SHAKKA - WALKING WITH ELEPHANTS - A2 MUSIC VIDEO. - (ANALYSIS)

 

This music video does not really have any narrative to it, although it does include very amazing, eye-catching and attractive visuals. The video itself is based on performance, showing 4 individuals expressing themselves via hand gestures, body language and attitude.

At the very beginning of the music video, we are introduced to a light blue abstract sketch of an elephant, with the name of the song at the bottom and then the artists name at the top. We then see 4 friends running through double doors to the highest empty parking lot level, as the first male had opened the door out wide. Digital video security camera's are shown to us as the group of friends are seen running up the staircase. The layout of the footage consists of the date on the left, the time on the right and the words"SURVEILLANCE CAM" at the bottom left. We see all of them at the same spot in the parking lot but then all the footage is reversed, showing them walk backwards, (fast forwarded) whilst the name of the song is shown in a outwards zooming effect. (white lettering and back background)
We see one of the group members start singing in a dark room, but with multi-coloured disco lights shining everywhere, also showing parts of the lyrics appearing on screen in a white bold font. The shots keep cutting back to the parking lot, with only himself getting familiar with the location and looking around. At around 28 seconds we can see that the entire screen has blurred out, showing a cropped version of the parking lot with the hash tag sign in the middle of it, as that is what the lyrics state. The small size footage in the centre of the screen has white boarders around it's sides, to show what is being shown and what is in main focus. At around 31 seconds, we see quick cuts and flashes of a dull and tinted orange screen with a still tiger roaring tn the top corner. We then see a change in the screen, with a 3 by 3 multi split screen, showcasing the same footage for 1 or 2 seconds.

We then see various shots of a girl in an elevator, the same girl walking on a pavement, then the first male back at the parking lot. The other shots consist of the young girl inside the parking staircase area, with subsequent shots of the parking area with lyrics on screen, alongside visual logos of old TV shows being shown on screen whilst the young male still rapping in the parking lot. The shot of the parking lot decreased in size due to matching with the beat, then another split screen is shown, but this time, the screen is being split in half (with a digital effect. Only the upper part of the male was shown.
We finally have a needed location change, with the same male sitting on the banister of the staircase inside the parking lot. The view of the Orange doors were the same set of doors we were introduced beforehand. A new location is shown when we see the young teen girl in her bedroom, looking at herself in the mirror. Another shot is shown of her, looking directly at the camera, which is then followed by a shot on the outside, showing her surroundings covered in turquoise blue smoke. A shot of 1 of the friends were shown, with many other shots of the inside parking scene, the inside of the bedroom and also another shot of the friends stuck in a bush maze, as they are separated by a wall of bushes, with 2 of them on one side, and 2 on the other. After all these shots and what has happened so far, we see a lot of shots and scenes of colourful smoke, running up different flights of stairs, running through the gaps of the maze (individually) and also, opening another set of doors.
Another one of the boys start singing in the parking lot, whilst the shots cutting between, are showing him in a different graffiti based location. The white on screen lyrics still appear on screen. Another neat transition shows the same singer inside the parking lot staircase. The following shots after all this action consists of more bedroom scenes of the young teen girl, more scenes of the parking lot, flashbacks and old memories of their past visit to the graffiti place and finally... the end of the music video ends on all the 4 friends walking slowly on the highest parking lot level. The wind emphasises that the end is quite near, hence we see them looking around with dull faces. The music video ends just like a an old television was being switched off.

The editing was absolutely spectacular. The flow of the music, visual performance and precision of the cuts were all in sync, as well as the lip syncing. There was more dis-continuity editing than there was continuity. The continuity editing were quite vague, and could be seen in the bedroom scenes, whereas the dis-continuity editing could be seen throughout the entire music video, and in my opinion, suits the style of the music and action much better.What really caught my eye was how the music video was very exciting at all times, and kept me hooked to continue watching it. It was really well constructed and with the help of fast editing, the overall product was amazing. Parallel editing could be seen very quickly during the quick cuts between the parking lot scenes and the bedroom scenes. I really enjoyed the transitioning between the shots and also the use of colour via the colourful smoke cans.

