1. Music Video Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YICuUtkjlg
Comment on the following aspects in relation to your music video choice.
How will these techniques appeal to the target audience needs?
Target Audience &
needs
Personally I would say Miley Cyrus’ core target audience is mid-teens to early twenty (15-24) females- however there will be
certain males who have an interest in her style of music. During this time period (age wise) the targeted audience are beginning to
“discover” themselves and the type of people they are; there at an age where they’re willing to try anything, “falling in love”, going
through “heartbreaks” and having fun- they’re ‘adapting’ as people. Miley Cyrus represents this in her songs, the audience can
‘relate’ to her lyrics. Wrecking Ball in particular looks at “heartbreak”; for me personally the song is about ‘obsessing’ over
somebody who doesn’t share the same feelings- which is very common in teens nowadays. The want songs that they believe
‘Relate’ to their life and emotions.
Lyrics
When I listen to the lyrics closely, for me personally the song is about a one sided relationship- it’s about obsessing over someone
who doesn’t share the same feelings as you- which eventually leads to hatred. The song is a power-ballad.- it shows emotion.
Tempo
The tempo throughout the song varies depending on the meaning behind the lyrics- for example the beginning of the song it is a
lot more emotional so the tempo is a lot slower compared to later on in the song when ‘anger’ is reflected. The mean tempo is
60.1 bpm.
Genre
Wrecking ball fits in the power pop genre- it’s inspired by British and American pop and rock music. The song consists of strong,
clear, crisp vocals, there is a clear drum beat and an electric guitar can be heard- these are all key elements in this genre. Power
pop is a lot more aggressive than pop rock and this can be seen through her lyrics.
Camera Technique
The song overall shows a lot of emotion that comes with ‘heartbreak’ and the camera shots need to reflect this. At the beginning
of the music video we see a close up of the artists face crying- by making the shot a close up it allows us to put all our focus on the
artist and emphasize with her. There is nothing else to focus on other than her distress and we begin to feel ‘sorry’ for her- it can
also make viewers wonder why she is upset thus making them continue to watch the video. This technique is continuously used
throughout the music video whether she is crying, angry, hurt… During scenes of rage we see various wide shots of Miley- this is
an establishing shot, it allows the audience to see the artist and her immediate surroundings - it puts a relation between her and
the setting. Personally the setting for me reflects her emotions and by using a wide shot it allows us to see this.
The music video consists of cut editing from beginning to end – it’s an abrupt way of transitioning the shot.
Editing

2. Music Video Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YICuUtkjlg
Use of digital effects
After doing some research into how the music video was created, no digital effects were used regarding the wrecking ball. An
actual wrecking ball was provided to smash into two cinder block walls and a further plastic wrecking was used as a prop for the
artist to sit on. During post-production a digital effect was placed on to create the slow motion shots.