Analysis of Music Videos

The music video is rock genre directed by Scott Lyon. The band generally appeal to the younger audience, predominately male, the band Hi-Fi’s songs usually consist of sex, drugs and partying. This song talks about a week of work then the excitement for the weekend. The music video begins like a documentary. The full video is a narrative video with no vision of the bands performance just a straightforward storyline with the song playing in the background. The amplification to this song is the way the boy in the video moves to the beat, when he sets the alarm clock off the beat starts, when the song changed pitch or pace slightly the stars movement links an reflects the music, for example in the first 10 seconds the boy sits on the bed and the music is slow and settled then when the beat is introduced the boy jumps of the bed and opens the door. This looks effective and informs the audience that the video is going to be based on the narrative. At the beginning a hand held camera is used in a boys bedroom, it focuses on the alarm clock first then moves across to the bed. The camera varies from medium shot to close up. The bedroom is blue which automatically suggests the room belongs to a male. We then see a boy laid in bed asleep. A close up then appears of the boys face, waking up as the alarm clock sirens. We see the boy sat with his head in his hands, wearing a white t-shirt to suggest purity in a morning perhaps. The room is dark which suggests something is going to happen and the boy is depressed or sad perhaps. Then there is a close up of the time, as it strikes 8am the boy jumps out of bed, runs to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, gets dressed into a suit which suggests he is maybe going to work or college. As the boy leaves the house it becomes lighter. The video still looks like a hand held camera as there is a low angle shot of him walking towards the camera and the camera looks wobbly and uncomfortable which shows it is not been specifically placed purposely it looks as though someone is also waking in front of him whilst filming him but the star is still unaware of this. He walks in time to the beat playing, this shows continuity. He then goes to the train station, misses his train, a reflection appears in a mirror, to show he has still not fully woken up and there is two sides to him. The mirror also suggests humiliation for missing the train, it emphasizes the fact he’s missed it which is embarrassing. He then gets on the train, and more and more color keeps appearing in the shot. The shot is naturally dull, and blue appears, and then green. This shows he is gradually waken up more and more. The boy is sat on the train looking out the window watching the world go by, this shows the minutes are dragging longer and longer. Their is also a video overlap, where two images collide on top of each other, the boy in the background with a fade overlap of trees passing by. This also shows the recognition of time pass. This happens frequently when the verse is being sung. An overlap of the boy stood with another overlap of the same clip on top, this makes the effect look shaky and disorientated which shows his confusion and his deflated feeling of having to go to work. He then appears outside in a busy area where people are hustling and there is a low angle looking up on the boy. He looks baffled. Then he arrives at work and is sat at a computer, working and doodling, the doodling represents boredom. This clip is very short. The beginning was long and dragged on about how annoyed he was that he had to go to work, then the section when he is at work is very short, then the section of him leaving work is very long, this suggests that he has been worked up about going to work for no reason as it really wasn’t that bad. There is a long clip in the middle, showing him leaving work, and a montage of the boy in the lift, and the traffic outside going extremely fast. this suggests the boys future when he arrives outside. we then see him running down a flight of stairs, running down some more steps, appearing outside, surrounded by more steps, this suggests he is escaping and rushing for something. ' i love by the rush' this is the lyrics when we see the traffic outside, this shows the rush of the traffic and everyone wanting to get home for te weekend. The camera angles vary on this and appear faster and more intense which also shows the idea of a hustling area. The boy then arrives at home, runs upstairs, opens his wardrobe, and then more light appears, it’s blue again, to show a male persona. There is a knock at the door, it’s his friend enters wearing black, with a red tie. The red represents love perhaps, or daring behavior. The boys both get ready, go to the shop, where more color is appearing, greens and more blues. They buy alcohol and then drink it. There is then a flash back of the boy at work again and receiving his paycheck. Then there is a flash-forward to the two boys at home drinking again. There is then a close up of empty beer bottles, the pace gets faster and more bottles are adding to the collection. They then leave, walk into the city, the lighting is dark to reflect night time and there is a close up on both boys’ feet walking to the beat, the lyrics are, 'pressure' this is said repeatedly. There is a long shot of the boys walking, and then a medium shot of the boys walking, then a close up, this also links with the beat, showing continuity. The spectator then sees the boys walk in to the pub, and then walk out, the lighting is darker and the boys are drunker which shows they had been in the pub for a while but we don’t see this. The lyrics, 'live by the weekend' are then said repeatedly as there is a montage of shots with the boys laughing, walking, talking, performing disorderly behavior, the shots are linked with a dissolve edit, this shows passing of time, and could also represent the boy state of mind, blurry due to the alcohol. they then arrive home drunk, do more silly things, like sit in the bath drinking more alcohol, falling over, being sick, then as the music fades to an end both boys pass out on the bed. The full video shows an idealistic, stereo-typical view of two young male teenagers on the weekend. The more day passes the more color is shown, this represents the gradual build up of excitement for the weekend. And as the camera shots are hand held and not precise this shows a documentary style video. The entire music video shows voyeurism as the star is unaware that we are watching everything he does. The editing shows continuity as the narrative follows on and there is no shots that don’t link with the previous. All the shots are either linked with strict cuts or a dissolve edit, this suggests the documentary style element. The strict cuts are at the beginning when the music changes pace from slow to fast, the cuts show a sharper, faster performance which suggests to the audience he is in a rush where as the dissolves appear when the stars body language is more relaxed.


