The 1975 video analysis

1. Music video analysis
Video Link

2. The 1975
• Formed in 2002 and from Manchester, The 1975
are a band that produce music from the genre of
Indie and Synth Pop.
• They are signed onto the British record label
Polydor, which is a part of the conglomerate
Universal Music Group. It is an independent
company and is self distributed, and these factors
can be reflected in the music videos of artists
signed onto them.
• With the music video for The Sound, there is only
one location shown and not many props included
in the video, so in these terms it’s quite simplistic,
due to being produced by an independent record

3. Style + Technique:
• The style for this music video is a conceptual
performance. We can see that it is a
performance style due to the band playing the
music and lip syncing at the set location. The
concept is all about how the band is stuck in this
box with critics watching them as if their music
is just an exhibit. The song meaning does not
match the video meaning, as I found out that
the meaning behind this video is to ‘turn the
tables’ on critics, which is shown towards the
end of the video when the critics are the ones
stuck in the box whilst the band stays seated
and watches them complain further.
• In terms of technique, cutting to the beat is
used. The song is quite fast paced and during
some parts of the song such as a pre chorus the
video will cut between two shots in time with
the music. The common technique of lip syncing
is clearly used, especially as it has performance

4. Mise-en-scene:
• The colour for the video is very simple, consisting of
two main colours: pink and white. The colours are
shown through the use of lights, making the lighting of
the video high key, however when the pink lights are
on the lighting is slightly darker. The crtics seem to
appear most when pink is the main colour shown,
showing this colour and the darker lighting are
associated with them, and the darkness connoting a
sense of conflict between good and bad (the band and
the critics).
• There aren’t many props used in this video, only the
instruments and microphone that the band need to
perform, as well as some chairs the band use to
observe the critics. The costume for the lead singer of
the band is daring and has an element of grunge to it,
as he wears mostly black and puts on dark eyeliner,
which can reflect how the band are rebelling and
creating a response against the critics, who are seen to
dress in more formal attire which is also white,
connoting purity and suggesting that the critics think
they are always right and innocent in what they say..

5. Camerawork
• There are a lot of close up on the performance aspects of
the song, such as the lead singer’s face and the instuments
being played like the drums. This is a performance style
video so it is expected that these elements of the video are
hightlighted with these types of shots.
• There are also wide shots of the cube overall to show how
trapped the band are and the people watching them and
criticising their music. This can show the emptiness of the
room at the beginning of the video, which can be
contrasted to the room suddenly full of critics.
• The critics also have a few medium-close up shots of them
saying something about the music, so that we can focus on
their facial expressions and the words they are saying,
which somethimes don’t match the text on screen that
come up after.
• In terms of camera movement the camera pans past the
critics a lot, meaning at times they cover the camera as the

6. Sound + Editing:
• Like with most music videos, there isnt’s any diegetic
sounds due to there being no intro or outro to the
song. The only sound used is non-diegetic, which is
the music the band perform to in the video.
• In terms of editing, the music throughout the song is
very fast paced, especially at the chorus. So the
shots here are shorter and they do cut to the beat.
For transitions, we do have a dip to white in between
some shots later on in the song, and the titles were
added in post production during the editing process.
• We can also see in the first chorus that the video
has a pulse effect, as I can see the video zooming in
and out a little bit to each beat of the song. This
matches the lyrics of the song “the sound of your
heart”.

7. Theory
• Barthes- The semantic code is used here in the video, as the
meaning of the video is personal to the band and can only be
understood if you are a fan of the music or have done further
reseach into it like I have. The meaning is a response to
critics, and it wasn’t known until I researched further that it
was a direct response and a humuorus one that relates to
them, not just a random concept inserted into the video.
• Goodwin- Thought through beats are used as the beat of the
songs is matched by the transition of shots in the video. This
is useful as it amplifies the beat of the song and brings
attention to certain aspects of it. It also contributes to the fast
pace of the video and making people want to dance along to
it.

8. Audience
• The music I feel is tailored towards those of the younger audience, as it’s
an easy song to be able to dance to and is very upbeat, as well as
having some electronic elements that may appeal to the youth. Those
who are 30+ may also enjoy this upbeat style of music as it’s quite
positive.
• From the music video we can see that the critics aren’t teenagers they
are adults from a mixture of age ranges, who give insults towards the
band and their music, and this feature also helps to see the target
audience for the band’s music.
• The effect that this music video has on the audience is that the musical
element could make them want to dance along to the beat, maybe at a
party. The video could be quite humourous for the audience and clever
as they watch the events unfold and see the switch between the band