Keane K’naan – Stop for A Minute

1. Keane K’naan – Stop for A Minute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI9C9j0QgU4

2. Conventions of a music video Dress– fashion reflects the song Lyrics– establishes a feeling/ mood rather than a feeling Music – Tempo drives the editing Genre – Mise en scene, themes, performance Camerawork– Links to representation Editing –Usually a fast cut montage, cut to the beat Intertextuality – Things in the video relate to the genre Movies– References from cinema Exhibitionism – Voyerism etc.

3. Dress The artist ‘K’naan’ is dressed in a smart suit which reflects his apparent wealth. The people who are also in the bar are dressed in eveningwear that imitates the upbeat rhythm of the song. The other artist Keane wears smart/causal clothing throughout the video which mirrors the genre of the music. For example, if the song was ‘club’ music then the artists would be more dressed up in different outfits, the artist’s dress matches the genre of the song. ‘K’naan’ (pictured above) wears sunglasses throughout the video, this is a part of his dress that is a trademark of him and it fits with the genre of the song well.

4. Lyrics Throughout the video, there are aspects of lip syncing from both of the performers. This is a significant part of most music videos. In the music video there are some points where the lyrics of the song match to the actions that are in the video, for example, when we hear ‘K’naan’ sing the line ‘I feel like a thief who has no face’ in the video we see him touch his face.

5. Music There are lots of fast pace cuts during the video which always match the tempo of the music. At some points, when the tempo slows, the editing slows in the picture above for example, the artists are simply singing to camera with a blank background which is entirely different to when the video setting is in the club.

6. genre The mise en scene of the video matches the genre of the song. With the video only having two settings and the main location being in a bar and the other a street. There is limited performance from the artists and when they perform there is always a still image behind them, forcing them to stand out from the crowd.

7. Camerawork The camera work is quite technical in the fact that there are still shot pauses which still convey movement, for example in the sequence above, the bottle moves through the air in a series of still images and moving camerawork. This technique makes the video effective and memorable.

8. Editing The editing of the music video is extremely effective, especially in the way that the shots cut to the beat of the music. The editors combine still and moving camera techniques which make the video unique compared to other videos that are on the market. I like the editing style that has been used for the video as I think it works well for the genre of the song.

9. Exhibitionism There are points in the video where the artists are seen performing, a form of exhibitionism that is necessary in this particular video. It shows the audience what the star looks like when they perform, which is something that they cannot see from listening to the song so it plays an important role in the music videos.