1. 1. George Ezra Blame It On Me Music Video Analysis By Mustaf A
2. 2. George Ezra's Blame It On Me music video conform to Goodwin's Theory as the entire music videos is a Performance and conceptual video depicting the artist, George Ezra, having a very bad day continuously faced with obstacles on his journey. in addition the music video features the demand for lots of close up's of the main artist to establish that Ezra is the main focus point of the music video, which is certainly fulfilled as the entire music video is centered around Ezra tracking him on his journey down the yellow brick road but also close-ups are frequently used as a means of drawing the audiences attention to the emotions displayed on the artist/performers face . Furthermore George Ezras Blame It On Me music video conforms to Goodwins theory by incorporates elements of Intertextual reference to the Wizard of Oz throughout the entire music video. According Goodwin, it is conventional for music videos to include Intertextual references to films, other music videos or other media text . The complete music video is a pastiche of the iconic movie Wizard of Oz in which pays homage to the movie by referencing to the Yellow Brick Road for e.g. within the opening there is a close up, point of view eye line shot from George Ezras of an old man asking Ezra Are you sure you want to follow the yellow brick road? in a foreign language. Further more Ezras Blame it on me music video further incorporates elements of Intertextuality as it is a pastiche of the famous Wizard of Oz as it pays homage to the iconic film by replicating and reconstructed iconic scene from the film An example of this being is at 2.04 there is a close up shot of a rugby player with a gum shield in his mouth turning to look at the camera followed by an extreme long shot of him running towards the camera to emphasize the negative events in the video and also establishing the existing concept to the audience. Due to the close up of the camera tracking him while he runs and slowly zooms out to reveal more players ,The editing is significantly reduced in pace again within the video during the rugby players to accentuate their animalistic traits of a herd stampeding and that a skinny, tall Ezra has no chance against these well built athletes. These shots depicted to the audience are a complete intersexual pastiche as these existing shot pay homage and replicate the iconic flying monkey scene in the Wizard Of Oz. The Blame It On Me music video very much, abides by Goodwin's theory of features of music videos,. The music video for Blame It On Me visuals directly correspond with lyrics throughout the entire duration of the music video, although the video is conceptual based on knockbacks and obstacles one faces in life it still links to the lyrics of the song as Ezra is singing blame it on me as the people around him seem to be treating him as a scapegoat and mistreatment directly establishing a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. A clear example of where this is demonstrated is in the first verse at 00:55 01:00 as Ezra sing We found ourselves some treasure, and threw it all away, What you waiting for the visuals exhibits an extreme birds-eye views crane shot which cuts to a extreme close-up of bird faecal on Ezras shirt as he wipes it off. This connotes the long line of unfortunate chain of events that progressively gets worse throughout the duration of the music video. Another example where the visual correlate with the lyrics is at 1.46 where Ezra sings Caught in the tide of blossom, caught in the carnival Your confidence forgotten, I see the gypsies rule whist the visuals depict long tracking shot of George Ezra walking under a raincloud, in contrast to this there are people sunbathing on a car next to him and this helps emphasize Theory
3. 3. Variation of different camera angles and shot techniques have been demonstrated within the Blame It On Me music videos for example The opening shot depicts a formation of birds in the sky accompanied by the diegetic sound of birds squawking as The camera slowly pans downwards from the sky to the road and then tracks a car followed by a extreme long shot of George Ezra and it sets the scene for the beginning of his journey and establishing the equilibrium but also introduces the audience to their surrounding of where the music video will be set. The next shot is a mid-shot, eye line shot of the old man from George Ezras point of view as the man says Are you sure you want to follow the yellow brick road? in a foreign language. There is a cut back to the extreme long shot of George Ezra and the old man as they turn and walk away from each other in opposite directions; this suggest and indicates to the audience that George Ezra has chosen to ignore the old mans warning which is connotative of the unfortunate chain of events that Ezra will experience on his journey. Cinematography, Mies en scene, Props and Edit Throughout the Blame It On Me music video the cinematography demonstrates the use dynamic shots and angles such as mid shots and close ups of the artist as Singer-songwriter music videos are composed of a variety of camera shots. Close-ups are frequently used as a means of drawing the audiences attention to the emotions displayed on the artist/performers face whilst Extreme shots are also used to showcase the artist surroundings or the location. Throughout the music video there is a reference