A2 Music video analysis- Hoodo Obsiye

1. Sara Bareilles- Brave
Sara Bareilles’ 2013 ‘Brave’ music video was a partof trend were music videos
had a guerrilla type filming making that seemed to havea naturalapproach
rather than extensive planning of the video. Her power pop song was praised
by critics for its message, it needed a video to match. Her video received over
71 million views, moreviews than any of her other videos.
The first scene immediately starts with the face of the artist, the unexpected
close-up startles the viewers sheis looking off-sidewith a concentrated facial
expression giving off the impression that sheis filming on her own, relating
back to the guerrilla filmmaking. However, in reality, Rashida Jones (daughter
of famed producer, Quincy Jones) is her director. Acting has become a motif in
pop music videos, it is an added entertainment factor to the music video. This
clip is a second long displaying the fast-paced editing from the beginning which
pop videos are known for; so much happening in so little time.
Then, the scenes jump cut to various locations showcasing ordinary people
with the non-diegetic music playing over it, the momentum of the video builds
up with the sound and there is even a celebrity appearancefrom comedian
Seth Rogen, the long shot is not far enough to obscurehis face. His appearance
will sure to generate interest towards thevideo, especially his own fanbasewill
flock to this video increasing the popularity; this calculated move that record
executives usually do provesuccessfulevery time and it has judging by
Bareilles’ views. Suddenly, the scene cuts abruptly to the artistagain, who
begins her performancestaring through a long shot at the camera lip-synching
the lyrics, the fixed shot brings the focus back to the main attraction, that
being Sara Bareilles.

2. However, sheis not the only one performing the ordinary people are dancing
to the catchy song evidently showing their approvalof the music, the naturally
bright setting creates a friendly, uninhibited atmosphere representing the
people who are organically having fun. This moves to a medium close-up of the
artist reinforcing her own private performance, her facial expression has
changed to seriousness, Bareilles wants her messageto emit through the
closeness of the shotallowing the powerfullyrics to be paid attention to; this
creates an emotive effect over her audience.
The music video, despite having a powerfulmessagelightens up in mood with
a point of view shotfromunknown person watching the male dancer, the
movement is quite shaky denoting the person’s covertaction, he/she seems
introverted, while the extroverted man dancing freely emphasises the visual

3. binary opposition. This suggests thesong has made him confident, ‘brave’ even
while the other person has not been lucky enough for the song to inspire
him/her. Freedom is expressed through the shots people dancing freestyle,
there are repeated shots, a common technique in pop videos, it changes from
medium shots to long shots of the artist to emphasisethat she is ‘ordinary’
too, her costumeis casualclothing comfortably worn, thereis creates a sense
of relatability with her audience. Her earnest body language is encouraging
which aligns with her lyric, “Honestly, I wantto see you be brave” interestingly
the word ‘you’ consists of thesedifferent people shown in the music, the
ethnography is diverse and the ages too. Alvarado’s theory that ethnic
minorities are portrayed in a violent manner does not apply to this video;
these people of colour are portrayed positively; they are happy-go-lucky.
Moreover, referring to the style of the music video the scenes are filmed with a
shaky hand-held camera creating authenticity relating to the guerrilla way of
filming. The director seems to not be one person but many people, in one
scene the composition favours theleft side, the scene encompasses only 1/3rd
altering the rules of 3rd
to show that ordinary person in it is being secretly
filmed, her comedic fall is filmed unbeknownstto her making it even more
funnier to the audience. Also, the over the shoulder shots show average
citizens filming on their phones affirming that the actors in the video are
carefree due to this song.

4. Lastly, the final scene is the climax werethe dancing people featured in the
video meet up with the artist, the shot is fixed perhaps with the use of a tripod.
They jump in one by one, in-synch with the choreography, this is obviously
rehearsed losing its previous authenticity, however this scene is for dramatic
effect encouraging the viewers to join in and dance. A zoom in from afar is
captures this beautiful moment of unity, which is followed up with a pan of
Bareilles dancing and smiling with one of the woman is added to the montage
shot, this womanhood subverts from Mulvey’s theory thatwomen are only
sexual objects in film; in this video the women are fully clothed and confident
in their own skin.

5. To conclude, this positivemusic video accompanies the positive song
beautifully even fellow, pop singer Katy Perry expressed her admiration for the
video and the positive messagebeing shown.