Milburn midnight control review

1. MILBURN - MIDNIGHT CONTROL
By Ciaran Emmett

2. TYPE OF MUSIC VIDEO
This music video is a performance based
video. This is a performance based music
video because the music video only consists of
a woman dancing on a dance floor on her in
own in an empty building. This would be
classed as a disjuncture performance because
the woman dancing has no relevance to the
song or any of the lyrics.

3. SETTING
There is only one setting used throughout this music
video and it is an empty hall with an aluminous dance
floor. This could be because indie music videos tend to
have a small budget to work with. So because of this
locations which are cheap and easy to access are used.
Also indie music videos tend to use locations which are
quite mysterious and this is because it helps to make
the narrative more confusing which helps to engage the
audience and make them question what the narrative of
the music video is and where it is set. This setting is
relatable for the audience as it is set in an empty
nightclub and a lot of young adults go to night clubs on
nights out so they can relate and engage with this

4. SETTING

5. COSTUME
As there is only one actor in this music video, there is
only one costume used. The costume which the actor is
retro 60s styled costume. In the image below the
woman can be seen wearing dancing shoes, along with
boot cut jeans and a zip up woolly polo shirt. The main
actor is wearing this costume because it helps to give
the music video a retro look which in my opinion is
trying to be achieved by the producer of this music
video. This is quite an unusual costume because it is
quite old so not many people can relate to this costume.
This costume could be related to the era in which the
music video appears to be set it. For example, an older
audience who experienced the 60s when bands like
The Beatles and The Kinks broke onto the music scene
would have worn costumes like this. Therefore, an older
audience could relate to this costume.

6. COSTUME

7. LIGHTING
At the start of the music video the lighting is quite
neutral. For example, it is within the hall and 4
main lights are turned on which produce a fair
amount of light however, these are only small
lights so the lighting is still quite dim. In my
opinion, this lighting is used in order to clearly
represent the establishing shot of the setting at
the start of this music video. Because this lighting
is quite dim it could be used to represent the
actor’s emotion which is quite negative as we
soon see in the close up after the establishing
shot but this shot helps to represent a negative

8. LIGHTING

9. LIGHTING
In this music video, aluminous lighting is used
throughout the music video. For example, when the
woman is dancing on the dance floor. The aluminous
lighting helps to accurately represent a dance floor as
most dance floors light up. In the 60s it was common to
have a dancefloor like this so this could help to
represent the era in which I believe this music video is
set. This helps to make the music video appear more
realistic. The lighting is also constantly changing from
colours such as blue, red, green and purple etc. and
this helps to create a mysterious feeling which is
common for indie music videos. This could relate to the
genre as indie songs tend to be quite upbeat and fast
paced so the lights are able to change in time to the

10. LIGHTING

11. LIGHTING
During the transitions of the aluminous lighting,
the lighting becomes very dim/dark. This is
because in nightclub’s the lighting is usually quite
dark and is constantly changing so this helps to
create a realistic feeling for the music video. When
the lighting is dark it also becomes slightly unclear
what is happening within the music video and
indie music videos tend to do this in order to make
it more unclear and this engages the viewer
because they are beginning to question the music
video.

12. LIGHTING

13. PROPS
There is only one prop used in this music video because the
music video only represents the woman dancing to the song
in an empty club and there is no narrative to the music. The
only prop is used is a tub of talcon powder in night clubs,
talcon powder is usually poured onto the dance floors so
that people are less likely to fall over which could leave night
club owner’s open to facing charges in court. So when the
woman pours talcon powder on the dance floor it helps to
make the music video more realistic. It was common to
place talcon powder on a dancefloor in the 60s so this prop
links to the era in which it is set. Furthermore, it is not only
used in nightclubs and can be used for a lot of things and is
used by many in that era. This makes the music video more
relatable and engaging for the audience because they are
likely to have used the prop at some point.

14. PROPS

15. BODY LANGUAGE
In the following image, the woman’s body
language shows that she is concentrating on
her dance routine. This suggests to the
audience that the main actor has had previous
experience in dancing and that she takes it
very seriously.

16. BODY LANGUAGE

17. BODY LANGUAGE
In the following image, the main actor’s body
language suggests that she is enjoying herself
dancing. This facial expression provides the
audience with more context about the music video
and the main actor as it suggests that she has a
passion for dancing as the main actor is shown
dancing and enjoying herself. The woman’s body
language appears to be quite open and this allows
the audience to see that she is clearly enjoying
herself. This provides the audience with a form of
context that she enjoys dancing and to be able to
connect with her.

