SA - Video Analysis

Track: Chew Lips - Karen

• I chose this video to analysis as it is the same band that the remix originated from, and I like the richness and use of shallow depth of fields to create very surreal looking atmosphere.

Institution and Audience:

• I think the video would be consumed through ambient and focused viewing as there is an artistic feel to the video, which some people may like to watch just for the visuals, whereas the track may be consumed as ambient as it is quite relaxed.
  
• The video helps to amplify the artists meta-narrative, due to the low-fi look and interesting use of depth of field and focus. When applying Adorno's framework I can see that this video doesn't show off any 'false needs' and doesn't focus around 'commodity fetishism' at all, as the artists themselves are wearing quite bland clothes that don't seem to be worth much.
  
• This helps portray the idea that you don't have to focus on the clothes artists are wearing to appreciate their music, this would then make the audience for this band active, going against Adorno and siding more with Bulmer and Katz.

Genre and Narrative:

• This video is narrative and performance based, although the characters and the band seem to be in a similar location, making the band almost part of the narrative.
  
• When looking at Goodwins theory we can see that in this video, there aren't many links between the lyrics and the visuals that are obvious, apart from lip syncing and syncing the instruments with the audio track.
  
• There are a few examples of where the beat of the drums is synced with the visuals, one is when she punches the air and as she stops the u hear a drum beat.
  
• Also the cutting rate in some parts matches the beat, especially in the verses. I think this video could be considered art because of the use of light and colour, and the use of blurring in and out of focus, and changes in depth of field.

Media Language:

• In this video the band image plays a main role, and the narrative is very vague and the lyrics don't seem to relate to the video. The light colours and blurriness of the video connote quite a happy mood, but then the locations where the band and the characters are is quite dark in some places.
  
• One example is where the boy and the girl are laying in an empty bath in an undecorated room watching a TV that has no signal and is fuzzy. The look of the characters seems to connote a sense of relaxation and contentment with life, as they jump around slowly together in loose clothes and are kissing and cuddling each other.
• The location and mise-en-scene of the video is very lightly coloured and has a faded look, not one of a derelict nature but one that shows perhaps a bedsit or squatters lodgings, the characters are also similarly dressed to match the location. One example of this is when the female character is lying on the mattress on the floor with a empty look on her face as if there is some sort of drug use involved which would connote a darker side to the seemingly joyous atmosphere of young love.
  
• This adds to the polysemic nature of the video and conforms with Stuart Halls different readings of music videos. the different moods mixed in with each other in this video show lots of meaning to different people and this also improves repeatability as each time the audience watches it in focused viewing there can be different images and readings emerging.
• The camera angles switch quite a lot in the video, but when the characters are playing with the dove, the camera is quite low and moves slowly with the movement of the characters. It tries to follow the dove but isn't quick enough. This adds to the overall atmosphere, possibly fueled by drugs, as the slow moving connotes disorientation and relaxation.

Representation:

• The bands start persona is constructed through their clothes and the whole environment and atmosphere that they are in. The light colours and blurriness of the video add to the band's meta-narrative of an indie/alternative band.
• In the video there is little ideological discourse that challenges society's view on what is the norm. Although youth and young love is portrayed and the representation conforms very much to the social norm.
  
• This also helps add to the bands meta-narrative as a happy, and contented band, however the is a deeper view of the band that could be interpreted. The story in this video seems to be a memory, and so there is a more mournful aspect to it as well.