Analysis of first ten shots from protest music videos

Analysis of first ten shots from protest music videos

1. Paper Planes by M.I.A

The first shot of this music video is an establishing shot with duration of one second. It is black and white which could be homage to old American movies. This is a narrative shot. This shot is followed by four other very similar establishing shots with paper planes flying through which switch on the beat of the music. The song is protesting about immigrants struggling to find work and being pushed away and looked down upon for their ethnicities. Therefore the use of black and white shots could be to remove colour of people and to view everybody as one despite their backgrounds.

This is a one second duration shot of a mid close up of a busy road with lots of peoples legs walking. Again is it black and white perhaps to blur colour and create a retro style. The two characters that are focused on look like business people due to one having a suitcase showing perhaps they have been on a business trip and the other wearing formal clothes including what looks like high heels which are typical office footwear. This links to the message in the song, how different people can get different quality jobs due to their backgrounds.

This shot is a long shot that shows a lorry turning down a road with lots of parked cars either side, the shot is blurred and out of focus. This shot is also one second long. The high amount of cars shown could be to emphasize how busy cities can be and how this could add to the difficulty in finding work. This is the first shot that is in colour, the blurriness could have been used to make the switch from black and white to colour less harsh.

This shot is back to black and white and again shows a busy street in New York. It is a mid shot with a person in a raincoat walking. Again has a one second duration.

This is the first shot with the artist in it, it fits with the one second beat to the music and shows her at work putting containers on a shelf, we later recognise this to be a small sandwich shop. This shot it is mid close as we see the artist from her shoulder upwards and is in colour which highlights her ethnicity. The mise-en-scene of the shot indicates a dull setting which is not a luxury place to work. Although the shot shows the artist, it is not performative as the lyrics of the shot have not yet begun.

This shot is black and white and shows the same street as before in the same exact spot with different people walking past. The shot duration is one second however the clip is sped up, perhaps to highlight the busy, fast pace working day.

The next shot it a close up of a black truck with a skull and cross bones symbol on the bonnet. It is again one second long. The use of the close up shot puts emphasis into the logo, suggesting the negative, evil atmosphere of the song and video.

Again, this shot follows the same pattern of one second duration. It is showing the same street from a different direction with everyday people going about their day. It is in black and white like all the other shots of the area.

This is the first performative shot of the video as the lyrics start. The artist is shown singing and doing hand actions. It has three second duration. The setting has an overall dark tone as the artist is located in a grungy alley way type of place and is wearing a black jacket with the hood up; this could be to signify how as an immigrant she feels she blends into the background and is unnoticed in society. It is a mid shot.

The tenth shot is another perforamtive  shot which shows the artist lip syncing in the same sandwich van shop as before. She is doing hand movements to portray a paper plane. The shot lasts two seconds. Her outfit is a black and yellow kimono type shirt which stands out against the silver metallic background. This is another mid shot.