Media A2 - Textual Analysis

1. TEXTUAL
ANALYSIS
LUKE MCGUCKIN – A2 MEDIA

2. INTRODUCTION TO TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
The song that I am going to be analysing is “Houdini” by Foster The People
and it is directed by Daniels, but produced and written by Mark Foster who
is the lead singer of the band.

3. GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
This song is within the indie/alternative genre so there are certain conventions that I would expect to see during the
music video. For example, I would expect to see a narrative within the video as well as performance from the band, with
a story which is linked to the lyrics. Using a change of interesting locations, such as outdoor and abandoned areas, the
music video can often offer the audience a story and a meaning behind the lyrics, perhaps creating a more interesting
video. I would also expect to see a mixture of high and low key lighting is often used, with the background often being
darker than the foreground, and the foreground being more intense lighting to help the band stand out. The costume and
clothing seen within indie-rock music videos is also important and often suits the unique and abstract style of music, so
the artists usually match the genre and the music that they produce, the costume stands out just like the music style.
Within the music video “Houdini”, the lighting is one of the main conventions which stands out to me when the band are
performing at the start and the end of the video. The lights face the camera and the use of strobe lighting helps the
performers to stand out as they perform. This is evident at the end of the video when the band perform in front of a live
performance.
Camera movements are very varied which you would expect in an indie-rock video as it adds variety to the editing. The
video starts with close-ups of each band member performing, before switching to a long-shot of the band performing in
the center of the frame. The use of tracking camera is also used during the narrative, giving a larger view of the location
and showing the group of producers in black morph suits helping to re-create a performance. At the end of the video, the
band are shown from a low-angle shot to make the viewers feel part of the audience, as well as extreme long-shots
showing the size of the concert and supporting the bands fan base.

4. IS THE VIDEO PERFORMANCE BASED OR
NARRATIVE?
The music video is a hybrid because it contains performance but also narrative in the
middle section of the video. For example, the video begins with the band performing on
stage in front of their producers in preparation for the concert, however, the stage frame
and lighting falls down and kills the band (shown by CGI and visual effects). The narrative
has links to the lyrics and show the producers in black morph suits holding up the bodies
of the band members and mimicking their performance.
3:2200:00 00:09
Band“die”aslightingfallsand
narrativebegins
Thebandproducerarrivesanddecidesto
tryandrecreatetheperformance
00:32 00:44
Theproductionteampreparethebands
bodiestotryandmakethemlookalive
1:02
Videoswitchesbacktoperformanceas
thebandareusedandbeingmimed
1:11
Theperformanceswitchestoadance
routineintimewiththemusic
1:26
Themusicvideocutsbacktonarrative
wheretheproducersarepreparingaset
1:39
Aclose-upofthemainsingerashesings
alongtothelyrics
1:54
Thebandmoveintoaperformancewith
somevisualeffectsandhighkeylighting
2:18
Thevideomovestoamixofnarrative
andperformance,asthebandperformin
frontoftheexcitedfansandproducers
2:31
Avarietyofover-the-shouldershotsfrom
behindtheaudienceshowthebandon
stageperforming
2:48
Amediumclose-upshowstheband
dancetoaroutine.
3:06
Backtonarrativeastheproducers
celebratetheirachievementsataparty
backstage.

5. GENRE TECHNICAL ASPECTS
The video for “Houdini” is 3 minutes 22 seconds long. There are approximately 116 shots in
the video, including a variety of camera movements such as tracking cameras, standing
cameras, panning cameras and handheld cameras. There are a few repeated shots,
especially towards the end of the video where the band are performing in front of an
audience at a concert, where there are repeated mid-shots of the audience reaction.
Location changes are not very apparent in the music video, due to most of the video being
set in one location. The location seems to be in a large studio and is introduced at the start
of the video where the band are practicing their performance. The narrative continues in
the same warehouse location where the ”dead” band members are used to re-construct the
performance by black figures. The only main location change is towards the end of the
video which shows the band move inside a concert hall where they are performing onstage
to a large audience.

6. GENRE TECHNICAL ASPECTS CONTINUED
The main performers are obviously the three band members, with the lead singer Mark Foster centrally
framed throughout the whole video. There are also actors who are used throughout the narrative, such
as the main music producer and the figures in black morph suits who help the band members to
perform. However, the majority of the screen time is given to the band members as they will attract an
audience to the video.
There are not many costume changes in this video, only changes between each character. For example,
the band members wear stylish and simple looking clothing usually seen within the indie genre, such as
checkered shirts and jackets, however, the main music producer and his team of assistants are shown in
a low angle shot when they enter the frame. They wear dark suits to show their authority over the video
technicians and (now “dead”) band members.
Video structure is varied throughout the video, with the narrative eventually building up to a big band
performance in front of a large audience. The video switches between performance and narrative which
helps to create “salt and pepper” moments throughout. An example of this is when the band collapse on
stage, the audience stay engaged because they want to see what happens in the narrative. Later in the
video, the “dead” bodies of band members are lobotomized and created into robots so that they can still
perform. Clearly a very superficial element of the video helped with special effects, but it is something
different to mix with performance and enhances the intensity of the video.

