the video we found he has very rustic and unusual images, which encourages people to think about the meaning behind the song. A lot of the time Jamie T’s videos are surreal and do not clearly link or represent the lyrics. The postmodern element of ambiguity is reflected here. His videos therefore represent a visual spectacle and engage his audience on this level. They intrigue and provide humour for the audience, therefore his audience await new videos with interest.