Music Video Analysis

Andrew Goodwin’s 7 features of music videos • Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for

boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

• There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

• There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

• The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

• There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

'Carry Me'- Bombay Bicycle Club'Carry Me' is a song by the English indie band Bombay Bicycle Club. This

song was released as a single prior to the album 'So Long, See You Tomorrow' (2014).

The single was accompanied by an interactive music video which was used to promote the upcoming album. The video was set in a studio

where the band are shown playing the drums and singing while a couple dance perfectly in time to the music. Animation has been drawn over the

top of the video which is very unique and shows the band's sense of originality. The illustrations have been drawn by multiple artists as a way

to promote their work, as well as the band's.

Genre description When comparing 'Carry Me' to other music videos, it is clearly shown how original and interesting it is. Bombay Bicycle Club are an indie rock band who primarily produce imaginative ideas for music videos. 'Carry Me' isn't any different to this. This video (as well as their others) fits into the indie genre. ' How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep' and 'Luna' are examples of other interesting and inventive videos which the band have created.

'How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep'

'Luna'Bombay Bicycle Club's music videos vary from song to song. 'Carry Me' would be described as fitting into the illustration video genre as there is a mixture of performance and a simple narrative, between the couple dancing, have been used. This is similar to 'Always Like This' as that follows similar conventions to the 'Carry Me' video. However other videos, for example ‘Feel’, could be described as fitting into the amplification genre. This is where there is a narrative throughout the whole video. The diversity between Bombay Bicycle Club’s videos show how their music adapts to different styles of video due to the original and alternative type of music.

‘Feel’

‘Always Like This’

Most indie music videos follow the same conventions. A typical convention is live performance which is shown during the ‘Carry Me’ video. This allows artists/bands passion for their music to come across. It allows the audience to focus on the music which is important with a single that is promoting an upcoming album. This could describe why performance is such a big element of the ‘Carry Me’ video. A lot of alternative artists now place some narrative aspects within the performance/have a video which is purely just narrative. Bombay Bicycle club did this with ‘Carry Me’ and ‘Luna’ for example. A lot alternative/indie bands have fully performance based videos, which usually feature some sort of lighting effect. Bombay Bicycle Club challenge this convention by making their music videos individual and unique to their band.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals‘Carry Me’ is largely performance based which means that there is little relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. However there is an aspect of narrative which forms a relationship. During the video a man and a woman are shown dancing together. It could be inferred that they are representing the lyrics of the song.

Towards the middle of the video the lyrics say ‘If anybody wants to know, Our love's getting old’. This is shown to describe the relationship between the two actors in the video as declining and getting worse. The repetition of ‘carry me’ then begins. During these lyrics the woman is shown leaning backwards, as if she is going to fall. It could be inferred that she is wanting the man to come and ‘carry’ her. The man then appears running which shows that he is going to catch his partner. The enhances the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as the relationship is clearly shown. This again is developed when the man is shown rescuing the woman when he catches her before she falls. The lyrics ‘carry me’ are describing the relationship between the two characters in the video. As well as having the literal meaning of the man carrying the woman, it could metaphorically mean that two people in a relationship rely on each other to stay strong. This strong bond is shown when the couple are shown holding each other towards the end of the video, after the man has stopped the woman from falling.

Relationship between the music and the visualsThroughout the whole ‘Carry Me’ video the music and visuals match one another. There is one heavy main beat which continues throughout the whole video. Throughout the video the visuals always match that beat. At the start of the video, the band are shown hitting a drum in time to the beat. A close up shot from a side angle is used to show the drum playing. The drums are shown moving position at every beat in the music. This precise editing allows the bond between the music and visuals to build.

During the video there is a couple dancing. Their movements are shown being in time to the beat due to the jumpy effect that has been used. This makes their actions seem less smooth which matches the music perfectly. The lighting during the aspects where there is dancing has been manipulated to build the music and visuals relationship. The lights flicker in time to the music which makes the bond between the movements and the beat much stronger. The relationship between the music and visuals stays consistent throughout the whole video. This makes the video as a whole very put together and sophisticated.

Close ups and motifsThroughout the video, Jack Steadman is shown as being the main singer. Barely any close ups are used during the video which demonstrates and reiterates the genre and sense of individuality that the band has. The video hasn’t followed the common convention of using many close ups of the main artist. Mid way through a semi-close up is used on the main singer. This shot only lasts few seconds but is then repeated later on. This helped to build a relationship between the audience and the main artist. This would allow a fan base to form, meaning that the band have more sales when their album is released.

