Music Video Textual Analyis - The Age of the Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets

The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of The Understatement 

This is the music video for Alex Turner and Miles Kane's side project The Last Shadow Puppet's single 'The Age of the Understatement'. It's directed by Romain Gavras and is 3 minutes 14 seconds long. I chose to analyse this video as I planned on making my video of similar length and also wanted to use a song within the same genre. The video is quite hybrid, it features a narrative, the artist themselves and it's performance based too.

The music video opens with an establishing shop of an ice rink. This creates an enigma as the audience would want to find out what happens next. When related to Todorov's Theory for example, this shot also sets up a state of equilibrium of the narrative within the video. Next, the audience begins to feel quite tense as the build-up of sound is met with the close-up of a young girl putting on her ice skates. Shots of her worried and concerned facial expressions leave the audience as ease. The young girl then begins to skate on the ice rink to he pace of the music which has quite a strong rhythm whilst the cuts in the video also correspond to the beat of the song. This helps build tension and adds to the enigma created by the opening shot. It is important that this is done fairly early on in the video in order to keep the audience interested and intrigued for the rest of the video. 

Unsuspectingly, the camera then cuts to another long establishing shot of two men standing by soviet army tanks. It is at this point that the two main artists of the band are introduced. Slowly, the camera steadily zooms towards them again in beat of the music. They are framed in the centre of the frame portraying their importance and status. The video shows a medium shot of both them in front of two tanks just as the lyrics in the song begin to start. The band member's clothes are fairly stereotypical of the “indie/alternative” style as they sport long trench coats and Beatle-esque haircuts. Many people watching this video especially fans of music within this genre will be able to relate to the band members through the use of iconography and other elements of mise-en-scene. Again, the camera changes to a medium shot Miles and Alex walking with the rhythm of the music. The mise-en-scene of the soviet tanks in the background can still be seen which makes the audience consider whether something quite serious is to happen next. As well as this, the general setting is quite desolate with snow which perhaps connotes the isolation and loneliness of both characters.

The mise-en-scene in the video also implies connotations of age and create quite a dated kind of feel towards the video. For example, the lighting is quite dark throughout and appears to have a sepia tint.  Many other indie videos tend to be quite similar as many bands inside the genre tend to get their musical influences from older generations including band's from the 60's such as The Beatles, The Kinks and The Animals, so in general this video sums up the type of music they produce.

There is then a setting change when the camera cuts to the band members driving through a brightly lit Russian city, this is quite a contrast in comparison to the previous empty setting. Again, the importance of the two band members is highlighted through a low angle shot which looks up to the characters. This relates to the audience of the band as many of them are young and look up to them as idols. Throughout the music video, Alex Turner and Miles Kane tend to dominate each frame even when stood in front of the large menacing army tanks in the snow. The setting then changes again to a church. Again, this contrasts with the original settings of the tanks and also creates a binary opposition between religion and war. 

As the pace of the music picks up towards the end of the song, the amount of cuts increase too. This helps create a pace between the visuals and which both the eyes and ears can follow. The girl ice skating is also re-introduced towards the end too. Like at the start of the song,  her movement fits the pace and rhythm of the song and she slows down as the beat changes. Finally, the video shows a high angle long shot of the Russian army standing in formation. This shot could be showing the new equilibrium, as towards the beginning they were out in a so called 'wilderness' with the tanks yet now they're back at what appears to be important government buildings after overcoming their problem/task.  

UK Vinyl sales up 78 percent in 2013

Despite the fact that many people consider the vinyl record to have already died, recent data according to the Official Record Store Chart suggests otherwise. In the first quarter of 2013, results show that vinyl record sales have increased by a significant 78 percent. This isn't random nor a shock rise however, as last year (2012), vinyl sales surged up by 15 percent across all genres to an impressive 389,000 copies sold, the highest since 2004. Although independent record stores only accounted for thee percent of all albums sold in 2012, they managed to contribute towards more than 35 percent of all vinyl sales in the UK. With data collected by the Official Record Store Charts company, it takes in account sales from some of the biggest stores in the country including London's Rough Trade, Piccadilly Records in Manchester and Crash Records (Leeds) among others. The official  weekly chart is published each Sunday, last week it was announced that folk band Mumford and Son's hit album 'Babel' was the biggest selling record in the last 12 months sold by independent record stores. The other four top selling vinyl records of 2012/13 include Emelie Sande's 'Our Version Of Events' (2nd), record store day ambassador Jack White with Blunderbuss at number three and albums from The xx and David Bowie at to finish of the top 5. This news in general is great for the music industry and community, especially after the recent actions taken towards HMV's future. Also, these results and data bring forward that it isn't at all the end for the vinyl record but potentially a new beginning. Sales will only continue to increase and no doubt that 78% rise will significantly be exceeded especially with Record Store Day fast approaching.