to different camera shots such as close ups to distinguish Ezra's feelings about the yellow brick road and his journey upon it, medium shots to, for example, emphasise the force of the rugby players absorbing Ezra and lastly long shots to emphasize a contrast between the artist and his surroundings an example being when there is a rain cloud over his head the long shot allows people to be eating ice cream and sunbathing at the same time, therefore reiterating that it is Ezra who is having a bad day and no one else. At 55 seconds there is a birds eye view shot of George Ezra that is rapidly zooming in, this is to simulate the bird droppings that land on George Ezra in the next shot. The droppings leads George Ezra into a chain of events that progressively gets worse throughout the duration of the music video. At 1.46 there is a long tracking shot of George Ezra walking under a raincloud, in contrast to this there are people sunbathing on a car next to him in a mid long shot. In the same shot Ezra is shown throws his empty guitar case on the ground showing that he is fed up and the negative events are having an effect on him, this has been deliberately constructed to emphasize how bad his situation is and how unfortunate his day is thus establishing the concept of the music video across to the audience. The music video for Blame It On Me directly correspond with lyrics throughout the entire duration of the music video, as Ezra is singing blame it on me the people around him seem to be treating him as a scapegoat and mistreatment directly establishing a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. A clear example of where this is demonstrated is in the first verse at 00:55 01:00 as Ezra sing We found ourselves some treasure, and threw it all away, What you waiting for the visuals exhibits an extreme birds- eye views crane shot which cuts to a extreme close-up of bird faecal on Ezras shirt as he wipes it off. This connotes the long line of unfortunate chain of events that progressively gets worse throughout the duration of the music video. Another example where the visual correlate with the lyrics is at 1.46 where Ezra sings Caught in the tide of blossom, caught in the carnival Your confidence forgotten, I see the gypsies rule there is a long tracking shot of George Ezra walking under a raincloud, in contrast to this there are people sunbathing on a car next to him and this helps emphasize how bad his situation is and how unfortunate his day is.
4. 4. At 3.06 in the Blame It On Me there are multiple shots of people wearing yellow balaclavas shooting at police officers while George Ezra walks through the chaos obviously not caring about the gunshots being fired around him. One of the gunshots hits a barrel and it starts to leak a yellow, presumably flammable, LIQUID. At 3.40 there is a high angle extreme long shot of George Ezra walking along the trail of liquid. This links to the old man at the very beginning who warned him about the yellow brick road as this shot somewhat resembles a yellow path for George Ezra to walk along. During the beginning of the music video there is a shot reverse shot, after an eye-line match, using close ups of two girls and Ezra walking directly towards one an other, through the use of the close ups the female subjects appear to be looking at Ezra in a hostile manner through a point of view shot from George Ezras perspective. Within the video there are various editing techniques used to emphasize and mark the moment For example The close up shots of the girls have been slowed down to emphasize the event and make sure that the audience can see every detail and expression in the shots. Slowing down the shots make them seem more important as it prolongs the negative shots. Another example is at 2.04 there is a close up shot of a rugby player with a gum shield in his mouth turning to look at the camera followed by an extreme long shot of him running towards the camera to emphasize the negative events in the video and also establishing the existing concept to the audience. Due to the close up of the camera tracking him while he runs and slowly zooms out to reveal more players ,The editing is significantly reduced in pace again within the video during the rugby players to accentuate their animalistic traits of a herd stampeding and that a skinny, tall Ezra has no chance against these well built athletes. These shot depicted to the audience are a complete intersexual pastiche as these existing shot pay homage and replicate the iconic flying monkey scene in the Wizard Of Oz. The same technique is witnessed during the gun fight at the end, which could lead the viewer to expect that this is a build up to Ezra getting shot but this doesn't happen, changing his suggested bad luck into good luck as he survives. The Cinematography throughout Ezra Blame It On Me music video conforms to the codes and conventions of the Singer Songwriter genre through the use of naturalistic camerawork such as Hand-Held Camera shots . The cinematography has been constructed to reinstating the idea of the everyday and that these events within the music video are everyday happenings and in no way are composed at all rather than obviously stylized shots which are predominantly associated with mainstream celebrity culture, such as would be typical of the pop genre. I found the cinematography in this sense to be effective in establishing the genre of the music video to the audience.
