Valerie by Mark Ronson Featuring Amy Winehouse Analysis

I have chosen to analyse the Valerie music video by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse. However Amy Winehouse does not feature in the music video, even though her voice is used for the soundtrack. Via doing this, the music video is focused on Mark Ronson, who is not as famous as Amy Winehouse. Having Mark Ronson only featuring in the video clearly shows viewers that it is Mark Ronson’s song, even though Amy Winehouse is the singer. The music video shows the public that he is no longer a DJ, but now plays instruments and creates music. Previously Mark Ronson was famous for being a DJ, with songs such as ‘Ooh Wee’. From this video it is clear to see that he has changed his image and genre. Even though Mark Ronson has previously bought out other songs from his new album ‘Versions’, none of them have become as well known as Valerie. From this music video he has allowed viewers to see clearly who he is, with his smarter and more sophisticated look. The video also clearly shows him playing the guitar to allow the audience to see that he is a talented musician, as other music videos from the album don‘t illustrate this. The music video is set out like a gig, which instantly shows that he is aiming at a different genre than he did before when he played in clubs. The orchestra at the back of the stage also show the audience that he no longer uses a sound system, but a live band, which matches his new genre of music.

The camera uses a lot of close-ups of Mark Ronson’s face to focus the video on him and to ensure the viewer understands that he is the main person in the video. As Mark Ronson was not very well known during the making of the Valerie video the close-ups allow the audience to clearly see who he is and remember his face to help him become more popular and successful. Close-ups are also used of the girls seeing to focus on their outfits which reflects Amy Winehouse’s image and to also show them having a good time and enjoying the song. With the close-ups it is clear to see their enthusiasm and excitement, which then gives the viewer a similar feeling about the song. Close-ups are also used of the crowd to show the type of audience listening to his music and to also show them having a good time and liking the music, e.g. a close-up of a girl dancing. Close-ups are also used of the band and of Mark Ronson playing, as Mark Ronson does not sing, he wants to focus on the instruments in the song. Wide and long shots are used to show the large crowd and show how they are enjoying and getting involved with the music. Over the shoulder shots are used a lot throughout the song. Either over the shoulder of Mark Ronson onto the crowd or over the shoulder of the crowd so that the viewer can get a wide shot of the stage and feel like part of the audience.

In the music video the girls you see get up and sing are deliberately made to look like Amy Winehouse, via using similar style clothes make-up and hair. The girls are all young and very attractive with tops clearly showing their stomachs, cleavage and legs this is known as voyeurism. However the girls are not represented like typical girls would normally in a music video, they are clearly shown to be fans of Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse.

The music video does have some narrative involved. As at the beginning of the video a different performer is performing to set the scene of the gig and to show that Mark Ronson works with different artists. After the performer has finished the music for Valerie starts, it begins very dark so that the audience is unsure of what is happening. Mark Ronson then has to stop the playing as Amy Winehouse has clearly failed to show up for the gig. This is quite ironic as Amy Winehouse has a very good reputation of not turning up to gigs and other events. The audience begin to complain with remarks such as “I was just getting into that”, showing their involvement. However Mark Ronson uses his initiative and uses different girls from the audience, he gives them the lyrics and then goes on to play the song, with them singing in replacement for Amy Winehouse. The video clearly shows Mark Ronson performing, with his orchestra. The video clearly shows that he doesn’t sing, but uses instruments instead. The video clearly shows him performing and his skills with the guitar, as Valerie is a cover of The Zutons version of Valerie. Mark Ronson uses the instruments to create a clear difference with his version of the song, the video clearly shows that and shows even though he is not singing he still has a main role.

Straight cuts are used to edit the music video; the editing is slow via using long shots. This is to ensure the viewer can clearly see what is going on with the narrative and also clearly see Mark Ronson and the crowd having a good time. Faster editing is used when quick beats are used in the song so that the editing matches the music, e.g. quick shot of the saxophones, to match the beat they create in the song.