Peace - Lost On Me
Narrative: This music video abides by todrov's theory of there being specific sections that a narrative generally goes through. In this music video's story an equilibrium is set where the band are filming a music video whilst being told what to do by a manager. This shows them making fun of boy bands as they are all dressed in the same all white outfits and are constantly being told what to do by a manager which are stereotypical traits of a boy band. Then the disruption occurs when the women gets hurt by the falling shelves, the band ignore this to show that they are so obedient and robotic that they don't show human emotion towards the woman to express how boy bands have become now after being exposed to enough control. The realisation occurs when the boys have danced out of the studio as they weren't told to do anything else but their last programmed actions, by showing them walking through traffic it makes the boy band look silly that they are being controlled so much and when they walk through the picnic it shows them as almost like monsters as they have now lost their free will to stop. The restored order portion was when the manager was seen running after the band to give the order to stop, but then a new equilibrium is made when the band dance themselves off a cliff showing that this much control can be so much that it kills the band or them as individuals in a sense.
Genre: Peace is an indie band but they often create amplified music videos to convey a message like this one. This music video would suggest that they are a pop band but if you read into the narrative, you can see they are making fun of pop boy bands which connotes to us that they are an indie band like the way they looked at each other as though to show they were unsure of what they were doing or what to do.
Target Audience/Representation: There is no specific target audience except for people who don't like pop bands, however since these men are generally young and the music video may be seen as rebellious to the traditional system of music it connotes that the target audience are older teenagers. This is because teenagers are archaically rebellious, troublesome and questioning things. They fit the stereotype of a typical indie band as they have messy hair and they're young men.
Image and Editing:The colour of their costumes is white which connotes innocence as though they've got to the point where they can't help what they're doing and that they need help as they want to continue to convey that pristine white look to their audience. the camera cross-cutted from long shots of them dancing in unison across the road to close ups of their faces together to retain the stereotype of boy bands that they sell their music because of focusing on their looks and faces. It cross-cuts between the shots to show how silly it is to judge a band like that because in reality they are lost and not able to do much. The band are always positioned in a row to show that the band needs to be seen at all times individually together. High key lighting was used inside the studio to show that they were comfortable and happy in there but when they danced out of there natural lighting was used to create realism that the outside world does not suit them as though they are not realistic people.
Glass Animals - Hazey
Narrative: This music video starts of by using a continuity tracking shot to follow the male dancer then to pace of the video speeds up until it reaches the other male dancer. These random uses of speed ups and modern dancers makes the video very abstract and according to Andrew Goodwin's types of music video this one would be classed as disjuncture as the lyrics have nothing to do with the dancers in the video and it showed no clear story or message.
Genre: The genre of their music is indie and thins is shown in the music video as indie music is a modern genre and is stereotyped as being different and unique. This video embodies this by cross-cutting between the male modern dancers as they move non-rhythmically to the music in disjointed actions to show that this is a unique and different music video which connotes they are a unique sounding band.
Target Audience/Representation: The typical audience for this type of music is teenagers and young adults as stereotypically a younger generation will be able to appreciate this type of modern art more than an older person who may not understand. Also the characters used in this video where young adult dancers who looked urban which would appeal to that audience.
Image and Editing: The pace of editing was in time with the rhythm of the song making a link between the video and the song which was at a slow pace to match the slow and deliberate movements of the dancers. This links the video and song even though they have nothing to do with one another. The lighting used was high key for the shots done outside as it was very sunny to show happiness as the men expressed themselves through dance but the other shots where shadowy and showed only single beams of light to show the audience what was there. The use of the dancers curled around each other and the water droplets on their skin looked very natural and stripped down as though they were all one. The clothes the dancers wore were simple summer vests and shorts that were loose so they can dance freely in and clearly show their movements. No attention was drawn to their clothes as their actions were doing all the talking. There were no bright colours used as the dancers were in a hollowed out warehouse as the focus was not on their location either so that had to be neutral too but keeping with the natural theme. Allot of moving camera shots were used to create a lively atmosphere which created an uplifting mood. Lots of close ups were used on the shots of the dancers curled around each other to depict where their hands were and their heads. This connotes that they are all united and relate to each other and find strength in their bond.
Vampire Weekend - Giving Up The Gun
Narrative: This music video is disjuncture in Andrew Goodwin's theory of music videos as the lyrics have nothing to do with the video but if you look closer at the video you could take it as illustrative as it shows a narrative of a girl trying to give something up and having to face her demands in order to do so. It shows that giving something up is hard like if your trying to win tennis matches against professional players. Then she realises that she is stopping herself from giving this thing up and reaching her goal which would class as the realisation according to todrov's theory and seeks help so she can reach her goal. This music video has multiple characters and so it's a good example of Propp's theory of typical characters. This is shown as we have a helper who is the referee, the hero who is the girl in red and the villains who are her opponents. This music video displays what Propp called the struggle scenes where there is a struggle between the hero and the villain, in this video it shows a series of struggle scenes between the hero girl in red and the numerous villains.
Genre: This is a indie band and this is shown by the video telling a story and not so focused on the band as a pop music video would. The video is not showing the band's faces that much as that is not how the band gains popularity through their looks. They gain it by talent and this is shown as they can afford to tell a dysjunctured story like this as uniqueness is a strong quality of an indie band.