Even through not many close ups are used, many motifs have been used. This is another common convention used in music videos, which Bombay Bicycle Club have followed. The shot of the band playing the drums is repeated multiple times. This allows the audience to feel connected to the music as well as the band. When the singing begins Steadman is shown stood forward while the rest of the band stand behind him. This demonstrates how their record label wants there to be a main singer who leads the rest of the band. This is different to the beginning of the video where Steadman is stood with the rest of his band members. This showing diversity throughout the video.

Reference to the notion of lookingDuring the ‘Carry Me’ video the notion of looking is used by the band members. Eye contact with the camera is gained which allows the audience to feel more involved with the band themselves. However this is mainly only used at the start of video. This is because the visuals match the main beat which continues throughout the song. The bands head moves in time to the beat which results in a lack of eye contact. Due to the indie genre, the lack of eye contact and notion of looking is expected. The reference to the notion of looking is a very common convention in pop videos. This demonstrating why it hasn’t been used that often throughout the ‘Carry Me’ video.

The notion of looking, when used, is mainly used by Steadman. This allows him to stand out as being the main vocalist and leader of the band. Record labels like bands to have one main leader/vocalist. This has been achieved in the ‘Carry Me’ video by Steadman having the most eye contact with the camera. This allows the audience to feel more involved and it helps build a relationship between the band and the fans. Even though eye contact is used, the band members facial expressions do not allow a stronger bond to form between the audience and themselves. They look emotionless during the aspects with eye contact. This doesn’t allow their personalities to come across to the audience. The band have followed the common convention of using eye contact and the notion of looking. However they haven’t used it as much as most videos. They also haven't used it in a seductive way which a lot of music videos do. This has allowed them to keep their originality as well as using aspects of common conventions during music videos.

Intertextual References The main story throughout the video is about a couple who are struggling with their relationship. However despite this, they still rely on each other. This relationship is shown through their movements. Their dancing is very intimate and shows their love for one another. There is a line in the song which says ‘if anybody wants to know our love is getting old’ which is telling the audience that they aren’t as close any more. However, the man is later shown running to catch his partner which shows that they are still there for one another.

Despite the meaning behind the song and video, it has no intertextual references to films or other music videos. This is expected due to indie genre of music. The band’s style is very original and therefore the ‘Carry Me’ video doesn't have any intertextual references.

‘Falling’- HAIM

‘Falling’ is a song by the American girl band HAIM. The band consists of the sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim. ‘Falling’ was apart of the band’s ‘Days Are Gone’ album which was released in 2013. It was the third single from their debut album, showing that it was used to help promote the band and album. ‘Falling’ was accompanied by a music video which was nominated for an NME Award for Best Music Video. The video is set in a jungle and it introduces the band members and their relationship with each other. It allows their unique ‘Indie-Rock’ style to come across. Over the top of the video a filter has been used to make the picture seem vintage and unique to any other video.

As well as the video itself, a behind the scenes video was put together for the making of ‘falling’. This would allow the fans to see the band’s real personalities as well as seeing how the video was made and what they thought of the process. This may have been used to help market the album as fans are more likely to buy the album if they feel like they know the band.

Genre description Haim’s music videos follow similar conventions throughout them all. They all fit into the illustration description as they involve both performance and narrative. ‘Falling’ is no different to this. Despite the similarities between the band’s music videos, they are all still very unique and well thought through. They all fit into the indie-rock genre of music which is expected for the style that Haim aim to achieve. Haim are a pop rock band with a slight edge. Their music videos are always extremely different and stand out as being their unique style.

‘Falling’ is about the three sisters exploring a jungle-like area. During the video viewers get to see survival activities as well as the band messing around and being their usual selves. Small dance routines commonly feature in Haim videos which is an individual trait that the band have adopted. The dancing is never normally too serious however, this making it more interesting and rare. For a part rock band, dancing and acting isn’t common throughout music videos. Therefore these features allow their indie approach to be shown.

The mise-en-scene chosen for Haim’s music videos are always very individual and interesting. The location for ‘falling’ is very different to other videos. The use of the environment during the video allows it to have a professional and individual finish.

Relationship between lyrics and visualsThe ‘falling’ video is largely performance based as the band is constantly lip syncing throughout the video. This makes it hard for their to be a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. There are many interpretations as to what the lyrics mean, however some may think that they are about falling in love. It could be believed that the person that they are falling for isn’t approved by others due to the lyrics ‘don’t stop, no, I’ll never give up’. This may be the narrator encouraging herself to do what she wants to do; rather than listening to the ‘voices’.