The full UK Official Vinyl chart for 2012/13 was as follows:

Mumford & Sons - Babel
Emelie Sande - Our Versions of Events - 
Jack White - Blunderbuss
The xx - Coexist
David Bowie - The Next Day
Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls 
Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
Richard Hawley - Standing at the Sky's Edge

Audience Research: Questionnaire

I felt a questionnaire was an effective way to reach my target audience as it is a quick and practical method to collect quantitative data. Participants don't have to spend too long answering the questions as they only have to tick a box. They don't have to think too hard about their answers as they are picking from a multiple choice and the questions are closed ended, therefore meaning those involved not having to expand on their answers. It is also easy for me to make observations and conclusions from the final results.

I used an application on Facebook called 'surveys for Facebook'. With over 900 friends on the social networking site, I thought this would be a much better way to reach my audience especially as the majority of my friends tend to young. It allowed me to add the questions and answers and invite the people I wanted too. This was great as I specifically wanted to ask certain questions and I decided to invite certain people who I knew were interested in the genre I felt I wanted to focus on (indie/alternative/folk rock).

Step One - Creating the Survey
Here, I created the survey, giving it an appropriate name (Your Ideal Music Video) and inserting a description so the audience have some instructions on what to do, etc.

Step Two - Adding the Questions and Answers

Here is the finished questionnaire after I added the questions and answers. I included age and sex in order to split up my audience and see if males or females tend to prefer one thing from the other. Other questions included what sort of videos do people prefer and whether they prefer to see the artist feature in the video. 

Inviting Friends to Answer the Questionnaire 

Finally, I selectively sent certain people requests to answer my survey. These were all people I knew had a similar preference in music that suited the idea of music video I wanted to make. Overall I selected 60 participants to take part in the survey. 

My Results

After sending requests out to 60 people to fill out my questionnaire on music videos I received roughly 30 replies which was great. After collecting and bringing the results together I found that overall people preferred narrative based music videos that include the artist. Generally people also felt 3-4 minutes was the appropriate length for a song but didn't really like videos that featured the artist singing or lip syncing the lyrics. Finally, the average age of my respondent audience was 16-20. However, this was expected as the majority of people I have on Facebook have a similar age as me.

Genre Characteristics

There are various different genres in Music today and with each typically comes a different style of music video too. I have researched four different music genres, Rock/Metal, Pop, Indie/Alt, and R&B/Rap and highlighted what makes them different from each other.

Rock/Metal Music Videos - Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

In general, Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold is quite typical of it's genre. As a whole the lighting throughout the video is very dark and has quite a mysterious tone which you'd expect when watching a metal video. This video, as well as other similar videos is performance based, with the band performing throughout the song and lead singer lip syncing alone at various points. The video is hybrid however, the video doesn't just feature the band performing but there's a narrative base to it too. From the song and meaning of the lyrics, the narrative re-creates a nightmare inside what appears to be a mental asylum. There are lots of quick cuts when the music becomes faster and louder and shots of blood and patients in the hospital are quite shocking for the audience. The general mise-en-scene in metal/rock music videos tends to include people with tattoos or piercings and again the lighting is always dark and mysterious.


Pop Music Videos - JLS - Everybody in Love

The video for  Everybody in Love by JLS and practically every single other pop music video is the complete opposite of those in the rock/metal genre. Rather than being very dark throughout the video, it's much more bright, lively and vibrant. The video is also performance based and the band seem to dance to a routine throughout but pop videos generally tend to focus more on the appearance and image of the artist in order to appeal to their audience. (P.s. Please take into account I had to listen to this song as least once the whole way through in order to write this. Oh, the pain).


