MARK KAMARA - A2 MEDIA PORTFOLIO
‘Right Here’ is a House track, which is Jess Glynne’s début single, released in June 2014 [46]. Since then the music video has hit over thirteen million views, and Jess is well on her way, working on her début album. I will be analysing this music video because the genre is house, and this is the same genre that I will be creating my music video for. In doing so, I will be able to pick up on similar themes, editing techniques and the Mise-en-scéne that is being used, to aid with the planning of my group’s music video. Additionally, the production value of this video makes it good to analyse, as the video doesn’t appear to be shot with a large budget, making it one that we can look at and aspire to create something similar, with the use of little to no budget.
‘Right Here’ starts off with Jess sitting on a large bush covered outdoor chair, staring straight into the camera, and builds up with the talent around her dancing and doing tricks, such as flips. The people in the video are then shown to be in pickup truck, throwing drinks and feathers onto the street, which is edited in reverse, so that the objects seem to come towards them. Towards the end of the video, Jess is shown on a stage, with instrumentalists, performing the last chorus of her song.
JESS GLYNNE - RIGHT HERE: MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
Throughout the video a key theme of being free is presented, although Jess is singing as if she is waiting for someone, which may be agonising for some, this waiting allows her to still be herself, who can be seen as someone original and quite trendy. In the Chorus, Jess sings ‘Right here, you got me where you want me, Now I’m right here, waiting for your calling, Now I’m right here, you got me where you want me, Now I’m right here, right here! [47]’ This reinforces the fact that she is waiting for a special person to communicate with her. This conforms to Jess being herself, and shown as being free in the video, as it may
one on the screenshot above, which shows her being pushed around in a shopping trolley. This is something that kids tend to do, as they tend to be quite free, which supports this theme. This sense of freedom is also shown when Jess is whipping her hair around, as shown in the screenshot on the left, as it suggests that she is free of any worries.
Furthermore, around 1:42 of the music video, Jess sings, ‘Not confiding, or abiding to no rules’ [47], whilst moving her arms and hands in a flapping motion, as shown in the screenshot on the right. This can be compared to a bird flapping its wings away, symbolising freedom, as flight is commonly being associated with being free, but also having power or dominance over a situation. And, although Jess seems to be singing about waiting or someone, this suggests that, that person is already with her, and it is almost as if she is celebrating that it worked out, which can be backed up by the lyrics, ‘I wouldn’t change it for the world
world, now that you’re mine’ [47], suggesting that Jess is in fact with that person, either in the pretence of her mind, or in actuality.
One effective use of Cinematography was the close up on the microphone as Jess is holding it, as seen in the screenshot to the left. This is significant, as it suggests to the audience, that Jess is ready to perform, and that in fact, she is, ‘Right Here’ [47]. This close up could also suggest that Jess is serious about being an artist, and is ready to grow in the industry, by creating, performing and releasing music to her audience. The fact that in the shot, Jess’s face is the most in focus, rather than the mic, suggests that she is in control, and that she is in a stable place.
may suggest that she wants her special person, to see her in the light of who she really is. Jess’s freedom is shown through shots, similar to the one
Another use of effective Cinematography was the wide shot showing Jess performing, as it shows the word ‘YES’, in capitals, behind her, as shown in the screenshot to the right. This could suggest that this person Jess has been waiting for, has asked her out or revealed their feelings to her, and she is responding with a massive ‘Yes’, literally, to show her appreciation or mutual feeling for that person. This wide shot showing a great part of the stage, could also suggest that Jess is putting in an effort for her lover to know how she feels. Whether this was a true event in Jess’s life, is not known to the audience, but the originality of the music video
video and track, does point towards the fact that the song was created from Jess going through a situation that she sings about.
An effective use of Mise-en-scéne is the trainers that Jess is wearing, as seen in the screenshot to the left, as well as Jess’s entire outfit, as seen in the screenshot below. This item of clothing suggests that Jess is a trendy person, who conforms to the hip and current trends that many people in London follow. Additionally, it shows that Jess is not afraid to mix and match clothing items, possibly suggesting that she is quite comfortable within the music industry, in terms of expressing herself.
Another effective use of Mise-en-scéne was some of the props used within the music video. As seen in the screenshot to the left, the talent in the music video are sitting in a pickup truck, and are throwing feather-like materials out onto the street, as well as using flares, to create a smoke effect, and even spilling milk. This creates a childish sense of being able to do whatever you want to, which reinforces the theme of being free, which is presented throughout this video. Additionally, the fact that milk is being spilt onto the street, could suggest that the video is conforming to the saying, ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk
milk,’ possibly suggesting that even though Jess has probably been in some difficult situations, she has kept strong, and been able to overcome them.
An effective use of Editing is when Jess threw her coat onto the ground, as seen in the screenshot to the right. However, the clip was reversed in the music video, to show the coat flying up from the ground, and being worn by Jess. This is effective, as it suggests that Jess is quite powerful, as it shows her having the ability to alter the time-space continuum, as she doesn’t have to pick up the coat, instead it is drawn towards her. This is supported with the editing technique of masking used to duplicate the man with the Dalmatian, on either side of the chair where Jess was just sitting, reinforcing her power, as this duplicated man could be
be seen as guarding Jess’s throne, with the dog as a sign of protection.
Another effective use of Editing is when Jess and the talent within the video are throwing objects out of the pic-up truck, as shown in the screenshot to the left. Yet again, the clip has been reversed, so that the objects are flying towards the people. What is also quite spectacular about the shots, centred around this happening, is that even though the clip is reversed, the car appears to be moving forward, meaning that when the video was filmed, the pickup truck was in fact reversing, as can be proved by the reverse indicator lights being on, as seen in the adjacent screenshot. This is effective, as it means that the shots were thought
thought about prior to being filmed, to account for the motion of objects, to create this effect, of objects flying towards the people, while the pickup truck is moving forward, which is a technique that I and my group could think about incorporating into our music video, creating this theme of breaking away from reality, suggesting the protagonist, having the power and freedom to do so.
A third effective use of Editing is the mirroring of shots, as well as colour and light flares, complimented through using monochrome colours for the footage, seen quite frequently throughout the video. This can be seen in the two screenshots, to the right, and below this body of text. This editing technique is effective as it reinforces that fact that the video has no rules, matching Jess’s lyrics of, ‘Not confiding, or abiding to no rules’ [47], which reinforces the freedom of the edit, going alongside the Mise-en-scéne, and relation to lyrics, which all coincide to strengthen the theme of freedom, and being able to express yourself. This also suggests
suggests that Jess is singed to a label in which she is able to make her own marketing decisions, without being forced what type of music to make
make, or clothing to wear, therefore representing that she is happy with this sense of being free, which not every artist or band have the liberty of.
Overall, although Jess seems to be singing about a special person or a lover, instead, it could be her personifying the music industry, and her singing about how she loves where she is, and being exited to progress. This supplements a sentimental meaning to the music video, which I feel is a strong positive intention for an artist, for their début single. This music video will help me with the creation of my group’s music video, as it proves to us that a video with a low production budget can still have a deep meaning, and be interpreted in many ways. Additionally, the Mise-en-scéne within the video shows that the people are wearing quite trendy and hip items of clothing, which is a common feature seen within house music videos, from which we will take inspiration from. Furthermore, the props, camera and editing techniques also conforms to many house music videos, which has provided I and my group with inspiration towards creating our own house music video, for our advanced portfolio project.