Music video Analysis: Anna Calvi- Desire

I have chosen to analyse the section 2:05-2:35 of Anna Calvi's music video "desire" directed by Aoife Mcardle.

The section begins with a silhouette and a shadow of either the artist or another, the identity is left unknown and unexplained. The use of shadows and the unknown all add to the overall mysterious and dark natured theme of the video. Also in this screenshot the predominant colours are used which appear throughout the music video. Red and black often link to emotions such as passion and anger, and carry connotations of darker thoughts, secrets, danger, blood and lust- which links with the song title "desire".

The next shots feature religiously linked elements, such as cherubs and candles as seen in this screenshot. The candle which can also symbolize romance is featured next to a dark coloured skull. This again emphasises the theme of passion and danger fusing together. There is a great contrast between light and dark here and provides the video with a flickering, ever changing light.

The shots then focus on the artist again, as this video I feel is both performance and concept based the artist features heavily throughout. At this point the music also slows as the artist sings the line "only the lonely" and the visuals accompany this as the camera is zoomed out to a wider angle, allowing the artist to seem "alone" in a wider framing. The viewer also notes that again the colours red are used to dress the artist.

The next shot introduces a seascape painting hanging on the wall. This is cut between very quick shots of the artist and accompanied by the growing tempo and volume of the music and involvement of guitar. The colours of the painting are calming and contrasting to the previous shots, and introduce a grey pallete that stands out against a warm, shadowy background. The frame is ornate which suggests importance, wealth and encourages the viewer to focus on it.

The following shot shows the artists heavily made up eye- suggesting femininity and the darker colour framing an eye suggests a dark perspective. The eye opens and is focused away from the camera, the pupil darkens and grows to an unnaturally large size. This has connotations with evil, magic, fantasy or perhaps hallucinogenic drugs. The idea of hallucination fits in well with the chaotic scene and previous shots, the darkness and "evil" images or references could suggest a dark dream.

The final shot cuts quickly to the painting again, but with an increase in volume as the painting comes to life and waves crash about the frame. This acts as a climax to this section and is accompanied by an increase in tempo and the start of the chorus.