ANALYSIS - SWIM DEEP 'HONEY'

Analysis of music video 'Honey' by Swim Deep
Genre: Indie Pop
Director: Daniel Brereton - Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited




Swim Deep are an indie pop/dream pop/funk rock/baggy/neo-psychedelia band formed in 2011 in Birmingham, England. Currently signed to Sony Records, they released their debut album 'Where The Heaven Are We' in August 2013, followed by their second album 'Mother's in October 2015, which is of a different music style as it includes elements of acid house, psychedelia and krautrock.

The music video is a hybrid of both narrative and performance style, which are combinned at the end of the video. The video opens with narrative scenes of young pretty girl in the location of a white, clean kitchen. The innocence of the character is portrayed by the white connotations of purity and innocence depicted from her blonde hair, white costume and location. The scene is very simplistic and fresh looking illustrating the ordinary basic life of the character. However the girl is seen to be almost sexualised due the way she slowly licks her finger which appears seductive. The confirms to  Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory in which the audience is positioned from the perspective of a heterosexual man, looking at women in a sexualised manner. This maintains male audience members attention whom dominant indie music demographics, therefore it is important to keep them interested in the video by featuring a young pretty girl. This close-up shot shows the actress visually illustrating the lyrics and title of the song 'Honey' which she eats, creating a connection between the song and video. This confirms to Andrew Godwin's music video theory that there is a relation between music and visuals, where the character does exactly what the songs says. The conventions of dark dingy lighting used in indie music videos is subverted, as extremely bright, natural lighting is used creating a uplifting and light hearted atmosphere.


The performance segments of this music video feature all four band members performing the song via vocals and instruments, a convention confirmed to of the indie genre. This is emphaised through the close-up shots of the artists, particularity lead singer Austen Williams and instruments of guitar and drums.The artists wear typical indie clothing, including band t-shirts, skinny jeans, shaggy long hair, bare feet and also being topless. The very casual informal clothing reflects the care-free and relaxed nature of artists, following the meaning behind the song of being and believing in yourself. The artists are seen having fun by being rebellious via reckless behaviour of throwing colourful paint and destroying the filming set, very much 'rock n roll' behaviour. The array of colourful paint reflects the dream pop and neo-psychedelia genres in which Swim Deep's work comes under due to the neon colours and artistic arrangement. It is clear to see the video has been produced on a low budge (conventionally for indie videos) due to basic location of a studio, the simplistic style and lack of special effects.


At the end of the video, the two separate narrative and performance scenes are combined into the same segment. The innocent young girl seen at the beginning is now with the band who begins to also become rebellious due the band's influences. This presents the band's star image as very fun, showing that if you spend time with them your insured to have a good time. The actress has changed her clothes to more trendy clothing, consisting of all black connoting a loss of innocence. There is also a significant change in hair and make-up which is more messy and relaxed, representing her freedom and youth. Together, the band and actress throw paint at each other creating a rainbow of bright colours creating a uplifting atmosphere. The basic location of a studio and the narrative reflects the low budget of the video, a convention of the indie genre. This connotes how you do not need a lot of expenses to have fun which Swim Deep successfully portrays. The audience is positioned to feel jealous of the amount of fun the artists are having, encouraging them to listen to more of their music or attend one of their live gigs.

ANALYSIS - SAN CISCO 'AWKWARD'

Analysis of music video 'Awkward' by San Cisco.
Genre: Indie Pop.
Director: Andrew Nowrojee - RCA Records.



San Cisco are a four-piece Australian Indie Pop band who describes their vibe as "squelchy, crispy, streamlined, hairy, indie". The two main band members Jordi Davieson (main vocals) and  Scarlett Stevens (bass and vocals) play the main characters in the narrative scenes of the music video. Even though this is a performance based video the two members still act out some of the lyrics providing a meaning behind the song in addition to lip-synching throughout. The performance conventions are accentuated by the close-up shots of the lead singers faces where shallow depth of field has been used making the background blurred and out of focus. Close-up shots of the guitar and drums being played are also included emphasizing the musical elements of the video and song. Scarlett Johnson subverts the stereotypes that women usually just stand there and look pretty whilst singing as she plays the drums. Usually men in Indie Pop bands play the drums and other musical instruments which does not happen in this video.

