One of my personal favorite songs of the 80's is by Brian Adams and called "Summer of 69". This song also relates to the reoccurring sexualisation of the 80's, this is because (contrasting popular belief) the title refers not to a year but to a summer where a teenage boy was sexually active.
this is a link to the music video on YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f06QZCVUHg
As can be seen by the photo above, the music video is split into two areas, the present day, and the year the character is talking about. The scenes that refer to the past are all shot in black and white, this connotes that the events did occur in the past and it also adds an old style film technique to video. We are introduced to the protagonist of the song by a low angle shot, this is used to connote that he is the protagonist and the main focus of the song. Then we are shown a moving eye level shot with the protagonist, this gives the viewer the feeling of equality with the protagonist and involves them in the video. One very useful technique is how the black and white scenes slowly saturate with color and the protagonist breaks the fourth wall. This shows that he is remembering his memories and that he is fond of them as he feels he is still there. The repeated use of the same shed at the beginning and the end of the song, once in the past and once in the present, shows that he is still a very same person and still acts like he used to. At the end we see the heroine of the video smile when she sees him, thus showing she is fond of those memories too.
One music video that is purely based on the narrative of the story is "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" by Billy Joel. This narrative tells the tale of a boy who is about to commit suicide but changes his mind when he's shown what life will be like if he lives and if he dies.
this is a link to the music video on YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhxjNYvJbgM
The music video uses a good range of camera techniques. An example of these is at the beginning where we have a low angle shot of Billy Joel and a high angle shot of the protagonist. This shows that the character Billy Joel plays is the more dominant character of the two. The use of both diegetic sound effects and the non diegetic music makes the audience feel that the song is taking place in the real world, which this music video is supposedly doing. The use of having the modern day protagonist wearing a certain outfit throughout the shoot makes it obvious that he is the subject of the song. This is key as we see various versions of the protagonist and the only difference between them all is the clothes they wear. A way we know how the protagonist is feeling lesser than what he used to be is by the presence of props. In the shots showing the past we see that he drives a car with his girlfriend, yet the establishing shot is just of a bike that he used to get to the bridge. Whilst on the bridge there is a zoom out shot which shows how small and insignificant he is, this is in contrast with the end of the video where he and his girlfriend take up the entire screen. A way we see that at the end the protagonist is no longer upset is by Billy Joel giving him his harmonica. This is significant as Billy Joel's character has been through the same experience and so giving the boy the harmonica shows that he has come through it too.
On the opposite of a narrative based video, is "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. This music video is filled with great examples of misce en scene and clever use of camera shots, however the only story line comes from the song itself as the music video has no narrative involved.
this is a link to the music video on YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A
One main effect that contributes to the meaning of the song appears at the very end. After all the music stops we are left with just the singer in a room and then even he fades out, symbolizing that he was in the end forgotten. One very effective technique is how the entire music video can be related to a memory (the subject of the song) it begins in a very sudden jump and the singer just appears in a flash. This is similar to a memory that just appears in your head once you forget it. Then the scenes are filled with various random and unrelated objects. This could be related to when one half remembers a memory and fills the rest in with imagination. And then at the end the video and performers fade away, just like forgetting a memory. The use of a POV shot when looking at the TVs makes the audience feel more relatable to the singer. There is a very well shot scene where the camera rotates in circles, yet the scene changes. This confuses the audience and makes them focus on the words. Near the beginning we see the singer look up on the line "Will you stand above me?" and soon afterwards the camera lowers to the floor in a birds eye fashion on the line "rain keeps falling down". This technique links the words with the audience and makes them more powerful and meaningful
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