Bruno Mars' music video for "Grenade" tells the narrative of a heartbroken man through its settings, costumes, props, and body language. The video has two settings - his dark, rainy house showing his loneliness, and him dragging a piano through the streets to sing to his love. His suit becomes disheveled to show his failed attempt to win her back. The piano is important as it shows how far he's willing to go for his love. His slumped body language and facial expressions in his house reflect the emotions in the song's lyrics.
2. Introduction
Thee genre that I have chosen for this task is
Pop. I will be analyzing the typical conventions
of a pop music video.
The music video I have chosen is for the song
Grenade by Bruno Mars.
3. 2. What is the genre of the music
video?
The genre of the music video I have chosen is Pop. There are many visual
elements of the video that tell us how it fits into the pop genre. One of the
visual elements of the video which tell us its a pop video is his costume,
the artist is wearing a fashionable suit, which fits the genre as other
genres like Hip Hop/Rap will not have artists with a costume like this.
4. 3: Analyse the setting and d辿cor of
the music video
In this music video there are two different settings for the narrative. The first
setting is in his house where Bruno Mars is singing to himself, and the other is in
the streets where he is dragging a piano which tells us the story he is explaining
from his house, so the two settings combine in the video. Firstly in his house we
can see many elements of the setting which are significant to the song/lyrics, for
example it is very dark and rainy, and the singer is by himself which shows pathetic
fallacy and symbolizes loneliness and heartbreak. The setting in the streets where
he is dragging a piano, the are many cars and people going past and looking at him
and mocking him, this symbolizes that he looks crazy and which shows he is crazy
in love for the girl he is going to. I think the director has chosen this because it
shows the audience how much the artist means his lyrics and he would do
anything for the person he loves, for example dragging a piano across the town.
5. 4. Analyse the costumes of the music
video
The singer has two costumes in the video. One of the costumes, is a casual look
with a simple red t-shirt with jeans and a hat, which shows more of his casual and
normal side. The other costume is one where he is wearing a suit, to show more of
his formal side. The director has chosen a suit, because it tells us a lot about the
character, that he is very formal and likes to set a good impression. This reflects to
the meaning of the songs as he is about to go to a girl and sing to her and make a
good impression. However by the end of the song, his suit gets all scruffy, his tie is
half undone and his shirt is loose, which shows that after trying so hard he failed
to win the girl and she loves someone else.
6. 5. Analyse the props in the music
video
There are many props in this music video, such as a picture frame and cars,
however, them most important prop is a piano. The piano in the song is very
important for the narrative of the music video, as the character is dragging it
across the city/town and is being mocked by others. The significance this has is it
shows how much he loves a girl and is willing to drag a piano and sing to her. This
prop does fit in the pop genre, because it is a musical instrument and there are
many songs which use a piano.
7. 6. Analyse the body language and
movement in the music video
In the music video, the singer/character is looking down on the floor by himself in
a dark a room while it is raining outside. His body language and movement show
that he is feeling lonely and upset about a girl. You can see this by the way he is
sitting and his facial expressions show he is stressed or is feeling tensed and upset.
I think the actor has chosen to show these types of body language and movement
as it is a stereotypical song about love, and you would expect a person to feel
lonely when their loved ones have left them. It also gives meaning to the song as
his body language and movements reflect to what he is singing from the lyrics.
8. 7. Performance
The artist is very important in this song, because the song itself is by the artist
performing and he is the main focus point for this song. The performance will add
a lot for the video, because it gives the song more meaning and emphasis. The
artist does very good acting and also shows a lot of emotion, which links to the
lyrics of the song.
9. 8. Narrative
In this music video there is a narrative. The narrative shows a heartbroken man,
dragging a piano across town, to sing to his girl and win her back, however, in the
end he fails. The artist of the song is part of the narrative and is the man who tries
to win the girl back. The narrative of the music also links a lot with the lyrics,
because the song is about how the man would do anything for a girl and she
wouldn't do the same. We can see this in the music video through the narrative, as
he drags a piano to show his love but she doesnt want him back. The narrative
adds a lot for the music video because it links a lot to the song.
10. Reflection of this task
After completing this task and analysing the different concepts of a
music video, I have learned many things about how to make a
music video and what I would need to consider. I have learnt the
importance of my costumes, props, performance and narrative.
These are all important things for a music video, because it all gives
a meaning for the song and why you chose it. They need to link to
the lyrics of the song and show the audience the different meanings
and symbols of the song, and how all these different concepts from
the music video link to it. It also reflects the feel and mood of the
song, for example a happy song would have a character with bright
colour costumes to show their happy personality, a good location
with good atmosphere and a narrative with a happy ending. It all
links together.