Indie/Alternative Music Videos - The Courteeners - Not Nineteen Forever

As music in the alternative genre is so widespread there aren't particularly any codes and conventions of indie music videos rather than them being quite unique and different. In this case, The Courteeners sound fits into the 'lad rock' section of indie music. The video includes the lead singer Liam Fray lip syncing in a cafe and the video seems much more genuine and authentic than a typical pop video. Other indie music videos can often be quite symbolic and picturess.


Rap/R&B Music Videos - T-Pain - Church
Common characteristics of rap and R&B videos tend to include the artist centre stage throughout the video often driving expensive cars or surrounded by half naked dancing women. They are fairly similar to pop videos in the way that the artist's image is the most important thing. Music videos in this genre usually include the artist miming as well and if any feature narrative it's usually based on the lyrics. As a whole, rap videos are quite positive and upbeat rather than dark and grim in comparison to the metal/rock genre.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

The 'Uses and Gratifications Theory' which can also be referred to as the Needs and Gratifications Theory is quite an influential tradition in Media research. In 1974, the theorists, Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch suggested that the media play an active role in choosing and using the different types of media people use. The Theory brings forward that the media user seeks out a source that best suits their needs and focuses on why people use particular media rather than on the content itself. In contrast to the concern of the 'media effects' idea with 'what media does to people', Uses and Gratification tends to highlight 'what people do with media' instead resulting in a more varied set of responses and reactions. Not only can it be applied to music but to all types of media including television and magazines. However, some people have criticised the theory in the past stating that research could be unreliable as reports rely on user's memory rather than actual data as well as people potentially getting too emotionally drawn in perhaps resulting biased results.

The theory has four main principles:

• Diversion: The need to escape from everyday routine and problem to relax.
• Personal Relationships: People use different forms of media to help form relationships and to fulfil their needs for companionship.
• Personal Identity: People often use the media to reassure themselves, to find things out for themselves and to perhaps reinforce personal well being. 
• Surveillance: To find out what's going on around us, finding information through media that might affect us or those around us.

In Relation to Music

- Diversion can prevent boredom and make people relaxed. Perhaps putting on a relaxing album or song in a dark room. 

- When lyrics in certain songs may relate to a personal relationship between two people.

- Personal Identity will allow people's emotions to relation to certain songs. 

- Surveillance of music could help people find out about how other people in the world may live through cultural music.

When researching the Uses and Gratifications Theory, Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch introduced 5 components compromising the model. These were:

1) "The Audience is conceived as active."

2) "In the mass communication process much initiative in linking gratification and media choice lies with the audience member." 

3) "The media compete with other sources of satisfaction."

4) "Methodologically speaking, many of the goals of mass media use can be derived from data supplied by individual audience members themselves."

5) "Value judgements about the  cultural significance of mass communication should be suspended while audience orientations are explored on their own terms." 

Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch (Left to Right)

Music Video Analysis / Switchblade Smiles

Switchblade Smiles by Kasabian was the first single from their 2011 album 'Velociraptor'.  The genre of the band/song would fit into the indie/psychedelic rock genre and in general the video is typical of it's genre. The length of the video is 4 minutes 16 seconds long and it was uploaded to YouTube on the 15th July, 2 months prior to the release of the album. It was produced by renowned filmmaker Charlie Lightening who had previously worked on music videos by Arcade Fire and short documentaries for Liam Gallagher's clothing label 'Pretty Green' and directed by conceptual designer Aitor Throup. Although the majority of the video consists of just black and white editing the contrast of the film has just been lowered significantly which is quite common with videos in the indie/alternative genre although there are some hints of vibrant colour throughout which look quite effective. The video is mainly performance based but rather than the band just performing on a stage throughout, they're performing in front of some form of green screen in order to create a 'white room' effect. The camera rarely stays in one place during the video and there are a wide range of different shots from various angles. 

           

The entire band themselves appear to be wearing completely black clothes in order for them to stand out effectively on the white background. Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno, the guitarist/vocals and lead vocalist from the band seem to take centre stage in the video and appear more than the other members. However, this is quite typical for Kasabian as these two members tend to usually feature in Radio or Television interviews and magazine shoots over the rest of the band. Not only is there footage of the band performing in the video but various different shots of the band doing various things that to keep in sync with the music. For example, at several points throughout the songs there is the sound of both Serge and Tom simply singing 'Aaaahhhhhh' for fairly lengthy periods of time and the video matches this with the two members shout the lyric to each other. This is a great way to start the video of a fairly up beat and lively song, foreshadowing what is to come. 

