The Cribs- Hey Scenesters analysis

I have chose this music video to analyse as it is a simple Illustration video that shows the band playing the song in a studio lay out. The band are shown to be playing in a garage location which is an idea we have thought of and we feel it would be easy to create this as we would have one location to film in and would be time and cost benificaial.



We could look at creating a similar opening to our video as it shows the band playing the song using their instruments as visuals. The fact the whole video is shot in one location means we could create something similar as thats what we feel would work.



I like the camera work in this clip as the extreme close ups show the emotion of the singers face and this alone tells the audience this is rock genre. The close ups on the guitars are effective as they show the audience the instruments being represented to give a live performance feel. The quick fire shots also suit the fast paced music and the style of the singing.



This clip shows how effective the dark colour scheme can work and well it suits this rock genre of music. The video shows a similar colour scheme to what we want, as the dark clothing and background works as a contrast with the bright light shown on the band. The Union Jack flag dispayed in the background is also typical within this genre and has previously been used with bands such as The Jam. We could include a bright colour to break up the dark.



I like the effects used in this clip as it is made to look like home recording and the lines running across shots make it look aged. This is also a common feature in rock videos as it looks quick and unplanned which gives it that simple effect. We would like to try and create a similar style video showing the audience what the bands style is.

Music Video Analysis- Bloc Party- "The Prayer"

"The prayer" by Bloc Party is an example of a disjuncture music video with a small amount of illustration included. The camera then cuts to inside the night club on a long shot of the band sitting down in the club.




When the verse comes in we see a small use of illustration when the frontman mutters "Lord give me grace." The front man does this every time this line is said in the song. This section of the music video consists mainly of shots of the band sat on sofas, with the occasional shot of the dance floor.




When the chorus comes in the camera is focusing on two girls kissing on a sofa. The camera cuts quicker  during the chorus and focuses more on whats happening around the club. There are more close ups of the facial expressions of the band.

Music Video Analysis- Somewhere Else

In this clip the genre characteristics is shown to us by the style and fashion of the lead singer of the band. We can imidiatly see that this is an indie band as the haircut and the clothes he is wearing such as the long coat and shirt is a common style with this genre of music. The background being plain with buildings and street scences and the fact it is produced in black and white suggests they wanted a simple effect that has previously shown to be successful within this genre.



This clip shows a relationship between the lyrics and visuals as the singer clearly mimes out the lyrics to give the effect that he is singing as a live performance. He also acts out some of the visulas, for example during the line 'you keep your mouth shut' he makes the action on putting his hands to his mouth. Also points to himself when in the song he says 'me'.



In this clip we can see the art of the camera work as it mainly focuses on close ups and mid-shots of the lead singer. This is done to show the audience his emotions of how the song feels to him, and from this we can see it is portrayed as indie. We can also see him singing the song which alows the audience to feel him singing the song directly at them.

Music Video Analysis- The Raconteurs- Steady, As She Goes

"Steady, As She Goes" by The Raconteurs music video starts off as a disjuncture video. It starts off on an old, run down farm, following a cow for no apparent reason. The camera then zooms in towards a farm house. The camera is filming in an oversaturated and overlight style.





When the music comes in the camera does rapid cuts between the band performing in the farm house and chasing the cow. This is a section of disjuncture and illustration. This continues until the verse comes in.





The speed of the cuts slow down when the verse comes in. The colour also settles to only a slightly saturated colour but still blurred. However when the chorus comes in the picture returns to an over-saturated, blurred look and the camera cuts are faster.




In the second verse the style is very similar to the first. The video continues with the blurred picture and shots of empty, old fashioned rooms.





In the final verse and chorus the video is more focused on the band performing. As the music gets heavier the camera cuts quicker.




When the song finishes the shots last longer. The song finishes with the lead man switching his amplifier off.


Mise en Scene:
-Old, abandoned farm
-Livestock
-Farmhouse
-Guitars, Bass, Drums, amplifiers
-Old fashioned/ quirky outfits

Music video analysis- One Night In October

This clip shows visual features that resemble the song as the lyrics are put on a blackboared that the lead singer of the band is stood infront of. The lyrics individualy pop up on their own which makes the audience focus their attention on them and read each line. The video is fast paced which represents the tempo of the song. The constant replacement of lyrics keeps the audience alert and interested as the different fonts and colours used makes it appealing and easy to read.






