Hey ya by OutKast - Music Video Analysis

Background

Hey ya is a song written and produced by Andre 3000 for his 2003 album The Love Below, Hey Ya takes influence from funk, rap and rock music. Its music video features a live performance by a band, all eight of whose members are played by Andre 3000 that mimics the Beatles' performance on The Ed Sullivan Show way back in 1964. The song also won an award for Best Urban Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards.

Camera

In the music video there are lots of different close up camera shots of the different band members who are all played by Andre 3000. The close up shot is then placed in the TV and has the title of who the “character” is. This shot shows who the person in the band member is, this would be useful for the audience watching the music video as they would know who is who. There are also establishing shots to show the audience watching the music video where they are and where it is set. This can also show what year the music video is set. The music video is set in the 1950s or 60s however this is not just from the different establishing shots this could also be found out by the Mise en scene. 

Mise en scene

The location of the music video is set in a live music studio or a live TV set as the artists are performing live to the audience. Also, due to various indications I can safely say that the era of the music video is between the 60s and 50s because of the type of clothing and for the black and white colours of the TV screens. You can also tell by some of the camera equipment being used at the music studio. Moreover, the clothing used is all part of the 60s or 50s era and also the clothing is mostly coloured green. In the video, the colour green could be used to symbolise harmony, in the music video an example would be that the “band” have a great harmony (as they all are the same person, Andre 3000) and that they are performing well together.

Editing

The whole way through the video there is a “band” playing a hit song which is Hey Ya. However, what some people don’t know is that during the edit the editors have used a “super imposition” which merges many shots all into one shot running at the same time. In this instance, the editors have used that to add in all of the different shots of Andre 3000 playing all the instruments and put it all together to make it look like a whole band is playing the song. Another edit is the black and white colouring effect which is used on the recording cameras and the TVs. This used to add more realism into the music video and it can also help define the era of where the music video is set.

Sound

In a music video, it’s surprising you can’t find much to talk about. However, I can talk about the background sounds within the music video. Near the start of the music video there are lots of different sounds some which contain the audience singing and screaming at the band as they walk on stage. Also there is dialogue at the very beginning of the music video, even before the music starts. This little touch adds a narrative into the music video which again adds more realism into the music video.