For use on my blog for A2 Media Studies

1. Thunder – Jessie J
Deconstruction

2. Shot Type and Movement: Close up, mid
angle, mild shaky cam tracking up and down.
Analysis: This close up of Jessie shows
her singing, she also has a dark
appearance in bright light, this relates
to her time during her album ‘Alive’
where she, during the recording of the
album, looked more sinister. The shot
relates to Andrew Goodwin’s theory,
relating to point five, where there is a
frequent notation of looking towards
the camera. The shady theme Jessie
used in the video also relates to the
fourth part of Goodwin’s theory as the
dark theme is a recurring theme across
the album.
Music/Lyrics: Slow, rising tempo.
“Now I’m Fall-ing down”
“You lift me up to the clouds”
Edit: Slow, pulsing flashes of light
occur during the shot, cuts are slow
and lengthy. Cuts from close up to
extreme long shot of Jessie sliding
down the side of the car.

3. Shot Type and Movement: Extreme long shot,
mid angle, still shot with some shaky
movement
Analysis: The movements in the video
currently are slow, relating to the beat
of the song. Also, every time Jessie says
‘thunder’ in the song, a thunder strike
appears in the background, relating to
part of Goodwin’s theory as there is a
literal relationship between lyrics and
visual effects. The slow movements are
used in the video as they are
demanded by the record label.
Music/Lyrics: Slow tempo continues with a beat
every two seconds.
“Like Thunder, thunder, thunder.”
Edit: Cuts become slightly more
frequent, but still maintain a slow
pace. Every time the song says
’thunder’ a thunder strike appears in
the background.

4. Shot Type and Movement: Mid – High angle
close-up shot, still cam. Quick cuts and tinted
lighting.
Analysis: similar to the rest of the
video, there is a frequent notation of
looking along with a high use of slow
seductive movements, relating to more
of Andrew Goodwin’s theory with the
frequent notation of looking. Also, it
relates to her recurring theme across
her album, the sinister theme becomes
more intense as cuts become more
frequent, shaky cams are more
common and Jessie’s movements
become more chaotic, relating to the
recurring theme across her album,
where a similar theme occurs to the
music video ‘Wild’ (also by Jessie J.)
Music/Lyrics: Slow, rising tempo.
“Now when you’re Fall-ing down”
“You lift me up to the clouds”
Edit: Extreme rapid cuts in beat with
the music, tinted lighting in purple,
some of the cuts overlay to create a
ghost like figure.

5. Shot Type and Movement: Mid angle, extreme
long shot, 180 degree tracking to the left.
Analysis: This part of the song is the
only part with a 180° rule, where the
camera moves smoothly across the
terrain, with a high amount of
silhouettes of Jessie flashing across the
screen, The main Jessie, in the middle
uses slow, seductive movements, while
the silhouettes are more frantic. This
use of editing relates to the music
video as thunder is known to appear
(literally) in a flash, where the
silhouettes appear in flashes, quickly
disappearing from the screen quicker
then they appear. Whereas the Jessie in
the middle is the central spotlight,
where the silhouettes appear, similar to
a lightning rod.
Music/Lyrics: Slow tempo with two second beat
“You make my hands shake,
I watch the glass break,
Across my guarded heart tonight.”
Edit: Translucent figures of Jessie
move across the screen, lighting on
the figures in purple and blue are
used. The figures appear and
disappear rapidly.

6. Shot Type and Movement: Mainly mid angles,
switches between long shots and close ups,
heavy use of shaky cam.
Analysis: Cuts become even more
frantic and frequent, the point in the
song is loud but sad, so it relates to
Andrew Goodwin’s theory with links
between lyrics and visuals, where Jessie
in some cuts is shown to be distraught;
shown to be sad. Whereas in others,
she expresses anger (picture: left.)
The setting for the video suggests that
the production budget of the video
ranges from low to medium. Since
there are car lights flashing around her,
use of slow motion plus quick camera
rotation. However, the rest of the
scenery is bland, on a sand dune in the
middle of nowhere with dark clouds
Music/Lyrics: Slow tempo turns electric and thunder behind her.
“Then you came and told me to fight through the
rain, fight through the rain, to fight through the
rain.”
Edit: Cuts become very frequent,
rapid switch between the purple and
blue tinted lights. Some cuts overlay

7. Shot Type and Movement: Heavy use of shaky
cam in each shot, mid angles, rapid use of
establishing shots, long shots and close ups.
Analysis: Similar to the rest of the
video, there is a frequent use of quick
cuts, and similar to the beginning of
the song, every time Jessie says
‘thunder’ a thunder strike appears in
the background.
The light in the centre of the stage
relates to being lifted into the
heavens. This theme occurs
throughout the song, where Jessie is
frequently floating in mid-air, as if she
was being lifted by a heavenly force.
Music/Lyrics: Slow tempo with two second beat.
“Like Thunder, thunder, thunder,
You feel like thunder in the sky.”
Edit: Cuts become very frequent,
thunder appears in the background
every time Jessie says ‘thunder.’
The lighting switches from regular
white to purple and light blue.