Performance based videos are music videos that are usually the artist/band performing their song. They may create videos with a lot of performance in to build a relationship with the audience and to show off their star identity. This type of video is the cheapest and easiest within reason.
Narrative based videos tell a story. This type of video generally involves a main actor or sometimes the star, and maybe extras, to portray the story.
Concept based videos follow a single concept or idea, hence the name concept based, which are often unusual or show off a particular filming or editing technique used.
This is a song by the welsh rock singer Bonnie Tyler called Holding Out For A Hero.
Lyrics
Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Up Where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there’s someone somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like a fire in my blood
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Camera movement, shots, angles
The video starts with a wide panning shot, that gradually zooms in and focuses on a small house which for the beginning of the video is the center of attention. The reason this has been done is because it is the opening scene to the music video and the producer wanted to show where the video is set straight away so that people can gain some sort of an idea of what is goiung on.
This shortly after progresses into quick snap shot of someone dressed as a cow boy highly featuring in "luminous paint and neon whips" which was cool in the 80's discos and so on, the camera angle is at a mid shot showing just the cow boys waist and above. He whips the window which catches fire, this isn't done in one scene, this is due to the lack of technology in the 80's it was instead split up as 2 scenes
When Bonnie Tyler is on the floor screaming because she needs a man. the emphasis is entirely on her and this relates to the stars image because she is the main focus, she is what the producers want to be looking at. It can be said that the song is generally speaking on behalf of all women in this situation however in my opinion I believe is is about building up Bonnie Tylers star image. and that this may in fact be truly about Bonnie Tylers personal life.
Editing transitions, special effects
Due to the era of when the video was shot, there seem to be no special effects added this is because of the technology and so forth. The transitions are also very basic and just switch from one clip to another. They don't dissolve from one to another or fade in / out. The editing in the 80's wasn't also as good as now, this is obvious in the Bonnie Tyler video as all the video transitions are just simple switches from one scene to the other. However this is also appropriate with the video because is shows urgency and suggests a panic within the actual video.
Mise en Scene
In the scene there are White clothing by the women suggests vulnerability "damsel in distress" which is appropriate because the lyrics are "i need a hero" Evil cowboys dressed in black start to come into play, one brings out a pistol and appears on horseback, this once again relates to the John Wayne cow boy era due to the mise en scene being very similar to the films. Due to this you can tell that it is from a much older era especially when you compare it to some of the newer stuff. It seems to be shot on something that looks like the grand canyon.
Small house in the middle of nowhere, they reason this house has been used is because the theme is very strong on cowboys and therefore you wouldn't find them in the middle of the city, they would be found out by the desert away from everybody else.
Black clothing for the cowboys, the reason they are wearing black is because they are the bad guys in the music video and therefore the dark colours clearly represent this so that the audience understand who are the bad guys.
Fluorescent whips, these are used because in the mid 80's they were very cool in discos so they were seen as some sort of a social trend and even now in these modern times they are still used in clubs. so with Bonnie Tyler using this it is showing how they re trying to keep up with the times.
Intertextuality
Representation
The way that the song is shot goes very well with the lyrics and the representation is obvious. Bonnie Tyler is showing how women are vulnerable and are wanting a man to save them "i need a hero". Again with the clothing as mentioned before, white representing innocence, and vulnerability.
The video was produced by Jim Steinman and he has previously worked with Loaf, some of his work;
This music video is very different to Bonnie Tylers I need a hero, the reason for this is because it is a performance based video although it does have some elements of narrative involved and some similarities.
Ideologies
It is very obvious that the music videos theme is a John Wayne cow boy film, the reason this is done is because in the 80's his films were very popular and because of this women dreamed of having a hero such as John Wayne, where as not it is totally different, and a video like this one wouldn't be done again.
Genre
Bonnie Tylers i need a hero is known as a light rock song, because of the way she sings the song, and this is similar with meat loaf , he is a slightly heavier rock singer, but from this i can gather that the producer/director Jim Steinman preferably likes to work with rock stars.
Different theories it could come under;
Stuart Halls theory;
Stuart Halls believes that the way we view a music video is based upon 3 different readings, they are as follows; Preferred reading; What the director wants you to think, Negotiated reading; Agree to some extent to what the director wants you to think, Opposition reading; Disagree totally and think the exact opposite. And when we watch a music video we fit into one of these categories.
Andrew Goodwin;
Andrew Goodwin has a theory that the way we view music videos comes in parts and they are; The star image, relation of visuals, technical aspects, performance of the video. And all of these build up how we view the music video.
Laura Mulvey; her theory suggests the male gaze is how men look at women, how women look at other women and how women look at themselves. So basically saying that women are highly used in music videos to get more views and so on.
In relation to Stuart Halls theory the;
Preferred reading: All women are vulnerable, and men are the dominant force - saving the women.
Negotiated: She is controlling men as she is calling them and they are coming to her. However males are still dominant because they will rescue her.
Opposition: Woman may think, i'm single and i'm still living i don't need a hero in my life.
Andrew Goodwin's theory;
The chorus is very dominant in the song "i need a hero" and because the artist sings it with so much passion straight away the audience identifies the meaning and purpose of the song simply the message that the singer is trying to get across.
Narrative and performance because Bonnie Tyler is telling a story about how she needs a hero which could be presented as a man in her life but at thye same time some of the scenes are being performed e.g. when the girls sing the backing vochals
The whole performance of the video is cohesive with the lyrics, because she needs this hero this help and the characters are performing as the song narrates what is happening within the scenes. The mise en scene is similar to cow boy films and this is because at the time of the videos the heroes women looked up to were cow boys simply because the films were trending at the time.
The star image
As this song was released after Bonnie Tylers main success, it can be said that the lyrics are personal to her and represent her current status in society "wanting a hero" - wanting a man in her life.
Relation of visuals to song
The visuals are very clear as they go with the lyrics and therefore audiences understand what the message is - she needs help, needs this hero to come and get her out of the situation. This is strongly represented with the burning house she is escaping from and the co boys who are attacking her so to speak. Now many people can listen to the song and watch the video to think this is personal to her and she wants a man in her life or on the other hand it could be a general song speaking on women as a whole just to get them to empathize with the video.
Technical aspects
Considering that the video was created in the 80's the video is held together relatiovely well because the transition even in their simplest form work and correspond with one another with a fluent flow throughout the whole music video.
Laura Mulvey's theory;
is very dominant in this video, her theory suggests the male gaze is how men look at women, how women look at other women and how women look at themselves. And in Bonnie Tyler's video mens first reaction is they want to be her hero, then women may look at her and relate that situation in their own life saying they may need a hero in their life and so on. The main focus is obviously the woman in the video and Laura Mulvey's theory is further supported due to the fact that she has other women around her, supporting her dancing and vocals.
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