Target Audience/ Representation: The target audience is teenagers and young adults as they can appreciate the modern twist on the narrative due to them being younger and more modern themselves. Also this video would also appeal to girls as it cross-cuts between the narrative being told and the band playing the music which is all male and are shown often throughout the video.
Image and Editing: The pace of the editing is slow as it matches the slow pace of the song which connotes the slow struggle of the girl trying to give something up. The girl is dressed in red and compared to her neutral white setting, she is dressed to stand out as the focus of the video. The opponents in the video are dressed more or less neutrally too to match their personalities making the girl stand out even more as she is the only one dressed in all one bright colour. she looks like a young girl because of her height compared to her opponents who all look older than her which connotes that the opponents are more experienced and advanced than her and that it would be hard to beat them, but she does, which shows she's a strong hero. The lighting is very high key and almost too bright which can connote tension and formality which is reinforced by the pure white environment which doesn't look like a comfortable space and also looks formal. Lots of straight cuts were used to create a good pace to tell the story fluidly with no interruptions. The referee is dressed all in black which could symbolise authority like that is his uniform. This is reinforced as he does hold a position of power over the game as he is shown judging that the ball was out but he was also shown coaching the red girl which shows he hold authority over her but they also have a bond of friendship which is seen when he is seen to be happy when the red girl wins all her matches. Allot of cross-cutting between close ups of the two opponents were used at the start of each game to show the tension between them on their faces and to show the expressions of the opponents about what they think of the red girl.
Arctic Monkeys - Snap Out Of It
Narrative: This music video tells the story of a woman who is obsessed with the band arctic monkeys and so watches their back stage video over and over again until she longs for them to be with her so much she becomes erratic until she realises she's waisting time doing this so she focuses on her and goes back to being free. This video is telling a story and the lyrics relate to the narrative so it's an illustrative video. The swimming pool she uses at the start and finish connotes that it symbolises her natural state as water is a simple part of nature and she immerses herself in it. The scenes where she prepares and eats a huge piece of meat connotes that she is becoming animalistic about the band and turning into someone who isn't herself as if she is getting possessive and protective of what is hers and she is angered and saddened that they are not with her so she breaks down. The television is used to display what is in her head and what she is thinking about and because the screen shows herself being happy and being herself she wants to return to that state so she returns to the pool.
Genre: The music is indie music and the video displays this as it shows a metaphorical narrative with a hidden message which is a trend in indie music videos. It only shows the band on the television screen but they are not the focal point of the video as it mainly focuses on the woman reacting to them and her actions. The woman may be a representation of the fans of pop bands - mainly boy bands - when they become obsessed and over- invested in the band and it's members which is again making fun of the pop genre like the Peace music video did as pop music in some ways is the opposite of indie music.
Target Audience/ Representation: The target audience for this video would be older teenagers or younger adults as younger fans may relate to feeling like that over a band and be offended by the video making it look crazy. Also an older person would understand the music video more as the message for this is more hidden than in the other music videos I analysed so a more matured mind would be able to really understand the story. Also the band did not have any kind of costume or special setting when seen on the screen, as it was back stage footage of them relaxing in casual wear looking not very put together or formal showing that their music does not sell because of their presentation. The target audience may also be more towards boys as it shows an attractive woman in not much clothing.
Image and Editing: Allot of medium close ups were used of the woman as she watched the television which cross-cuts between the videos of the band to show her reactions to it. This also affectively shows her gradually loosing her mind and who she is over what she's watching. medium long shots of the television was used to show it as if we were sitting in front of it like the woman was and watching it in her point of view so we could see what she sees so we can relate to her. Most of the shots were done at her level, not a high angle or a low angle shot. This also means the creator wants us to get onto her level to see what she experiences along with her to further understand her.
The Vaccines - Teenage Icon
Narrative: In the music video they just enter a lift and start performing in there as if they would on a stage. There is no story line and they don't move anywhere else except at the end where they leave the lift. The lack of movement however make us focus on the lyrics more and on how they look which is the point of the song as they are showing their faces allot and over- acting when playing their instruments like a pop band would as the song says 'I'm no teenage icon' as they are an indie band so they wouldn't be. This song again is making fun of the pop band industry as the lyrics explain that they aren't a pop band because they don't want to be boring, predictable and centred around their looks. They make fun of pop bands by trying to act like them in a confined lift which connotes the limited freedom and space for creativity they would get if they were a pop band. Also they didn't change their costumes either as their hair is still long and messy and they're not dressed like a generic pop band would showing that they aren't being serious.
Genre: The indie genre is shown in how they dress in vintage clothing and the fact that it's a dysjunctured music video also makes it unique and that it has a hidden message.
Target Audience/ Representation: The target audience for this video would be older teenagers and young adults as it has not much action or bright colours in it to interest a younger viewer and the lighting is softly low key to make it look warm and welcoming which is not as exciting as a high key lighting used in most pop music videos.
Image and Editing: The camera tends to focus on the individuals in the band in medium close ups and what they're doing but it's difficult to focus on one person in the shot when they are all so close together connoting that they want to be seen more as a unit than individuals together like how a pop group usually is. straight cuts are used to show lots of different shots of view points in the lift in a short amount of time to match the fast pace of the song even though there is nothing moving or happening.
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