A2 music vide analysis

1. MASSIVE ATTACK ANALYSIS

2. Initial thoughts
• Fades to black at start
• Strobe/flicker of light – mystery
• Close up to start with
• Wide shot – small subject big dark room – same shot zoomed in
• Focus on part of body
• Shots blue tinge
• Butterfly theme – death
• Shots held for long time
• Close ups of skin/body parts
• Negative space
• Brick wall – cold, isolated alon feeling
• Hard lighting
• Drawing on face
• Contrast of butterfly man – binary opposite of power v vulnerable
• Uncomfortable – ex cu
• Foreground out of focus
• Ubject positioned far left/right
• Static camera – limited movements – slow
• Performance shot dissolves into butterfly
• Theme of touch/sense

3. CAMERA
SHOTS
The shots in this music video mainly consisted of extreme
close ups or long shots. Often, there would be a wide shot,
where the subject would be placed in the centre, creating
an odd/surreal feel to the video. In contrast, there were also
many CU’s of the man’s skin, eyes and neck, possibly forcing
the audience into a state of uncomfort.
In contrast to the other videos, the starting shot of this
video is a long shot of a butterfly, the shot is filled with
negative space.
ANGLES
There were no real starking angles in this video, it was
mainly mid-level angle. However the foreground of many
shots were out of focus.
MOVEMENTS
There were little camera movements within this video,
however movements were slow and steady, possibly
representing a slow death (of the butterfly caught in the
light). There was a slow zoom into the performer at the
start, which lasted approx 10 seconds.

4. MISE EN SCENE
LOCATION
The location rather reflected the themes and
attitudes presented within the video, as it was a large,
dark, brickwall room. This partnered with the wide
shots, evoked themes of isolation and loneliness.
LIGHTING
Similar to the other videos, the lighting was a key
factor in the astetics of the video. The lighting
flickered which created a strobe effect, thus creating a
sense of mystery, and curiousness to explore the shot.
Furthermore, the lighting was very hard, and low key,
delegating powerful attributes to the performer, from
the audiences’ POV.
COSTUME
I feel like the costume was not necessarily as relevant
in this video. He wore a vest and black jeans, however
throughout the video, we see his clothes ripped and
an image of a butterfly imprinted onto his skin. This
slowly becomes his ‘costume’ throughout the video.

5. EDITING
There was a clear blue tinge to all the shots
in the video, thus giving a ‘cold/dark/sinister’
feel to the music video.
Another notable transition was the ending.
The performance shot slowly zoomed out,
and dissolved into the dead butterfly, which
then faded to black. This links with Levi’s
theory of binary opposites, presenting the
audience with a vulnerable V weak opposite.
Furthermore, there was significant editing
technique when it came to imprinting the
butterfly shape onto he performer’s body. It
was a slow process, which was portrayed
through a series of slow-paced, performance
shots.

6. CONCEPT
There was a clear link to Levi Strauss’
theory of binary opposites. As the hard
lighting, the static performer, and the
duration of the shots all delegated power
to the performer, whereas the close ups of
the butterfly squirming, struggling to
survive, created a vulnerable view.
However, the fact that the performer turns
into the butterfly throughout the video,
suggests that both performer and butterfly
may be ‘equal’ in terms of mentality, and
‘different’ in terms of size.
Furthermore, I feel like this video followed
Goodwin’s theory that the video illustrated
the lyrics, and were an extension of them.
As it featured a butterfly ‘caught’, aswell as
a man ‘caught’ (and the song is titled
Butterfly Caught).