This analysis of the lyrics shows that the bond between the lyrics and visuals is very weak. By just watching the video, without the lyrics, this meaning would not be seen. The only link is the band actually lip syncing the lyrics during the video. Other than that, the visuals are very unrelated to the lyrics and the meaning behind them. This demonstrates that the band is diverse and doesn’t just do the expected. They think of something exciting and create a video based on that- rather than the lyrics. This makes the band much more interesting as their videos are unpredictable. ‘The Wire’ however does have a stronger relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This shows how diverse Haim are when it comes to their videos.

Relationship between the music and the visuals

At the start of the video there is a quieter beat which continues four times. These beats indicate a cut and change of mise-en-scene. This builds a relationship between the music and visuals from the very beginning of the video. However, despite there being a strong continuous beat throughout, the band have not chosen to match that beat with the visuals all the way through. At certain points there are cuts which match with the beat, this mainly happens towards the middle of the video.

The band’s movements match the continuous beat at certain points. Most of the movements are very slight but this makes it more effective and professional. For example slight head movements have been matched with the music. This creates a bond between the music and visuals. Towards the middle of the song the music gets slower and the lyrics ‘falling’ is repeated. The band is shown running in slow motion during this part. This strengthens the bond between the visuals and the music. When the music begins to speed up again, the band is shown dancing in time to the music. The relationship between the music and visuals is very subtle.

Close ups and motifsClose ups have commonly been used throughout the ‘falling’ video. This is expected as it is a camera angle that Haim often adopt. All three sisters have long hair which has been used during the video. Close ups of band ‘swishing’ their hair has been used multiple times. The use pf these close ups allows a close and personal relationship between the fans and the band to be built up. There are many close ups of the band whilst they are singing. This would allow the viewers to feel connected to the lyrics as well as the band. As ‘falling’ was used to help promote the album, these close ups are an important aspect of the video as it would encourage fans to buy the album due to the closeness. Towards the end of the video, the colour palette gets a lot darker and the band are shown with shadows over their faces. These close ups make the band members look fierce, showing a different side to them.

Dancing is a very common feature throughout all Haim music videos. It is always the band themselves who dance too, this showing that they are not afraid to get involved, this making them much more likeable. This allows all the band’s videos to stay consistent and similar. ‘Falling’ features a small dance routine towards the end of the video. The dancing isn’t really that serious however it is still at a high standard, showing that they have found the correct balance. The dancing aspects shows their personalities and confidence. This would make the audience feel connected to and like they know more about the band members.

Reference to the notion of lookingEye contact is quite common throughout the ‘Falling’ video. This allows the audience to feel more connected to the band and the song. As ‘falling’ was a single before the band’s album was released, the use of the eye contact would allow the band to gain more fans and promote the album better. The use of the eye contact allows the video to feel more performance based as the band interact with the camera. They don’t act like the camera isn’t there, like a lot of artists do in their own music videos. Haim find the correct balance between performance and narrative. This is partly due to the notion of looking. The use of the interaction with the camera makes it more of a performance, compared to the acting parts which is more narrative. Majority of Haim’s videos have a similar balance of narrative and performance, due to the use of eye contact. I believe that this balance is one of the reasons that Haim are so popular.

Eye contact is used at different points in the video. Some parts involve the whole band interacting with the camera, while other parts involve individual band members. These individual parts are commonly close ups. This allows the audience to feel even more connected to the band. This would help with sales of the album as the band would seem more likeable.

Intertextual references The ‘falling’ video is very similar to ‘Hothouse’ by 78Violet. Both videos involve the same amount of performance as one another. The mise en scene is very similar as both involve fields and flowers etc; they involve a lot of nature. The women in both videos are wearing similar clothing, all outfits are quite plain but effective for the location that they are in.

Other than the 78Violet video, ‘falling’ doesn’t have any direct references to any other film or TV programme. Haim’s videos are very unique which is why there might not be any intertextual references. Programmes such as Skins use a similar location to be free and chill out with friends. This is a similar idea to Haim’s video which is set in a jungle. This band are shown exploring the location which is similar to the activities that the Skins cast get involved in.

‘Houdini’- Foster the People ‘Houdini’ is a single from the American band Foster the People’s debut album ‘Torches’ (2011). It was the band’s forth single from the album, following "Helena Beat", "Call It What You Want“ and "Don't Stop (Colour on the Walls)”. The single ‘Pumped up Kicks’ kick started the band’s singing career, landing them a record deal with the company Startime International.