The Courteeners What Took You So Long is the third single released by the band and comes under the genre soft rock. The music video begins in what looks like a warehouse. The editing is black and white, and the video reflects the beat of the song. The shot begins as a medium shot, then zooms further and further in, the spectator feels as though they are entering a room, then a cut to inside the room originally we zoomed into, we then see the band playing at a long shot, the camera is still zooming in. The beat is still reflecting the image. The beat changes to something more dynamic, with that the camera moves to door it originally walked through, and we see another member of the band walk in. This links with the title, 'what took you so long?' it is as though the rest of the band is waiting for him. he walks towards the camera. Then there is a close up of the other band member. He is only on the right hand side of the screen, the left is empty showing something or someone is missing, this could suggest the rest of the band is missing at this point. Everything is still black and white and very dark, to show dullness or mystery. We then see the single band member from behind and not from the back, this is shown through a straight forward cut. He is still on the left hand side of the screen, and in the door way, the door way borders him which makes him stand out but also separates him. The camera then zooms in further and there is a cut to him walking towards the rest of the band as they are playing there instruments. He then walks towards the microphone, and as they lyrics starts he starts singing. The mise en scene is all black and white, brick walls, and the instruments for the band, nothing else, all very minimalistic. Then there is a zoom in to the singers face, it’s an extreme close up of his singing. The camera is still and the singers face is moving from side to side, sometimes in the frame sometimes not. There is then a cut to a close up of the band and then it cuts to a long shot of the scenery. The camera pans around the space. This section, the camera pans from all different angles, high angles from the ground looking up to the artists, low angles from the ceiling looking down on them. It then pans from the sides zooming in and out, and then from behind barriers looking over. The camera never stops moving and is constantly zooming and out when the verse is being sung. When the chorus is sung the camera is still and cuts from band member to band member. The original back ground setting is replaced. The original, being a warehouse, the replacement being computerised black and white stripes, checks, and tiles. This cuts backwards and forwards. The camera then cuts from the ceiling to the floor to the walls when the lyrics are, 'dirty and missing' this suggests the dirty walls and floors and empty space reflects the word 'missing.' The is then an instrumental bit and we see a cut from the guitar strings being played, the drums being played and a long shot of the entire band playing, the computerised black and white background is shown, and line are been drawn from the band towards the camera, the band don’t move the background switches from different effects. The cuts and images are in time with the beat this shows continuity. We then see the band playing in the warehouse again, the camera zooms in and out and cuts from instrument to instrument, band member to band member, wall to wall, floor to ceiling, this all links with the beat of the song, and becomes faster and more aggressive and the band reaches climax. When the song slows down again, we see the band in the warehouse singing and playing less intense, the angles are level and the cuts are slower as well as the tracking shots. The shots cut from the warehouse to the computerised background until the end when we see the band back in the warehouse and the song ends the singer throws his microphone and walks off, then it cuts to the doorway and zooms into black.

