The music video is set at a beauty pageant where Beyoncé explores the toxic standards of beauty and the damaging things people do to themselves to achieve physical perfection. Scenes show Beyoncé preparing for plastic surgery and consuming diet pills to lose weight. At the end, an albino woman wins which suggests that Beyoncé is not always perfect and doesn't always win despite her best efforts. The video concludes by showing clips of Beyoncé's childhood to connect it to the album's narrative.

1. Codal Analysis
By Josh Manley

2. Sia – Elastic Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWZGAExj-es

3. Visual Code
•
The music video is set in one location throughout, the two characters are
placed in a large/dark metal cage in the centre of a relatively bright, lightly
lit industrial room. The colour scheme is melancholic, keeping to the
colours of different shades of dark greys and crèmes, mimicking an
industrial vibe. The characters of the video are wearing dirty flesh
coloured costumes, the female wear a flesh leotard paired with blonde
bob wig where the male wears flesh coloured pants with bandages on his
hands. The dirty theme colour perhaps resemble deteriorated state of the
man. Makeup is also key in contributing to the overall industrial and
dirty/gritty theme. The male character has makeup applied to him in
order to make him look dirty, complimented by his beard. This makes him
look significantly older than the young girl and can result in some
audiences feel uncomfortable due to how close and tactile they appear.
However other interpretations can be made though watching the video,
some audiences believe that the young girl is the males inner child or
inner issues.

4. Audio Code
•
The lyrics of the track are very important/meaningful and relevant to the video
and both go hand in hand. They both compliment each other and presented the
issues in which the a person, perhaps the artist, suffers from. The lyrics contain
many anologies which can be interpreted in a variety of ways but the main
anology used is for her struggle with her own emotions. The song also paints a
picture of a struggle for peace. The thick skin is her strong part, and the elastic
heart is the weaker part of her. She'll fight her hardest - but she's still breakable.
•
It could also be considered that she's talking about an actual person. She's been
damaged, but she did not let them break her and she's still fighting for peace -
peace with them, peace with herself, and/or peace with the world. Maybe this line
was meant for Sia's father who she has had a troubled relationship with.

5. Technical Code
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Throughout the music video, the vast majority of the shots used contains
movement which is very effective in presenting the performance of the
two dancers. Often circular camera movements are used very often,
spiraling around the cage focusing on the two characters.The pace of the
editing and camera movement becomes much more erratic when the
tempo of the soundtrack increases. Shots become shorter with sharp
transitions and also the body language/expressions of the characters also
contributes to the pace of the video. There is no slow motion included in
this video which differs from a lot of music videos, instead the body
language, acting and camera movement dictate the pace of the video.
Also zooms are used effectively to focus on either of the individual
characters and illustrate their facial expressions and body language,
presneting their emotions. Throughout both characters appear aggressive
whereas towards the end, heartbreak is shown through the man crying
showing the pain he suffers.

6. Narrative & Enigma Code
•
Throughout the music video the camera follows two charcaters of the
opposite sex with a distinct age difference. It begins with them both
acting timid and tame with each other follwing the perimeter of the cage
at opposite sides. As the soundtrack progresses, the two characters
perform and abstract contemperary dance routine. It can be potentially
considered that the two characters are in fact one person. Unusually the
young girl seems to be rather dominant which could suggest that she is
one of the man's inner issues which he is unable to control. Also the fact
that she is significantly younger than the man could also suggest that she
is his inner child. There is a lot of enigma produced in this video as it is
presneted to be very surreal. The auidences would wonder why the two
characters are together in the cage and what the relationship between
the two are. The dancer that they perform is very unusal and abstract,
being very different from a usual dancer routine due to the narrative they
both share. The cage acts as a metaphor for their skull as they are in fact
one person, their perfomance together is seemingly aggressive, displaying
how people beat themsleves up and struggle with there feelings.

7. Foals – Late Night
https://vimeo.com/60057960

8. Visual Code
•
The setting where this video is set is established straight away at the
beginning of the video where an establishment shot has been used. This
provides a very urban and gritty feel through the low key lighting and the
location being a bar. This is where the band are playing on stage to a
minute audience where once again low key lighting is used. Also 3 other
settings are included in the video where 3 other different storylines are
taking place. In these different parts of the video, minimal clothing is
visible as 1. A lady is giving birth 2. A couple are having sex and 3. A man
in comitting suicide.The low key lighting used throughout produces a very
dindgy and gritty vide which is enhanced through the dark colour scheme
illustrated through the location, costume and props. Props are very
effective in presenting the setting as they allow the audience two relate
the two together, identifying the atmosphere of the setting. The prop of
the belt is very significant as it is used as an attempt of suicide,
contributing to the gloomy atmosphere. Blood is also very significant as it
is a reocurring theme throughout the whole video

9. Audio Code
•
Away from the most dominant sound being the music
soundtrack, diegetic sounds is used very effective in
illustrating and producing a certain atmosphere. Initially,
Eastern European dialogue is introduced which is very
effective in showing the regional identity of both some
characters and setting. Later in the video, screams from
women both giving birth and having sex can be faintly heard
along side the cries of the new born baby. All of these diegetic
sounds contribute to the immersive experience of the music
video and allows for a much greater connection to be made
with the audience. This is because they can relate the audio
to the visuals in which they are witnessing on screen.

