Music Video Analysis 104

Name of Song- New Soul

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

Music Video Analysis 103

Name of Song- Little Talks

Artist- Of Monsters & Men

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS

           Here, costume and location don't technically apply for this video as it's animated, but still, the animated dress sense is very diverse and has a look of a very diverse fashion, with the clothes being multicoloured moving feathers making up what looks like a robe, and also black and white wooly jumpers are worn too, but the style is the same, as the clothes never change. The location is a large factor of the video, as the animated characters venture through a vast, surreal noir-style world in search of what seems to be some sort of salvation. The location could be one of the reasons why the video is animated (even though that's mainly the bands style), because a real set would cost millions, so creating an animated video broadens the imagination and draws on fantasy, adventure and even horror (the large dangerous monsters) elements. Now, the cinematography has sort of already been discussed, as the lighting is dark because of the noir style that the surreal world is presenting, but there are camera edits that are obviously used to synchronise with the songs beat and rhythm, such as when the background singing shouts 'hey!' The camera either cuts to another scene or follows the rhythm between the lyrics and the visuals.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LYRICS AND VISUALS?

             The relationship between these two factors is quite confusing because the lyrics tell of two people 'walking around this old and empty house, so hold my hand and I'll walk with you my dear,' but it doesn't match what the video shows, but there is that irritating air of mystery where you can connect the lyrics and visuals but thought is needed to do it, as the video resembles something much bigger than what the lyrics suggest. The video just shows a guardian angel guiding these five people through a dark and dangerous enchanted world, which is possible to connect with the lyrics I previously mentioned, as they're being guided through a dark place.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS?

The relationship here is very strong between word and vision, as every single beat in the video, including when they shout 'hey!' there's always something that appears or happens which is used to synchronize with the beat, creating a very smooth rhythm that encourages a good old singalong. This is evident in every scene. An example is when the video shows the five men climbing up a grapple hook that leads to a stone creatures mouth (so the rope that the hook is attached to is horizontally positioned. Here, the lyrics 'some days, I don't know if I am wrong or right' is sung monosyllabically as the words are monosyllabic anyway so that the beat can attach itself to these. At this moment in the video, every time the arms of the men swap over to climb the rope, the lyrics and the best synchronize with every arm movement. This can be found at 1:21 in the video link below.

ARE THERE CLOSE-UPS OF THE ARTIST AND STAR IMAGE MOTIFS?

            The video has six characters (the five stranded men and the guardian) who have members of the band superimposed onto the faces, so there are close-ups of the artists quite a few times throughout, but it's noticeable that they are shown in close-up because they are frightened of the beasts that try and attack them. There are star image motifs, as the bands other video 'King and Lionheart' is shown in the same fashion; animated, darkly lit and an adventurous setting, as the camera pans, cuts and zooms us from a city in ruins to a wide open space of abandoned buildings and structures. The only difference here is that the characters aren't animated.

IS THERE REFERENCE TO THE NOTION OF LOOKING?

ARE THERE INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES?

             It's quite difficult to notice any intertextual references, with the only subtle ones being references to OMAM's other songs through the tune of the song, such as 'Little Talks' and 'Mountain Sound' that have a similar upbeat tune that starts the song off and continues through the chorus. The only other reference that I can think of isn't justifiable because it would take reading a whole book to get it, but from the style of the video and the fantastical creatures in it, it seems like one of the Brothers Grimm's dark fairytales. 

IS THE VIDEO CATEGORY ILLUSTRATION, DISJUNCTURE OR AMPLIFICATION? HOW MUCH?

            The video is probably all amplification because we, the audience, can easily put together the subtle links between the lyrics and the events of the video, such as the guardian angel beginning to leadthe men through the enchanted world, with the beginning lyrics 'I don't like walking around this old and empty house, so take my hand I'll walk with you, my dear.' This is why the video isn't disjuncture because the lyrics and images, though visually separate, still create a metaphorical link. It isn't illustration either because nothing that the lyrics suggest provokes the appearance of that suggestion visually.

THE VIDEO- http://youtu.be/ghb6eDopW8I