Anton Zaslavski, better known by his stage name Zedd, is a Russian-German musician, DJ, songwriter and record producer. He primarily produces and performs electro house music, but has diversified his genre and musical style, drawing influences from progressive house, dubstep, and classical music. Zedd grew up and began his career in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Zedd in Wikipedia. Retrieved 24th September 2017 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zedd
Zedd - I Want You To Know ft. Selena Gomez
Lyrics Analysis
Synopsis
This music video is a 'concept' video that follows Selena Gomez as the protagonist going to a party club and dancing. Zedd appears as a hologram throughout the video. The camera alternates between disco scenes and scenes where Zedd and Gomez are together illuminated by strobe lights.
Setting
The music video follows Gomez's experience in a club which is evident through the coloured lighting and crowd of people dancing. This choice of setting is typically used for music videos within the dance genre as this type of music is generally played in clubs to create a dancing atmosphere. The low-key lighting emits a romantic atmosphere which is enhanced with the use of red lighting and coloured effect. The colour red symbolises love as it connotes romantic features including the colour of lips, the heart and roses. The setting ties in nicely with the title of the album the song was taken from: True Colors.
The disco ball within the scene implies a party atmosphere and the use of confetti in the scene suggests this is a celebration for something, overall, this creates a joyful atmosphere. These features of the setting indicate that this is an expensive club which is fitting and helps to communicate that the artists are upper-class and can afford these luxuries.
Costume
Gomez is firstly portrayed a wealthy and prestige figure which is reflected in her attire. She is introduced with a fur coat. Since fur coats have long since been acknowledged as expensive, having Gomez wear a fur coat helps to signify that she is fortunate and wealthy. Fur coats were increasingly popular during the 1960s and 1970s which suggests the music video is set during this time period as clarified by the music producer. In addition, Gomez's appearance is neat and glamorous, suggesting she is conscious about keeping up her appearance. Her hair is voluminous and curled complimenting her fur coat and taking inspiration from hairstyles during the 1970s.
Gomez changes outfits during the video which is although common in music videos, it also conforms to the stereotype that celebrities change their outfits more than once during the day. Gomez wears a high-neck long dress with a pattern that appears it could be from the 70s. The people surrounding her wear shorter dresses which emphasises her prestige image in this music video.
Timeline of Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits
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| 0:00 - 0:05 |
The music video opens with the title of the song in white text and the artists' names in a larger and orange text against a black screen. This implies the editor of the music video wanted to draw more attention on the artists' names. The title screen cross fades into the next shot creating a sense of flow and slower pace for the beginning of the song.
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| 0:25 - 0:29 |
The camera alternates from medium close-up shots of the artist at the back of the club to the artist on the dance floor. These shots contrast each other as it shows the difference between the artist's attitude with a large number of people and on her own. She appears to be a lot more energetic and happy with people as opposed to on her own.
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| 1:02 - 1:05 |
A close-up shot is used to show Gomez is looking at something. The camera cuts to a close-up shot of Zedd in a holographic effect and cuts back to Gomez looking confused by what she has just seen. This could signify the feeling of longing someone's presence and this constant thought has created this illusion. This demonstrates a symptom of being lovesick.
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| 1:16 - 1:23 |
Short shot duration is used for these multiple shots which is emphasised with the flash transition used creating a flickering effect. This effect flickers to the rhythm of the song which is a convention of music videos from the dance genre. This is specifically effective during the build up to the chorus of the song.
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| 1:41 - 1:45 |
A cubic special effect has been applied to these medium close-up shots of Gomez walking at the back of the club. The movement of this effect coordinates with the beat of the song. This is an effective technique at drawing the audience's attention to the elements of the song as well as creating a more interesting visual of the artist simply walking.
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| 1:52 - 1:59 |
A range of shot sizes are used to portray Gomez looking into the mirror at her reflection: close-up, medium and long. This could signify the different ways she looks at herself as a person. The use of low-key lighting creates a depressing effect to represent how the character feels during self-refection. Furthermore, the red coloured effect on the artist in these shots symbolises her feeling of love.
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| 2:18 - 2:25 |
During post production, the speed of selected shots have been decreased which allows the audience to pay attention to the details of these shots. Firstly, the happiness of the artist is highlighted in these slower shots. Secondly, it is noted that there is a connection between her and this male character, indicating that Zedd's appearance in the video is not in a romantic manner and is simply for the concept of the video.
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| 2:39 - 2:44 |
Throughout the music video, the camera switches between shots of people dancing and shots of the artists illuminated by strobe lights. Special coloured effects have been added onto these shots as well as a distorting effect. An association can be made between the use of coloured effects throughout the video and the album title in which this song belongs in, True Colors.
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| 3:21 - 3:24 |
Towards the end of the music video short shot duration is used to build up to the ending of the song. This also creates a chaotic effect which replicates a night out in the club where the ending becomes more energetic.
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| 3:48 - 3:55 |
The music video ends with the last shots in a reverse effect and takes Gomez back to the start of the night. This is an interesting approach to end a music video, perhaps it represents the artists' lifestyle and how these similar events feel like a continuous loop.
Analysis
Total time = 4:06
Club dance floor = 2:53
Back of the club = 0:43
Illumination of artists = 0:17
Other = 0:13
A pie chart was constructed below by converting the duration of the shots taken in different locations into percentages. It can be concluded that the majority of the music video consisted of shots on the club dance floor and shots taken in the back of club are used for less than a quarter, followed by illuminated shots of the artists and other shots.
Focus Group
"The setting of the club is relevant to the genre of music, the colourful flashing lights make it exciting, the idea of it going to is a dressy party is cool but unrealistic as you wouldn't be playing EDM."
"I like the use of special effects throughout the music video as it suits the EDM genre, it keeps the video interesting."
"This music video is quite similar to most music videos from the dance genre as it is set in a club but the special effects and holograms of the artists make the video unique."
"A strong part of the music video is the accuracy of lip synching, I think the artist does this really well which makes the video overall well done."
Lessons to be Learnt
- Different coloured lighting can emit different moods, for example, red can create a romantic atmosphere
- The use of costume is important if there is a theme to the music video, it can make it clearer to the audience
- A flash transition is effective with shots with short duration to create a flickering effect, specifically during the build up to the chorus of the song
- Decreasing the speed of shots allows the audience to pay attention to the details of the shots
- Special effects suit the dance genre well and keep the music video interesting
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