Music video analysis

Lights up- Harry styles

The music video starts off with a fading shot of Harry Styles. This is a low angle shot,
this type of shot shows power and connotes to the audience how powerful Harry is
and the control he has over so many, in this shot you can see a little bit of location,
and you can see that there are girls dressed for warm weather, this connotes they
are at the beach or on holiday. You can also see a bit of Harry’s costume which
seems to be nothing, which connotes yet again that they are at the beach and he is
wearing swimming trunks, this also links to his star image of him being portrayed
sexually. The final bit of mise-en-scene that you can see is Harry’s emotion, he looks
confused as he is rubbing his eyes and his facial expression looks as if he does not
recognise his surroundings, this connotes that he could be drunk as it looks as if he
is at a beach party. Another thing that connotes he could be drunk is that he is
stumbling around in the sections shot, as the sound track is slowly fading in. There
is a convention of a music video that is clear in the first 20 seconds of the music
video and this is Laura Mulvel’s theory of the ‘male gaze’ which is often referred to
as the notion of looking, this is because Harry does not have a top on meaning he is
being objectified in order to catch the eyes of viewers. The next scene, the scene
where Harry starts performing/lip syncing the song, he is directly addressing the
camera, which links to him being portrayed as attractive in his star image . In this
scene it starts off with a long shot of Harry Styles dressed in a glittery outfit singing
along to the lyrics of the song, this yet again adds to his star image of Harry be
quirky and a trendsetter , he is standing in the sea with connotes even further that he
is on holiday or at a beach party. The music video then cuts back and forth
numerous times from Harry in the water to Harry back on the beach surrounded by
girls, who are dressed in provocative outfits, which adds to the convention of the
notion of looking. In this scene, Harry is directly addressing the camera as he is lip
syncing whilst looking directly into the camera. This music video is a single stranded
music video as it follows Harry styles and only Harry Styles, it is also linear, this is
because there are no flashbacks to the past therefore making this a music video that
has a start, middle and end. It then cuts to a medium long shot of Harry on the back
of a motorbike with his arms in the air, the lighting in this scene is dull but the outfit
he is wearing looks like a summer outfit which could connote he is on holiday. The
fast pace editing shows the chaotic nature of Harry styles despite this song being
slow paced. He is next seen in what looks to be a
hotel lobby, he is holding his head and looks
dazed/confused, this connotes that he could be on
some kind of drug. The camera then slowly tracks
closer to Harry’s face, the lighting throughout the
music video is dull, which connotes that he might
have a headache as he is seen holding his head
numerous times, this is also shown by the sickly
yellow colour over scenes of him partying. The connotation of him being drunk or on
drugs is shown again by him in the mirror singing lyrics. The final scene is yet again
dull lighting, Harry is on the motorbike still and they drive past flashing lights, these
are police officers, this connotes that there could have been a car crash.I think the
overall purpose of this music video is to show that Harry is relatable and does stuff
that normal people do, making his star image relatable.