10. Technical Code
•
The use of close ups are very effective in this video as they display detail
effectively. These close ups work very well when presenting the theme of
blood throughout. Blood is shown slowly dripping out of the main
performer's nose, covering the baby when born and is also present in the
sex scenes. Without the close ups the blood wouldn't be able to be seen
and therefore could perhaps go un-noticed. Showing how important these
shots are as they illustrate a key aspect of the video. Also the Steadicam
shots are equally as useful as they provide a sense of point of view from
one of the characters present in the scene. By doing this the audience will
be able to connect much more with the video, feeling part of the
experience as they feel as if they are viewing the actions through one of
the characters. The editing is also key in this video as it almost comes
across as an exmple of montage editing, displaying different storylines
simutaneously. The fact that the pace of the video increase accordingly
with the tempo of the track provides a sense of chaos and is very errative.
Also there are some shots which are in slow motion, allowing them to
stand and and be noticed as they have longer screentime, the audience
may tend to focus on these shots and they will become very significant.

11. Narrative & Enigma Code
•
This video would be considered to be a hybrid and it contains elements of all
narrative, performance and conceptual music video types. The narrative displayed
is the chronological stories simultaneously taking place. The performance aspect
of the video is where the band are playing on stage inside the pub. The conceptual
part of the video would be the concept of blood/bleeding and life.
•
Four individual storylines take place throughout, taking the audience on different
journies and expeirences. However, even though they are all separate they all
relate and can be linked for several reasons. Firstly due to the presence of blood
which could be considered to resemeble the view that humans are bound together
by blood and are all the same/equal. Another way in which they all could be
related is through the theme of life; the mother is producing life by giving birth,
the couple are having sex which could potentially create life and the man is
comitting suicide, therefore ending life.
•
Enigma is created on mainy occasions throughout the video as the audience
wouldn't know the cause of some events which are taking place. For example, the
audience wouldn't know what is causing the lead singer to bleed from the nose
and also they wouldn't understand why the man is comitting suicide. Therefore
resulting in the audience questioning these occurances as they won't have the
knowledge as to why they are happeing.

12. Beyonce – Pretty Hurts
https://youtu.be/LXXQLa-5n5w

13. Visual Code
•
The overall theme created through the mise en scene is glamour
and feminity. This is due to colour schemes of pinks/blues and
other warm colours, this is accompanied by soft lighting which
reduces the amount of contrast present on subjects. This also goes
hand in hand with the costumes and makeup used on the women
which are very flamboyant, vibrant and elegant. It also could be
interpreted that the rabbit ear headpiece is used to present her
innocence and purity. The settings used in the video are the main
influences in allowing the plot and theme to be identified. The fact
that it is set at a beauty pageant stage and also backstage rooms
allows the audience to relate to the issues and complications which
are also shown in the video. When seeing these issues the colours
are much darker, portraying the fashion industry in a negative light.

14. Audio Code
•
The song is a pop/soul ballad containing mellow R&B
undertones and a hip hop groove. The lyrics of the track are
related to third-wave feminism and self-empowerment. It
confronts society’s standards and stereotypes with regard to
female beauty. It also serves as an analysis of female body
image and society’s obsession with physical perfection. There
are also many diegetic sounds used within the video which
allows the audience to connect more with the character. This
especially happens where there is a dialogue exchanged
between characters.

15. Technical Code
•
At the beginning of the music video the pace of editing is
rather slow, which is achieved by much longer shots. For
example when showing the performance of the character on
stage, a long continuous close up shot is used which slowly
zooms out. Then when the tempo of the soundtrack increases
so does the pace of editing where much shorted chaotic shots
have been used. In faster sections quick close up shots are
used to show the characters preparing themselves for the
beauty pageant. Also the dynamics on screen become more
erratic when arguments are show and also when the actor
destroys her trophies. In contrast to this, some of these shots
are in slow motion which exaggerate the movement taking
place.

16. Narrative and Enigma Code
•
The music video is based around the concept of a beauty pageant contest
where they explore the toxic world and what people do which is so damaging
to themselves. A scene from the clip which depicts Beyoncé preparing plastic
surgery, consuming diet pills and vomiting is used to illustrate the damage
endured by people, specifically women in the fashion industry. The fact that
an albino woman won the contest could be considered to be enigma as the
audience wouldn’t understand why she won. However it suggests that the
lead character is not perfect, she doesn't always win and you put your best
foot forward and you may still lose. Also the scene where beyonce smashes up
her trophies could also be considered enigmatic as the audience would not
understand her reasoning behind this. The intended message her is to
illustrate that trophies don't bring you happiness, and don't move you forward
in life. The video ends with clips of her childhood in order to connect it to the
second music video from the album, however this makes a much stronger
connection with the audience and allows them to relate more to the artist.