Finished Video

The editing for our video has now been finished and the video has been uploaded to youtube.com

We were impressed with how it turned out and really liked how the special effects worked with the rest of the video. In the end, even with cutting down all the bad shots, we still had a bit more footage than the length of the song and so we had to make the difficult decision of cutting a few scenes. These scenes weren't as important to the narrative as the shots in the final cut, and so could be lost with no expense to the audience.

The finished uploaded video is below:

More shooting Dates

On Friday 23rd we attempted to shoot more of our performance shots however, mainly retakes of shots that looked bad when we watched them back on the computer. Our group was not organised enough and we only managed to get the drumming shots done. Although this wasn't all bad as we were able to spend more time on them to make them better. When watching the drumming shots we had filmed back on the computer they looked much better than the ones we had filmed before, and our group was pleased with the outcome.

On Saturday 24th we travelled up to London for our big London shoot. We spent many hours framing and filming shots, shooting most shots at least a few times, as this was our only chance to film in London we had to make sure our shots were as good as we could make them. After getting back and watching our footage of London on the computer, nearly all the shots we filmed were perfect with only a few being not so good, and a few bad ones. However due to the large amount of footage we captured it won't be a problem cutting those bad clips out as we have plenty of good footage to replace it with. Due to our song being fairly short the advantage is a lot of shots can be cut if needed, however this is also it's biggest disadvantage; we have so many good shots it's hard to decide what makes the cut and what doesn't.

Overall the Friday shoot, although not as productive as our others, turned out some good footage as well as did the London shoot, and overall our group is pleased with our progress. We have scheduled to film the remaining performance shots tonight.

First Shooting Day

Our group did our first shoot yesterday of the performance shots of the band. We aimed to complete all of our preformance shots including filler shots of the band waiting for the main singer to arrive. We used the stage within our school to give a lo-fi ambience feel to the music video that we had set out to achieve from the knowledge we gained from our music video analysis' and technical analysis; ie. types of shots. We were able to successfully shoot many of the instrumental and singer arrival shots to a good standard. Unfortunately, some lighting issues were noticed whilst capturing the footage, mainly of the singer's performance and the lighting on his face. Also, we need more of the filler shots that see the waiting band members involved in various activities waiting in boredom for the singer; ie. playing on the wii. As a result, we have scheduled to re-shoot these specific shots tomorrow. Hopefully, our second shoot will allow us to have all the required perfomance shots necessary. To conclude, many of the shots from our first shoot will be included within the final music video but some will be re-shot and modified.

London Location Scouting

Our two locations for filming were the school stage and London, we knew when we were filming but not where in London. So on Sunday Mark and I went to London to find some good locations for filming to use for next Saturdays London shoot. We spent the day "browsing" through different locations, finding quite a few decent ones that would fit our music video very well. We took some photos to show the other members of our group who were not able to attend.

Now that our location scouting is over, we know exactly where we are going on the Saturday and so will have maximum time dedicated to filming instead of finding locations on the day and wasting time. This means that we will be able to hopefully get all the shots we need in one days visit and this will give us more time to film the performance shots and edit our footage.

Some pictures of the locations are shown below:













(Appendix 6a)

Finished Animatic

Here is our finished animatic for our song:



(Appendix 7a)

Animatics

We began our storyboard during a groups meet over the festive period. During this time we were able to finalise our ideas and began to conclude the length of the particular time zones as well as the relation to lyrics and time within the song. Mark focused on the practical factor of the storyboard and began to draw the start of the video as well as the final performance scene involved in our idea. We also discovered it would be easier and time saving if Sam and Ben were to draw their own ideas to create a clearer understanding. This meant by the time this discussion concluded everyone was clear of our idea and could add the finishing touches to our storyboard, we also regularly spoke using facebook to ensure everything was up to date and our level of understanding was still at an adequate level. This meant that when we came back to school our storyboard was effectively complete, however we found there were a small number of shots that had to be revised.
Once back at school we started to film the storyboard so that we could upload them onto Premiere Elements and create the animatic for our music. We are creating an animatic to ensure that our idea was suitable for our song as well as it allowing us to determine lengths of shots and to make sure that no shots were missing and there was no way to further enhance the video. It would also allow us to refine and modify our ideas efficiently so that the video would easy to film. It also gives us an idea of the number of shots that we have to shoot and the length of time we would have to designate to those shots. it was important that we could determine shot lengths so that when it came to the actual shooting of footage that we could ensure we had enough accurate footage for our video. It also allowed us to shorten particular frames ans stretch others, in addition to this we were able to visually see the speed of cuts in relation to the song tempo. This was particularly relevant to the performance aspect at the end of our video and we could see that our video analysis' were accurate in terms of quick cuts being needed throughout this sequence.

(Appendix 7b)

Feedback #3

Well d0ne - technical analysis is overall focused, relevant and reflective. Ben - I read yours as a draft post; can you submit and spellcheck.

I'm looking forward to seeing your reccie and test shots as you record the development of ideas. Keep up the good work!

Technical Analysis (The Libertines-Don't Look Back into the Sun)

I made the choice to analyse this particular after it was suggested during our focus group. The video is focused around the band performance during a gig and also the band in a relaxed and joyful environment where they seem to be enjoying themselves. From my technical analysis I have been able see the way in which this particular aspect of the video is shot. These sequences in particular are shot to build band authenticity and realism in their everyday lives. The shots themselves are largely between 1 to 8 seconds and are almost entirely shot with a handicam and this causes shaky movement and a lack of focus in many scenes. In fact in the third scene one of the cameramen actually appears in shots as well as microphone appearing on another. This once again amplifies the authenticity and realism that the video constructs. The shots are also often shot from a low camera angle and could also possibly be shot from other members of the band. The most common type of shot used is medium shots of 1 or 2 members of the band. It is still evident that the star persona is of key importance in the video and the star image remains very important in the video. There is also a tourist feel to the video as there are various iconic London monuments and recognisable items. These shots are mainly shot using Close-ups, Medium close-ups and Medium shots which help the star image. There are however a few steadicam shots which portray a feel band being watched, one in particular of them in Trafalgar square, a long shot using a crane and a high camera angle feels like a CCTV shot. A key aspect of the video is the lo-fi ambience which again reinforces the band authenticity. The majority of the shots involve the band walking through dense areas and oblivious to their surroundings. There is no real narrative to the video; it is simply the band enjoying a day out. The rock & roll image is constructed through their lack of real facial expression or any emotional references in the video. There are also close-ups where the band appears to be talking to the camera which again suggests the non-serious, relaxed attitude to the video. The costume of the band also challenges the expected of the rock video; they are seen to be wearing red jackets and sunglasses so the question of image is seen to be of little importance and the band are portraying that they are eccentric.

