AC: Analysis of Music Videos

Foo Fighters- Learn to Fly

Institution and audience:

• This video is of a rock genre, so it is more likely to be consumed through and more focused viewing. The typical audience of this video would need to enjoy listening to rock music, as that is the focus of the video, as well as people who are just fans of the band, as Foo Fighters are a very conventional rock band, and one of the most well known in the genre. The music video is most likely to be consumed over the internet, through website such as YouTube, as it is far easier to access this way. Its not likely to be shown on many music channels due to the genre, and is not a mainstream video.

• The music video its self is very unconventional of a rock video, as they are conventionally performance pieces, however this is a narrative with clips of performance throughout, which makes it different and interesting to watch for the audience. The record label would have helped with the initial idea of the video, as well as help promoting it online and though other media forms such as magazines and radio. The band however would have had the dominant input overall.

Genre and narrative:

• The video is a narrative, which is very unconventional, especially due to the use of the comedy which is used, due to Dave Grohl the lead singer playing most of the main roles, which adds humour throughout the video. There is performance used during the video, which are clips of a live performance of the song, but allow a good use of cross cutting during the video, making it more entertaining for the audience. The location and costumes used are very authentic looking, which adds to Goodwins theory of visual art, making it look as if it is on a plane. With the use of CU on the characters, we are are shown the different characteristics of each played by Dave Grohl, which is very innovative of the band to have one actor playing all the characters, and is much more appealing to an audience to watch.

• The video is an example of an amplification, due to the song title and lyrics, learn to fly, the band takes their own approach on the title, and apply it to an airline in the state of emergency where they have to subsequently save the plane form crashing, and therefore 'learn to fly' the plane, but the build up is not illustrative, as there is not a literal demonstration of the lyrics, however there is reference to them.

• The video I believe would not be seen as art, as it merely is used a light-hearted comedy music video, which should not be take too seriously, but rather entertaining for fans of the band and genre to watch and enjoy.

Modestep- To The Stars (Break The Noize & The Autobots Remix)

Media language:

• The video itself is a performance piece, which is used to portray the meta-narrative of the band, through backstage and live shots of them. They are being represented as a rebellion band, as the music video includes clips of them smoking and drinking alcohol, whilst simultaneously representing them as relaxed and chilled. This is what is now seen as socially acceptable and typical of gigs and concerts these days, this image is then juxtaposed however when they are live as they appear much more loud and energetic when on stage, which is backed up by the mosh pits in the crowd at the gig. The band is being constructed so the main target audience of teenagers and young adults can relate to them, and find similarities between them, as well as appealing to fans of the genre.
• The camera techniques used include MS on the band members, as well as LS on the stage when they are performing, LS are used to film the audience as well to help construct the bands image. There were panning shots used to film the live performance, and were all mostly shot using a high angle camera, shooting down on the audience and the band. A few CUs were used when filing the backstage, to focus on parts such as the alcohol to help construct their image. The editing used is fast paced a well, for example before the drop, the editing is in sync with the beats, which slowly becomes quicker, as the editing simultaneously speeds up. There is use of black and white used during, which gives it an indie effect, which was added in post-production. The lighting changes a lot during the clip to make it seem a lot like a gig, and the cuts are so fast it is difficult to focus on the clips too much, but it is in time with the music, which is up beat.

Arctic Monkeys- Brainstorm

Representation:

• The music video is not very technically challenging as it, cuts between the bands performance and the girls dancing, with a few clips in between, however it represents them very enigmatically, as we are shown quick clips of them, from a variety of CUs and LSs. The music video appears to be very random with dancing and clips used, which adds to their star image, and describes them as very spontaneous and challenge social normalities with their style.
• The band are all white young adults, and as they are the main focus of the video, they are represented positively, by giving them the star image, making them appear extraordinary. The dancers are the next most focused point, as that is what the video cuts to. The dancers are all female, and appear to be using their body to dance seductively, which represents them worse than the male band members. Gender is therefore being portrayed negatively, however this agrees with residual ideologies, that men are more of the focus then women, but does not however agree with mainstream ideologies, we have now a days. The dominant values in society are being challenged in this video, due to the representation of gender.