The music video for 'Chandelier' was directed by Sia and Daniel Askill and is in the genre of pop. The video was released on the 6th of May 2014 and gained over 6 million views in 8 days. Currently, in September 2015, it has over 891 million views. The music video won Best Choreography and was nominated for MTV Video Music Awards.
The choreography is the most memorable factor of the music video. It was preformed by Maddie Ziegler, star from the American television reality show 'Dance Moms' and choreographed by Ryan Heffington. The choreography is made to hit the beats of the music, having Maddie do different dance moves depending on the pace of the beat. For example, at the start of the video when she is stood on the door frame she drops down to the floor when the music dropped a beat. She also repeats her hand movements each time '1 2 3, 1 2 3, drink' is sung.
What's interesting about this video is that the song artist doesn't appear at all through out the music video. This separates this video from the most common female pop music videos where the stars are usually sexualised. Furthermore, the video continues to stray from the norm by featuring a character that has become an iconic figure for her music videos. She is a direct reference to Sia through looks. She wears Sia's trademark bleach blonde, shoulder length hair with a full fringe. Her personality and emotions, however, are shown through song lyrics and the iconic choreography.
There's a relationship between the lyrics and the music video, where the video illustrates the meaning behind the lyrics. The song itself is about using alcohol and parties as a way of escaping reality then eventually getting stuck in a cycle of doing so. A quote from the song: '1 2 3, 1 2 3, drink.' demonstrates the cycle.
The mise-en-scene uses a moody colour pallet, a run down apartment as a setting and dim lighting. This all comes together to make a depressing feel to the video, linking in with the lyrics of the song.
I like how this music video has very little cuts. It's almost all in one shot but cuts away to close ups of Maddie to draw attention to her expressions. This draws more attention to the flow of the choreography as there are no cut aways that focus on other aspects of the music video.
The music video looks like it has been shot with a hand held steady cam. This is effective because it allows the camera man to move around quickly and freely to keep up with the dance but also keeps the footage from being shaky.
The target audience are teens and young adults that like pop music. Although, the video was made to stand out and shock people with the unusual setting and choreography and therefore grabbed the attention of people who may be into other genres of music.
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