5. 5. Throughout the video the lighting remains and appears to be natural, therefore reinstating the idea of the everyday and that these events within the music video are everyday happenings and in no way are composed at all. In addition through the predominant use of natural lighting Ezras Blame It On Me music video establishes convention of the folk singer-songwriter genre. Lighting acts as an important part of a singer-songwriter music video as simplistic natural lighting is common for realistic purposes as opposed to artificial lighting. The use of space and location is very well composed with just a street used it makes a short journey into a whole music video while telling a story and captivating the viewer, the use of simplistic locations establishes conventions of the singer songwriter genre as it predominantly focus is on the artist and their musical craft and not on visual aesthetics which is very effective as lots of other music videos tend to use various locations to appease and entertain to entice the audience. The final set of props appears to be through the technique of foreshadowing as the little boy has a toy gun but then towards the end it is escalated to the use of real guns. The use of such a dramatic elevation of the plotline keeps the viewer watching and absorbed, and every new problem appears to grow in severity to the point which we as a viewer and society would recognize as a 'bad day
6. 6. During the course of the Blame It On Me music video the track is played throughout the video overplayed with additional sound effects added. For example at the start a positive atmosphere is set through the bird song, which has uplifting connotations, As they turn away from each other the sound of birds fades out and the song cuts in implying to the audience this the start of his journey. There are various diegetic sounds used within the Blame It On Me video at various point, for example the man at the beginning warning George Ezra about the yellow brick road Are you sure you want to follow the yellow brick road?. The sound effects within the music video seem increased as a means to convey Ezra's day getting worse to the audience therefore there is also an enhanced in sounds which are made to seem diegetic . An example of this would be the sound of the dog biting him, so the aggressive nature of the dog is asserted through the added growl and bark. Another example where enhanced diegetic sound is demonstrated within the music video is through the realness of the gun fight is accentuated through the addition of the shots . The enhancement of this sound, overlaying it with the music portrays the realness of the situation. Sound
7. 7. Genre Characteristic's and Iconography In terms of star image and representation singer-songwriters tend to wear casual clothing and renounce mainstream trends. They have an authentic original image which isn't a product of industry marketing, for example pop artist are often made to wear trendy luxury-brand clothes due to their record company whereas the image a singer-songwriter reflects is more natural. The costumes conform to conventions by appearing as normal everyday clothes and would accommodate the viewers expectations of the singer songwriter genre and. As well as the police being in their uniform and the binary opposites of the criminals wearing the balaclavas to reiterate the normality of the day and to avoid the costumes taking away from the plotline. In Blame It On Me George Ezra wears clothing he is comfortable in and would probably where everyday, this type genre signifier which is less focused on the aesthetic image of the artist but more focused on the 'down-to-earth' perception of the singers and therefore a glamorous image isn't essential as the musicality if of more importance Props are another key factor to establish the genre of the music video to the audience, the guitar and case fall into the general expectations of the viewer due to the singer/songwriter genre as the guitar is the stereotypical instrument played by the songwriter over any other instruments so the involvement of the prop conforms to the viewers expectations of a singer/songwriter, which conforms to Goodwin's theory that the genre has it's own iconography.The Cinematography throughout Ezra Blame It On Me music video conforms to the codes and conventions of the Singer Songwriter genre through the use of naturalistic camerawork such as Hand-Held Camera shots . The cinematography has been constructed to reinstating the idea of the everyday and that these events within the music video are everyday happenings and in no way are composed at all rather than obviously stylized shots which are predominantly associated with mainstream celebrity culture, such as would be typical of the pop genre. I found the cinematography in this sense to be effective in establishing the genre of the music video to the audience.
8. 8. Brand Identity And Typography The following shot depicts a close mid shot panning up behind George Ezra walking as his name and the song title appear on screen on screen. The overlayed text features on the music video has been constructed and designed in the same distinctive font that has been featured on the album cover title that the song is from, Wanted on Voyage, as they share the font, colour and positioning. This has been done as a means to establish brand identity between the album(Digipak), music video and other promotional platforms so that the audience recognize they are related. The overlaid text in which is displays George Ezras logo at the beginning of the music video but also been displayed on all of Ezra's media texts and products have been constructed as a means to create synergy between the products to establish brands identity for the audience. This has deliberately been done so that the consumer will immediately recognize the distinctive logo as well as drawing the attention of those who may not be familiar with the artist helping the sales. Furthermore, the distinctive font appearances simplistic, connoting individuality and personalization of his music. in addition the simplistic typography conforms to the conventions of singer songwriter genre; as the typography simplistic and not overpower, which connotes the greater importance of the music over the materialistic aesthetics or persona of the artists rejecting the conventions of mainstream pop genre emphasizing the Ezra's serious singer songwriter image.