Kasabian Vlad The Impaler was directed by Richard Ayoade. All Kasabians videos are out of the ordinary this one especially. Vlad is representing Dracula. The video begins like the beginning of a film with the credits. The music begins a screen of reds and oranges appear with the names of who the clip presents and who it is by. The reds represent death and blood. As soon as the beat changes slightly as does the image. We then see a man all in black walking towards the screen, carrying what seems to be a sword or spear. The mise-en-scene is a field, the shot is symmetrical because on both sides there is grass and the man is walking in the center down a road. The shot is in a sphere shaped frame portraying the camera lens. Red, bold writing appears saying, ‘Vlad The Impaler’ this introduces the leading character of the narrative music video. The shot freezes to give the spectator chance to read, as the writing fades the character carries on walking towards the screen. He is walking in time to the beat. The lyrics then start been sung and the shot cuts to a table, covered in sharp objects like knives an axes. The camera pans the table establishing the props. The clip cuts to a low angle of the character, still in his black cloak with a hint of red on his collar to represent blood. It cuts to a medium shot of the character sawing something on the table. The shot is from behind so we don’t see the image from the front. It then cuts to a close up of the character, he raises a spear to the screen pointing it directly at the camera, and this invites the spectator into the scene. The clip blurs, and we see a close up of the man’s eye. It then cuts very quickly from the man’s ace, to another weapon, then to the man walking down the same road we saw at the beginning. This clip is a close up, side view of the man, we see his face but we can establish where he is from the background we can see vaguely. It then cuts to a medium shot, low angle of him walking towards the camera again. The low angle represents the mans’ power, as he has a weapon in his hand this also exaggerates his strength and status. It then cuts to a tennis court, a long shot of a girl playing tennis. The beat changes, climaxing to the chorus. As this happens the shots flash from the man staring at the girl playing tennis and he girl playing tennis, this fits with the beat showing continuity. The man is standing behind a railing fence which shows he cannot harm the girl yet as he is defenseless behind the barrier. Their is then a cut to the girl walking towards the camera as she leaves the court, then a cut to the man staring at the screen then another cut to the girl walking towards the camera, this suggests where the girl is heading, towards the man. A cut to the man pointing the spear at the camera and the screen becomes red. This represents that the girl has just been killed. Their is then a cut to the man walking down the same road again with spear in his hand, the cut flashes from the man walking to a boy and a girl in a corn field walking, this suggests these are his next victims, their is then a cut to the man crouched down in the corn field watching his victims. As the lyrics ‘repeat’ are said their is an extreme close up of the mans eyes again, they are very dark which shows mystery and danger. The transitional bridge starts and the same thing as before happens, the man walks in time to the beat down the road holing his spear, this time it’s filming him from behind walking away from the camera, this suggests he has finished one dead and his heading towards the next. The clip cuts to a medium shot of a girl and boy hiding behind a fence, as the lyrics ‘cut you down; are sung there is a long shot level cut of the man stood in the field with his spear, it then cuts to the same shot but a close up. It then cuts to an empty field suggesting that’s where the victims are going to run. Their is then another cut to a field with a tent, the man is hiding and a girl appears with a torch, the torch represents vulnerability as everything else is dark, the lyrics then say ‘we have got the floor’ their an extreme close up of the same shot of the mans eyes, their is a red tint representing danger. The bridge starts again, and the lyrics ‘get loose’ are repeated. The clip flashes from the mans face with the red tint, to the girl screaming in slow motion, then back to the man again. It then cuts to the previous victims escaping and looking scared as the bridge climaxes, then as the chorus begins the man is seen running through fields with his spear. We see him chasing a variety of people through the fields. The camera varies from long angles to medium shots, all tracking and zooming in and out of characters faces, the characters run towards the camera then their is a straight level cut to them running away from the character, this looks like the camera is actually portraying the man in the black cape, and involves the spectator as it feels as though they are running away from us, the audience. These clips are in slow motion which intensifies the feeling of being chased and makes it more scary and thrilling to watch, also the lighting is all very dark apart from the characters who are in bright clothing, all wearing some tem of red to show fear. Their is then cuts of low and angles of the victims looking up at the man and high angles of the man looking down on his victims, white lights are flashing to show the purity of the victims then as soon as they get hurt the lights disappear. We then hear an instrumental bit with no lyrics and the man is stood in a circle surrounded by nuns with torches, the man is pivoting around with his spear, this shows he has been captured perhaps and their is no mistake, the pivot of the camera makes the spectator feel dizzy and defenceless for the man. We then see a level cut of the girl a tennis court and a disturbing image of a girl in pyjamas covered in blood then the man walking down the road again towards the camera with his spear. Then the music fades as does the lighting then we see tints of red and the man walking still. This shows he has escaped. The majority of the video is intense to watch as the action links and reflects the beat very well so the continuity consists. The fill video is a narrative one, we see no evidence of the band just a straight forward story being told.

Audience Research-Target Audience for Friendly Fires.

