I have chosen to deconstruct a music video by The Maccabees; the track is called No Kind Words. I chose this track because it has a simple video but however is still unusual and the audience is able to get a narrative from what is seen. The track follows the genre of which we are doing our own music video to and follows some of the ideas we have created so far.
Using Goodwin, what are the forms and conventions evident in the video? Discuss links with visuals, genre, narrative, notion of looking.
The distinctive links between the visuals and the narrative is about conversing with someone, hence the title of the song, 'no kind words'. this is shown it the way that the characters in the video are sitting opposite each other and begin to talk. This slowly turns into an argument, which is evident from the mannerisms and expressions of the characters. The anger and confrontation is also shown in the animations which are displayed in between the characters heads. The animations in the video also fit in with the genre as it is a mix of retro games, and images from 'old school' games. The genre is indie which uses the idea of taking music and fashion ideas from different later eras, and making them 'in' again. There is no use of the notion of looking as none of the band members are present within the video, and there is use of two unknown characters. However one of the characters used is famous himself, Matthew Horne, which shows that this famous young man enjoys their music, and wants to appear in their video, showing the audience their connections and could almost be an incentive to listen more if someone is a fan of Matthew Horne, and wasn't a fan of The Maccabees to start with.
What visual techniques are used and why?
There is a simple layout and convention's to this video as it uses a plain black background and the characters are dressed in light coloured shirts, and are dressed to fit in the genre. The animations used also fit, in a way, with the genre, and the song meaning that even though it is a very simple video, with not a lot of things going on, its style and layout works with the track and the mood conveyed. The kind of techniques are used to give the audience a visual stimulus. The tempo of the track subtly fits in with the animations seen above the characters heads, in a way that the lyrics make it work with what the audience is seeing, giving a sense of understanding to the video. This still could be seen as a vague understanding of the video linking with the lyrics. There is also use of colours , mainly primary colours, (below), seen in in the shots of the animations that are above the characters heads. The coclours blue and red also represent the calmness of one character compared to the red anger of the other.
How are the band/artist represented? Does this add to their 'meta-narrative' in any way? How does it help sell their product?
The band is not seen in the video, however the genre and the representation of the band is still evident. This is because of the typical style of the characters used , even down to the haircut of one of the characters and the clothes worn to express the certain genre. The band is shown in a way that shows the typical conventions of the indie genre and how their audience should perceive them within the music industry. The meta-narrative is a very subtle one, as the band isn't present in the video and so how the band are and how they perform and are seen by the audience is hard to see because of the simplicity of the video.
Is this an example of illustration or amplification? Or disjuncture?
The video shows signs of disjuncture as it is not a typical archetypal video that the band would normally produce. It shows an amplification on how the band is percived and what view the audience takes from watching the video as there is still some evidence of the type of band 'The Maccabees' are and the genre of music they fir into. The amplification shown is one of childish games and the emotions shown on the characters faces, and also the argument that the two characters are in, and that the audience is connected with the situation even though the audience cannot hear the words spoken, just the song.
Is there any intertextuality / references to popular culture? How does this create meaning for the audience?
There is no obvious reference to intertexuality or popular culture as the video has a very set narrative with no performance. This means that the only visuals that the audience has are of the two characters and what they are talking about, and then the animations of the 'old school' games that are representing the characters argument/disagreement.
Could this video be considered art? Does it present any challenging ideas? or is it inherently commercial? Why is this postmodern?
The video could represent art well because of the animations shown , and even though there is little acting there is still a lot of visuals for the audience, keeping them interested and enough visuals to work the narrative out. The animations used are post modern as in comparison of some of the computer games used today, they are much more high tech. And so the images of the games that are shown are less up to date and so the audience associate the band with more retro styles, which is very popular at the moment, and also fits in well with the genre and what the band themselves are like.
How are different social groups represented through the video?
The only social groups represented are ones of the indie genre that the video is done in. This is because the only people present in the video are two characters who aren't from the band, are representing the song and what it means to the audience.The main theme in the video is confrontation, and the representation on the genre and the way that the images used show what the video is portraying.
How might this video be consumed? Channels? Ambient or focused viewing?
This video would be consumed through music channels and radio. This is because it is a well known band and is well established, and so being able to get their music played, and videos seen on music channels wouldn't be difficult for the band. The video could be either ambient or focused. However i feel it is more ambient viewing, as the video has no location, costume or character changes and there isn't a huge amount of things going on for the audience, and so could be affective for background music, instead of for the main purpose of the video.
some very good analysis, be careful with your words Hattie, saying things like video is consumed through radio gives your work less authority
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