These shots are broken up though the video cutting back to performance shots throughout the video. These shots are once again shot to build authenticity and are shot from inside the audience and a low camera angle is used. The use of quick cuts from close-ups to medium close-ups and medium shots ensures the video stays differentiated and appealing. These shots focus mainly on the bands faces and instruments which is the expected of any performance shot. Although the performance is shot largely from within the crowd the focus is the band performance through the use of lighting, the audience is effectively in the dark whilst the band appear lit by the lights. However the shots are heavily repeated and are often broken up by these quick cuts, however the performance shots can last up to 20 seconds and tend to involve around 15-20 shots during this period. Three separate camera are used to video the band from different angles. The cuts are frantically quick and there is lots of camera movement to once again build the authenticity and realism of the video.

In conclusion the video is split between the performance based shots and the handicam shots of the band in random locations. The performance shots are broken up using quick cuts between the types of shot and where it is shot from. The use of handicam is of key importance as it builds the sense of authenticity and realism.

Technical Analysis Evaluation - Ben

I chose to analyse this particular music video because of the way the performance is constructed and presented to the audience. There is a key focus around the band and the fact that it connotes that its all about the music constructed through the choice to construct a purely performance video. This provides a real authenticity, anchored by the lo-fi ambiance. The video was created when the band were first finding their feet in the music industry; which is heavily reinforced by the non-sensationalised style used in the video. Furthermore, the video is a construction of almost amateurish and very basic camera movement and positioning. At one point during the video you can actually see the camera on the opposite side of the shot.

Patterns emerge during the video in the type of shots being used and the repetition of these. Throughout the video only medium close-ups and medium shots are really used which depicts how although there are a huge amount of quick shots during the video they only really use two or three specific styles. Over half of the shots are of the main lead vocalist/guitarist with shots every now and then of the other members of the band which establishes them as still being a key part of the band and very important and that they are appreciated.

At several times a medium close-up is used of the lead vocalist/guitarist with the drummer in view over his left shoulder. This interlinks how the band acknowledge both the work and musicianship of the vocalist but also the other aspects of the band as being integral parts too. This establishes the sort of camaraderie of the band and a sense of genuine friendship between them which is evident and reinforced in the way they all walk around while playing and go up towards each other which constructs them as being engrossed by the music and into it. This constructs the meta-narrative of the band as being real friends who enjoy each others company and acknowledge each others attributes and what they bring to the band whilst having a real passion for the music they are creating. This ideology of enjoying each others company is further reinforced by the amount of shots given to other parts of the band which is quite a bit more in comparison to a "normal" music video. This sense of recognition of all the members provides the ideological discourse that they want their fans to like all of the members rather than concentrate on just one person.

A couple of big close-up shots on the band's hands on the guitar strings are used so the audience acknowledge that they are multi-talented. For example, the lead vocalist doesn't just sing, he plays the guitar too which is presented to the audience using the big close-ups so that the audience recognise this and appreciate their talents. Also, by having different shots of what the band members are doing in the video it further reinforces their status of being multi-talented as they are all seen as multi-tasking.

There is minimal use of tracking and panning but enough to keep the video dynamic and entertaining for the audience. This connotes that although some movement in shots are required to keep it fresh, the majority of the shots are still and stationary. A medium-long shot begins the video, which is a clever idea because it shows all of the band members in one shot; further reinforcing the ideological discourse that they are all equal and all thought of as being important factors and irreplaceable components that make up the band.

Overall, the video has helped to decipher the performance aspects that we intend to include within our own music video. It is a clear example of how the shots are just as important as what they are actually doing in the video because through the shots alone ideologies and perceptions of the band can be constructed if planned carefully. This technical analysis will come in very useful when it comes to construction our storyboard and planning out the types of camera shots, movement and positioning that we will use during the video. It has also widened my knowledge of what creating a music video entails and the importance of planning out the camera work so it is effective within the video. Also, the quick shot style of filming is used throughout the genre and is very much present during this music video and, as such, I believe it will be an integral part of our music video that we will have to perfect to establish continuity in a flowing video.

Arctic Monkeys- I bet you look good on the dance floor


(Appendix 3b)

Technical analysis Evaluation - Sam

I have learnt from my technical analysis that during the course of the video there are a lot of very short shots lasting sometimes less than a second, and many shots lasting somewhere between 1 and 3 seconds for the rest of the time. Rarely are any longer shots used. The longest shots in the video are 5 seconds long and two are used, the first is shot 2, the image of singer on TV, and shot 4, the second part of the swish pan and then crabs left through the wall.

Every shot but two in the whole music video are straight cuts except the two shots in which the camera crabs through the walls and it is edited to appear as one shot. Even the edited swish pan is a straight cut, again disguised to appear like one continuous shot. The most common shot size i found was the MCU (Medium Close Up) of usually the whole band or separate band members in the frame. Two other common shot sizes were the MS (Medium Shot) and CU (Close Up). Some of the variations used in these shots consisted of shooting from HA (High Angles) and LA (Low Angles). Some shots were static with no movement from the camera, but were generally short just like the majority of the other shots in the video. The longest static shot was shot 2, which i mentioned earlier.

There is not really much relation between the visuals and the lyrics of the song, with possibly "I'm looking like a fool again" relating to the man and his lack of knowledge about impressing girls showing him up again. The narrative fuzz makes it unclear whether he has tried to go with the girl before or whether it's referring to past experiences with other women. The other lyric "Waking up on the bathroom floor" could also be referring to the man and him waking up on the floor, from maybe a bad night, coming home drunk for example, and just falling asleep there. The other parts of the narrative, the man and woman getting ready for the day is constructed by continually cutting back to them between performance shots, completing various tasks like applying makeup and exercising.

Quite a few of the performance shots are repeated including a LA MCU of the drums being played with drums in the foreground, MCU shots of the band from the front with the camera tracking in towards the lead singer, BEV (Birds Eye View) MS of the drum player and finally a CU of the rhythm guitarist playing and moving his guitar very close to the camera as he played.

When planning my own work i will take into account the vast amount of shots often used, and plan my own filler shots of performance and various other things when doing my video. I can also consider using a lot of MCU and MS shots of the band for performance shots, and various CU for showing indivduals playing and singing. The length of shots also showed me that a lot of shots are requiered to fill the time of the video and that often shots are not more than a few seconds long.

Here is the link to the song:

Sugarcult - Bouncing off the Walls (2 minutes 21 seconds)



(Appendix 4a)

Focus Group Results: Notes made by participants

This post includes the notes that the group participants made during the focus group and what they thought about select videos and tracks; along with any other videos we could look at for inspiration. From the notes that the group participants made and the discussion we had, it was brought to our attention that much of what we have discussed previously (between our group; ie. me, Sam and Mark) is the general view from the niche audience also. This therefore confirms that we are on the right track although further thought has to be taken to tweak our ideas to fully satisfy the expectations of the audience. Our group had already come up with the idea of a black and white style with small bursts of colour to emphasise specific aspects of the video and this idea was strongly reinforced from the focus group who all mentioned the idea without being prompted by us.

