Music Video Analysis "Salute"

"Salute" by little mix is both a narrative and performative based song. The performative aspect of the song is Little Mix dancing in the music video, this conveys a modern theme of how music is represented with singers and backing dancers. Jesy Nelson (band member) added 'I personally want to put a lot more dancey stuff in there, one of those songs that make you want to dance'. The narrative convention carries a message throughout the song which is about empowering women. The lyrics represent this message 'warriors your country needs you, we don't need no man'.

The song encourages women to stand tall, be confident and strong, 'men fight great but women fight greater '. The music video was filmed in a nuclear bunker. This creates narrative because the location is carrying connotations of war and fighting and this suggests that women should join the army. The dancing takes away the seriousness but suggests if you were to join the army, you can still have fun. As the song is both performative and narrative it carries a message but creates a lively atmosphere.

The target audience for the song is mostly aimed at females as it embraces women to be strong. Even though the song is aimed at females it doesn't portray men in a bad way. As part of editing a range of fast shots are used at the beginning to show all the members of Little Mix. We also see fading and blending into each other in the music video when they sing their verse. Blue smoke and flames are used in the video, this along with the theme give it a mystical feel.

Low key lighting is used in the music video; in the bunker, this creates seriousness and suggests that standing up for yourself can be tough. Also beams of light and flashes are used but outside of the bunker it's dark, making the video seem negative. In the lyrics when Little Mix say 'Attention!' we see lights flashing and hear sirens this creates a military theme.

In the music video Little Mix wear black military style outfits, the male dancers also wear black outfits. This matches the theme of the song and black can often represent fear and power. On the other hand the outfits worn by Little Mix are revealing and aren't the usual war ' camouflage ' colour or style. This could be because in modern music videos provocative outfits are worn and this can attract a mass audience. Dark eye make up is used this matches the outfits and sets the tone.

Throughout the music video long shots are used to show the bunker and outside of it as well. Wide shots are often used to show the band members and dancers. The main shots used are close ups and mid shots, these shots put more attention on the band members so we focus more on them . The music video as a whole is shown at an eye level angle.

What I liked/might use:
I liked the use of camera shots. I would use wide shots and long shots to show the setting and everyone featured in the music video.
I would also like to edit my music video using fast shots to enhance
the creativity of the music video.