Analysis of "Miss Jackson"

In this post I analyse the music video for "Miss Jackson" by Panic! At The Disco and explore 

The music video for Miss Jackson begins, similarly to the music video for "Sorry" by Nothing But Thieves, with titles against a black screen, reading "Vegas NV, 3am." Alternatively to an establishing location shot, we are directly told the setting through titles. Alongside this, the video features diegetic sound of wind and just general outdoor sounds. We are then shown the motel in which the music video begins; a blue light wash is used over the setting, an interesting use of artificial light which contrasts with the fire that then comes into the frame. Already, the setting and mise-en-scene as a whole suggests a 60's-70's look to the video, created through the motel and model of TV we see inside the protagonists room. A feature in the first part of the video which particularly inspired me were the mirror shots; we see an over the shoulder shot of the

protagonist staring at himself in the mirror, and then we see editing techniques used to speed up movement to symbolise time passing as the protagonist continues to stare in the mirror. This insinuates a sense of madness and delusion in the character, created simply through interesting camerawork and editing technique. We then go on to see the use of flickering lights, the second use of artificial light to create symbolic codes so far in the video; this is inspiring because we hasve researched the use of lighting in music videos and how it is used to create symbolic codes and plant narrative or theme enigmas and we have concluded that this is a convention we would like to include within our own media production. Also similarly to the "Sorry" music video, this video incooperates lip-syncing, as the protagonist drives. Throughout this video, we see a sort of shot-reverse-shot through scenes, as though shots are not in chronological order and the video is jumping through and back through scenes. This adds to the madness and chaos created in the video, and suggests that the protagonist is overwhelmed. Common elements of mise-en-scene throughout the "Miss Jackson" video are alcohol and cigarettes, further emphasising the distressed and disoriented themes in the video. Aswell as the use of artificial lights, smoke is also used to create the same effect. We are shown another shot located at the same mirror, however in this over-the-shoulder shot we see the protagonist washing blood off of his hands, still featuring the glitchy and distorted effect created through editing. This plants narrative enigma codes suggesting themes of violence and foreshadowing conflict/death later on in the video.

 There is a pause in the music when this foreshadowing comes to fruition, and instead we are presented with diegetic sound of the sword held by the protagonist, aswell as general outdoor noise, before returning to the final chorus of the song. In terms of camerawork, we see a range of shots, namely canted shots, low angle shots and close ups. If we apply some of the music video theorist views that I have researched in this years studies, I can deduce that Goodwin's theory doesn't really apply here, as there is no obvious link between the lyrics and the visuals. However, there is evidence in this music video to support Michael Shore's theory, as this video falls equally under both catagories of information overload and anasthetistation of violence throuch chic, as identified by Shore. The video also features elements of Roland Barthes' hermenuetic code and enigma/proairetic code, as tension is build through mise-en-scene and editing as the music builds and enigma codes such as the aformentioned washing blood from his hands are placed throughout the video. Elements that I take inspiration from in this video are the uses of artificial lighting to create symbolic codes and some editing technique shown is particularly interesting in creating certain effects and atmospheres.