We also gained an insight into their expectancy of performance shots of which they inferred that they expect to see the band playing using filter shots during a strong narrative using close-ups on the bands faces (particularly the lead vocalist) and close-ups/extreme close-ups on the bands instruments; e.g. the hands hitting the strings of the guitar. It was interesting to find that much of our ideas that we, as a group, presented on individual moodboards came into the minds of the participants in the focus group via their initial reactions to our track. Also, it came to our attention that there is a need for a reflection in the music video of the lyrics is a good idea to use within our video; however it can be very loose and the focus group like the idea of it appearing in text form during the video; e.g. splashed across a wall that the lead vocalist walks past during the narrative or being displayed as actually coming out of his mouth whilst singing. Overall, the focus group was extremely helpful and helped us greatly in gaining an insight into the needs and expectation of the niche audience we aim to appeal our music video to.

We Are Scientists - Lousy Reputation (track only)
- Shots of instruments being played
- Shots of band in open space
- Serious
- Black and White (with few colours showing through)
- Narrative with band shots
- School life - montage of school kids
- Lots of cuts back to the band
- Zombies
- Statues coming to life and attacking
- Performance shots on stage
- Large open space
- Low Key lighting
- Shots of the singer
- Showing just the singer without the band
- Coloured spot lights on stage
- Dark, dull colours
- Echo effects
- Monotone
- Strobe effects
- Comical and funny story
- Need performance shots
- Skinny jeans, etc.

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (track with video)
- Simple
- No need to worry about actors
- Reflects the music - fashionable
- Aimed at young people
- Covers lots of ideas but isn't over-complicated
- Lyrics on screen
- Good use of colour
- Black and white with bright colours works well
- Needs more performance shots
- On-screen lyrics looks good
- Going into things (legs) at start; then back out at the end
- Not seeing their faces is good but in Lousy Reputation would be better to see all of them
- Switching from film to graphics
- Entrance and exit are good
- Clean setting
- T-Shirt idea is awesome
- Like idea of black and white background with colour for writing: looks cool
- Graphics are amazing

Foo Fighters - The Pretender (track with video)
- Like band shots
- Close-ups with far away shots look good
- Integrate band with narrative ideas
- Big empty space
- Like the way band is in colour and other people are black and white
- Paint water covering band is really good
- Good build up to the end
- Switching from faces to instruments to whole band
- Looking up at artist
- Sets the scene then brings in another character
- Doesn't loose your interest
- Subtle effect, red wall object is overlooked until end when becomes a main part of the video
- Slow-mo in a fast part of the song
- Single singer-no band
- Too bright
- Can't see walls, fades out, seems brighter
- Over-cranked performance
- Blurry all around the singer
- Destroying instruments
- Band walking in
- Faceless police compared to personality of the band
- Lyrics work well with narrative: "What if i say I'm not like the others?"
- Boring and Unoriginal
- RED with black and white theme
- Unrelated to lyrics
- Attention on performance

Possible Videos to look at...

Videos showing friends having fun together (meta-narrative and star persona construction)...
OK GO - Here we go

The Libertines - Don't Look back into the sun
Contemporary and Post-Modernism style of video...
Black Hole Sun


(Appendix 6b)

Focus Group: Possible Discussion Areas

Methodology:-
We are proposing to complete a qualitative focus group with roughly 4-6 people.

Purpose:-
We are planning on certain areas that we have discussed as a group and aim to bring these aspects up within the discussion and gather feedback of our ideas. We expect to get a clearer understanding on the suitability of our idea within that specific genre. Also, we aim to gain more knowledge and a wider understanding of the expectations of the niche audience of the indie genre.

Sample Audience:-
The group will include people who enjoy the specific genre of our track and those who are sensible enough to provide us with key feedback. Also, we aim to include people outside of the media subject as the audience won't have the knowledge that media students would and so would be less biased and over-technical.

Media Stimulus:-
We will show them a couple of videos that we have enjoyed and include aspects within them that we could incorporate into our video. These include Justice - D.A.N.C.E. for the pop-art and special effects (animation) as well as Foo Fighters - The Pretender for the close-ups and performance based aspects of the video. This would allow them to see visually our possible ideas and gain us feedback on these. We will also watch and discuss any video's they suggest to widen our knowledge of videos that appeal to our target audience.

Discussions Topics:
Colours.. Black and White? Bright and colourful?
Narrative.. Do they think a storyline would work? elaborate..
Performance.. Do you expect to see the band playing during the video?
Style.. How do you imagine the video for this song to be like? Animated? Serious? Funny?
Meta Narrative.. How do you think the band would be presented? A group of friends having fun? Serious about their music?
Costume.. How would you expect the band members to be dressed?
General.. What sort of music video do you enjoy? What ones? Why do you like these specific videos? What is it about them that you like?


(Appendix 5b)

Mark's moodboard response

Feedback #1

Well done guys - outstanding analysis of videos, clear group discussion of development of ideas and all elements (apart from Mark's moodboard?) are evident. You are working at a high level 4 at the moment. Keep it up...

Your concept ideas are very exciting - I look forward to seeing Sam's test shots to see how far you can take it. I do think you will also need to consider some performance too possibly... otherwise it will be quite static if your characters are not walking about.

My Moodboard; by Ben

I decided to concentrate a lot more on the colours and possible effects rather than the location. This is because i felt that the style of the video would only need very basic locations that wouldn't need major construction and planning. As a result, i strongly believe that a basic black and white background for the narrative with bursts of colour and bright animations to stand out would be the best option and a very strong idea to take back to the group. This is because I believe that it would really highlight our extraordinary capabilities with special effects and bring the audience's attention to it.
I have looked at the prospect of having a perfomance video or at the least having filter shots from a retro-animated narrative with a pop-art feel to it. The perfomance aspect of the moodboard involves having close ups of the instruments because i think that this style of shooting would look really good with the track and fit into the music genre we are looking at.
Also, whilst listening to the track i got a visual idea in my mind during the lyrics "A bigger man could probably get past it all... Oh the problem here is that I just won't grow up." I had this idea of a post-modern, contemporary style of special effects/animation that sees a man (whether in real life or animated..) suddenly grow really big into a "bigger man" the shrink down into being small and defenceless, "I just won't grow up." Its a very contemporary idea but i really think that it could work with the track and also this comical aspect would construct the meta-narrative of the band as being almost jokers and having fun with the lyrics.

(Appendix 4b)

Justice - D.A.N.C.E

This video doesn’t demonstrate the typical genre characteristics of an electro techno band and the variation and innovation of their music style is evident through their choice of music video and the pop art style that is used. There are no aspects of band performance as well as no meat shots of the duo themselves. It is clearly a post modern style and approach to this particular genre and demonstrates a shift from the expected video. The group members Augé and de Rosnay walk and the images of their T-shirts constantly change and morph (cars, mouths, eclairs, lollipops, numbers, letters and the lyrics). The lyrics of the song would suggest the video would include people dancing and a band performance of some sort; however the video is certainly contradicting the song lyrics by using this pop art animation style. It also is illustrative of the lyrics as the lyrics are frequently portrayed through the imagery on the t-shirts as well as the lyrics themselves also appearing on the t-shirts, in addition to this they also appear on a black background in time with the lyrics. According to Goodwin the record label will demand various close-ups of the duo; however this puts that theory into doubt as there is not a single shot of the artists. I have also looked at other Justice videos and the pop art style is not a reoccurrence across their works so once again challenges Goodwin’s identification that this is a requirement. There is also no voyeuristic treatment of the female body as the only image of a woman is quick and she is not particularly noticed as a key element of the video, however the animations on the t-shirts and also at the beginning of the video there are some images of the female body being represented in a misogynistic and negative manor, with the focus being on there legs and also some are disorientated suggest that nudity is present.

