Abstract Video Analysis

Spectrum - Florence And The Machine - David LaChapelle and John Byrne



The techinques that have been used within the video can be split into several categories. Props, lighting, costume and editing.

The props used in the Spectrum video are varied as the scene changes rapidly throughout the video. In the first scene we see: Chandelier, plants, gramophone and a bench. In the next scene we see: skyscrapers, water and shiny spikes. This is constant throughout the video, and the abstract imagery that we keep seeing through these props could be emphasizing the video's title 'Spectrum', which means a variety of colours, typically of a rainbow. The props, along with other macro elements are all used to fit this meaning.

The lighting used in the video is very colourful and bright at times. The lighting in the rooms all spotlights to Florence giving her the most attention in the video. Again, this was to fit within the video title's meaning, and since most of the spotlight falls on the lead singer, it not only makes her seem significant, but it may also be a means of reflecting on her own personality and background, which is colourful and radiant.

The costume Florence and the ballerinas around her wear is very extravagant and outrageous. We see Florence wearing bright, shiny and tight dresses very different to the other people showing she is the star within the video. The ballerina's around her wear white tutus and large head dresses and the men wear silver tights. This image subverts the image of the stereotypical ballet dancer, and the abstract imagery of seeing men in such clothing, for example, makes the video seem outrageous even though it would still fit within the meaning of the video.

The editing used in this video is mainly based around the transition. The main and nearly only transition used is a cut, this is done very quickly to add pace to the video which is reflected on the song. These transitions may have been used to make everything within the video seem to revolve around the lead singer, as if she was the conductor of everything that was happening.

Paranoid Android - Radiohead - Magnus Carlsson



The music video has been made by a cartoonist instead of someone who has had experience with directing music videos. The video involves all members of the band as cartoon animation in a quirky story-line narrative. Because of the cartoon setting, the video has made itself available to endless possibilities and infinite ideas, as well as being the main reason why every aspect of the video is abstract and strange; anything can happen within a cartoon world, and because of it, death is not applied to that world, as seen at 5:26 - 6:06. The main use of the cartoon world though, was to make every event make no sense, especially when they use it so that it can be both humorous and awkward.

The song is said to be based on an experience in an LA bar. We think that the ideas generated from the experience is the reason that the cartoonist has presented imagery of sex/prostitution, violence and drugs in the video. This is most noticeable at 3:00 - 3:30, where there is violence towards the protagonist before he leaves and passes a drunk and two kissing "leather-men". Another example of these themes at 1:24 - 1:45, where a rough-living prostitute shows her naked body to the two teenagers and asks for them to pay her after letting them have a look.

To fit the genre of 'alternative rock', the setting is not conventional to a normal cartoon; as instead, the cartoon is based on the real world to show a problematic and realistic society which fits with the message of the song. Ridiculous characters and events (such as the man going out of his way to chop down the lamppost) emphasizes how the character "Robin" feels like the whole world is against him. The use of long solo shots of Robin also convey his loneliness, placing troubled people or problematic events in the background to make it seem as if Robin would have no hope of finding any help from anyone in the world that he was living in.