Music Video Analysis

"Praise You" by Fatboy Slim

The track is an early example or Dance/Electro music to be successful in the pop charts. The track itself is a fun spirited and feel good, almost summing up the "anything goes"attitude of the nineties, which had filtered over from the eighties.

The video itself highlights the eccentric randomness seen on the streets of America, almost mimicking the joyful tones of the backing music. The video shows a group of expressive dancers on a street corner performing a routine to the title track, whilst being recorded by what appears to be unprofessional equipment, however it ties in with the witty idea of the video. The video also features the reaction of the general public and how hostile some members of the audience are.

Location

The Video is set outside a West Californian Movie Theatre, and filmed "Guerilla Style" which means it was film without permission from the owner of the premises. The dancing space is also taken up by onlookers, one of whom is the creator of the track that the video is set to. The key emphasis of the video is the dance troops performance and the publics reaction to it (at one point the owner of the cinema turns off the music to a chorus of jeering and heckling by the crowd, which then turns into cheers when the dancing once again commences). The "Guerilla" style way of recording the video really added to the atmosphere of the piece, the free spirited impromptu that the video possesses is really entertaining and enjoyable for all ages to watch.

Ideology

Like Bob Dylans video, "Praise You" offers this feeling of "Against the grain" rebellion. However in "Praise You", the message is against anti-commercialism unlike the "Subterranean Homesick Blues", where the video is presented to host the beginnings of a cultural/social movement. "Praise You" is a free spirited, feel good video, that aims to entertain rather then provoke, however there are suggestion of defiance and disobedience (such a the way the feel was shot in Guerilla-style) that makes the video so appealing to the mass market.

Props, Make Up, Costume

The dancers are dressed in 80's/90's styled aerobics dance costume. This is contrasting to the general publics casual dress, which highlights the dancers from the crowd. The lack of costume, props and other feature is also part of the appeal, it gives the video a unglamorous theme, that just concentrates on the fun. The entire production cost no more the $800, which obviously means lack of materialistic features, however this does not hinder nor ruin the final product, but ties in with the fun/impromptu take on the video.

Editing, Camera Angles & Film Tint/Colour

The Guerilla film style was used to provoke attention from the Public, also provoking the attention of the premises owner to turn the music off. It the video had not been shot that way, the spontaneity would have been lost, and all the reactions may have appeared less genuine. The lack of technology used also helps with this spontaneous image, filmed from three different positions (and in take), it really has an amateur attitude about it, even down to the free hand recording methods, without the use of steadicam or tripods. The full length video has a brief introduction to the cast of the video, as they are driving towards the scene, then a cut into the opening titles, another cut into the main dance scene, and then another cut to the epilogue. The lack of lighting helps create a shadowed/badly lit scene, but again fits the general mood of the video.