HOW DOES THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'ELEPHANT GUN' USE MEDIA LANGUAGE TO ESTABLISH A DYNAMIC AND ENERGETIC IMAGE FOR THE BAND?
the video for 'Elephant Gun' by Beirut uses quick cuts, quirky angles and obscure shot types to make the band seem energetic and dynamic.
The mise on scene in this video is crucial in the sense that the location of the filming and the costumes contribute hugely to the bright vividness of this video.
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| FIG. 1 |
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For example. Figure 1 shows the costume of some of the character and the setting of the majority of the video. the bright colours and obscure patterns create an oddness that could be confusing but also create a quirky image for the band as this almost contrasts with the song in itself. When you first hear the song, the mise on scene that is seen is not what is entirely expected of it. This creates an energetic and dynamic image for the band in the sense that it's challenging the genre and the usual conventions of music videos of that type.
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| FIG. 2 |
The performance element of this video is paramount when it comes to making the band seem energetic. This video is mainly performance based but, at the beginning of the video we see 2 men who don't seem to energetic or enthusiastic but as the video develops the performance element increases, not only in the 2 original characters but we also begin to see a lot more people involved in a chaotic dance routine that increases the energy in the video itself. Figure 2 shows a shot from the beginning of the video when we first meet the band members and Figure 3 contrast completely with this as it shows a shot toward the end of the video with much more vivid lighting which creates a sense of energy.
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| FIG. 3 | |
This video has a pace that increases throughout, with around 78 shots in total, the pace of the cuts wavers throughout. For example, at the beginning of the video, it is very slow moving with only a few shot changes, many of the shots are sweeping across the 2 men's performance and none of them are particularly choppy. As the pace of the music increases, so does the cuts. The cuts become much more frantic and this helps to create a much more energetic atmosphere for the video. At the start of the video, the actual track is very calm and 'acoustic' but as the song develops, more instruments are added and the video begins to cut on the beat. As the pace of cut increases, the angles and shot types begin to become much more obscure and this creates an idea of quirkiness not only through the costumes and the actions of the people involved in the video but the disorientating angles.
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| FIG. 4 |
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This video is based in two main locations, a bright and busy box room (Figure 5) and a contrasting wide open deserted beach (Figure 4). These locations, the first especially, create a sense of energy and quirkiness. Focusing on the first, we see a small confined yet busy box that seems to be sprawled with patterns and people. This, to me, creates a sense of the quirkiness of the band as it shows a setting that isn't a convention of music videos in this genre. Similarly, the second location does this too as it contrasts with the first but also isn't a location that would typically be associated with this kind of music. This shows the band as dynamic in the sense that they don't have to stick to the usual conventions of their genre of music but can create their own conventions.
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| FIG. 5 |
The use of a trumpet in this is controversial for a music video in the sense that it could be perceived as an old or slightly out dated instrument. This again leads to the video making the band seem quirky as it is almost as if they're trying to bring back elements that may be considered outdated or unrelated to conventions surrounding the genre. Much of the mise en scene in this video, the elephant trunks especially, create a sense of the band being dynamic as they combine old with new and introduce controversial new elements to create a spectacular performance, rather than something conventional.
