Video Analysis of 2 music videos

Reel Big Fish -


This music video isn’t your most conventional music video, it would appear more like the video was made for the purpose of having fun.

The music video fits with Dyers theory that a star must have an element of rebellion, in the video the band is seen to be making in direct jokes about ball games in the US. There’s clips of people doing back flips and scoring nets in basketball ect, this shows that they’re just having a joke and pretending to be amazing at the sport when in reality they’re abysmal at it.

Another of Dyers theories that the video fits in with is that of youthfulness, In the video the band appear to be wearing funky glasses and wearing whacky clothing. Adding to this they spend the video jumping around and having a good time, almost posing as really big stars? This also links into his theory that the star must be close but distant at the same time, creating a friendly fun atmosphere in the video allows for this.

According to Negus this video would be a very synthetic music video, how ever the band themselves are not, the video appears to be very poppy but the band are not, as they’re more scar than anything.

Adorno would say that this video creates false needs, as the glasses and rest of the costume worn by the stars are not needed but after seeing the music video people may feel the need to buy such glasses. This had happened a lot recently with artists such as N-Dubz.

The video also clearly has a narrative to it. Showing the band members being woken up and asked to perform through a set of speakers, walking through corridors while a game of basketball takes place.

According to Andrew Goodwin particular music genre’s have their own type of music video, this is correct of this video as ska music is often just having fun and showing the bands view on social issues.

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Public enemy - Harder than you think


This video is for a music in the hip hop/rap scene. But this video some what strays from the stereotypes. Unlike most hip hop video’s there’s no choreographed dancing, no voyeurism like Dyer would have thought. Just 2 artists singing in front of the camera.

I think this is the best approach for me as it means not having to do to much preperation and getting props when i could be spending the time filming. Also the video turns out well with just the 2 singers.

The video doesn't fit in with Adorno's belief that music videos are used to feed the masses because as i said it doesn't fit any of the stereotypes.

Director Research Task

Director: Spike Jonze
Age: 39
From: Maryland USA

Spike Jonze is an American music video expert. However some of his most notable moments have been in films. He has been Academy award nominated for his directorial part in the 1999 film John Malkovich and for the 2002 film Adaptation. He is also the co creator of MTV’s Jackass.

But spike Jonze has also done a lot of big music videos. Some of his earliest music videos started in 1992 with “High in High School” by Chainsaw Kittens and “100%” By Sonic Youth. He then moved on to make more music videos, some of the most notible of which were “Praise you” by Fatboy Slim in 1998, “Electrolite” by R.E.M. in 1997. He has even worked with the legendary Tenacious D and other bands like Daft Punk and The Beastie Boys. He has continued to make music videos until his most recent video with Kanye West for his song “See you in my nightmares” in 2009.

In total Spike Jonze has made 54 music videos and is a well known director of music videos.

I find Spike Jonze style impressive because he uses quick cuts to really create a hard hitting video, this is similar to the film Jackass which he helped created for MTV. The quick cuts make the viewer watch the video several times because the human eye doesn't have enough time to take in all the images.

Spike also uses alot of flowing images where panning and tracking shots are vital. I like this because it gives the video a profesional feel.



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Director: Emmett and Brendan Malloy
As a collective they are known as: The Malloys

The Malloys first started making music videos in 2000 with some of their first pieces being Responsibility by MxPx and Breakout by Foo Fighters. A respectable start by any standards. The Malloys have always worked with what they would consider “Organic” music, music that is made just to be enjoyed, not synthetic where the music is made to make money. In the early 2000s they managed to work with some big bands such as Wheatus, Blink 182 and American Hi-Fi. As time went on they started working with bigger and bigger bands making good quality music videos. In 2003 they worked with Metallica on their single St.Anger. They also did some work with bands like The Black Eyed Peas and the White Stripes in 2005.

In more recent years they have worked with the likes of Oasis and The Kooks (2008) But in 2009 they have started working with more pop orientated groups such as N*E*R*D and the Jonas Brothers.

In the end The Malloys are big music video makers who have worked with a lot of big bands who have trusted them to represent the meaning of the songs and create the right star image for them.

I find the Malloys filming styles impressive because they add humour to their videos, like Spike Jonze i feel this makes a music video more entertaining and on first viewing will have viewers amused. It will also make people want to watch the video again. An example of this is their video to Foo Fighters - Breakout