Deconstruction of Promotional Music Video: Mind

Jack Ü

Jack Ü is an American EDM DJ duo, side group and collaborative project, consisting of Diplo and Skrillex, formed in 2013. Jack Ü performed at Ultra Music Festival Miami in 2014. They released their first official single "Take Ü There" featuring vocals from Kiesza on September 17, 2014. They released their debut album Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü on 27 February 2015. According to Skrillex, this collaboration is called 'Jack Ü' because it refers to how the music 'jacks you up' with its high energy beats and bass line.

Jack Ü in Wikipedia. Retrieved 24th September 2017 from 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ü

Skrillex & Diplo - Mind ft. Kai

Lyrics Analysis

Synopsis

The video is a 'performance' video with the artists performing in different venues. The camera alternates between performance shots and shots of the artists' travelling to different attractions and places on their tour, giving viewers an insight to what happens during their tour.

Setting

This music video consists of various shots taken in different locations to show the artists' travel journey during their tour. Some locations are shown in more shots than others. I have picked out the key locations where the music video is set.

Despite a seeming lack of any overt geographic markers, the following shots show the artists in Peru, therefore it can be implied that this was taken in a town of Peru. It is clear this is was not taken in a city as the buildings don't appear to meet the standards. The buildings look particularly old and run down, suggesting that this is a deprived town which cannot afford to refurbish buildings. This effect is offset by the use of dour colours, low-key lighting and dust wafting into the sky.

Overall, this setting is far from glamorous; it is the antithesis of where you would expect such successful artists to be located. However, the setting helps communicate that the artists are humble and can still visit these deprived places even though they can afford the luxury.

As already mentioned, the artists are shown in Peru's biggest tourist attraction, Machu Picchu. This shows their interest in different countries during their tour travel. It also shows they are adventurous people as the attraction is situated on a mountain ridge and can include a trek to arrive there. Their adventurous attitude is reflected in their music as the duo have worked together to create their unique sound of dance music.

Part of a music video is also set on a private yacht which explores a tropical setting. This setting contrasts the deprived town that the music video visits. This shows the luxurious life that the artists also get to experience. Not only are private yachts bought/hired at great expenses but the tropical location demonstrates that they are fortunate as not everyone gets to experience this luxury. The blue sky and ocean connote a summer and holiday atmosphere, this is associated with the dance genre as this is when the dance music is generally listened to.

As this is a 'performance' video, the artists are shown playing in various venues as part of their tour. One of the venues appear to be a basketball arena, it can be inferred that the artists are delivering a half-time show (it was indeed at the NBA Playoffs Game). This venue can be identified as the artists are performing in the middle with people seated around them, whereas most venues have the artists performing at the front. Furthermore, it is evident that the artists are based on a basketball court.

The artists are also shown performing at a music festival where the majority of artists/DJs from the dance genre perform. This is because the atmosphere is better suited for the genre  where the audience are standing rather than sitting at a concert. Having the audience standing creates a dancing atmosphere. In addition, artists from the dance genre perform at music festivals where there are larger audiences and people do not need to know their music specifically to dance and enjoy it.

 

This long shot of the audience shows someone holding a U.K. flag which suggests this music festival in particular may have been held in the U.K.

Costume

In all of the shots where the artists are performing, they appear to be wearing this same top. It is clear that the artists wear this top at all their shows. On the front of the top, it says 'Jack' and down the sleeves and back of the top, it says says 'Ü'. Having the artists wear their logo on a top to every show makes more people become familiar with their name and logo, reinforcing brand recognition. This top is also sold as part of their merchandise, therefore, having the artists wear it can provoke an increase in their merchandise sales.

Timeline of Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits

0:00 - 0:09: The music video opens with a couple of establishing shots where parts of the video is filmed, a long shot of an island and a deprived town. These shots are followed by a medium shot of the duo artist, Jack Ü and a medium close-up shot of the featuring artist, Kai. The duo artist are then revealed individually, Diplo is shown through a long shot of him standing in front of Peru's biggest attraction, Machu Picchu. Then Skrillex is shown through a medium shot facing a night view. This is an effective opening as it introduces the audience to where the video is set and the different artists involved in the song.

0:14 - 0:17: There is a subtle example of a link between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics express "pushing to the point of crazy" which is followed by a medium shot of the artists lying on the ground in an exhausted manner, suggesting that they are exhausted from being pushed to the point of crazy. This conforms with one of the eight main principles of Goodwin's theory: there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals.

0:49 - 0:52: The camera uses a canted angle for these two shots. This technique is often used to create a build in tension which is relevant for the timing of the song. Tension is created to build for the chorus of the song which is often anticipated by most listeners.

1:07 - 1:10: The video involves shots of the audience enjoying themselves to the duo's performance. This shot in particular, is a medium close-up shot of two fans throwing their hair around. The speed of this shot has been decreased for the audience to pay attention to the action as it shows people's energy during their performance which is what they would want their audience to be like. These shots of people in the crowd are effective to include as after all they are the audience of the music video too.

1:14 - 1:21: The speed of the shots following up to the instrumental chorus are decreased to build up to the beat drop. As the tempo of the song changes, the increase in the speed of shots contrast the slower shots, making it clearer to the audience the tempo of song has changed. This conforms with another main principle of Goodwin's theory: there is a relationship between the music and visuals.

1:23 - 1:28: During the instrumental chorus of the song, several shots of the artists performing are shown. These shots portray the artists performing with a high level of energy which is what people want to pay to see, therefore, this music video helps to promote their tour. A canted angle is used for some of these shots to create a chaotic view to suit the instrumental. In addition, there is a play on the speed of the shots to match the rhythm of the song.

2:01 - 2:07: Throughout the music video, a flag of the artist's logo is waved during some of the performance shots. It can be inferred that the artists do this during every one of their performances to reinforce brand recognition. The speed of this specific shot has been decreased which allows the audience to clearly read what is on the flag.

3:08 - 3:19: Towards the end of the video, the shots cut at the beat of the song. This is effective as the video flows better in the viewers' eyes and attention is drawn to the beat of the song.

3:45 - 4:01: As the tempo of the song slows down towards the end, the speed of the shots are again decreased. This is an effective way of ending a video as the audience is made clear about the ending as opposed to an abrupt stop.

Analysis

Total time = 4:01

Performance shots = 1:53

Travel shots = 1:41

Singing shots = 0:27 

A pie chart was constructed below by converting the duration of the different shots in which the music video consisted of. It can be concluded that the majority of the music video used performance shots, shortly followed by travel shots and a smaller percentage of singing shots.

Focus Group

"I like how the music video shows the artists journey on tour but its quite repetitive and slightly boring."

"The shots of the artists are effective during the chorus of the song but I don't like how the travel shots are random, it would be better if it was in order of their travel.

"Besides the performance shots, I don't think the majority shots suit the genre of the song. Although dance music videos often include travel shots, the places they showed didn't suit the song I felt."

"I think the song itself has a lot of potential to create an interesting music video with special effects but the video didn't reach this."

Lessons to be Learnt

• Having the artist wear their own merchandise reinforces brand recognition

• Opening the video to an establishing shot and introducing the artists is effective start to a music video

• The relationship between the music and visuals should be considered and possibly incorporated

• A canted angle can be used to create tension or created a chaotic effect 

• A play on the speed of shots is particularly effective to match the tempo of the song