The pop art style is the primary and the only really noticeable technique used in this video, in particular the t-shirt animations that I earlier stated. The group and directors have stated that this was just fun and the t-shirts have little or no meaning, however they have admitted to designing some for specific reasons whilst some are still available to buy or are old t-shirts that they wanted to feature. “They're wearing blank T-shirts in the video, and we did the animations for it, they’re all based on flat, 2-D graphics, which we had to animate”. The technical aspect of this visual effect is very precise and time consuming and in particular the sequence were the keyboard falls from the t-shirt. However it seems the purpose of this video and this technique was simply to create an original and unique video which illustrated the lyrics in the same approach. The mise-en-scene in the video is key to the video and the focus is obviously based upon the t-shirts animation, the use of colour is also pivotal as it is bright and stands out above the surroundings of duo.

This video represents the band in a very unique way as it gives little away in terms on their personalities, it does however portray them as different and original to that genre of music. It doesn’t have any reference to the groups meta-narrative and there are no meat shots of the band to build up their image. The appeal of this video and the reason it will help them to sell records is largely because of the pop art style and post modern approach to the video. The fact that is something new and unique will contribute greatly to the repeatability factor that can make a video successful. The auteur directors are now recognised a on a global scale after the group won best video at the European music video awards and have been used by Kanye West in his video for “The Good Life”. The representation of the band is limited because of the lack of narrative and little in the way negotiated readings of the band.

The video is clearly illustrative in terms of the lyrics being frequently displayed in the video in the pop art style. However, it is also a form of disjuncture as the video challenged the typical conventions of a techno music video. The typical fan of this genre would expect band performance in a nightclub referencing a live performance. The reason for this is simply because the group see themselves in a different light and believe that their influences from other genres of music and in particular the 70’s and 80’s should be amplified in there videos as well as the songs themselves.

There is an intertextual reference to the song ‘video killed the radio star’ by The Buggles in 1979 and the ideas that they used in their video, in particular the sequence of the old radio at the beginning of the video as well as the song name appearing on one of the t-shirts with the slight change to “internet killed the radio stars” to make it relevant to the modern technological age. There are also references to popular culture on the t-shirt animations, in particular the images of the female body and crime aspects that are portrayed on some of the animations. The relevance to the audience in this is that it can help them to respond to the band and the more dedicated viewer can pick up these factors.

This video can 100% be considered art, the directors are also considered to be auteur. This is safe to say because the video is unique and original and they have chosen something that had not been considered in the mainstream music industry before. They have moved from the expected and created a technical piece of brilliance that intrigues and causes discussion amongst people in the music industry. It is certainly post modern also because it has shifter from the expected of this genre and demonstrates a new area of the music video that can be explored. The video is most certainly challenging in relation to it allowing and opening a new wave of directors such as French directorial duo Jonas & François who shot this video. There is more freedom for artists to attempt in their videos. However, whilst it is not questioned that this video is post modern and art, it is still commercial in terms of this change bringing in a lot of interest and publicity to the group, because of the style and technical aspect of the video.

The video doesn’t really represent and particular socials groups in any particular way, a reference in the songs lyrics “Neither black nor white/It doesn't matter” however represents a equality between race. The representation of woman can also be considered derogatory as the images of woman on the t-shirts is blurred and text in relation to those images reads “ultimate Lolita” which can most certainly be interpreted in a negative manor. The only real analysis of ideological discourse in the video is that the idea that woman are seen as desirable and objects of sexual desire is reinforced through this imagery and text seen in the video.

This video would be considered as being targeted at the focused audience as the genre is quite specific and would appearing on channels such as MTV Dance. However, the success and recognition that the video has received could mean that it has become vaster and more towards the ambient viewer.

Kanye west – Good Life Analysis by Sam

This video appears to be shot completely on a green screen, with colourful pop-art cartoon effects shown in both the foreground and background throughout the video. The pop-art effects are related to the lyrics either by being representations of lyrics or the lyrics themselves. The rappers and woman in the video are monochrome while most of the added effects are in colour, and are heavily saturated so that they stand out. Due to the rap genre of the song, it is expected that the music video would concentrate on the lyrics and the story they tell, and so this song is a clear example of illustration of the lyrics.

The visual technique of the colourful, evolving pop-art really stands out and demonstrates the creative and fairly original feel to the video. The lines and lyrics often move or are moved out the way by the rappers, as well as some that follow them, for example the picture frame that changes their colour to colourful vector art. This changing and evolving design makes the video more interesting to watch than boring static images. It also gives the feeling that the animations are alive and gives an upbeat, ‘alive’ feel to the song. The visuals are also good at catching the eye. They stand out due to the over saturation and single colour backgrounds, and so the video has a better chance at attracting ambient viewers to be more focused. Some of the animations are quite fast, and detailed as well as being good fun to watch, and so this adds to the repeatability of the video.

Kanye West in this song is singing about his way of living; ‘The Good Life’. He sings about making it big and living in some big cities in USA, and with that comes respect (not getting pulled over by cops, which are also featured by other rappers in some songs), money, women and fun. He also talks about fast, expensive cars, like Ferraris for example, one of the many things he can spend his money on. He also makes later reference to the black oppression by white cops when he mentions being asked to pop his hood and trunk of his car.

There are some possible references to popular culture in the song. A possible one is that the song is based on making it big in the USA and basically living the perfect life with everything you could ask for, i.e. the American Dream. This is similar to ‘Scarface’ (1983) in which Tony Montana comes over to Miami from Cuba to follow the American Dream. However drugs in this song are not labelled as bad, nor do they lead to any apparent negative consequences, although it never says that people would take them, only that they were transporting/selling them:

“Welcome to the good life

Where n-gg-s that sell D

Won't even get pulled over in their new V”

Another reference is a small one to ‘King Kong’ in which on the lyric “It feel like NY” it shows a collection of New York icons, of which King Kong is one of them. Finally ‘Snakes on a Plane’ is referenced as a sexual innuendo about having sex during flight.

This video would appear to be commercial as essentially it’s promoting Kanye West and his lifestyle as something desirable, and something to aim for. However with the amount of effects used in the video could be considered as an art form. Overall all though, there are no hidden meanings or challenging ideas, as the effects simply illustrate the song.

The heteronormative discourse in this video is clearly shown by the presence of the supporting female in who Kanye West takes an interest in. He is also shown, talking about sexual moves and reading porn magazines in parts of the video. Although dismemberment is not used in the video, he does rap about particular body parts of women, and so can be seen as derogatory.

The ideological discourse running in the video is reinforcing capitalism as the song is about the 'Good Life', having money, cars and women, and so is also promoting commercialism. It is also, as I have mentioned, reinforcing the American Dream of 'making it big' and getting riches and with that comes happiness, and that of course anyone can get there. He does that by saying "welcome to the good life" at the start of the song, saying everyone is welcome.