Friendly Fires are originally from St Albans, Hertfordshire and are currently signed up to XL Recordings. Xl recordings also deals with bands such as The Prodigy, Mia, Cajun Dance Party, Dizzee Rascal, The White Stripes and Radiohead. All these bands have a similar sound to them, and produce music such as techno, electro, punk and drum and bass. The majority of the bands Xl Recordings manage are new, young and fresh including Friendly Fires. This is a huge influence on their current target audience, which is generally young (16-24) and interested in social events such as gigs, concerts and festivals. These bands are advertised world wide in magazines such as NME, Kerrang and The Rolling Stones which specifies the genre.
The band was formed at a very young age, 14, when the members were still at school. This attracts young children today around the age of 14 when their interest is music and their intentions are to form a band. Knowing that successful bands such as 'Friendly Fires' have achieved this it is something for young hopeful band members to idolise and admire. The band then progressed and altered when all three boys began university. The name changed from First Day Back to the existing Friendly Fires. The band members are Ed Mac, 24, lead vocals and guitar; Jack Savidge, 24, drums; and Edd Gibson, 23, synthesiser.
(Quote from Wikipedia)
In late 2007, they became the first unsigned band to appear on Channel 4's Transmission Programme. Their single Paris achieved 'Single of The Week' in The Guardian newspaper, NME magazine, and also on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. They have toured extensively, with past performances taking place throughout the UK, Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA. In May 2008 their song "On Board" was featured in North American television commercials for Nintendo's Wii Fit. "On Board" is also featured in the trailer for the upcoming PlayStation 3 game Gran Turismo 5. "White Diamonds" is featured in one of the episodes in the second season of the American television series Gossip Girl. "Jump in the Pool" is the theme tune to BBC1's Final Score for the 2009/10 Football Season, aired on Saturday afternoons.
The album was certified gold in the UK; the band was nominated for a Best Breakthrough Award at The South Bank Show Awards and for ‘Best Dancefloor Filler’ at the NME Awards. They were also second on the bill on the NME Awards Tour 2009.
On 21 July 2009, the band was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
All this states that the bands precise target audience, and the selection of people the band aims their songs at are teenage and young adults, both male and female as the song lyrics deal with issues which are specific to this generation.
So therefore the target audience for Friendly Fires is the younger generation both males and females predominately males, due to current research, magazines such as NME, Kerrang and Rolling Stones are all more popular to the male population. The age boundaries are from 16-30.

Audience Questionaire.
For my audience research I designed a questionnaire and handed them out to 20 people aged between 16 and 24 as i believe this is the age boundary to the type of people who listen to Friendly Fires, and having researched on website and magazines my hypothesis was correct. Boys and girls between 16 and 30 listen and are fans of the band Friendly Fires. I decided to do a questionnaire also to back this up, I included questions which would identify the genre of this band, and other genres and artists. The audience were to select there favourite genre, artist, song, and why they like listening to this type of music. I asked people in college between the ages of 16 and 18. And i asked friends and family members between 18 and 24. I also believe this is the correct age boundary because all three members of the band are 23 and 24 so if they enjoy playing the music, people their age are expectedly going to enjoy listening to it.

1.What type of music do you prefer listening to?

Pop
R&B
Dance
Indie
Heavy Metal

2.What is the first thing you listening for in a song?
The Lyrics
The Beat
The Music Video

3.What lyrics appeal to you?

Relationships, Sex, Romance
Lifestyle
Family and Friends
Religion and political views

4.Who do you prefer?
Friendly Fires
Metalica
Lady gaga
DJ ...

5.What is your environment where you prefer listening to your favourite genre of music?
Dance club (rave)
Alone in your room
In the car/radio
Club (socialising)


Tally.
For qestion one there was a variety of answers, mainly pop and indie.
For question two the majority said the lyrics, a few saying the beat and only one saying the music video.
For question three 4 people saidd love, sex, romance but the rest said lifestyle. i asked them to be more specific and they said, going out, having fun, meeting people and getting drunk and partying.
For question four 2 people said Lady GaGa the rest said Friendly fires, many had never heard of Metalica which is a heavy metal band, and no one liked dg music.
For the final question, all possible answers were chosen, 6 saying in a dance club when they are drunk, 4 saying in their room alone, 3 saying in the car and on the radio, 7 said in a club where you socialise, given examples of Welly Club in Hull and Piper Club in Hull.

Looking at my results i can say that the majority of the 16-2 year olds i asked prefer listening to indie music like Friendly Fires in clubs like Welly and Piper, but when they hear the music, they enjoy listening to the lyrics as they are more meaningful and relevent to their lifestyle and era today.
Knowing these facts and figures i put into perspective the band and song i had chosen and realised that for my task to construct a music video promo and digipack i will have to use techniques to appeal to this audience of 16-23 year olds as they are the ones listening to the style of music andd enjoying it.

