The genre of music is similar to the one we are using in our text and the video shows similar qualities such as hosting the band in a tranquil, dark setting using three band members. There is also a narrative to do with love and the highs and lows of being in love.
The meaning behind the song
The song is to do with the finicial crisis Britain had seen a few years back; "tryin' make it work but man these times are hard" and how it has affected a young relationship. The video shows how two people have decided to move to America. Possibly to fulfil the so called 'American Dream'. "she needs me now but I cant seem to find the time, I got a new job now in the unemployment line" this refers to the struggle to be together while they're trying to make 'ends meat' with the money and looking for work. It shows darker times with "drinking old, cheap bottles of wine". However the couple are determined to go through bad times "sitting up all night, saying things we haven't for a while". They appear to be relighting their relationship until bad times strike again and they get "kicked to the dirt". The song is meant to show how even through hard times you can stick together. The biggest difference in our storyline and this one is the main characters life goes in decline all the way to end with no happy ending. This one goes in the other direction where the end is positive.
Editing Style
The length of shots are varied. The band shots are reletively long duration during slow parts of up to 5-6 second. These cuts are made shorter during higher tempo sections to around 2-3 seconds. The shots are varied between long shots and close-ups. Blurred effects are used and handheld appears to be a used technique from time to time. The shots are also in black and white to start with but become colour after the storyline picks up and again return to black and white as the storyline dips (this a running theme throughout). The narrative shots are again extremely varied, possibly to set the general tone. The happier times appear to be quicker cuts, occasionally at 1 second long. The shots where dismay is expressed, the cuts seem to have a longer proximity; although not always true. One shot shows how time is passing the male character by as he joins the 'rat race' with images of an American highway. There is evidence of blurs and overlays. The lighting is also efficient as it sets the overall tone nicely.
Below I am now going to show how the video was constructed using screen grabs. I will section these to show how every shot adds to the video and how it tells the storyline in a way the audience can clearly understand. It will also show the diversity of shots used.
Vocals & Instruments
Lots and lots of close intimate shots. Instrument shots are very, very short and often have an added effect. This could be because the band members themselves are more important opposed to the instrument they play. Their instrument is merely their identification within the band. The genre of music which is similar to mine uses a full drum kit and focuses a lot on the cymbals as the key figure. A microphone is also evident for the vocalist and the shots of him are predominently close-ups. The guitarist is often split into two with either the focus on his face or on the guitar itself; the two images are rarely seen in one shot.
Band Members
These shots show how again the close-up is utilised. Interestingly the non-vocalist band members are still singing along such as the drummer in the top shot and the singer is spinning whilst not singing in another. This could be a signature move he performs on stage.... At the bottom there is a shot where the singers bottom half of his body is a shadow in the light which is layered over a close-up of the drummer. strong stereotype such as wearing black in heavy metal or wearing skimpy tops in female pop songs. ThThe clothes worn are typical to the type of band. It's nothing over the top;everything is casual. It's not a e characters themselves are not involved in the narrative and their setting is different to the setting of the story.
Positive Narrative Shots
These shots all show positivity in different ways. The ones where they are physically interacting show how they have a close relationship. The money signifies the man bringing home money for him and his girlfriend to live off and survive. The two shots of them in sunlight show how there is always a little bit of hope and how they both feel the same and finally overlayed two-shot shows how even when they are in different places they are always thinking about eachother and working for eachother.
Negative Narrative Shots
These images show lots of emotions. Some of is simple such as her crying signifying her sadness and others such as where she is standing by the wire fence signifies how she feels she can't reach her goal as the sunlight is there but out of reach. Anger is also portrayed, possibly out of frustration and sadness again portrayed through writing the letter; possibly a more female characteristic. The shots of them whilst American highways and streets are in the background show how life is moving around them so fast and how they are now part of the 'rat race'. They want to slow time down so they can have more time together but he has to work to earn money for them.
Through this extensive textual analysis it's clear to see how the video has been constructed. Like ours it's split into the band shots and a narrative. It then goes even deeper the split the narrative into two with a negative and positive. We plan to do this to but with outcome resulting in a negative opposed to a positive. Seeing it in images deffinately shows me how a music video structure should be comprised and I'm glad I spent time going thoroughly through the clips.
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