2. • The video is mainly a narrative clip however it id also a performance clip. The video
follows the love story of a boy with antlers(resembling something that society doesn’t
accept) who falls in love with an average girl who helps him when he is in trouble. He
is bullied by the children in the street. Her father disapproves of him because of his
antlers, he tries to cut them off but the girl stops him. The father then goes out to kill
the boy but is ran over by a car in the process. His body is then on the floor, the boy
comes over to help and it is shown that the father has the legs of a dear and the
pair share a glance as if to say ‘we’re the same’. The end of the video then shows
the dad expressing his antler legs and having them out in the open, whilst he nods
approval to the couple walking into his house.
• I think this music video is ultimately about an outcast who has accepted his
marginalised place in society, but is then met with a lighter force (hope) that allows
him to find others like him and begins to feel accepted. As if he has just found his
place in society where he belongs and feels comfortable.
• The performance part of the song is set in a log cabin full of stuffed animals. This could represent how the
outcasts are mocked and abused by the higher groups in society. The band represent the outcasts(the animals)
and they are surrounded by the violated members of their oppressed group.
3. GENRE
• This is a rock song and therefore there are certain conventions
that would usually be followed. However this video doesn’t really
follow all the typical conventions. Dark lighting is not really used.
The lighting is very natural and bright for the narrative part of the
video. The lighting in the performance log cabin is darker
however it is lit with a warm glow from a fire, meaning that it
doesn’t feel cold or dark. The lead singer is also not the main
focus of the video. A different actor plays the boy with antlers
which is unusual as rock music videos with a narrative often have
the band as the actors.
• There are however: instrumental breaks about half way through
the song. This is a common feature of rock music videos as it
allows the rest of the band to get some recognition and screen
time which is necessary as a band. There is a deeper meaning to
the video too. Despite the rather jokey atmosphere, the
underlying themes about isolation and acceptance give a more
serious underbelly to the song. Another convention is that the
video follows a narrative, which I have already discussed.
4. LYRICS AND VISUALS
• The video goes against Andrew
Goodwin’s theory that all music videos
have the video match the lyrics. I
don’t believe that the video
completely sticks to the meaning of
the song. I interpret the song to be
about a boy who is hating on a girl
(presumably ex-girlfriend) that he has
been in love with for a while, but she is
extremely rude and mean. He wants
to hate her but he cant, “I'm just a
notch in your bedpost. But you're just
a line in a song.” However in the video
the character does not seem to the
hate girl at all and she is not shown in
a negative light either. This could
mean that the video could be a
dream that the boy imagines, or it
could be the first time the two meet
when their relationship was fine.
Like most music videos, the band use this to
promote their music. They especially promote their
live music and encourage people to buy tickets to
their shows. They do this by using performance clip
which portrays the band in a fun and energetic
light, something that someone would love to see
live on stage.
The band create a certain persona that makes
them look desirable to watch and listen to.
There is absolutely no voyeurism used in this music
video, there is no use of provocative clothing and
the band do not make themselves look sexually
attractive, therefore Michael Shore’s theory does
not apply here.
MUSIC AND VISUALS
When the song comes to an instrumental
break, the narrative reaches a sort of climax.
The character very dramatically grabs the
saw and plyers to cut off his antlers. This
action is matched with hand held camera
work and short close up shots of the tools
and his distressed face.
The song then returns to the next verse,
returning to normal rhythm. This is also the
very point where the girl runs into the garage
and stops him from hurting himself. It is
showing her in an angelic way, as if she is the
embodiment of light and hope to him.
5. MISE-EN-SCENE
• The video begins outside showing the landscape the narrative will be
set in. It shows a rural village that seems quite working class,
surrounded with miles of trees and wildlife. This immediately gives the
video a quirky sense to it as it is normally expected that music videos
use settings that look appetising and ‘cool’ such as inner city, or an
expensive house.
• It then cuts to the performance clip of the band in a different setting:
a log cabin lit with the light of a orange fire. The un even red bricks,
the large fire place and the pine wood walls all create a warm and
inviting atmosphere. It is not until we meet the main character in the
narrative that this setting becomes negative. It looks like a typical
hunting cabin, so considering the main character has antlers, it then
becomes a place of torture and death.
• We then see the main male character dressed in a red woolly jumper
and blue jeans, which is not necessarily socially desirable, it Is not
considered fashionable. This gives the character a lonely and isolated
persona as the audience are aware that America is obsessed with
image and that clothing can make or break someone of that age.
This isolated feeling is also shown through the props and composition
of the frame. The antlers make him stand out against the other
characters that we see (the children),creating the idea that this
character is marginalised. He is also alone in the middle of the frame,
which emphasises this isolation from society.
• In the room that the band are performing in, there are stuffed animals
and deer antlers placed on the walls life trophies. It is not 100% clear
that this character is hunted by prejudice.
• Another child then throws a pair of pants at him. This prop is
commonly associated with ‘low life’ characters and is used to mock
the boy.
6. • The kite is then used as way of joining two characters
together. The boy gets his kite tangled in his antlers and the
girl comes over to help him, which starts this budding
relationship that is shown throughout the video.
• Costume is then used to connote the disproval of the father.
When he takes the girl back to her house, her dad drags her
away from the boy while wearing a red and black lumber
jack shirt which is commonly associated with hunters and
protective, traditional American dads.
• Then, in the scene where he starts to cut off his antlers, props
like saws and other dangerous tools are used to connote his
aggression and his upset state of mind.
• When the dad goes to hunt the boy, he passes a sign which
has graffiti scrawled on it in the form of a heart around a
deer. This is clearly connoting their love and new found
relationship, something that angers the father even more.
• When the father is ran over, his deer legs are revealed. This
costume completely changes the tone of the video, as the
father is now accepting of the boy as they bond over being
different.
7. CAMERA WORK AND EDITING
• A establishing shot is used in at the beginning of the video to show the rural
area that the narrative is based in.
• A tracking shot is used to follow the boy as he walks down the street feeling
oppressed and isolated. When the boy walks past children staring at him, a
point of view shot is used to give the audience an idea of how the
character is feeling awkward and anxious.
• The cuts between the shots are incredibly fast when the song’s tempo is
fast.
• Action match is used when the child throws the underwear at the boy so
that the impact is shown fully. It allows a clear shot of the boy stretching to
throw the pants, and a shot of the pants landing on the antlers.
• Point of view is used again when he is flying his kite by himself. It shows a
close up shot of the kite flying in the sky, then an extreme close up of the
kite coming towards the camera, as it the kite was falling onto the viewer.
• When the girls meets the boy, close ups are used of their faces to show their
emotion and their first romantic glances at each other. It is then clear to the
audience that the video will follow a love story revolving around the pair.
This grabs the audiences attention ensuring that they watch the whole
video.
• When the man is about to get run over, the editing between the shots
becomes incredibly quick, matching with the climatic point to the
narrative.
• The director withholds information for a while with a hand held camera is
used to look at all the damage on the floor from the crash. Close ups of the
boys confused face are shown, creating an air of mystery. The audience
wants to stay and find out what is so peculiar.
