Music video analysis on Malibu

Camera

• One of the first shot we get in the music video is a medium close up of Miley Cyrus.

• The use of the medium close up allows the audience to see Miley and this also tells the audience that Miley is the star of the music video.

• The audience also get to see a waterfall flowing behind Miley in the shot and this gives off the feeling of peacefulness and serenity.

• There is also key use of Long shots at the beginning as the audience see Miley standing at the same waterfall but they are able to see more of this and this reinforces the idea of peacefulness and the idea of nature is a comfortable thing and Miley is surrounded by it in the music video.

• Through out the music video there are are different shot types used but the one thin they all have in common is what is in the shots.

• The majority of the shots all contain Miley, flowers/nature or both and this can be linked to the genre of the song which is soft-pop and the flowers and the shots types fit the genre as there are sharp jump cuts of flashing images that would detract from the video/genre.

Editing

• There isn’t a large amount of editing used as if there was it would detract from the song and the video but whenever editing is used is adds the the video rather than detracts from it.

• At the very beginning of the music video the audience is able to see a superimposed text which simply states the Singer, Miley Cyrus and the name of the song, Malibu and this can be linked back to the genre as the text is trying not to detract from the video, genre. The text is also a simple font again not to detract from the video and it is also a comfortable font just plain and simple.

• Another way in which editing has been utilised in the music video is when the song picks up pace and becomes more upbeat the is balloons superimposed over Miley while she is dancing by herself but the opacity of the balloons is around about 50% which gives off the feel to the audience even though they know the balloons aren’t really there it feels like they are and this adds the the genre of the video and adds a subtle touch of childhood memories to the audience as most kids get balloons and have a large amount of fun with them.

Mise-en-Scene

• A key part of the Mise-en-scene is where the video was filmed, and it was filmed in Malibu and this links to both the title of the song and the genre of the song.

• Malibu is a city in the state of California, and it is know for its tranquility of the ocean and floral areas. In the music video they make full use of Malibu and film sections both by the sea shore and by the floral fields.

• The ocean and the floral setting is trying to make the audience feel calm and collected and it actually links to the lyrics of the song, as the song is about feeling safe in Malibu with someone special however, in the lyrics Miley never sings/specifies who that ‘someone’ is and this allows the audience to feel as if it is them who she is singing about and this again reinforces the feeling of comfort and safety.

• Throughout the video we get a large amount of close up shots of Miley with the flowers and the ocean and this is representative of her being free, free like the ocean which is also one of her lyrics

• Miley is also seen wearing only white in the music video and this is also innkeeping with the whole aspect of the video and song of feeling comfortable and safe and whit is a colour that represents this and it is also about her ‘re-birth’ as this song was released after her phase of releasing pop-rock songs

• We also see Miley wearing pigtails in her hair and this is a typical hairstyle for a little girl and this is to again represent the ‘re-birth’ of Miley and to also push forward the idea of innocence and happiness and children are always happy, to further reinforce the idea of Miley being a innocent child she is seen playing with balloons and they are typically a thing that a child plays with.