Jamie T - Zombie

Narrative behind the video:

The narrative behind this video is quite simple. 'Jamie T' and his band, begin playing in a pud in front of a small amount of people. As the song gets more and more upbeat, the band members begin to follow the lyrics and turn into zombies themselves.
The underline meaning for this song is that everyone in society don't know what they are doing and are following each other like they are zombies.

What is it's purpose?

The purpose of this music video is to advertise 'Jamie T' and his music. However, this music video also shows the main singer as having skill when playing instruments.  This music video begins to be just an average performance video, with the average band set up, but as it continues the band seems to follow the "narrative" created through their lyrics and become zombies themselves.

How do they objectify women/man?

In this video, they don't really objectify or present men and women differently. The only people really presented in this video are the band members themselves.

How is the star objectified? 

The star in this video is the lead singer "Jamie T", which is clear from this video is at the front and has the majority of 'close up' shots, focused on him. He is presented as a musician as well as a singer, which shows the audience he is skilled. The rest of the band members have their own 'close up' shots as well, but not as many as the lead singer. However, in the narrative of this video, 'Jamie T', the star is last to turn in to a zombie, again showing him as different from the rest. Also, in the video, the two guitar players are sharing a microphone, yet again pushing the idea that the lead singer in the star in this music video.

How do they reflect their genre?

The genre of 'Jamie T' 's music is post punk or indie rock. Items in this video help to back up the genre of indie rock, like the denim jacket, which is a stereotypical 'rebel' clothing item and gives the video a retro feel. Another retro item would be the bands hairstyles. Slicked back with what looks like grease or gel, again adds to the 'rebel' look.

Does this video fit the criteria of a successful music video?

In my opinion, this video does fit the criteria and is successful. I enjoy this video a lot, because at the beginning it looks like a normal performance video, but as the song gets more intense, the band members turn into zombies, which makes the video more entertaining.
I enjoy the costumes as well in this video, as they give off the rebel vibe and give a retro feeling to the music as well as the video.

alt-J (∆) Breezeblocks

Breezeblock by Alt-j (2012)

Narrative behind the video:

If you play the music video forward, you will see that this it is actually a morbid story of an abusive male drowning a woman in the bath, while another woman is tied up in the cupboard. As an audience, we don't know any more than this but as a viewer, my initial thought is that the woman the man is drowning could be his wife and the girl in the cupboard could be his daughter or maybe even a friend. The name 'breezeblock' is referred to in the song, as he put a breezeblock on the woman to weigh her down, to drown her.

What is it's purpose? 

The purpose of this music video is to tell a story. It doesn't advertise the band, only their music as it does not show the band at all, throughout the entire video. There is an intense narrative in this music video though, showing a man arguing with a woman, and eventually killing here by drowning her in the bath using a breezeblock to weigh her down, hence the name of the song. The effect of the video backwards, adds a twist to a normal "alternative' music video, and entices the audience to watch the video all the way through, to find out why the woman is lying in a blood stained bath in the establishing shot. The overall purpose of this music video is the advertise the bands music.

How do they objectify women/men?

There are two main characters in this music video, a man and a woman. There is third woman in this video, but she is rarely seen until the end, which because the video is played in reverse, it actually the beginning. Its clear from the narrative that they are arguing and eventually the man kills the woman. The woman in this video is shown as weak compared to the male. In one of the scenes of this video, the woman is seen to be being dragged by the man, showing the man as more dominant. She is also seen to be chucked around by him. Although she does fight back, it is apparent that the man is stronger than her, and he is going to win.

How are the stars objectified? 

The actual band, "Alt-j", are not shown in this video, and as a fan, I know that they are hardly ever in their music videos. They do this because they want to be recognised for their music alone, not for what they look like.

How do they reflect their genre of music?

The band, "Alt-j" are known as "Indie rock" or "Alternative".  This is shown through many elements of the video. One of the main elements is the lighting, the lights are slightly tinted blue, giving it a slightly sad and cold feeling. The colour of lighting could also relate to the very beginning of the music video, where the woman is lying in the bath. The blue lighting could show the bath as being cold and adds to the idea of the sad feeling. The lighting in this video is also very dark, representing how sinister and twisted the storyline of this music video is.
The idea of the video being played backwards, adds the the idea of the band being "alternative" because it adds a twist to a normal, modern music video.

Does this video fit the criteria of a successful music video?

I love this video and feel that on a whole, this music video fits the criteria to be a successful music video. The reason I like this video is because it's so different, the narrative is different and so is the way they have presented it. The idea of playing it backwards and the blue lighting, adds the morbid feel. Also having it in reverse makes the audience even more interested because they see the end before the beginning and want to know what the previous  events where leading up to the present. Although they didn't use many camera angles, I feel that because it was in reverse, they didn't need as many.