Due to the fast and fairly complex nature of the lyrics I would say this video was meant for focused viewing. As well as the great detail and effort put into the visuals, they attract your eye to increase the possibility that the audience consuming will become focused once they notice the effects. The target audience for this would be male teens to early 20's. There is a clear first person mode of address in this video as well as plenty of meat shots of both rappers, and so is again showing that it is for focused viewing.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=su_zrW9WBVk&fmt=18

(Appendix 3a)

Foo Fighters - The Pretender; by Ben

Foo Fighter's "The Pretender" is definitely a performance and illustration video with the use of a loose narrative involving the control of authorities in society; with lip-syncing throughout. Fast cutting is used throughout in order to establish a connection between the pace of the video and the very fast tempo of the track. Therefore, the fast action occurring through the duration of the video is constructing an alignment with the fast tempo of the track. This is reinforced in the ending of the video because the tracks tempo increases dramatically which is aligned with the action when the red paint comes bursting from behind the band, following the charge; that overpowers the policemen. Although, to the audience, it is visually seen that the paint is what is overpowering the police, it is almost as if it is the bands music and powerful volume of the ending of the track that is what is attacking; creating the ideology that the band overpower through their music rather than by physical means. This helps to construct the star persona and meta-narrative of the band as it being their desire to construct meaning within their music to establish messages and address issues. This strongly provides and reinforces the ideological discourse that you don't need to get your message across through physical means. The director uses a series of close-ups on the lead vocalist in order to successfully construct the "meat" of the video and to show his facial expressions to the audience and the strong, powerful, emotions he is channeling into the song connoting that it is an issue on a personal level of which he cares strongly about. The video is in sync with the track and lyrics and, as such, it is almost like he is telling the police that he will "never surrender" and they can charge at them creating a sense of taunting them with his music, daring them to attack. By doing so, it represents the band as being in control and could be again interpreted as them being above the authorities and their way of telling everyone; the audience and society in general, that they can't be controlled and they are, essentially, their own men.

There is an authoritative theme running throughout the music video which sees the special unit police charge toward the band in an attempt to attack. This could be read as constructing the ideological discourse of there being corruption in authorities within society, and more specifically, the police. There isn't any real reason shown as to why they are being surrounded and attacked by the police which shows the police extremely negatively through their seemingly unnecessary force and over-reaction having not been shown as provoked. They are carrying batons and protection shields whilst the band members have nothing except for their musical equipment; therefore posing extremely minimal threat to the police. This further reinforces the ideology of the police taking advantage of situations and using an extremely heavy hand on society and the public and as such the harsh treatment of citizens. The band's meta-narrative is constructed as them having a dislike for authorities and being told what to do, therefore establishing them as rebellious. They are also positioned as being higher and above authorities in society because of their victory in the fight against the police. The lyrics establish the band as being defiant for their cause and mentally strong and that no matter what the police are going to do they won't give up what they're fighting for; "i will never surrender." Also, there is this idea that they will stop at nothing to be heard and they effectively can't be hurt presenting them with almost invincible status even though the police clearly outnumber them in large numbers; reinforced by the numbering on the police's uniforms. This outnumbering further reinforcing there being an unnecessary, over-reaction by the police establishing the band as the victims. Alternatively, the track on its own could provide the alternative, negotiated reading of the song being about a girl. It could be interpreted as him trying to convince the girl to trust him and that he isn't like the other men she has been with; "what if i say I'm not like the others?" The lyrics compliment this idea because when he says "i will never surrender" it could be his way of telling her that he won't give up on her and it is her that he is actually fighting for.

Mise-en-scene provides and reinforces the reading and representation of the video. At the beginning of the music video he is strapping up his tape in white tape which is commonly associated with street fighting as if he is mentally and physically preparing himself for the battle he is about to face; in this case a fight against the police. However, this alternative reading of the track being aimed at a girl could be reinforced by this strapping up his hand motion. Instead of preparation for his fight against society and corruption in authorities he could be preparing himself to fight for the girl of whom he loves and, as such, will stop at nothing to get her; even fight. The costume in the video establishes the band as the victims of a viscous attack from the police in the colours of their clothing. The lead vocalist is wearing white in comparison to the police wearing black uniform. White is commonly associated with the colour of peace and tranquility whilst black is more known as stereotypically representing evil; thus constructing the binary opposition of the evil police vs. the victimised band. This idea of good vs. evil is further reinforced by the line that separates the band from the police of which could be interpreted and signifying this divide of good and evil; almost like the white of heaven in contrast to the black of hell. This could also reinforce the ideological discourse that the band feel as if they are sometimes wrongly judged as always being in the wrong rather than fighting for a cause they believe in. Furthermore, white and black are the predominant colours in video which emphasises the the burst of red paint that overpowers the police, which could be read as washing away the corruption in society.

Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"


(Appendix 2b)

Our Chosen Track

Here is a link to our chosen track for our video:

We Are Scientists - Lousy Reputation

My Mood Board: Updated

Combing a few ideas from our group so far and including a few of my own I have created a mood board for our song, which hopefully will help evolve and express ideas between everyone in the group once everyone has posted there's for us to discuss. Hopefully by discussing and seeing similarities in each others mood boards, we can more easily work towards common ideas and interests.

Click the button below to view the mood board, and once the page loads click the picture to zoom in:



Here are some of my ideas explained:

We Are Scientists: The band that performs the song. In all their videos they have a funny jokey feel to them and so either this jokey manner could be implemented in our video or we could include a possible reference to one of their other videos, so fans would get more of a meaning from our video. Other ideas or ways of portraying themselves in their videos could also be referenced or included in ours.

Dynamic Colours/Clothing: Shown in the Kanye West and Justice videos these are the designs and patterns that are changing and evolving, animating around the performers in the videos. I would like to implement something similar in our video, although that will provide a great challenge. Also some of the filters used in the Kanye West video look really good and give a nice stylistic effect, and would be nice to include something like that in our video if need be.



(Appendix 5a)

Jonas Odell - Auteur Research (New Visionaries)

Music Video's (directed by Jonas Odell)

"Come Up And See Me" (2003) video for Erasure
"Strict Machine" (2003) video for Goldfrapp
"Take Me Out" (2004) video for Franz Ferdinand
"Smile" (2004) video for Mad Action
"Rocket" (2004) video for El Presidente
"Changes" (2004) video for Tahiti 80
"Feeling A Moment" (2005) video for Feeder
"Shot You Down" (2005) video for Audiobullys
"Ali in the Jungle" (2007) video for The Hours
"Music Evolution" video for Cartoon network's Josie and the pussycats
"Window in the Skies" video for U2
"Smile" video for The Cobbs
"Paper Planes" (2008) video for I'm From Barcelona

Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out" was Odell's first hit video in 2004. Ever since then he has been a distinctive voice in the world of motion design. In Take me Out he uses 3d and 2d imagery throughout to establish the rock/indie sound of the track. Essentially, he combines live action with a mix of animation. Odell has also constructed some animator videography for the likes of Madonna.
In Goldfrapp - "Strict Machine" he strongly uses the theme of symmetry combined with geometric shaping and Dada-esque graphics which effectively establishes his style and provides the abstract form of which he presents the tracks he directs.

Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out"


Goldfrapp - "Strict Machine"

Martin de Thurah - Auteur Research - Sam

Martin de Thurah is an up and coming music video director, and can be considered to be an auteur. Three of his videos (Human - Carpark North, Bullets - Editors, What Else is there? - Royskopp) contain qualities that would be associated with other auteur like videos. For example in 'Human' there are no shots of the band shown at all through out the video with it concentrating instead on the narrative of the children with special abilities.

Martins videos are more than just performance videos they all have alternative readings and hidden meanings in the seemingly random shots that are shown during the course of the videos. This sort of high brow, read into the understand view, it can also be considered as high class, and artistic. Although music videos unlike works of art in a museum or artistic films are easily and readily accessible my the masses, which makes it difficult to define whether it really is that high elite status if so many people consume it.

In all his videos he uses a strange sense of time. In a lot of shots they are in slow motion, with a few in fast motion. Many examples of these can be seen in all three videos, and the frequent slow motion gives the videos a surreal and dreamy feel, which goes with the strange often surreal dream-like activities in the video.

The bands or artists are featured in two of the three i have mentioned, not 'Human', and are portrayed diageticaly, ie part of the world of the narrative. For example in the Royskopp video the female lead singer is part of the narrative and is the main character involved. However she is lip syncing to the lyrics of the video, and so it is hard to determine whether this is clearly narrative or performance. These lines have been blurred with the 'Bullets' video too, with the band playing in the street in which the narrative takes place. This almost hybridization of narrative and performance has led to new views on music videos and gives them almost a new way of constructing verisimilitude, with the music video and band portrayed almost completely diageticaly, and so making it easier to lose yourself in the world of that narrative.

Carpark North Human

Editors - Bullets

Royskopp What Else is there?

(Appendix 2a)

New Visionaries

Kanye West-Jesus Walks by Chris Milk
It is many things - an attack on racism and the divide between rich and poor, a confession ('I want to talk to God but I'm afraid cos we ain't spoke in so long') and a rooted 'gospel' song depicting Christ's compassion for the outcast:
'To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the strippers, Jesus walks with them. To the victims of welfare, feel we living in hell here, hell yeah, Jesus walks with them.'
West's unflinching critique of aspects of his own Afro-American culture. He refuses to embrace the popular image of rapper-as-gangster-hero, and undermines the superficiality of the bling-bling, hip-hop consumer lifestyle.
Chris Milk demonstrates that his style is avoids performance videos and is therefor relevant to Kanye Wests song lyrics and deeper political stance and criticism of the US government. The video tackles political issues and the video amplifies the meaning of the song and depiction of a prison and treatment of inmates, along with the neglect of the country's people and drug dealers. Milks style is to focus on characetrs or particular scenes in order to build the video.

Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy (Chris Cunningham)

Just looked at some crazy music videos.. Check out this Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy directed by Chris Cunningham! Its crazy but i love it!!

Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy

Re: More Ideas

Just looked more closely at the special effects and editing techniques (without the sound, easier to analyse!) on Good Life - Kanye West and was wondering if a couple of them would be possible or not..

8secs: At this time in the video (shown in a couple of posts ago by mark..) the coloured lines going round the artists feet give a really stylish effect..
1min 42secs - 1min 54secs: The coloured frame in which the colours in the artists faces almost become "inverted" and bright in contrast to the black and white in the rest of the shot..

Anyone got any ideas if these are possible or too hard to include and utilise?? Get back to me...

Track Choice

Following on from mark and sam's comments on the track choice, I really think that Lousy Reputations by We are Scientists would be a great choice and my personal favourite. Although I'm not a great fan of the genre I believe that we could do huge things with the track, having now listened to it, and that on a personal level I could enjoy producing a successful video to accompany the track. There are endless ideas we could do but I rekon that we could have a good narrative (possibly using the shirt idea from mark, really like it!) and then filter shots to performance. This would mean that there is a narrative throughout the video with small and short shots every now and then of the band playing the track in order to break up the narrative and essentially make it more fluid (making it easier for timing of the shots, etc.). I really think that we should utilise sam's editing and effect ability so that we can give our video something extra special; however, we have to take into account that he isn't a proffessional and so we must accept some things won't be possible. But something similar to the shirt idea mark's found would be great and really work with the genre; also some of the Andrew Kramer effects that sam's shown me would work well with the track which we need to look further into. Basically, Lousy Reputations - We Are Scientists gets my vote!

More Ideas

A few music vidoes have really caught my eye lately and in particular that from two combined directors. The music video for "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice was shot by French directorial duo Jonas & François with animation by So Me. It is shot in a pop art style. Images of their T-shirts constantly change and morph (cars, mouths, eclairs, lollipops, numbers, letters and the lyrics). This is really unique effect and these directors were later used by Kanye West in his video for Good Life. I would really like to encorporate a similar effect into our video and really feel that it would fit in well with the indie/rock genre we are looking at.

Ideas & Feedback

I really like the song ideas for We are Scientists, i can see that there would be various options and creativeness to a video for one of there songs. Also Muse would be great as a am i massive fan, however it would be hard to create an epic video like their previous. In terms of Keane im not particularly a fan i dont think i would enjoy making a video for one of there songs. I have had a few ideas for songs that i would like to do

The Libertines-What Became Of The Likely Lads
Pigeon Dectectives-I Found Out
The Kooks-Crazy(Cover)

Or something similar like We are Scientists!!!

Re: A few possible song ideas

Muse - Map of the Problematique
A performance video would be good for it but we would definately have to have the rest of the band; ie. keyboard bloke, etc. because for large parts of the track the vocalist is drowned out and detracted by the instruments... Not sure about a narrative or not.. What editing editing parts would you link into it Sam? I think it would work well with the earth zoom thing you showed me at the beginning of the track?

A Few Possible Song Ideas - Sam

I'd quite like to do something by We Are Scientists or Muse, two bands I like a lot.

Some songs I thought would be quite good as choices are:

Cash Cow - We Are Scientists
Lousy Reputation - We Are Scientists
This Scene is Dead - We Are Scientists

This is my favourite song and would be nice to be able to do our music video to this, plus this song has no official music video.

Map Of The Problematique by Muse

As an additional extra (if your not sick of music taste already!) is this latest Keane one, which again has no official music video, as it has only just been released.

Perfect Symmetry - Keane

Tell me what you think in the comments or post your own ideas.

PS If they load slowly press watch in normal quality instead.

Tetris Effect

Right, I know the track isn't really relevant to the type of genre we have been discussing but just take a look at the beginning post-production editing and special effects.. The tetris pieces creating her is really effective and am curious as to whether or not it is a possibility of incoporating something slightly more simpler in our music video? Any ideas? Mainly, I think it just shows how special effects can establish and genuinely construct the success of a music video and create appeal as a result. Take a look at the beginning and ignore the track (if you so wish to..) and come back to me with some feedback please.