18. BODY LANGUAGE

19. CAMERA ANGLES
An establishing shot is used at the very start of this
music video and this is used to set the scene
immediately to the audience. By using this camera
angle, the audience can clearly see that this music
video is set in a large hall with a dance floor positioned
in the middle of it. Because the dance floor is included
in this establishing shot, this provides a clearer insight
to the location and would suggest that it is an empty
nightclub. This establishing shot is used so that the
audience can relate to the setting as it is an empty
nightclub and a lot of people visit night clubs when they
go for nights out with their friends. This makes the
music video more engaging when the audience can

20. CAMERA ANGLES

21. CAMERA ANGLES
At the beginning of this music video, there is a mid
shot which lasts for a few moments of the main
actor staring into the camera with a
miserable/unhappy facial expression. This mid
shot provides the audience with some context to
the music video through this mid shot as it is
suggesting that she is unhappy and this instantly
engages the audience as they are questioning
why the woman is unhappy. The background is
also blurred out. I believe that it is blurred out in
order to allow the framing to focus on the woman’s
emotion, which is quite negative. This makes it
clearer to the audience how the woman is feeling.

22. CAMERA ANGLES

23. CAMERA ANGLES
A close up of the main actor is used to create a
disorientated effect. Throughout this music video
there is close ups of the main actor however, they
are covered up by special effects which create an
unusual/unique effect. The use of this effect is to
create a mysterious effect as the audience are
unsure as to why is it is used because it is not
clear and this engages the audience as they are
questioning why it has been used. This close up is
used to show the character’s emotion and she
appears to be enjoying herself and this helps to
reinforce the idea that she is on drugs and is
tripping due to the special effects appearing on
screen.

24. CAMERA ANGLES

25. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS
This music video follows the genre codes and
conventions of indie rock music videos as a cheap
setting has been used. Indie music videos tend to
use cheap settings because most indie artists are
unassigned to big record labels so they usually
have a small budget to produce a music video so
expensive settings are not normally used. In this
music video, only one setting is used and this
follows the code and convention because they
probably did not have the budget to use more than
one setting. The setting used is an empty dance
hall and this does not appear to be an expensive
budget so this matches this convention.

26. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

27. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS
In indie rock music videos, a common convention
used is the use of lots of close ups. Close ups are
used in indie music videos in order to portray the
artist’s emotion and make the narrative clearer. In
this music video the close ups are used of the
woman performing. These close ups are used to
show the woman enjoying herself dancing and
also concentrating intensely. This highlights to the
audience that the woman has a passion for
dancing. This engages the audience more
because it allows them to see the woman’s
emotion and essentially provides the audience
with some context about the character and that
she thoroughly enjoys dancing.

28. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

29. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS
Fast cuts are used in indie rock music videos in
order to create an intense atmosphere for the
song. Fast cuts are used in this music video for
the same purpose. For example, when the
drums begin to kick in the fast cuts begin in
time to the drums. This helps to make the
music video more coherent.

30. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

31. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS
A mysterious narrative is commonly used in
indie rock music videos in order to
accommodate the psychedelic feeling in indie
music and this is to engage the audience and
make them question what is happening. This
music video matches this convention because
the woman has no association with the band
so this makes the audience question why the
video only consists of a woman dancing in an
empty dancehall on her own.

32. HOW IT FOLLOWS GENRE CODES AND CONVENTIONS

33. SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special effects are used throughout this music video in order
to create a mysterious effect. For example, when the close ups
of the woman performing are used special effects begin to
appear over her face producing a variation of colours. This is
to create a disorientated effect and make the audience
question as to why it has been used and this helps to engage
the audience. These special effects could have drug
references because they are representing the woman having a
good time and strange effects appearing which is what occurs
under the influence of drugs. In my opinion, these effects are
used to create the impression that the woman is under the
influence of alcohol as there is a reference to alcohol in the
song lyrics when it says “champagne taste is all that remains”.
This would imply that the woman has been drinking

34. SPECIAL EFFECTS

35. WHAT IS SUCCESSFUL
An establishing shot is used right at the start of
this music video. This is effective because the
audience are aware where the music video is
set as soon as the music video begins. I intend
to use this in my music video because it will be
easier for my audience to see where the music
video is set. For example, before Liam enters
the house party, I shall use an establishing
shot of him waiting outside the house.

36. WHAT IS SUCCESSFUL
The editing in this music video was also
successful. For example, fast cuts are used
during the editing stage of this music video
help to add some variety to the music video
and break up the performance. It also helps to
create a fast pace to the song. I intend to use
fast cuts in my music video for the fight scene
in order to create an intense atmosphere and
help maintain a quick pace to the music video.

37. SUMMARY
Overall, I do not think that this is a very good
music as I did not find it engaging. I did not find
this music video engaging because it is entirely
performance based and the performer and
setting remains the same throughout this music
video and I found it difficult to remain
interested/engaging throughout the music
video. However, I did think that the use of
camera angles were effective. For example,
the establishing shot helped set the scene and
the close ups helped to capture the actor’s