Guitars are played throughout the song and to resemble the sound of them being used the band are shown playing them, this gives it the live performance effect which makes the music look more realistic. This also helps with the fast paced tempo of the song as the video is shown in fast motion to resemble the style of the song.



The camera work in this uses long shots to show the whole band playing their instuments to give the feel of a live performance. It focuses on the the lead singer/Guitarist of the band. This is to show he is focal point of the band and the audiece immidiatly recognises that. This also gives a relation between music and visuals as we can see the instuments being played and the audience

Analysis - What I've Done

This music video has an overall theme of life and how things have changed over the years. This is symbolized by the grass that grows shorter which is amplified by the music. The guitar riffs with the timing of the grass dieing.

The band is also featured highly within the video which is set within the Nevada desert. This is also a visual symbol of life and death which is associated with place which are remote and vast in size.

 The overall melody of the song then comes in which is much stronger than the rhythm already playing. A montage of various clips that involve war, global warming and famine is played whilst the lyrics match.

Later on in the video it turns to how things have changed such as countries that have fought a civil war and the fall of their dictators. Slow motion is then used after this which ties with the music creating amplification for effect.

The camera cross fading with the clips make the video one that is disjuncture because the clips match the lyrics and the overall theme of the video. I think that from analyzing this video I have learnt that jump cuts and camera angle forms quite an important part of the video. And the setting is very critical to a successful music video.

Analysis - Shoot the Runner

The start of the video is quite abrupt and features all of the band member in bright psychedelic purple. This sets the mood as quite vibrant as the audience watch on. The type of video is disjuncture this is because there is no blatent link between the concept of the band performing and the effects that are added to the band members.


As the video progresses paint splats begin to appear in random spots of the screen. They are the same colours that the band are this is futher inforcing the abstract comment that seems to have no relevance to the lyrics of the song. It is also a form of aplification as the paint splats occur when the beats of the drums take over the overall sound level. It ends when the lead singer begins the next verse of the song. They then become a recurring theme from then after they are introduced.


In various points of the song the camera is fully focused on the lead singer of the band, with an exstreme close up in some of the shots. This is used to gain a direct visual connection between him and those watching the video. The band follows the key conventions set for a band music video as they are all playing their musical instruments miming along to the beat of the rhythm.



A filler in between the last few verses is a middle 8, the band are slowed down in a strobe effect that matches the change to the melody. To differeciate from the next scene that follow where paint is splattered onto the band members symbolising the the strong rift of the organ playing in the background as if they are being struck.

I feel this video has elements that we could maybe emulate within our music video such as the the camera angles, and strob light effects used. However due to the amount of time and resources that are available to use, I doubt we could match the visual effects that are used to make the band the various colours and background effects used in the video. So overall I feel there are some key features that would be useful to include in our project and has also taught me that a simple concept can still make a great music video.

Music Video Analysis- Standing next to me

In this clip the two band members matching are dressed smartly wearing sharp looking suits. The audience recognises this style with previous bands such as The Beatles and will immidiatly expect a similar genre of music. Their suits match the black and white background and this colour scheme runs throughout the video, the colour scheme is simple but effective as the colours stand out and this effect is common in indie genre videos. The position of the band members is key to the name of the song 'Standing next to me' as the two band members are shown playing the song as a live performance standing side by side throughout.





The dancers are also dressed to follow the black and white colour scheme which keeps the video looking smart. The dancers are all in time with the music and and every move is on a beat to the song. This creates a relationship between music and the visuals as it is clear that the dancing has been put in to also resemble the style of the song as it is quick and sharp.



This clip shows that the video can be categorised as Illustration as it is set up to represent a live performance and the music and lyrics have been shown in a a simple way. They have used guitars to represent the music visuals as that is the instrument you can hear. This also shows the camera work and close ups are frequent of the two band members together. this is done to show they are the importance of thie music video so we know they are the artists of this song. It is aslo done to show their style as the camera spins around them showing them dressed in the same style.