Colourisation was a key aspect of the music video. The scenes of the parking lot had natural lighting, ultimately showing the natural aspect and raw footage of that particular part of the music video. At 1 minute 21 seconds, we see a bright blue flash effect taking up the screen. This was very eye catching and meaningful as it had signified that a new part of the music video that we are yet to see.  The multi-coloured disco lights at the beginning of the music video really lit up the room and brought light to the dark room, adding a sense of realism to it. Also at 1 minute 47 seconds we see an even brighter dark blue flash taking up the centre of the screen, as the orange doors open wide. (with a mix of bright white and light blue) At 1 minute 52 seconds, we see a very dark background with high contrast, alongside a hooded boy with his face completely blacked out. This shows that he was kept as an anonymous figure, not revealing his identity. The colourisation adds more meaning to particular scenes.

The special effects in this music video were really outstanding. An example would be at 7 seconds of the music video where what looks to be, footage from a security camera, showing the time and date. This effect was quite special as the footage was dark, grey and pixellated. This is what would typically be seen from security camera footage, and especially in a stairway parking lot. At 30 seconds of the music video, we see a blurry orange screen with an orange stripe running across the screen, alongside a fierce tiger in the top right corner. The tiger really suited the situation, as there was a roar of the tiger in the background. At 43 and 44 seconds of the music video, we see the logo's of 2 old TV shows. These logo's were appearing very fuzzy and sudden for effect. At 47 seconds we see another effect with half of the screen being covered in thin black lines. This was a similar effect to the security camera effect, but the visuals and colours were might lighter, yet more abrupt. At 1 minute and 2 seconds we see a kaleidoscope in the background, whilst the main actioned was centred in the middle of the screen. The kaleidoscope effect really added more depth, also bringing the actual footage closer to the audience. At 1 minute 21 seconds, we see a blue flare on screen, indicating (again) that more shots of their actions are yet to come. This acts like a very very short interval, but is extremely effective. At 1 minute 40 seconds, we see that there is a slight light blue tint on the whole screen. This goes really well with the colour of the sky and the purple smoke as well. Also, at 1 minute 47, we see a bright blue and white light take cover of the whole screen as the orange parking lot doors are opened. This indicates a new chapter of the music video. At 2 minutes 2 seconds, we see major distortion that lasts around 1 second, as soon as a derogatory term (for black people) is used. This was vital and abrupt as it creates suits the vibe of the music video. At 2 minutes 45 seconds we see an imitation of an old video camera, as the screen is very digital like, clearly showing that the footage is from the past. The music video ends with an Ariel fuzz and an almost elliptical sonar switch. This is very similar to when a television looses connection, then completely switches off. The special effect were absolutely important, as they added more excitement to the video itself.

The pace and rhythm of the music video is very fast for the majority of the video. When the beat drops, followed by the lyrics "I walk with the elephants", the editing speeds up and the the shots cut quicker. There is no slow pace or rhythm in this music video. The pace and rhythm vary between the friends lip syncing, running up the stairs and using the colourful smoke cans in the parking lot. Overall, there is a fast pace for the rhythm. The general pace of the song and everything going on screen is fast and rapid. The beat of the song and the actions happening on screen both compliment each other as everything is in sync, and is really sharp, clean and precise. It is clear to see that the increase in intensity is shown instantly through the rapid exchange between the cuts. Half way through the video, we see a 30 second plus scene, where all the friends are running and enjoying themselves. In total, there was 3 / 4 locations shown.
Overall, the short shot duration conveys action and urgency. This is displayed in the entire music video. It was very interesting and eye-catching.

The only digetic sound in this music video is the voice of the actual singer (which is being lip synced by the characters)
The non-digetic sound is the music playing itself.

For the transitioning of the shots, at exactly 49 seconds of the music video we see the camera tilt downwards at speed, with one of the boys complementing the shot with hand gestures. We see his hands acting as if they are holding the camera, dragging it down and eventually in the next shot, we see the same character lifting the camera back up with his hands, and placing it steady - centre so it captures him in the shot itself. This imitation effect is visually pleasing as 2 of the shots both flow together and work well. The idea of showing the camera movement by hand and making the impression that the camera is being controlled by the person's hand is quite amazing and is very imaginative in terms of allowing the shot to follow on from a previous shot.


