Task 2: A-ha Take On Me music video analysis

Music video analysis: A-ha ‘Take On Me’

A-ha was a Narwegian pop band which formed in 1982 and became famous in the mid 80’s. ‘Take On Me’ is one of their international number one singles in 1985.

The narrative:

The music video consists of narrative and performance shots. The narrative follows the lyrics. It opens with a zoom in on to what seems like pencil drawings of a man who is later revealed to be the singer.  The images later form a montage and introduce the audience to the sub-plot narrative story of the man participating in a race. When the singing finally starts at 30 something seconds into the video the drawings are revealed to be a comic which a young woman is reading.

The main romantic fantasy narrative starts when there is a shot reverse shot between the woman’s face and the young man’s from the comic. He seemingly comes to life and winks at the girl. Then there is a mix between the live action and the animation technique called rotoscoping when he extends his hand from the pages and pulls the girl inside.  The intertwining of the two styles made the music video very popular at the time as it was almost like a short movie clip.

In a way, as the story progresses it does become a little movie as it takes the audience on a journey which has a beginning, a middle and an ending. According to Todorov’s theory every narrative needs those three stages to make a sense. In music videos he identifies five distinct ones:

1. A state of equilibrium where everything seems normal. I this music video this is the very beginning where the girl is simply enjoying the comic at a coffee shop.

 

2. Disequilibrium occurs where there is a disruption of the previous equilibrium. This moment happened when the boy from the comic extends his hand out and pulls the girl inside of it.

 

3. The third stage sees the girl recognizing what happens. This is when she moves through the pages of the comic with the boy. In addition the sub-plot also comes at this stage as both the woman and the man are chased around.

 

4. A new equilibrium. This means that the distortion needs to be repaired. In the narrative the girl escapes the comic and follows the story of the boy to see if he is okay.

 

5. Finally there is the restoration of the new equilibrium.  The boy survives coming out of the comic and is transformed into a normal man. It is implied the two are happy and safe together at the end of the music video.

 

In Todorov’s opinion throughout the course of the narrative the characters are changed and developed. This can be seen happening to the characters in the ‘Take On Me’ music video because they are pulled away from their everyday routines to having a new life.

This romantic narrative set in a fantasy and normal world is very intriguing and original. The storyline is also very appealing to young females which was the majority of the fanbase for A-ha at the time the song was released.

Camera work:

In the music video I have spotted the following camera angles and movement used:

Close up- the beginning of the video has many close up’s on the images.

Extreme close up- extreme close up’s are used on the boy’s eyes at the beginning.

Long shot- although the image is in pancil, there is a long shot used when the girl and boy make their way through the images. This could have been done as a means of establishing the location.

Medium shot- mostly used throughout the action scenes.

Low angle- most notably used on the boy at the end of the video- it signifies the uncertainty whether he is going to make it through the transition from a drawing to a human.

High angle- used throughout many points of the video.

Pans- horizontal panning is used when the boy and girl look through the ‘mirror’ which shows them either as animated or real.

Tilts- used at various points throughout the video.

Shot reverse shot- used between the girl and boy at the beginning and also between the good and bad characters.

Mise-en-scene:

At the moment the most notable thing about ‘Take On Me’ is the choice of costume because the style is quite outdated. Some notable traits are the hair styles and the fact the girl’s outfit is not sexualised like most female stresses and singers tend to wear in today’s industry.