Week 3 Video Reviews
Gypsy
Artist's Name:
Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac is an American-British rock band whose illustrious career has spanned over three decades. They are Grammy Award winners as well as inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Song Title:
"Gypsy"
CD/Album Title
Mirage
Year
1982
Record Company
Warner Bros
Director
Russell Mulcahy
Narrative of Video:
The video begins with a close up of Stevie Nicks and then begins to move. The camera is in constant motion. It moves through one room and stops briefly to focus on a bed that has dolls laying on it like a child’s room. It continues to span through another room and centers briefly on a table with photos, a crystal ball and what appears to be other memorabilia, sitting on it. Then through another room that appears to have flowers and a bed covered in lace, and finally to Stevie Nicks, who dressed in a beautiful gauzy dress and is doing the splits on a rug in front of a mirror. She looks at herself in the mirror and as she does,the images in the mirror transition to what appears to be the 1940s. The video changes from color to black and white. There are images of buildings, children, streets with cars on them and people walking along on the sidewalks and streets. The camera moves along and centers on Stevie Nicks who is walking along the street singing. She is dressed to appear as a younger girl. She passes children who are playing nearby. Rows of people line the sidewalk, and cars go by on the street. The scene changes to the inside of a nightclub. She appears to be somewhat older than the previous scene. She is dancing with Lindsay Buckingham. They are both wearing the type of attire that was popular during the 1940’s era. The camera moves to an overhead shot revealing other couples dancing in the nightclub. She suddenly breaks away from Buckingham and runs outside where it is raining. She stands in the middle of the street and sings. That image transforms into one of the photos that is on the table in her room as the video moves back to Nicks who is dancing in front of the mirror again. The video is in color again. There is a video montage of the images of her and Buckingham in the black and white portion of the video. The video changes to a scene that shows the “present” Stevie in front of the mirror and the “past” image of her in black and white. Both images are singing. The video moves entirely to the black and white image of Nicks in the rain. She begins turning slowly around in circles and the video moves seamlessly ito Nicks in color, dancing through a mystical looking forest. Fairy dust sprinkles down on her as she dances along. The camera moves to a wide angle view which shows Nicks standing on this beautiful white ledge surrounded by mystical forest and blue sky. There is a surreal quality to the scene. There are short shots of the other band members but the focus remains primarily on Nicks. The camera moves in very close up so that she is singing directly into it. She begins slowly dancing and twirling again, a waterfall appears, and the colors change dramatically as she leaps through the air. The video then
moves through the series of her different images, beginning with the younger girl walking, to the woman in the nightclub in black and white, to color and the
“present” image in front of the mirror, then to the image of her in the mystical forest. The camera moves back again and we see three children skipping/dancing her. They form a ring around Nicks and dance around her. The scene changes back to black and white and three men are dancing along the street. The video is in constant motion as the scenes change rapidly from black and white to color, first centering on Nicks as she twirls in the rain, to her twirling in front of the mirror in color back to black and white and a group of dancers who do a twirl, back to color and a close up of Nicks. The scene moves again back to black and white to the nightclub where she is sitting at a table with a man. It quickly changes to the group of dancers, and then to vivid color and Nicks dancing in front of the mirror and back to black and white to the group of dancers inside the club, then outside in the rain, to a close up of the children dancing in a ring around Nicks. The camera focuses in on Nicks who is dancing in the forest then to her dancing in front of the mirror. The video ends with her face as it changes into a four leaf clover on the front of a record
album.
moves through the series of her different images, beginning with the younger girl walking, to the woman in the nightclub in black and white, to color and the
“present” image in front of the mirror, then to the image of her in the mystical forest. The camera moves back again and we see three children skipping/dancing her. They form a ring around Nicks and dance around her. The scene changes back to black and white and three men are dancing along the street. The video is in constant motion as the scenes change rapidly from black and white to color, first centering on Nicks as she twirls in the rain, to her twirling in front of the mirror in color back to black and white and a group of dancers who do a twirl, back to color and a close up of Nicks. The scene moves again back to black and white to the nightclub where she is sitting at a table with a man. It quickly changes to the group of dancers, and then to vivid color and Nicks dancing in front of the mirror and back to black and white to the group of dancers inside the club, then outside in the rain, to a close up of the children dancing in a ring around Nicks. The camera focuses in on Nicks who is dancing in the forest then to her dancing in front of the mirror. The video ends with her face as it changes into a four leaf clover on the front of a record
album.
How the Music and Video Relate:
This video relates very well to the theme of the song and the lyrics.
Review:
This video is a visual treat. It is obviously telling the story of The Gypsy. The storyline follows the message in the song and the imagery and colors in the video are amazing. There is constant motion, yet the motion is organized and changes fluidly throughout the entire video. There is never a time when the video feels out of sync or over the top. The mystical forest is beautiful. The colors in the video are soft yet energetic and the contrast between the color and black and white scenes adds even more of a mystical quality to this video.