Lady Sovereign - Love Me or Hate Me

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars; by Ben

This isn't really my main music genre so I'm not completely clued up on what they are trying to construct through the "indie" genre; so you might have to bear with me with my reading of the video. However, at least it'll highlight the conventions and possible readings of people outside of the niche and target audience the band aimed for. Also, I have attached the YouTube video to the post so u can see for yourself what aspects I'm talking about in my analysis...

The video uses a series of close-ups at the beginning of the main singer's face and body to construct the "meat" of the video and show his facial expressions. This also establishes the reading of it being a personal encounter and constructs the ideological discourse that the lead vocalist has possibly had an experience and emotion of a similar nature that he can relate with during his life. The speed of the shots link into the pace of the track and, as a result, what happens within the video tie in with the tempo of the track at different points. At the beginning of the track it is very slow in tempo, gradually getting into the track. This is seen in the shots as they are slow and focus longer on aspects of the singers body; e.g. hands, eyes, face etc. Then when it goes into a faster pace within the track with the drums and guitar setting the speed, it begins to rain heavily in the video. The action within the video is synchronous to the track itself and at this part of the track, both the rain and faster tempo in the track, signifies the most dramatic time of the track.

At one stage of the video there is a reflection of a bird (possibly a hawk) in his eye, using CGI, which shows he is completely alone in a deserted place. This reinforces that he is completely alone and could provide the ideological discourse that he feels completely lost and alone without the girl he is singing about and wants her back because he still loves her. This is anchored by the lyrics "forget what were told, before we get too old" because it is as if he is saying for her not to worry about what has happened and to forget it so they can go back to the way they were together. The music video uses fairly dark colours which establishes the mood and emotion of the song and how it is sad and emotional which you can clearly see on his facial expressions. This is particularly seen in the raining section of the video as he becomes almost distressed as if the realism of her not coming back to him has hit him, this is anchored by the faster tempo created at this time of the track. Then at the end of the rain the track goes back to being calmer and more feeling sorry for himself than distressed during the rain. Yet the rain seems to rejuvenate him and he ends the song standing up as if he is now strong and almost a new man. Although, he still comes across as being hurt and almost damaged because of the possible unrequited love he has for the girl and this is reinforced in the last lyric of the song, ""would you lie with me and just forget the world?"

With the mise-en-scene of the video there is almost a natural theme within the video constructed through the nature within it and the singer's clothes. He is wearing the complete basics, ie. jeans a a t-shirt, and so you can see his hands and feet become dirty and muddy where he is gripping the ground. This could be read as him trying to hold on to the girl and her love and so doesn't care about the elements and weather as long as he gets her back. The fact he stays lying down while the elements change all around him could be interpreted that he doesn't even acknowledge the time as he is in too deep thoughts about the girl and what happened between them which forced them to grow apart or their relationship to be harmed. This link with nature within the video is anchored by the lyrics as he is singing about a garden bursting into life; which is like the progression of love and how if she trusts him and loves him back then he will spring to life and become whole again.

You only get to see one member of the band, the lead vocalist, and this could show that possibly he is the main band member and the most important to the band themselves. However, it is more likely that he is used as the sole person within the music video because it provides a more powerful outlook on the video. This is because the audience will be attracted to just him and so his non-verbal language and facial expressions will establish his emotions and easily portray them to the audience rather than the audience's viewing being detracted by other members of the band and what they are doing. The video doesn't really add to the band's meta-narrative as it doesn't necessarily provide the audience with any real insight into their persona construction. However, it does show that they are emotional and therefore only human rather than a brand or commodified. Because of this, you could interpret the video as the band saying that they won't fall into the category of bands who will create tracks that are overly happy and a brand; but instead singing tracks of pure emotion and with meaning behind them. Therefore, the music video is very much an illustration because the seriousness and emotion the track possesses within the lyrics and tempo are constructed and established within the music video and so represented within it; reinforced by the fact that it is a performance video rather than a narrative. However, there is a type of mini-storyline involved because of how he grows and ends up standing; yet this still links in with the track and its' lyrics. This motion of him growing reinforces this ideological discourse of the band being strong and inter-twined with their emotions and the passion they put into their music. It could be interpreted as how the band have grown over time and that they may have had a troubled start but now they are at the very top of the music industry through hard-work and passion. The video also provides the ideological discourse of love over-powering the human body and that you can almost physically feel the love and, in the video's situation, the pain and anguish that it can put you through. This is very much reinforced in the non-verbal language within the video because the use of close-ups on body parts tensing and moving with each passionate lyric as if he is part of the track and the love he is talking about. For example, the close-ups on his hands gripping into the ground and clenching his fist reinforces the ideology that he is over-ridden by the love and he physically feels every suffering lyric within the song before being released at the end when he is able to stand freely and is shown as being stronger; therefore providing the ideological discourse that love has the ability to weaken you yet after the suffering the end outcome is of strength and power.

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars


(appendix 1b)

Dizzee Rascal - Sirens; by Ben

I looked at this video a while ago and managed to gain a lot out of it. Although this video isn't necessarily the type of genre we will be directly focusing our attention to for our specific music coursework; I think that the concepts within it and locations are very interesting. I believe this music video shows a strong insight in how conventions of a specific genre can be changed to form an intriguing take on a music track. Also, the lyrics within it, without the aid of a video, would be read in an entirely different context than the old-fashioned fox hunt shown in the music video.

Dizzee Rascal - Sirens

Spike Jonze by Ben

Spike Jonze was born Adam Spiegel in October 22, 1969 and is renowned for being an American director of music videos and commercials. He is also an Academy Award-nominated director and producer within the film and television industry and is most known for his 1999 film Being John Malkovich and the 2002 film Adaptation and are both written by Charlie Kaufman. Jonze is also credited as a co-creator of MTV’s Jackass.

In 2006, he was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for "Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005." He was nominated for a body of work that included "Hello Tomorrow" for Adidas, "Penguin" for Miller Beer, and "Pardon Our Dust" for The Gap. Spike Jonze made up a third, along with Andy Jenkins and Mark Lewman, of the triumvirate of genius minds behind Dirt Magazine. Dirt Magazine is the brother publication of the ground-breaking Sassy Magazine. These three uncommon characters were all editors for Grand Royal Magazine under the direction of Mike D and Adam Horovitz and Adam Yauch before the creation of Grand Royal Records. Also, Jonze is responsible for directing the famous Beastie Boys: Sabotage (1994) short film as well as numerous other music videos for various artists.

Jonze has many alter egos, which have included Richard Koufey (alternately spelled Coufey or Couffe), the leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group, an urban troupe that performs in public spaces. The Koufey persona appeared when Jonze, in character, filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" as it played on a boombox in a public area. Spike showed the video to Slim, who loved it. Jonze then assembled a group of dancers to perform to Slim's "Praise You" which was taped outside a Californian movie theater. The resulting clip was a huge success, and 'Koufey' and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform the song for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video received awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography, which Jonze accepted, still in character. Jonze made a "mockumentary" about the experience called Torrance Rises.

