Research Existing Music Videos, Remedy-Little Boots

This is the British singer, Little Boots' video to her 2009 hit, Remedy. It is an electronic sounding pop song, written by the singer herself. I have chosen to look at this video as it uses some very interesting editing and effects, such as making the image look as if it is being viewed through a kaleidoscope. This video has no narrative, as the song is more of a dancing number, rather than a story, as some songs are such as Taylor Swift songs. The video works very well with the song as it matches the overall genre and mood of a glittery, electronic pop song, and looks very unique amongst other music videos. I really admire the kaleidoscope effect, which is used throughout this video. It adds interest to what would otherwise be very boring shots, the singer stood playing a keyboard and singing. Also, the shots are very short, making a lot of 'flashes' which also adds excitement and interest. I also like the mirror images used in this video. At around 50 seconds into the video, a shot of her hands playing the keyboard is used, but instead of a normal shot, a mirror image is used to make it look much more enigmatic and interesting. I like this effect and it is unique, and not used by many artists. Although the song my group has chosen is a slow song, some of these effects may still be appropriate to use.

Most of this video's exciting elements have all been added during the editing process. The actual shots are just of the singer, Little Boots, playing the keyboard, using mixing desks and singing, and without all the imaginative editing would have produced a very boring music video. But because of the editing, the video has been made into a very unique and interesting video.

The lighting in this video helps to add to the 'flashing' and the overall look, studio lighting has been used, and you can see in the video that there are spotlights. Also at about 1 minute into the video, tubes of lighting are arranged to create a triangle shape. This is very different and looks impressive. As mentioned before, a kaleidoscope effect is used throughout. Images of Little Boots are taken and made into a kaleidoscope image. This idea is also used with just an image of her mouth which looks a little strange but adds interest by adding an extreme close up. Kaleidoscope images are also created just by the different lights used, which looks more like a traditional kaleidoscope. Towards the end of the video, an image of the singer led down moving her arms creates the kaleidoscope. It is important to note that the producers have included variety with this effect, as by doing the same thing all the way through the video would have become boring. I also like how the images and effects change to reflect the music, such as when the different sections (verse/chorus) begin, and when there are important chord changes. The whole of this video uses fast paced editing, which helps to keep the audience interested, and also to fit with the relatively fast tempo of the song.

Little Boots refers to a kaleidoscope in her lyrics "spin me faster, like a kaleidoscope" so this effect is very appropriate.

Throughout the video, the singer wears a metallic dress and bold, metallic accessories on her wrist and in her hair. This means that the lights catch her and make her clothes look like they are moving with the lights. This adds further interest and is a lot more fitting with the video than plain clothes would have been.

This music video looks to have been shot in a studio, and the set up is made to look a little like a recording studio. This highlights the fact that Little Boots enjoys working with electronic machines and effects to produce her music. It also fits with the genre of the song.

Overall, although this video probably had a very large budget, I feel it is very effective and works very well. Although not many different shots are used, there is very creative use of lighting, and effects to create an interesting, unique video with an emphasis on technology. Although this song is a lot faster and of a different genre than the song chosen for the group's project, some of the effects and ideas could still be applied. I also like how there isn't many different shots used, and the creativity and excitement is all created by the editing, which is different to most other music videos.