Analysis of Pop Videos 1 - Maroon 5 - Payphone ft. Wiz Khalifa

Maroon 5 - Payphone (Explicit) ft. Wiz Khalifa

Pay phone is an example of todays pop scene music. A pop music video usually consists of a catchy tune and lyrics that appeal to the basic instinct. The song was released in April 2012 as the  lead single from their fourth studio album Overexposed (2012).

 The starting shot is a mid long shot  of what seems to be a man aged in his mid 20's. The natural lighting  is somewhat covered by the flames and smoke making the audience question what has happend and who this man is. The man has purposly been made to look dirty and roughed up so that the audience then again has to question who this man is and why he looks like this. At this point we have not seen a close up of the mans face and therefore find it hard to see what his facial expression is therefore find it hard to realise how he feels about the situation. The sound of the fire in the background confirms for the audience how serious the situation is. You can also see that the deserted area may make the audience think that he may be on the run.

 We are then taken to what appears to be the same man but this time possibly at work. The mid close up shows the man in his work clothes, although not the same outfit in the previous short the audience has already made the connection that it is the same person and that this must have been earlier in the day or before the accident. The sound in this shot is still work related - phones ringing ect.

We are then taken back to the same scene as the begging shot. This now has confermed for the audience that the video is not being done in chronological order, but perhaps is doing flash backs whilst he is on the phone. This shot is where the music in the scene begins, "Im at a payphone trying to call home, all of my change i've spent on you." And then we are taken to the shot of the girl that is clearly going to be the love interest of the video. The focus pull on the 'love interest' also makes her stand out from the croud, also as everyone is behind her and no one is in the same path as her this makes it more obvious also. The artifical lighting is used, to create a bright daylight scene. This also lets the audience know the time of day it is, compared to the begging shots which appeared to be dusk.

The average day that Adam Levine (Main singer and character in the video)  is soon turned in chaos once the robbers enter the building.

 Once Levine and the 'love interest' have escaped the robbery unharmed, whilst the song is still playing in the background. The pan action shot of Levine and 'love interest' are escaping, the  audience are kept on edge as the couple are trying to escape the armed robbery. The use of fast paced shots in this video keep the pace going as with the pace of the music video. Although as being mistaken for robbers as they come out of the building.

After then being taken to a flash back of Levine at the payphone, we are taken back to the chorus and back to the mid close up of Levine by the payphone. Each chorus takes us back to the payphone, or Lavine standing near the payphone. This shows significance to the payphone to the video. 

Here we are introduced to Wiz Khalifa, a singer who features in the song and the video. The longshot shows him to be of some importance in the video. The costume is smart and the car is vintage and retro and this shows the audience that he clearly has money in the video, this also must be of some importance to the video as the shot of the car would not be of importance if the car was not crucial to the video.

Here is a close up of Lavine and the love interest of the video. This shot is of them behind Khalifa's car, it is clear to the audience in the following shots that Lavine is going to steal the car in order to get away. The close up shot with lavine in the center insures the closeness and cramped conditions that the two are in. 

After Lavine has stolen the car there is an action shot of the car chase. This fast paced shot type is often seen is music videos as it keeps the audience interested.

 

After making it back to the titular "payphone" looking dirty and roughed up as he was seen at the begging of the video it becomes clear that the video is not in chronological order and is infact telling a story.



 

 

The birds eye view of the car chase shows how serious the situation is. This shot could also be a shot from a helicopter view of the car chase yet again showing the importance and seriousness of the crime. Although Lavine did not actually comit the crime and this confuses the audience to why he is running. The desolate landscape could symbloise how alone he is at this time but also how he can run but he cant hide. This has meaning as this could show that unless he takes some serious action he will get caught.

 

We are then taken back to a shot of Khalifa, however this is in contrast to how he looked before as he is now under a bridge, not dressed smartly and standing by a bin fire. The gloves also are often used to represent homeless people in movies set in America. This contrasts greatly to how he was shown earlier as a smart and swarve man. This is also the part of Khalifa's solo.

 



 

 

The action shot of Lavine getting away in the carwith the smoke in the background of the shot gives some life to the shot as it looks barren. The blaze shown behind him and the police car in the air make the video to the song seem like an action movie instead of a music video, however I feel that this shot works with Levine driving towards the camera as it shows the urgancy.

 

 



As Levine steps out of the car, the blast from the car as it blows up is a typical shot from an action movie and yet again Lavine is shown to be brave and a hero infront of the blaze. The contrast in colours of his blue shirt and the orange and red of the shot work well as it makes Levine stand out well agains the blaze. This kind of shot is often used in action movies and the slight low down shot looking up at Levine makes him look like a hero.

 



 

The song then ends with "And im at a payphone" ths confirms that he is now trying to get hold of the girl he clearly was interested in at the begging of the video and was also seen as the damsel in distress who needed to be saved.