Little special effects have been used making it obvious that this video was produced on a low budget. The entire duration of the video has been filmed in a white film studio where the artists are simply performing to the camera. Richard Dyer's star theory has been subverted in this video as the artists have not been manufactured for financial gain, as they appear like normal everyday teenagers. The artists are able to relate to their target audience who would be male and females aged 13-25. The artists wear causal clothing including black skinny jeans, denim jackets and trainers instead of expensive designer clothing or extravagant costumes. Both the Pop and Indie elements are presented in this video - a boy and girl who are clearly attracted to each other is a Pop genre convention however the performance style of playing instruments and the use of a simple location is typical of the Indie genre.

There are intertextuality references in this video through the use of instant messaging, a type of communication used on social media. The boy and girl choose to communicate this way over their phones instead of having a proper conversation, even though they are positioned parallel to one another. A crab shot is used to show the conversation between the two of them which mimics our head movements when we listen to a conversation between two people. I feel the band are playing on the idea that the only way teenagers of today's society communicate is through technology. The instant messaging bubbles read the lyrics of the song making the lyrics conversational and casual, which are inserted in time with the vocals of the song 'I got your message last night'.

In this video I feel men and women are represented as equals, neither sex is dominate or overpowering in this video. However it can be argued that the storyline makes males appear more powerful as it is about a boy who stalks a girl in order to seek her affection for him, however she is disinterested.
A certain section of the video has been edited to the timing of the drum beat. Short random clips of extreme close-ups of the artists and a dog have been used adding a sense of narrative to the performance based video.
This video successfully presents the band as 'normal' with no superior celebrity status due the personas evoked and the expenses of the video. This video would appeal to the target audience of male and females aged between 13-25 due to the fun and low-key style of the video and the catchy music.

ANALYSIS - ED SHEERAN 'THE A TEAM'

Analysis of 'The A Team' by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
Genre: Indie Folk
Film and Director: Ruskin Kyle (Rivers Rush Video Production Company).


This music video is entirely narrative based meaning the music video follows a story throughout rather than having an artist/s performing. The video follows the story of a young homeless girl who becomes a prostitute in order to pay for her drug addiction. This is a typical convention for a Indie music video, having the narrative based on a social realism subjects.The title of the song directly links to the narrative where 'The A Team' is a reference to the class A drugs the girl is consuming. The narrative also illustrates the lyrics 'and they say she's in the class a team', again a reference to class a drugs. Lyrics such as 'white lips pale face' are also illustrated in the music video via the girl's appearance.The whole video has either been shot or edited in black and white reflecting the very simple and dull world that the girl lives in. The dark tones create a  more melancholic and depressing mood, enabling the audience to feel and see the girls feelings. The monochrome filter also helps the audience to see the world through the girl's eyes, which  is very black and white. The lighting used creates high tonal contrasts across the scenes creating a very dramatic effect as well as accentuating the girl's harsh lifestyle. The actresses costume typically represents a homeless person; wearing warm oversized clothing and carrying around their belongings i.e. a sleeping bag.

Ed Sheeran himself does not feature as an artist at all in the music video making his star image unidentifiable. However this does show that the singer wants to spread his message of the impacts of drugs rather than promoting himself like other singers. It makes Sheeran seem unselfish and more low-key as his music video does evolve around himself, rather his music. It subverts the Star Theory as Sheeran is not seen as a manufactured brand but seen as doing good by creating awareness of drug abuse, prostitution, homelessness and suicide. Sheeran is only featured within the main narrative, as a member of the public talking to the homeless girl. This is a common convention found in Sheeran's music videos, for example in 'Lego House' he does not feature right till the end of the video and only for about 30 seconds. As Sheeran approaches the girl it makes him seem 'normal' forgetting his celebrity status and profile.


