Analysis of Deaf Havana’s ‘Friends like these’
Through the song’s rock genre there are specific conventions the video has used. The band playing live in the video is one of these conventions, the director has linked the performance to the song as it is being played outside and uses pathetic fallacy, as through signifiers like the sun this relates to the optimistic mood of the song and links to the themes. The video has lots of friends at the live performance signifying togetherness and friendship therefore linking to the song as well as the song is about friends and summer. Through the lack of narrative within the song this is also shown through the video as although the video has cross cuts between the live performance and other sections the other sections do not create a plot, they are just a symbol of the song’s theme, friendship. The cinematography also relates to the video very well suggesting the music video is a stereotype and doesn’t try to create juxtapositions. The music video uses a range of shots from close up’s to long shots with quick transitions relating to the quick paced chaotic vibe of the song. There are also a lot of panning shots within the video, panning across the stage showing the band. These are used to introduce the band as there are an up and coming band so by using a variety of panning shots this allows the audience to recognise the band members and make them more recognisable. Also these panning shots show the atmosphere of the venue and show all the friends reinforcing the song’s themes. There are also high and low angle shots used, the director uses low angle shots on the band to show they are the main focus for the video and high angle shots on the crowd showing they are less important and making the band seem important. There are a lot of examples of hand held camerawork being used as well because this gives the video a raw, chaotic quality, which suits the type of music. The use of close ups within the video introduce every band member and also emphasise how much of a good time they are having. The long shots help contextualise the gig and also show the band as a close group of friends reinforcing the songs themes. The lack of any other sound other than the music means that the director wants the audiences focus to be completely on the music and not take the distraction from anything other than the music therefore no sound effects. All the editing techniques are aimed at showing the chaotic vibe of the gig, then the other narrative within the video which are the scenes showing friendship for example the beach scene. Through this style the editing in the gig scenes is fast paced and cuts between many different shots, where in contrast the friend scenes are slower paced and there are less varied shots.
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Analysis of One Night Only ‘Say You Don’t Want It?’
Although this text is completely different to the other text I have compared, it still is classed in the rock genre so therefore once again this video uses the convention of the band playing the song or at least for parts of the video. This also reinforces the fact that this band are an up and coming band so by having the band playing during the video it introduces the band and the members to the consumer. Through the songs title and most of the lyrics the video portrays a idealistic life of fun then by relating to the song's lyrics 'say you don't want it' suggesting it is impossible to say no. This idealistic lifestyle is shown through the pathetic fallacy as the sun is shining therefore relating to this lifestyle. The video is highly related to love so although the video doesn't include really expensive ways of having fun, the video highlights fun through spending time with someone you like and the stereotypical buying food with each other and playing about with each other. This video has a specific narrative and also the band playing, the cross cutting between the band playing and the story line is clear as the contrast of the band (always at dusk) and the story line (changing through time) is noticeable so therefore easy to understand. The cinematography gets the balance of introducing the band and showing this idealistic relationship. There are a lot of two shots during the video of the lead singer and the woman showing their relationship and intimacy for example the 'hot dog' shot of them both around a hot dog stand showing how close they are. There are also a lot of long shots used in the band scenes which shows all the band playing reinforcing the introducing element and the friendship of the band. In the opening of the video the pace of editing is quick and shows a lot of the good things around the setting. By doing this it relates to the theme of say you don't want it and showing many ideal situations in a short space of time. Also the age of the band relates to this fast paced editing as the band are young therefore relating to the stereotype of youth and a fast paced lifestyle. There are examples of the camera going out of focus, this may relate to the confusion within the themes of a girl struggling to say no but there is a little feeling of doubt so the camera going in and out of focus may show this confusion. When looking at the sound in the video like in the other video there are no background sounds to focus the consumer's attention on just the music, but the director has chosen a good video as the feeling of the song is optimistic and happy and this comes across in the video. When looking at mise-en-scene it all fits together to give the impression of a good lifestyle and the element of 'indie' music so all the clothing of the band is very much part of the indie genre and the surroundings and situations are all optimistic highlighted through the sun shining and no pesamistic themes are shown such as arguments or conflict.
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Analysis of Brandon Flowers 'Crossfire'
The video of 'Crossfire' introduces Brandon Flowers as a solo artist so the main focus is for the attention to be on him. The video opens with a close up on Brandon Flowers which has a sense of lingering through the editing. This allows the consumer to realise that there has been a change from band to solo artist and also the music has a slow pace so the editing reflects the pace of the music. The mise-en-scene also reflected this transition of band to solo as i thought the scars on his face showed two messages, not just the story of the narrative but maybe in a metaphorical way his life through the music industry as he has been in it many years and a lot has changed. There is also a relationship between the narrative and the music as in the beginning of the video there is a dreamy sound to the song before it kicks in which compliments Brandon Flowers waking up at the start of the video, which could also represent he is awakening or having a new beginning. The video keeps this slow pace of editing all the way through which creates a juxtaposition with the narrative because as the narrative progresses a lot of chaos happens, including fight sequences and explosions so it creates a contrast. This may be because the story is unusual as stereotypically a man would save the woman but in this it is the other way round so this un-stereotypical story may also be parallel with the unusual editing. The name of the song crossfire also relates to these themes because although crossfire suggests guns and action which is included in the video, the word cross suggests that the story could be crossed or the wrong way round. Stereotypically rock music tends to have the band playing the music during the video and The Killers were known for doing this but Brandon Flowers has also shown this contrast by having just the narrative and no band playing in the background, this is to highlight the transition within his music. The slow transitions within the editing also reinforce the love element within the narrative as the close ups and two shots of the woman and Brandon Flowers really show their love through the facial expressions which allows more detail to be noticed through the editing. This love is also reinforced through the shot reverse shot included in the video as their reactions are shown throughout the video side by side. The music juxtaposes with the video through the relaxed style of the music and the chaotic atmosphere in the video but the director uses climatic points in the song with climatic points in the video for example when one of the karate men gets chucked through a window a guitar solo kicks in this emphasises the song and makes it stand out as it is a point in the song which is impressive so through the climax in the video this emphasises it.
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