Textual Analysis on Two Door Cinema Club, What You Know

1. CTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Luke McGuckin – A2 Media

2. Introduction
The next video that I am going to be analysing is going to be “What You Know” by
Two Door Cinema Club. The song was released on 7th February 2011 and was
produced by Elliot James, being written by the band members Alex Trimble, Sam
Halliday and Kevin Baird.

3. Is the video performance based or narrative?
The video for “What You Know” is mainly based around performance, with the band being
centrally framed throughout the video and a variety of different dance performers around
who dance around the band. The video is unique in a way because it is set on a completely
white stage setting, giving the illusion of a very isolated environment with the lead singer
moving and performing around the set. The set changes slightly throughout the video, for
example, the backing dancers move around lots and go through doors and the band move
around in and around the dancers. This constant change of movement helps to maintain
audience interest, instead of the band performing in one place.

4. Genre Technical Aspects
“What you know” is 3 minutes 11 seconds in length. There are approximately 67 different shots in this
video, which is quite unusual for a music video of this genre as there are usually over double the amount
of this. However, this highlights the uniqueness of the video and the fact that the video is shot within one
location, using lots of camera tracking movements to move between frames and angles, rather than
editing lots of different shots. This challenges the conventions of the indie genre, and offers something
visually unique to the audience. There are a few repeated shots through the video, especially when the
band are performing as a unit, long-shots constantly show the band performing and addressing the
audience, with the dancers performing around them. A few close-up shots are used throughout the video
too, for example, at the start of the video when the dancers enter the frame, and there are also close-ups
as each drum beat is hit.
There is only one single location used throughout the video which again, is quite unique for an indie music
video, as there are often many location changes to either portray a narrative or keep an audience
interested. Yet in this video, we see a single location shown which still maintains audience interest
throughout. The location used is an all white set, where the band and dancers move around constantly, as
the camera tracks them throughout the song, using a range of close-ups and long shots to show the band
at different angles.

5. Genre Technical Aspects Continued
There are 3 main performers which are central to the video, these are the 3 band members, but
there are also 6 other main dancers who move around the set and dance around the band. There
are also other less significant narrative characters who also appear at times during the set.
Costume change is also not very apparent during this video and remains quite consistent, the band
members are presented quite smartly and wear suit jackets and ties for all of the video. The
dancers also wear the same costume throughout the video, denim shorts and a red vest and
portray the style of a cheerleader. The only costume change which appears in the video is when
the dancers change into a red skirt and an orange top for the second verse of the song, and
different dancers keep changing outfits to symbolize a change in dance routine.

6. Lyrics and Visuals
The lyrics relate to the lyrics slightly, however, it is hard to depict a meaning from the lyrics as there
is no narrative to accompany the story behind the lyrics. There are a few lyrics which relate to the
visuals, for example, there is a close-up on a female character when the lyrics sing “In a few weeks,
I will get time, to realise, its right before my eyes” , perhaps suggesting that the singer has
dedicated a lot of his time to creating music and has never dedicated his time to the girl who he is
addressing. An over the shoulder shot shows the lead singer actually singer at the female and
addressing her directly, allowing the audience to understand the emotion. Perhaps the song has
been written about touring and the lifestyle that the bands live, they are often away for long
periods of time and often leave the ones they love behind. The lyrics “and I can taste it, its my
sweet beginning” is perhaps suggesting that the artist is choosing his success over his love life, and
realises that he has to give up everything to make his band a success. The singer also quotes
“Maybe next year, I’ll have no time, to think about, the questions to address”, once again, the
music slows and he steps away from the band to directly address and connect with the audience.
Through the use of a mid-shot, the singer is possibly suggesting that time is running out to save
his relationship, and that he perhaps feels guilty that he never has the time to spend with his lover.

7. Music and Visuals
The music does cut to the beat and the continuity editing means that the video is edited so that it
fits with the rhythm of the song. An example of this is at the start of the video, when close-ups
show beats of the drum during the opening sequence, one of the dance performers moves along
and beats a single drum in time to the music. Another example is when the first guitar riff begins,
the drums beat very fast and the editing pace changes so that the shot switches very quickly on
each beat. The shot changes quickly between a front facing shot of the band, to a backwards
facing shot. The speed of the music also changes at certain points, for example, in the first verse
when the singer is addressing his lover, the music is slower and less heavy, however, a mid-shot
switches back to a fast paced dance move where the editing pace picks up again with the change
of beat.

8. Close-up of the artist and star motifs
For the majority of the video, the band are shown central to the frame from many different angles
long-shots usually show them performing together. However, there are some close-ups and mid-
shots of the lead singer as he leaves the stage to directly address the audience and sing part of a
much softer verse. This helps to portray the band as quite emotional and allows the audience to
engage with the lyrics and understand the meaning behind the song. On the other hand, the use of
one location and the constant tracking shots of dancers helps to create an energetic music video,
which gives the idea that the band are very lively and enjoy performing to the audience. This is
reinforced by the use of close ups, as we can see the bands energetic movement as they perform.
This video does relate back to other music videos by Two Door Cinema Club, as it follows a similar
style, where the cameras are mainly focused on performance of the instruments rather than
narrative. Throughout all of their videos, the band are the centre piece of the performance, with
the camera mainly focusing on the costume and performance of the band, helping to create a
unique and isolated style of music video whereby the audience has complete focus on the music
and lyrics.

9. Is there reference to the notion of looking?
There are a few points in this video where the female dancers are possible sexualized, just because
of the close-up angles which are used as they dance, and other close-ups used, such as the focus
on the women in the bathtub. For example, the first shot which is shown is a panned shot upwards
from when the dancers move into frame, the camera slowly moves up their legs and shows each
dancer addressing the audience. The shot is quite long in distance, and possibly objectifies the
females due to their short skirts and tight clothing. They could be addressed as just backing
dancers and not a central part to the video, therefore, it could be argued that the females are only
there to be admired by the male gaze, and to make the video look pretty. The use of tracking
cameras throughout the video are used to follow the dancers around the stage as they move
around the band, again, encouraging the male gaze and using the dancers as video enhancement.
The male band members wear darker suits and are on a raised platform about the dancers,
showing the audience that they are the main focus of the music video, dominating the screen time.

10. Conclusion
The video “What You Know” by Two Door Cinema Club is a unique video in the way in which it is
performed, the all white set and use of dancers is not usual for an indie-rock video, although I
think that the usual conventions have been challenged quite well, and the video still manages to
maintain interest throughout. The use of different camera angles and movements, such as the
tracking shots around the set helps to keep the audience focused on the bands lyrics and music
performance, whilst also showing a dance routine which is timed to the beat. Also, the use of slow
editing and the low amount of shot cuts is very unusual for a music video, however it works for this
video and offers something different to the audience. However, when I make my music video, I
would like to add more locations and use outdoor locations as well as a studio setting. Although
using one location works for this video, I don’t think that it would work for all. The editing used to
maintain audience interest is very well done in “What You Know”, but I think creating tracking
shots and creating a similar video would be hard to do, therefore, using more than one location is
a safer option.