In terms of camera shots a lot of close up and mid shots are used which frame the actresses face. By doing this the audience is able to see the desperate emotions of the actress shown by the smudged make-up from where she has been crying. The exterior shot used at the beginning of the video sets the scene for the video which is predominantly outside. It tells the viewer straight away that the girl is homeless which can be shocking to see her wake up in an empty park after sleeping on a bench. Time lapses have been where the video is recorded then dramatically sped up. Everything around the girl moves extremely quickly accentuating the amount of time passing whilst she remains lonely and still. A special editing effect ends the video where two separate clips have been layered over one another. Th exterior shot of the rooftops, a typical London landscape has the leading character layered over the sky in the top left hand corner. It makes it seem as if she is an angel in the sky, meaning as a result of drug abuse the girl has died. As the girl is positioned in the sky it represents innocence making the viewer feel sympathy in addition to visualizing the end lyrics 'angels to die' which is repeated throughout the song.

GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO/INDIE GENRE

•CAMERA SHOTS: long shots, close-up and mid shot are the most common in order to put emphasis on either location, artist or emotions.
•CAMERA MOVEMENT: tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots used to track artist during performance or the pace of the narrative
•MISE EN SCENE: arrangement of performers on stage, props used such musical instruments, costume, lighting, colour
•EDITING: jump cuts are the dominant technique used as it allows a sudden change from different scenes. Transitions such as fade and dissolve are also popular by adding to the mood and effect during video.

•INDIE GENRE: artist/band shown throughout either performing or acting, extreme close-ups and long shots are common, dark location and lighting (sometimes monochrome), fast paced, editing cut tot the beat, special effects, intense lighting, grainy/retro filters, abstract/controversial images, social realism subject, use of drugs and alcohol, performing whilst playing instruments, location of live gig or festival

EXAMPLES:

Performance based, clsoe-ups, lip-synching, use of musical intruments, professional but intense lighting, neon flashing lights, quirky informal indie persona...

Dingy, dark lighting, possibly retro/vintage filter, performance, dark but strange location, typical musical instruments used such as guitar and drums, close-up shots...

INTERTEXTUALITY

Intertextuality is the way in which one media text is referenced in another. In music videos if another media text is featured then this can be seen as a form of advertisement or promotion as it raises publicity for that media text. Music videos can pay homage to another media text such as newspapers, films, social media or magazines once featured in the video.

Robbie Williams's music video 'You Know Me' is a hybrid video of performance and narrative styles. It features the artist following the famous story line of Alice in Wonderland with an added modern twist at the beginning. The singer falls into a deep dream and climbs through his dressing room mirror into Wonderland dressed as the white rabbit. Intertextuality is created between the music video and film due to costumes, props and location used which is all very similar to the film and book.



In Paramore's music video of 'Decode' clips from the fantasy genered film Twilight have been inserted inbetween parts of the band performing. In additition to the snipets which is a direct reference to the film, the artists are also wearing similar vampire like make-up and clothes as if they were acting in the movie. The location is also exactly the same to film as well as the opening of the
music video being a replica of the films opening scene.


Another example of intertextuality in music videos is in Lady Gaga's 'Paparazzi'. Front pages of newspapers and articles are featured throughout the video promoting this media text. The photographs taken by the paparazzi of Lady Gaga after being pushed off a cliff cover newspaper articles with bold and dramatic headlines.



Intertexuality is used in music videos to negatively or positively promote another media text by creating a relationship between the two. By celebrities being seen using social media or being linked to films audiences will follow the celebrity and also use that media text. Audiences follow celebrities who set trends and therefore will use similar media texts. When audiences see media texts they recognize in music videos they feel a sense of nostalgia and remembrance enabling the audience to connect more with the video.
In my music video I may also use intertextuality such as social media to connect more with my young target audience and make my artists/actors seem more relatable through the video.

TYPES OF MUSIC VIDEOS

HYPERLINKS FOR MUSIC VIDEOS 

• Performance based video example 
• Narrative video example 1 
• Narrative video example 2
• Concept Video