Artist- Yael Naïm
GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
The dress sense in this video is sustained to each person; it doesn't change throughout. This is evident as Yael Naïm wears the same blue striped dress from beginning to end. It's the same with the 'strange' characters who wear odd things and hold odd items, maybe to imply the imagination of the singer? The tune of the song has a very happy but melancholic tone, it has an upbeat piano rhythm with new instruments being introduced through the course of the song. This is evident when a character is shown walking through a field with what looks like a trombone/trumpet, this instrument is then introduced into the song. The cinematography presents a very positive and child-like atmosphere. This is obvious as we are given a bright sunny day and a nice lake with a fancy floating room in the middle, which counts for the child-like factor as the rooms walls fall down and reveal a surrounding lake, which implies the fun imagination of the artist as she then encounters the strange characters and an upbeat, positive ending. The location basically speaks for itself as it much resembles the typical indie genre; a nice wide open space that is empty and seemingly imaginary characters begin to appear. The location is quite easy to tie in with the lyrics, especially here, as the room is floating on a lake. Could that mean something?
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LYRICS AND VISUALS?
'Im a new soul, I came to this strange world, hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take.' These lyrics do coincide with the visuals, as the events in the video are certainly odd, with what looks like imaginary characters and the imaginary demolition of a room floating on a lake. This straight away gives us the idea that she has certainly come to a 'strange world.' Apparently the lyrics are about Yael Naïm moving from Isreal to America, so the big cities and the people is like a whole new world to her, hence the song title 'New Soul.'
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS?
The only relationship between the music and the visuals is that both are upbeat and represented very positively, such as the bright sunny day and the colourful clothes worn by the strange characters.
ARE THERE CLOSE-UPS OF THE ARTIST AND STAR IMAGE MOTIFS?
The camera does close in on the artists face on occasion, but there isn't a strong sense of relation of thematic elements between this video and the artists other works, so her work doesn't exactly harbour a known artists trademark. There is, however, a similarity in the sound of the music, as her other single 'Toxic' is very slow and melancholic, much like a few parts in 'New Soul.' Her other video 'Go To The River' has little to no relation in thematic elements with this video. The location, costume, cinematography and the tune are almost completely different compared to the cheerful video.
IS THERE REFERENCE TO THE NOTION OF LOOKING?
ARE THERE INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES?
As long as I know, there isn't any intertextual references in this video, as the lyrics just reflect a new world to the artist, and the video embodies that with imaginary characters and falling walls and floating rooms. There isn't any reference to other texts or other works in general. Maybe there will be, but if so, it's certainly subtle.
IS THE VIDEO CATEGORY ILLUSTRATION, DISJUNCTURE OR AMPLIFICATION? HOW MUCH?
This video is probably 30% Disjuncture and 70% Amplification. Disjuncture because we already know that this world is 'new' to the artist, so strange and odd things occur in a positive and happy sense because it's a whole new world and she doesn't know what it would hold for her. This leads to the amplification side, as the odd occurrences, such as the room dismantling into a floating wooden raft on the lake and the strange characters are just subtle metaphors for her own impression on moving to a different and bigger place: the people she'll meet and being able to keep afloat in this world etc.
THE VIDEO- http://youtu.be/XgEfYGzojcA
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