The shot durations for the various shots in this music video last for around 1 or 2 seconds due to the fast beat and pace of the song. I find it much more interesting and appealing that the shots are quick, short and precise, allowing the on-screen actions to suit the music itself. The longest shot was 11 seconds, as we were coming to the end of the music video. The pace of the music video was temporarily slow, and had then kept a constant tone, to build up for the end the music video. The very first person lip syncing on screen at the beginning of the music video had the most amount of screen time as he had started and ended the music video. The girl in the music video received the second longest screen time amount, as she was in shots that appear in quick succession. Her parts of the music video were very accurate, as she can be seen sitting, running, staring, walking, kneeling, fixing her hair, showing hand gestures, using a coloured smoke can in various shots throughout the music video. From 1 minute 53 to 2 minutes 41 seconds, we see the 3rd member with the most longest screen time. The rest of the group only got very minimal screen times... (in seconds)
In terms of the screen time for the locations, there have been 13 locations shown in the music video. The staircase of the parking lot has been the most popular, as the majority of the lip syncing and running up the stairs as well as opening the doors had been shot in the staircases.

The music video is performance based as we see the group of friends running up and down the stairs of the parking lot, running and opening the doors of the parking lot, and most importantly, having fun with letting colourful smoke from smoke cans. There are a lot of hand gestures which relate to the lyrics themselves, allowing the on screen actions and lyrics to match. The dancing towards the end of the video was quite vague, although it was still very affective. Overall, the idea of using smoke cans was great, as it had livened up the mood, also expressing the fast pace of the song... thanks to the shots of the group of friends running back and forth on the staircase.

The props consist of:

1. Disco lights
2. Mirror
3. Smoke cans

These were the only props used in the music video. The Smoke cans were the most important prop, as they were used throughout the music video, adding vibrancy and colour.

The camera shots consist of:

1. Close ups
2. Mid-shots
3. Long shots
4. Low angle shots
5. Big close ups
6. Wide angle shots
7. Out zoom shot

Every single one of these shots were vital for the music video, as each of them focus on a particular thing. The mid shot was the music video's most popular / most used shot, as the friends were lip syncing, and the content shots of the girl throughout the whole music video were being shown.

There is high key lighting for the majority of the music video, as it is filmed during the day. Also, the natural lighting plays an even more significant role within itself, as the exposure of light is coming from the sky. This is a huge advantage as the main focus point on the screen is being highlighted. At 1 minute and 9 seconds, we can see an example of natural lighting. The girl is sitting in her room, facing her mirror (but looking straight into the camera) with her room and face looking bright via the natural light coming in from the window. However, at 37 seconds, we see the girl walking during the night. The lighting is quite low key, but the help of the street lights enable the shot to look brighter.

The choice of costume for the music video was simple but effective, with a bit of a twist towards the end of the music video. From the  the very beginning of the music video we see all 4 of the friends wearing BLACK clothing from head to toe. This signifies how they are all wearing matching clothes, and how later in the music video (as we see) the colours appear from the smoke cans to add vibrancy. In certain parts of the music video we may see the girl wearing a dark midnight blue jumper in her room, and a dark green bomber jacket outside. however, the primary colour throughout the music video is predominantly black. At 1 minute and 53 seconds, we see one of the friends wearing a mixed light and dark green camouflaged jacket in a different location. Also, at 2 minutes and 46 seconds, we  see a more casual, retro, old and vintage look on the person on the left. He is wearing a dark brown / beige jacket, with light blue jeans. This was a very casual look from the mid 90"s. This signified (alongside the bad quality camera effect) the time frame of when the footage was filmed. Overall, the costumes were cleverly throughout. The music video started with all the friends wearing black, and ended with all friends wearing black. This was again, simple, but meaningful as well.

Overall, I would say the this music video is really well directed with the colour coordinated costumes, the usefulness of adding different transitions when changing between shots, and also the feel of the beat of the music matching the on screen actions. I felt really excited and exhilarated when the friends ran up and down the stairs, as the music was really fast with a strong and rapid beat to it. The lip syncing is absolutely on point, and is very accurate. I would give this music video a good 10 out of 10.