To begin the research phases of my project, I have decided to look into a particularly iconic music video - Prince Charming by Adam and the Ants. Adam and the Ants were a British rock band during the 1970s/1980s and Prince Charming was a number 1 single in the UK charts for 4 weeks during 1981. Many critics have claimed that this is due to their extravagant music video.
Why was the music video so iconic?
Despite the music video having a low budget, it has become a particularly iconic music video due to its use of humour and famous dance routine. Additionally, the video featured some stars including Adam Ant and Diana Dors - two very famous people at the time of the video's release. Therefore, the music video was particularly popular because the audience were drawn to it by the starring celebrities.
The video was also iconic because it is a fantastic demonstration of the humour and creativity that successful artists had to have implement in order to be successful. The video was a parody of the classic fairytale of Cinderella, meaning that most of the audience was familiar with the narrative due to this intertextuality.
Analysis
The first shot in the video is a quick panning shot of a man sweeping the floor. This establishing shot allows for the audience to instantly understand where the video is going to be set. Shortly, the frame zooms out and you see two men - dressed as women - enter the room. At this point, it becomes evident to the audience that the music video is based on Cinderella. The succeeding shots are parallelly edited in order to begin to convey the narrative of the video. You see the ugly step sisters having fun together in a series of close ups whilst the other man slaves away sweeping the floors and cooking dinner. The video implements a very fast style of editing, which is reflective of the rock-like tone of the song and the atmosphere in which the video is set.
The mise en scene used during this first scene makes the low budget particularly evident. The costumes, set and props look rather cheap. Despite this, the video is still successful because the budget is irrelevant when considering the success of this video; the strength of the stars, narrative and music reinforces the iconicity of the video. However, having grown up in the 21st century, where a higher production value is preferred, a high expense has become something of a necessity. This does not mean, however, that the target audience of the music video during its launch would have perceived it in the same way. For example, Split Enz's song I See Red (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKj4upY1VYI) was released in 1978. They had a very simlar genre to Adam and the Ants' but had a somewhat smaller production budget. This serves as an example that at the time of release, the Price Charming music video would have looked particularly impressive to the audience, making it a more popular and iconic video. Bright colours are worn by the ugly step sisters (implying their happiness) whereas bland, white colours are worn by the man - until nearer the end, where he is revealed to be a more good looking fellah. The ladies love that.
The majority of the camera shots used throughout the video are mid shots and long shots. For a video such as Prince Charming, this is particularly important because the mise en scene has such an essential role in the video. This gives the audience more time to absorb the costumes, narrative and iconic dancing during the video! There are also some close ups to show more intricate details in order to avoid confusion. For example, at one point there is a close up shot of the invitation to go to the ball and dance the "Prince Charming". This close up reinforces the narrative of Cinderella and informs the audience of what is happening in the video. It helps to avoid confusion but also offers a useful contribution to the overall narrative of the music video. Also, there are various tracking shots to show the characters moving around. When the two ugly stepsisters first enter, the camera tracks them walking across the set. This gives the audience more time to clarify who the characters are and to watch what they are doing as they walk into the room. It also gives the audience time to admire their rather prominent costumes.
Of course, the sound is one of the most important aspects of the video. The song Prince Charming plays for the entirety of the video. Most of the video is lip synced, so the characters on the screen appear to be singing the song. This conveys a relationship between the song and the video.
Overall, I think that the iconicity of this music video is mainly due to the use of intertextuality, stars and comical atmosphere to the video. I love it!
The mise en scene used during this first scene makes the low budget particularly evident. The costumes, set and props look rather cheap. Despite this, the video is still successful because the budget is irrelevant when considering the success of this video; the strength of the stars, narrative and music reinforces the iconicity of the video. However, having grown up in the 21st century, where a higher production value is preferred, a high expense has become something of a necessity. This does not mean, however, that the target audience of the music video during its launch would have perceived it in the same way. For example, Split Enz's song I See Red (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKj4upY1VYI) was released in 1978. They had a very simlar genre to Adam and the Ants' but had a somewhat smaller production budget. This serves as an example that at the time of release, the Price Charming music video would have looked particularly impressive to the audience, making it a more popular and iconic video. Bright colours are worn by the ugly step sisters (implying their happiness) whereas bland, white colours are worn by the man - until nearer the end, where he is revealed to be a more good looking fellah. The ladies love that.
The majority of the camera shots used throughout the video are mid shots and long shots. For a video such as Prince Charming, this is particularly important because the mise en scene has such an essential role in the video. This gives the audience more time to absorb the costumes, narrative and iconic dancing during the video! There are also some close ups to show more intricate details in order to avoid confusion. For example, at one point there is a close up shot of the invitation to go to the ball and dance the "Prince Charming". This close up reinforces the narrative of Cinderella and informs the audience of what is happening in the video. It helps to avoid confusion but also offers a useful contribution to the overall narrative of the music video. Also, there are various tracking shots to show the characters moving around. When the two ugly stepsisters first enter, the camera tracks them walking across the set. This gives the audience more time to clarify who the characters are and to watch what they are doing as they walk into the room. It also gives the audience time to admire their rather prominent costumes.Of course, the sound is one of the most important aspects of the video. The song Prince Charming plays for the entirety of the video. Most of the video is lip synced, so the characters on the screen appear to be singing the song. This conveys a relationship between the song and the video.Overall, I think that the iconicity of this music video is mainly due to the use of intertextuality, stars and comical atmosphere to the video. I love it!
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