This and other similar parts during the music video also draws attention to the lyrics of the song. As well as close ups of both Serge and Tom lip syncing appearing on various occasions throughout, quite a stand out lyric 'MOVE' fills the screen in bright red writing whenever it sounds in the song. This is very effective in my opinion and the colour makes it really stand out in front of the back drop of just blacks, whites and greys. To match this, the white back drop also turns to red later on in the video. Other videos that include similar conventions are Azealia Banks' hit single '212'. 

The editing includes lots of short snappy cuts in certain places especially when the music gets quicker and louder. The camera is only completely still on the odd occasion as the majority of the shots pan or rotate in various different directions. When searching for the Switchblade Smiles video on YouTube, I came across the 'Making Of' video which I found very interesting and helpful  when writing my analysis of the video. 

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

Camera shots

Generally, a lot of music videos contain a lot of close up shots, particularly of the instruments in which the artists are playing. This can often be to show the emotions of characters in narrative based videos or to please the audience and show the artist/band's face. High angle shots are used too where often the camera is on a crane looking over the stage, getting a wide view of everything on show. Pans and tilts moving from different performers, especially in the case of a band as they often pan from each member of the band. 

Editing

Conventionally of a music video the editing often involves lots of jump cuts and cutting to/from different narratives or angles which is done to keep the audience interested and at ease. Other forms of editing also includes split screens, this shows more than one angle to the video. This also helps attract the viewer's attention. If the music video is narrative based, split screen editing allows it to tell two stories rather than just one. When a video doesn't have as many cuts it can often be because the artist aims to create a mood. This style of editing is much more common in female solo artists music videos who appeal to a wide audience.

Mise-En-Scene

The importance of mise-en-scene tend to depends on what what music it is and what genre the music may fit into. In the indie genre the artist/actors in the video would usually stick to one outfit but in pop videos the artists especially could wear 2-3 or more. Usually in narrative based videos costume changes don't occur. The location also depends on what type of music video it may be. Narrative based videos genuinely tend to include more than one location but performance music videos usually just focus on one setting (the stage). Mise-en-scene can be a significant way of how the artist may be portrayed by different audiences when watching the video. For example, high-key or low-key lighting could represent the different between whether the video/song is quite dark or positive. 

Styles of Music Videos

Music videos can be categorised as there are many different types of music videos that people choose to have. These include:

Performance based - this is where the video focusses on the band or artist playing the music and singing the song. Close up shots of the singer or band allow the audience to feel intimacy with them. Typically, fans of artist's quite like performance based videos as they'd rather see the band/artist themselves. Performance based videos can be made on a fairly cheap budget. An example is Peace with their single 'Follow Baby'. 

Narrative based - Videos that tell a story as the music video progresses. Usually the story being acted out in the video is based on the meaning of the lyrics in the song. These videos are used quite frequently and in various different genres too. There are a number of different theorists of narrative based videos including Todorov who suggested that these types of videos are split up into different parts. The video begins in a state of equilibrium where everything if fine. Then, an inconvenience or problem occurs which has to be solved in order to return to the original state of equilibrium. An example of a narrative based video is Tame Impala with their song 'Mind Mischief'.  

Narrative and Performance based (Hybrid) - Music videos that show the artists performing yet also tells a story simultaneously. These videos give the artist much more freedom as they can practically include what they want. Again, audiences like a mix of both narrative and performance as they get to see the band play as well as there being some sort of storyline to it. An example is the Rolling Stones with their latest song 'Doom and Gloom'. 

Cameo performance based - Videos that the band features in however does not perform. These videos are quite common. Audiences tend to enjoy seeing the artist or band member(s) acting as a character in the video and it can often keep them interesting. An example is 'Suck it and See' by Arctic Monkeys. 

Animation based - The music video is created digitally. With the advancement of technology and CGI, animation based videos have become more and more common. It can be very effective in many cases and the editing can suit the audio very well. This is an example, it's the music video to 'Feels Like We're Only Going Backwards' by Australian modern psychedelic band Tame Impala.