7. LYRICS AND VISUALS
The lyrics relate to the visuals and the video almost tells the story of the lyrics in a
different way. The chorus “Got shackles on, my words are tied” represent the visuals which
show the band members bodies being forced to perform like puppets. I believe that the
whole visual performance represents how artists often feel pressured by the music
industry and their labels to produce certain music and how labels shape the style of music
that artists can make. The lyrics touch on the idea that perhaps artists feel imprisoned
and limited to the type of music which they can release. Another lyric towards the end of
the video “Focus on your ability” not only links to the song title “Houdini”, but also
suggests how artists should focus on what they are good at and producing music that they
enjoy, rather than what the music label tells them to in order to make a profit. The song
name “Houdini” references the escape artist Harry Houdini who made fame from escaping
from impossible situations.

8. MUSIC AND VISUALS
During the performance parts of the music video, the beat is in time to the editing pace and editing cuts,
as well as the performance and movement of the artists synchronizing with the beat. This is evident at
the start of the video where the drummer is drumming in time to the music, and the movement of the
band on stage is timed to the rhythm, this gives the visual effect that the band are actually performing
the song. There are also some slow motion elements of the video when the pitch of the music is changed
slightly, giving a stopping and starting rhythm to the video, helping to keep the video interesting and
engaging.
Instrumental parts of the video in between verses either show the band performing their instruments
on stage, or dancing the dance routine which is in time to the beat. The use of special editing effects and
green screen is also used when the tempo of the instrumental slows down, in this example, a close-up of
the stage shows the figures in morph suits throw the band members forward to give the effect that they
are flying into the frame.

9. ARE THERE CLOSE-UPS OF THE ARTIST?
HOW ARE THE BAND REPRESENTED?
The performance throughout the video is used to create an energetic video which can engage the
audience with the music. The record label are trying to portray the band as exciting, but also quite
controversial due to the lyrics and the topic of the video. The band are singing about how the music
industry tries to control what artists produce, so by directly singing this to the audience it helps to
create a video where the audience can understand the meaning behind the lyrics.
Throughout the video, the band are constantly addressing the audience through the use of close-up
shots of them singing to the audience and playing their instruments. For example, during the end of the
video, the use of low-angle mid-shots on the band performing on stage makes the audience feel like they
are involved in the concert, again adding to the build up of the video and helping to keep viewers
interested. Close-up shots are also used when the main singer is performing, it enables the audience to
connect with the lyrics and can make them feel involved in the song.
The brand identity has changed since Foster The People have signed for a record label, Colombia
Records. Their breakthrough hit “Pumped Up Kicks” had a different style of video, the video is less
structured and has a more unprofessional style, which underlines the niche style of music in which new
indie artists strive to achieve. After signing for the label, Foster The People now have more budget
available to them to produce more varied music videos with more visual effects and effective camera
use, therefore developing their own unique style.

10. IS THERE REFERENCE TO THE NOTION OF
LOOKING?
There are no sexual references in this video as the band are just performing a song on
stage in front of an audience, the video is based around the narrative and band
performance rather than how they look. The only element of “notion of looking” is shown
when the band dance to a very structured and almost robotic dance scene. A wide angle
shot is used when they dance to show each band member dancing in unison, this can
create a notion of looking because it breaks up the performance and interests the audience.
There could also be reference to the lyrics in this dance scene, and the dance could
represent how the band are being “controlled” by the black figures, and how modern day
bands are often controlled by there label.

11. CONCLUSION OF ANALYSIS
To summarise the video “Houdini” , the hybrid mix of performance and narrative helps to engage with the
audience throughout the video and the visuals shown help to explain the lyrics. The lyrics themselves portray a
meaning, and represent how some modern bands and artists are often very limited to the amount of music that
they can create, due to labels controlling how artists look and what music they produce in order to reach an overall
goal of increasing profits. Foster The People want to challenge this in the narrative by singing about this topic,
and show that bands should have the creative freedom to produce music that they and the audience can enjoy. The
conventions of indie-rock are displayed throughout the video, for example, use of high key lighting is constantly
behind the band to help them stand out to the audience on stage, and the use of close-up shots helps to emphasise
the use of the instruments throughout the video.
By analysing this music video, I have collected a few ideas about how I can produce my own music video. The
variety of camera movements and distances used in this video is very important, as it helps to keep the audience
engaged throughout and adds “salt and pepper” moments to the video. Therefore, when I come to create my music
video, I must ensure that I use a variety of camera movements so that the video does not seem repetitive or
boring. The lighting in this video is also very evident and are all over the set. I think that this is a very good visual
effect as it brightens up the set and makes the video stand out, this is another feature which I am going to include
in my video because it helps to emphasise the bands performance on camera.