‘Houdini’ was accompanied by a music video which featured the band members Mark Foster, Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink. The video would be described as being in the amplification category of music videos. It is primarily a narrative as it has a strict plot throughout it all. The plot is that the band have an accident and end up being killed. They have a gig the next day so they get turned into robots so that they can still perform. Towards the end of the video there is a slight performance, however despite the performance it is still part of the narrative as they are still acting.

Genre descriptionFoster the People would be described as being an Indie Pop band due to the upbeat, infectious albums. The band’s music videos are usually very inventive and unusual. They predominantly fit into the amplification category of music video due to the common use of a narrative. The band’s videos aren’t necessarily that similar however this makes each video very individual and exciting. The single ‘Pumped up Kicks’ was the band’s first single which got them famous. The video for that single is one of the band’s only video which is mostly a performance. This show that the band might have decided afterwards what sort of path they wanted to go down for their videos.

The use of the narratives throughout their videos makes them a lot more interesting and exciting. ‘Houdini’ is about the band getting turned into robots after they were killed rehearsing. They go on to do a gig while they are robots. This plot is very inventive and different to other music videos. This sort of plot is not common, this making the video popular and unique. The videos shows that the band do not mind getting involved and having fun with their videos- a lot of indie bands would not be like this. This would make them a lot more likeable, helping them to sell their single and later their album.

Relationship between the lyrics and the visualsThe ‘Houdini’ video is very bizarre and random. It is very unique and has a very unusual, comical plot to the narrative. Due to this, the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is very weak. There isn’t as bond between the two. The band decided to create a video that doesn’t have any relevance to the song, other than the slight aspects of performance. For an indie band this is expected. After watching many of Foster the People’s videos, you can see that they enjoy creating ‘weird’ videos. They stand out as they are so uncommon. As a viewer, you would be able to pick the video out as being a Foster the People video. This is very important and would make the band as a whole a lot more popular due to their unique music videos.

Relationship between the music and the visuals The relationship between the music and the visuals is much stronger than the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The visuals throughout the video matches the beat and most phrases in the music. At the beginning of the video the band are performing and therefore the music matches the visuals perfectly. After the lights fall the relationship weakens slightly. The visuals are just of the production crew panicking, so therefore this isn’t in time to the music. However once the lyrics begin the visuals begin to match the music once again. For example the crew’s heads all turn in time to the beat. The Asian man is also shown clicking in time to the main beat with continues through the song. The relationship is very subtle as there are only slight movements which match the beat in the music. However all of these slight movements together make a strong bond between the music and visuals.

Mid way through the video the band are shown being made to dance. Their movements are in time to the music perfectly which builds the relationship between the music and visuals. This bond grows once again after the band have been turned into robots and begin to perform. The visuals match the beat perfectly.

Close ups and motifs Throughout the video close ups aren’t commonly used. Closer shots have been used to show facial expressions and emotions but this isn’t always just on the band. After the lights fall onto the band, the crew’s emotions are shown by the use of close ups. Throughout the video a lot of zooms to close ups have been used. This camerawork empathises the emotion in the actors face. A close up has been used to show the process of one of the band members being turned into a robot. This is very unusual for a music video and therefore reiterates how unique the band are. Throughout the video the band are shown performing the song multiple times. Due to this being repeated, mainly on the chorus, repetition occurs which allows the video to look professional.

Reference to the notion of lookingThe video has a strong plot which means that the band are constantly acting throughout. This results in there being a lack of eye contact with the camera. If there were eye contact with the camera it would ruin the effect that they have desired. The only slight part which has eye contact with the camera is after the band has been turned into robots and are walking to the stage. There is about 3 seconds of eye contact which shows that it isn’t that significant.

Intertextual references ‘Houdini’ doesn’t have any direct intertextual references however it has had some Television features. It appeared in series five, episode one of Gossip Girl and the video game SSX. These features show that their music is very popular however so unique that it doesn’t have any references to films. For example the music video for the single doesn’t have an direct links to films or any other music video. This is expected however due to how unusual the video is.

The plot for the video is very unique and well thought through. No other band/artist has created a video with a similar storyline. This would be because it is so unusual and some might say brave. Despite the video being very different, it is incredibly entertaining and interesting. This is what makes it so popular. However this is also why it doesn’t have any references to films- its so exclusive.