I chose 4 people, two boys and two girls, to listen to the song Friendly Fires- Photobooth and tell me what and why they like about it?

1.I like the lyrics. They talk about a young couples relationship, the ups and the downs, the beat is very up fast, you can dance to it, or just sit and chill with it playing in the background. I love Friendly Fires as there songs are always unique but meaningful with a catchy beat.
(Katy Booker, female, 17)

2.The song is very catchy it has a real good beat to it, i love dancing to this in clubs. The lyrics are meaningful but not too depressing just relevant to most young people today.
(Lee Green, male, 22)

3.I absolutely love Friendly Fires, and this song isn’t one of my favourites as the lyrics are a bit bland but the beat is catchy, its just real relaxing but every time you hear it makes you happy, and i can relate as i have had so many sessions in a photobooth with my ex boyfriends.
(Sophie Olivia, female, 20)

4.Class song, every time this is played in a club or bar i always feel like moving, real chilled out and great lyrics. Friendly fires are class.
(Tom Snowdon, male, 18)

Looking at this and reading the comments i can straight away recognise that most people around the age of 16-23 male and female all love the band and enjoy this song. They al mention how catchy the beat is and meaningful the lyrics are. This shows that the target audience is pretty self explanotory, so i will be able to link these comments and opinions in with my task.

My Chosen Song Choice

Potential ideas for Songs
.Pulp-Common People
.The Coral-Dreaming of you
.The Beatles-Get Back
.The Cure-Boys Don’t Cry
.Friendly Fires-Photo booth
.The Cranberries-Zombie
All these songs have a similar idealistic style to them, they all cover more or less the same genre being, indie, punk, fold and rock. I like this style as music personally as i feel the lyrics are so much more meaningful and imaginative then other genres. Also a lot of these songs i have been brought up with so i can think of many ideas i would be able to put together to form a video. After due consideration though i have finally decided to construct a video to the song Photobooth by Friendly Fires. I have chosen this specific song as i feel it will be easy to associate with my own life and experiences because the song talks about romance, teenage lifestyle, relationships, memories and having fun. This will make it more interesting and enjoyable for ideas and imaginative suggestions to be put together to complete the final result. Also the song is quite up tempo which makes it easier to include actions and a simplified storyline.



This is the original video for the song. I feel this is extremely simple but works slightly. The video is simply of a girl standing in what looks like a photobooth or some kind of room with a back drop to portray a photobooth and she looks as though she is having plenty of photos and video snaps taken. The girl begins to dance and different tints of color are layed over the camera lens. The camera doesn't move once, its still on a tripod. The girl performs for the camera. What makes the video consistent and work is the act she dances in time with the beat so the spectator doesn't get bored but most importantly it doesn't look our of place or not purposely done.

The song was written at the beginning of 2006 and released in November that same year. The Genre of this band/song is electro pop so for research i have looked up similar bands such as The Human League, Depeche Mode, Soft cell, Ladytron, Peaches, Little Boots, Ladyhawk, Dragonette and The Knife. I have found out that David Bowie was a big influence for many of these bands and the most recent influential female artists are Little Boots and Ladyhawk.

Electro Pop is known to be electronical and robotic, usually made up by computerised sounds a little like dance music but with catchy hooks and sound slightly sci-fi. Instruments used for electro-pop are drums, guitar, keyboard, synthesizer and vocoder.

Friendly Fires-Photo Booth Lyrics

You and me in the photobooth
Waiting for the flash, close the curtain urgently
You and me like young lovers do
Timing for the kiss and close enough to hear you breathe
You and me in the photobooth
Waiting for the flash, style with a cup of tea
You and me in the photobooth
Giving it the natch, posing like we're this year's models

You take a lot and call me up
You show up
I suppose you're right
I tell a lie
You miss

You wanna shake it right down
You wanna leave me somehow
On black and white negatives
You wanna shake it right
you wanna shake it right down
You wanna leave me somehow
On black and white negatives
You wanna shake it right
x2

Structure
verse1- pre chorus- chorus- verse2- pre chorus- chorus

My Interpretation of the song...

I personally think the song is written merely to express the feelings of a young couple's relationship, early days. The song is simply about a young boy and girl, possibly mid 20's and suggests they may be on a date, which has lead to them taking some pictures in a photobooth. The song describes the couple running in and out of a photobooth taking different pictures, with different expressions and alternating positions. This suggests the relationship is quite recent as at the beginning of a relationship your most likely to have this kind of flirtatious banter. The song talks about lots of pictures been taken and saved on negatives as a memorial of their day out.