Can We Dance – The Vamps

Annabel Street

• ‘Can We Dance’ is a pop song and was the first single for the British boy band ‘The Vamps’. Their target audience is teenage girls which is made quite obvious throughout the video.

• This establishing shot shows the lead singer hanging upside down on a climbing frame with a dog standing staring at him. The wide angle enables us to see the background, including a fairly big house, a car covered in multi-coloured ribbon, a lampshade outside and foam covering the ground, which already makes us wonder what is happening. This first shot is humorous and automatically sets the tone of the video—funny and light hearted. The shot also makes the audience wonder why he’s there, making them want to continue watching the video.

• He’s wearing casual, but fashionable, clothes that you would expect a teenage boy to be wearing. This makes him seem relatable to the target audience of teenage girls. Fans would also enjoy seeing them wearing stereotypical teenager clothes because it would make them assume that they are normal boys, not above them and as though the fans have a chance of dating them.

• The location of the video (normal English house) is very ordinary which again suggests the ordinary life that the artists are trying to portray.

• The colour in this shot, and throughout the video is bright, giving an overall happy tone. This is also helped by the high key, exterior lighting in this first shot. High key lighting and bright colours are conventional of pop videos.

• The video has a narrative which is quite stereotypical of boy bands as it keeps the audience watching.

• There is no music at this point in the song but we do hear diagetic sound of birds tweeting and lights flickering which adds to the realism of the video. 

• We then follow (track behind) the lead singer inside the house where we see him interacting with other band members. The second band member to be seen is covered in what looks like flour and is sleeping on the kitchen counter. The lead singer plays a prank on him making him fall onto the floor. This has been included for comic effect and fans will enjoy watching them being friendly towards each other.

• The inside of the house looks very messy with food and ribbon everywhere which is quite over exaggerated and comical. This, along with the sleeping members of the band, suggests that it’s the morning after a party. This again could relate to the teenage audience and implies that they are normal boys.

•  The music starts and the word ‘drinking’ is included in the lyrics which suggests people drinking alcohol. We also hear ‘all my friends I know they’re all crazy’ as we are introduced to another band member which shows their good relationship that fans will enjoy seeing.

• It is very conventional for pop music videos to include many close ups. This video follows conventions as there are close up shots of each member of the group. We see the lead singer up close to show the audience that it is actually him singing and fans like to see him singing up close to the camera, as if he is singing directly to them. The other band members are shown in close up shots as teenage girls normally each have their favourite member that they want to see up close, rather than just the lead singer.

• In the background of this shot we see the band performing and people dancing along in the foreground. This is supposed to be a clip from the night before. This has been included in the video because it shows their talent as we see that they can all actually play as a band, with their instruments and without all the proper set up.

• It again conveys them as normal teenagers having a house party to which teenage fans will relate. Instead of performing on big stages they play for their friends at, what’s supposed to be, their own house which will again appeal to the target audience because teenage fans will want the band to stay small with a little fan base (as if it’s their secret).

• The low key lighting in this shot helps us understand that it is the night before as it is dark, compared to the high key lighting of the other shots. The light over the band emphasises and puts the focus on them so the audience can easily pick them out in the crowd of people.

• The lyrics ‘another drink’ again suggests the consumption of alcohol.

• During the video, we see an extreme close up of one of the boys receiving a text on their iPhone from their mum telling him that they will be ‘back in an hour’. This again represents them as normal boys as most teenagers now own iPhones.

• After we see this text, we see the boys using social media (Twitter) to contact their friends. The account they send the tweet from is ‘The Vamps’ official Twitter page which makes the situation seem more realistic. It also relates to the target audience as Twitter is the way most fans keep up with what the band are doing. The tweet reads ‘HELP! Epic party guys!... House is trashed!’ which confirms to the audience that there was a house party the night before.

• This also carries on the storyline because we then see the boys and their friends struggle to tidy the house before his parents come back. This keeps the audience watching the story.

• The lyrics ‘just can’t let her slip away’ show that the song is about a girl at a party that one of the boys (probably the lead singer) wants to spend time with.

• This clip shows all four band members working together to tidy up, getting the silly string off the drummer. Fans will enjoy watching this because it shows that the band members are good friends. The situation they are in is comical and this is also enhanced by the boy’s facial expression.

• They all look professionally styled which is conventional of a boy band video but it is unrealistic because it’s supposed to be morning after a party.

• Close up shots of the instruments are used throughout to show that they can actually play and perform as a band.

• However, we only see extremely quick clips of the instruments because of the fast cuts throughout. This gives a fast-paced, tense effect which reflects the rush they are in to get the house sorted before the parents arrive.

• This clip shows the lead singer kissing a girl as his mum and dad arrive. This instantly makes the audience feel tense as we know that he is very close to getting caught. This will also make fans jealous, wishing they were in that situation.

• The cuts are much slower at the end of the video when the guests have left and the music slows down, which shows that it is almost the end of the story.

• This last clips ends the story and, although it seems he got away with throwing a party while his parents were away, we see him looking very guilty as his parents watch a video of the party on YouTube. This is interesting because YouTube is a website where fans can continue watching the band and is also how the band started their career (posting covers of songs online).

• The song has finished, but we hear the diagetic sound of the video on the laptop.