The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather

Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood (2013)

Narrative behind the video:

The video to 'Sweater weather' can be seen as a simple 'boy meets girl' story, but it actually has a lot more meaning.
The meaning behind the word 'Sweater' is meant to be the man's mind and by asking the woman, to 'hold your hands in the arms of my sweater' is a metaphor for the him saying he can't get her out of his mind. The narrative behind 'Sweater weather' is very contradicting and this shown through the line 'I hate the beach, yet I stand, in California with my toes in the sand'. This again is a metaphor for his feelings towards the woman he is singing about. He doesn't like her necessarily, but finds himself liking spending time with her. People interpret this in many ways, but in my opinion, this could be him seeing her as a sexual object.

What is it's purpose? 

The purpose of most music videos is to advertise and acts as a type of synergy. However, some music videos prompt the music and others prompt the actual band members or singers. The music video for Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood is used to advertise their music, opposed to the band. This music video is mixture between a performance and a narrative music video. There is small bit of narrative, concerning the woman, which could be the love interest mentioned in the lyrics of the song, however there are a few scenes of the band playing instruments showing them as skill.

How do they objectify women/men?

There is only one woman in this video, and there are five men. The woman however is shown in only a few shots, and when she is shown, its only for a few seconds. The actual word "Sweater" in this song, is meant to represent his mind, and having the woman only being shown for a few seconds could be a symbol that she is only a passing thought in his mind. Also, because the woman is not shown in the master shot of the band in the car, it shows the audience that she's actually in the band. The woman's outfit in this band matches the rest of the bands and adds to the overall retro tone of the video. However, she is hardly showing any skin, yet through the the lyrics, we feel that she could be the singers love interest.
(Finish)

How are the stars objectified? 

The band in this video are represented as one, there is no clear hierarchy. This shown when the audience are first introduced to the band in the establishing shot, where they appear to be in a warehouse. They have a lot of space around them, yet they are all grouped together in the middle, representing them as being close.  However, when the band are in the car, as a viewer, they may see the way that the men are positioned in the car as being a typical band set up, with the main singer driving with the guitar player in the passenger seat and the drummer and bass player in the back, however only a "The Neighbourhood" fan would notice this. "The Neighbourhood" throughout this video, are shown as musicians. There are many up close shots of the band playing guitars and drums, showing them as skilled.Finally, at the end of the video, there is the bands logo, which is an upside down house, which also includes the whole shot turning upside down as well. This again relies on the audience being fans to recognise the logo.

How do they reflect their genre of music?

The genre of "Sweater Weather" is identified as "Indie" which is shown through the use of retro items in the music video. For example, the car, which is shown in the master shot. There is a wide angle on the car, drawing the audiences attention to it. Also, later in the video, there is a shot showing one of the band members looking through records, again retro, much like the car. The use of retro items adds to the "Indie" genre, as when "Indie" music was first invented, it would have been on records.
The whole idea of the music video being monochrome, again adds to the retro feeling, because it looks grainy and black and white, like an old TV picture.  The point of view shot, of the band being in the car, makes the audience feel like they are actually sitting with the band. The band in this shot are smoking, which makes them seem rebellious and adds to the stereotypical view of an "Indie" rock band.

Does this video fit the criteria of a successful music video?

In my own opinion, I feel this video is partly successful, because it fits the criteria. It represents their genre well, by showing retro items. I like this video because it, although it has the cliché 'boy meets girl' narrative, it is adds its own twist by metaphorically implying that the man they are singing about, doesn't like her, yet finds it hard to be away from her. I like this video personally because its metaphoric and abstract, although it looks simple. Another reason I enjoy the video is because of the variety of camera shots. It follows the simple camera shots like 'close ups', but has some modern shots like 'graphic match', when the the fan is spinning, but then cuts to the man spinning in his chair. Also, the cuts in this video match the beat of the music and are to the speed of it.
The only reason I feel this video could be deemed as unsuccessful, is that we don't see the band members on their own, enough. If a new fan was to watch this video, they wouldn't be able to put the band name 'The neighbourhood' to a face, as they all look similar and we don't witness them alone enough.

What are the elements of a successful music video?

First of all I will establish what actually makes a music video successful.


Music videos generally fall into two main categories,

• Narrative-Where they tell a story, which usually have something to do with the lyrics of the song.
• Performance- Showing the musicians playing their instruments, demonstrating their skill 

Main elements of a successful music video:

• Movement- this can be created through people moving to the time of the music or through the speed of editing
• Genre- the music video must represent its music genre through the use of the lighting, costumes and stereotypes, for example: if the genre was "Indie", the video would include some retro items.
• Camera shot- having a variety of camera shots
• Opinion- In my opinion,  I don't like narrative videos that are simple and have the cliché storyline of 'boy meets girl' without having some sort of twist on their story. In a similar, I don't like performance videos that don't have a hint of a narrative in it. I prefer videos that are different or are simple but have their own twist, 

Introduction

Hi, my name is Asher-Lee Downer and this blog will contain all the planning and analysis of my music video, that I will be creating for my A2 Media studies class.