This document discusses camera techniques used in three music videos to create certain effects: 1) In Sia's "Big Girls Cry", a long take brings focus to the main subject, and spinning the camera gives a sense of confusion. Stationary shots of a hanging also seem realistic. 2) In Naughty Boy's "La La La", tracking and panning cameras follow characters to strengthen a sense of long distance travel, as do long shots that make characters seem tiny. 3) In Prodigy's "Firestarter", short takes and fast camera movement fit the fast tempo, while tilting and changing tracking direction enhance chaos. The document also notes how understanding these techniques can inform one

1. CAMERA
SHOTS/MOVEMENT
IN MUSIC
VIDEOS

2. Sia – Big Girls Cry
This music video has a very specific style and uses various camera techniques to
create certain effects.
The first shot is a very long take but shows the girl out
of focus and as the song begins there is a focus shift and
she is in the spotlight. This gives an effect of
importance as she is the main object.
The camera being rotated in a circle on a tripod gives
an effect of the world spinning around and us (the
audience) looking down on her. This gives an element of
confusion and chaos.
It appears that the girl is being hanged as her legs dangle and
shake frantically, the way the camera stays still and her body
lifts off the ground makes it seem realistic and also has the
audience believeing she is being hung. Sometimes its not what
the camera IS showing but what it ISN’T showing as of course
she’s not being hanged but that is the effect it gives.

3. Naughty Boy – La La La feat. Sam Smith
This music video consists of a wide variety of shots but follows the same kind of movement
throughout.
Throughout the video the camera hardly ever
stays still it is always tracking or panning, as if
it part of the journey and moving with the
characters. This strengthens the effect of long
distance walking and the constant movement of
characters throughout the video.
Another technique to highlight the long
distance of travel is the use of long shots and
extreme long shots to establish new locations.
Showing them as tiny in comparison with their
surroundings. This again gives an effect of the
characters travelling very far.

4. Prodigy - Firestarter
This music video involves a lot of short takes and fast camera movement to fit in the fast
tempo of the music and the madness of the song.
At the start the shots are long and still showing a calm (yet
not so calm) feel to the song.
Tracking shots begin to speed and change in direction sometimes
tracking forwards and sometimes tracking backwards. There is a
fast pan which combined with the increase speed in camera
movements enhances the effect of madness and chaos.
With the camera being tilted it makes the singer seem sideways
which also adds the effect of chaos and craziness.

5. MY PRODUCTION
In terms of using this research for production it has helped me
understand what kind of angles and movement I am going to include
in my production according to the genre.
It’s also taught me that the audience can only see what is on
screen, so there are interesting effects that can be achieved
through certain positioning and movement of the camera.