AS: Auteur Research Task

Music-Video Filmography:

MGMT – Kids (2009 – Christy Karacas)

Effective visual style. Easily memorable because of the dramatic and shocking nature of the content. By using a child as the antagonist the audience is able to sympathise and therefore the video connects with them more effectively.

This shot in particular demonstrates the vulnerable and innocent child that is the central piece of the video that helps it to connect with the audience.

Kasabian – Days are Forgotten (2011 – Charlie Lightning)

This video relies heavily on visual effects surrounding the band’s performance rather than a narrative video. The video’s effects (such as the ones above) help to turn what would be an ordinary performance video into something more memorable and unique. By having these effects in the video it gives it a unique visual style.

Watchtower – Devlin (2012 – Corin Hardy)

This video has a strong and dramatic narrative that the audience are drawn into from the beginning. This helps to place them in the protagonist’s shoes, as well as being able to listen to him as being the lead vocalist in the video. Accompanying this video is narrative speech over the top in order to reinforce the feel of reality aspect of the video.

Bloc Party – Flux ( 2007 – Ace Norton)

This video, like the MGMT Kids video, has a memorable visual style. The video has a disjunctive relationship between the lyrics and the visuals and this helps to give the video a unique feel. The monsters destroying the environment in the video helps to add a dramatic feel slightly and this along with the amplified visuals makes it an effective video.

Calvin Harris – We’ll be Coming Back (2012 - Saman Keshavarz) 

This video has a fast paced narrative which involves two characters racing back to a hidden stash that is unknown to the audience. This in itself creates enigma and keeps them gripped throughout the video. The fast cutting rate also contributes to the dramatic and gripping feel of this video. The two parallel storylines that form the narrative are also a key way in which suspense and tension is created.

Last Time – Labrinth (2012 – Colin Tilley)

This video has a sci-fi feel from a modern artist. The video seems intergalactic and shows the protagonist seemingly travelling the globe. The lyrics and visuals have an illustrative relationship and this is shown by the lines “round the world” and “I’m taking off”. This video is a good example of how you can create something creative that goes against the normal conventional music video.

Wildfire – SBTRKT ( 2011 -  Sam Pilling)

This video shows a girl awakening from what is presumably a seizure. We as the audience assume that she has taken drugs to get her into that state. The style of featuring only her helps to place emphasis on her ill health and aids the creation of enigma and mystery. As well as this, the inclusion of several normal features of a household e.g. a fan and wallpaper, and the effects that the video puts on them, helps to place the audience in a real situation so that the video connects with them more effectively.

No Church in the Wild – Jay Z and Kanye West (2012 - Romain Gavras)

This is a powerful video portraying what the audience can infer are citizens rioting against the government. There are many symbols of conflict on behalf of those who are rebelling. For instance the Molotov cocktail thrown at the beginning is what sparks the conflict between them and the police. 

This image sums up the video in one shot and is a powerful image. The shot shows the rebellious individuals as being united as one. Together they are evidently more powerful and feel as if they can have a greater influence on the state and the police.

Detailed Analysis of two videos of choice: 

No Church in the Wild – Kanye West and Jay-Z

In the video, representation builds the main ideas in the video. The citizens are represented as powerful and defiant. This is in contrast with the police who’re represented as the scapegoats and the target for the citizen’s anger, thus making them seem powerless and vulnerable, and heavily outnumbered by those seemingly seeking justice.

Moreover, the video’s narrative is also central to understanding the video. There are various narrative codes that can be used to analyse this video.

For example, the enigma code in the video is ‘why are they rebelling?’ the audience are encouraged to side with them as a result because its not clear why they are rebelling but their still encouraged to share the citizens point of view. The events and actions code is the idea that there is a constant stream of rioters who seem determined to fight their cause. The symbolic code can be applied by looking at the police’s riot gear and horses. These connote authority but could also be perceived as representing heavy-handed law enforcement if you’ve sided with the citizens. The cultural code is also powerful in this video; the setting of an urban suburb connotes frustration and boredom on behalf of the young rioters represented.

In terms of techniques used in the video, high angled shots are used when showing the citizens being beaten by the police to position the audience with them and represent vulnerability on their behalf. In contrast, the low angled shots that accompany the police on horseback connote authority and power. Lastly, the fast cutting rate when the rioters and police are seen in confrontation helps to represent the chaotic disorder and lack of control on the streets. 

Leave Before the Lights Come on – Arctic Monkeys ( 2006 – John Hardwick)

This video has a powerful narrative and many narrative codes that can be applied. The video shows a random member of the public who is dragged into a dramatic scenario of a woman contemplating suicide.

In terms of representation, the female is represented as being vulnerable and mentally unstable. This is contrasted with the male, who is seen to be a hero because he’s there by chance at the time that the woman is contemplating taking her life.

In the video, there is a clear relationship between music and visuals. The line “This is a good idea, you wouldn't do it if it wasn’t” is accompanied by a woman contemplating suicide whilst standing on the edge of the roof of a building, this is known as an illustrative relationship.

With regards to narrative codes, the enigma code can easily be applied to this video. This is because the audience are asking themselves questions such as ‘Why is the woman contemplating suicide?’ and ‘Was the man there at that time by chance, or was she waiting for him to walk by?’ and ‘Is she actually planning on taking her own life, or is she looking for a relationship?’ all of these create an enigma and give this video a unique feel of mystery and suspense.

The semic code uses connotations in a video to give an audience insight into a video. In this case, the woman standing on the roof connotes vulnerability and mental unstableness. 

Can music videos be seen as an art form?

With the advancement of technology, music videos have progressively become more creative and imaginative to get to the highly innovative and modern stage they’re at today. An audience is now more immersed in a music video than ever before, the narrative is more powerful, and ‘videos are no longer perceived as a five minute promotion for a band’, they’re now seen as art.

‘A music video is now able to tell a story, just like a film’ – a music video is able to communicate and captivate an audience, just like a piece of art.  For example, Leave Before the Lights Come On shows how a powerful storyline can be when accompanied by a music video.