He also has a speaking part along with Dave Eggers in a Beck song entitled "The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton from his 2006 album, The Information. He appears in the "Exoskeleton" part. Currently, Jonze is directing Where the Wild Things Are, which is now in its post-production stages.

The Great Escape by We Are Scientists by Sam

The music video starts off with the band casually walking through the park with funny/jokey dialogue about one the of the members girlfriends. Suddenly one of the band members looks at his watch and says “We got to get going”. The track starts to play as the band run off in a comic fashion, for what appears to be no reason. What follows is a series of scenes from around the park of the band running about and doing silly stunts over various benches, rocks etc. As well as crawling on the ground and doing forward rolls. During some of their stunts they imitate army men in movement of arms and mouthing orders too each other. Right towards the end of the video you find out that they were in fact playing hide and seek with a little girl, and they were running to hide from her. The song cuts so you can hear her counting, and then continues. When the song finishes the band stop running and congratulate themselves on avoiding getting caught.

The group and song is indie rock and this is displayed in the video lightly as it’s not like a usual video, there's no performance shots or really that much of a narrative to follow, mostly just the band messing around for comic effect, following the loose hide and seek narrative. It uses handycam shots to give it a 'home-made' feel. This look is sometimes used in other popular music videos, an example being OK Go's videos, particularly the one filmed in their back yard and the one filmed on the treadmills. This like their other videos, ‘Nobody Move’ for example, is aimed towards comedy. There is weak link to the lyrics; the fact the title of the song fits with what they are trying to do, and possibly a link between “I’m gonna wait right here” and hiding in a certain spot. Besides that the lyrics don’t really fit with the action on screen at all. I would say the video is hard to categorize. It could be considered slightly illustrative, as the idea of escaping from the seeker is evident in the video. It could also be seen as possibly contradicting due to the comic effect of escaping from a seeker rather than possibly a prison camp or somewhere similar, implied by the escaping and the lyrics “They’re breaking both my hands.” which could be some form of torture. Less related to the lyrics and more to the beat, but during the parts of song where the lyrics are “oh, oh, oh!” there is often 3 cuts of each band member doing the same activity but each time it cuts to each member doing that stunt or move.

There is intertextuality with classic war films, mainly ‘The Great Escape’ in which the song shares its title with. The idea from the lyrics they are escaping from somewhere sinister, as I mentioned above, as well as many shots of pastiche, for example when one band member falls down and says “Go on without me!” a cliché seen in movies and parodies. As I have mentioned also, they move about sometimes like army men, with signalling hand gestures of when to move up, taking cover behind objects, rolling and generally sneaking about. The black and white colours of the video may also be a reference to old movies, possibly old war movies, which they may be parodying.

This video shows the band as basically a group of friends up for a laugh, as they don’t even do any lip-syncing or performance shots and the whole video is made up of them running about, hiding behind trees and doing jumps and rolls. Looking at press coverage of them and their other music videos it’s clear they have a good sense of humour, with other videos and interviews done also with comic effect. For example ‘Nobody Move’, features the band performing in a room, to suddenly running out because they are being chased by a man in a bear suit.

This video isn’t really supposed to be that serious, and so can’t really be considered art, and it doesn’t challenge ideas or beliefs; but it doesn’t mean it isn’t good!

This video is really aimed at ambient viewing, there’s no real narrative to follow and so tuning in at any time of the video would yield the same effect. There are several meat shots of the members of the band, but are generally very quick and they aren’t looking into the camera, so it’s as if the camera is watching them, and the band isn’t watching the audience; a difference from a lot of music videos. In other words there is no first person mode of address.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7WJSYshvVMI&NR=1






(Appendix 1a)

The Racing Rats by Editors by Mark

The music video for "The Racing Rats" features the band performing in a rural suburb in slow motion, much like the video for the band's other single "Bullets". Lead singer Tom notices a little girl who is drawing a big circle on the pavement. Near the end of the video a solar eclipse occurs directly parallel to the girls circle causing it to light up spectacularly as the band look on in awe. At the end of the video the town is empty of life suggesting the eclipse consumed all the townspeople. The relevance the video has to the song is from the lyrics "Slow down little one, you can't keep running away / You mustn't go outside yet, it's not your time to play / Standing at the edge of your town with the skyline in your eyes / Reaching up to God, the sun says its goodbyes”. This is noticeably relevant to Goodwin and demonstrates a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. It most certainly is illustrative in the sense it relates directly to the lyrics and helps to explain the songs.

The band themselves have a unique take on the indie rock genre and are heavily influenced by older and contemporary bands. There video does not necessarily demonstrate the typical conventions of an indie video. A typical video from the likes of the Kooks or the Wombats would demonstrate the band in a playful manor or live performance, however the Editors video challenges these generic conventions and pursue a more artistic and post-modern approach much like the work of REM and Radiohead. The video focuses on young girl and a hidden meaning behind the song which has become a common factor in Editors videos, that life is fragile and miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Director Vince Haycock is relatively new to music video direction however has established a very cinematic approach to 'epic' songs and hopes to avoid the commercial aspects of music videos by concentrating on the meaning behind the song and incorporating this message through the video.

The little girl is a key part of the mise-en-scene of the video as she demonstrates the innocence in the world today and this is amplified by the white dress and blonde hair. This reinforces the ideological discourse that the typical victim has these features to amplify this meaning. In addition to this the unique lighting from the sun and also the circle drawn onto the pavement creates an emphasis of the key moments in the song and in particular the eclipse. Colour is also used to represent a change in the song, after the eclipse the volume is increased and the video becomes extremely dark. along with colour the cut speed increases and demonstrates this louder concluding and dramatic ending to the song. also the non-verbal language by the singer indicates a passive viewer of this girl and he is often seen looking into the sun and being disorientated which is relative to the songs lyrics of a surreal and emphatic moment.

This song also reminds me of the film Donnie Darko and the reading behind it. In particular the part about if a plane were to fall from the sky. As for the interpretation and intertextuality, it seems to be another song about impending death. Or the feeling of being aware that everything comes to an end eventually. this is one of many readings and i have found some from others. Many fans believe there meaning is about a relationship situation, he might have been fooling around with other women alot, and that now he's correcting himself: You can't keep running away from the pain through other women(Slow down little one, you can't keep running away), and you're also not ready yet for a serious relationship (You musn't go outside yet, it's not your time to play). This is a common reading of many Editors songs. There is also the reading of a message about terrorism andSeptember the 11th, along with the location being that of an US suburbian area , this can easily be interpreted in this way. In this sense Editors are most ecrtainly a multiple maening band

The representation of the band is unique in the sense that there is no relation to the meta-narrative and it seems the video is aimed towards the passionate and focused viewer. However it is obvious that the essential aspects of a music video are there such as the meat shots of the band including various close ups of the lead singer and other instrument players.

They are clearly though portrayed to be deeper and focus on more important aspects of life in their songs. Many bands aim to create a unique view of there music and this video certainly amplifies the fact that Editors are creating this view. However, it is still evident that the star image is still of key importance in many music videos. Because of the genre of the band it is likely to be viewed on channels so as MTV 2 and Q as they are focused more on this genre and also the the alternative approach to music is highly rated with it viewers.