George ezra 'blame it on me'

1. George Ezra ‘Blame It On Me’ Music
Video Analysis
By Mustaf A

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 Ezra’s ‘Blame It On Me’ music video conforms to Goodwin’s 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 Ezra’s of an old man asking Ezra “Are you
sure you want to follow the yellow brick road”? in a foreign language. Further more Ezra’s ‘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 Ezra’s 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

4. 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 Ezra’s 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 man’s 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 bird’s 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 Ezra’s 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.

5. 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 Ezra’s
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.

7. 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
Ezra’s ‘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’

9. 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

10. 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.

12. 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 display’s George
Ezra’s 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.