2. The video was the first promo produced by the band who had just recently
burst onto the scene with there post punk, highly energetic indie rock. This is
relevant because it can be linked to the fact that the band make no appearance
within the video. They have recently acclaimed fame extremely quickly and
therefore are reluctant to initial promote themselves. The song itself is the
first off of their album and keeps to the style of the album which focuses its
attention on social commentary by a group of 18 year olds living within
sheffield.
It has been stated that the video follows the story of Buddha and that many
elements from the video mirror parts of the story, which in most cases
explains the various surreal elements within the video.
CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION
3. Within the video there is a huge focus on the way in
which the black and white colour scheme is used.
Multiple times throughout the video the action
switches between night and day, which in turn
drastically changes the contrast of the scene. The
reason behind this in its simplest form is to
distinguish the large period of time that transpires
throughout the video, but I feel that it is far more
symbolic, especially when other factors are taken
into account. I feel as though that the night
represents the sinful, tempestuous nature of
humanity, that everything out to tempt the drummer
into sin occurs during the night, such as the girl with
the devil horns. Whereas the day time elements
represent a more inherently dangerous time, when
all who judge come out to see who and what the
man is doing .
COLOUR SCHEME
4. THE SAME SHOT BUT WITHIN THE
CONTRASTED COLOUR SCHEME, MAKING
THE VIDEO VISUALLY APPEALING
5. Within the video there is clearly an attempt to create a
specific cultural representation in all aspects from the
characters to the setting. The very first shot in the video
depicts a homeless person pushing a shopping trolley
through the courtyard between two high rise flats. Instantly
as an audience we make judgement about the tone of the
video, that it will involve „dodgy‟ characters in a rough
neighbourhood doing questionable things. This is very
important because it contrasts the nature of the core
narrative and it also distinguishes the band and their music
as far more relatable. Especially in comparison to music
videos for pop songs which tend to involve
incomprehensible characters in situations that do not bare
true to home. The main character of the video is a prime
example of this with him being dressed in a parker jacket
and hoody, he is represented in a very stereotypical manner.
The reason being that his actions juxtapose this stereotype
and the audience like the character more. Another example
that ties in with the general representation of the video are
the 3 men who torment the drummer during mid way
through, we assume that they are from the estate and all have
things such as the portion of chips, the lighter and the eye
bandage as things associated with people living in council
estate
REPRESENTATION
6. When watching the video it is at first
hard to distinguish the genre due to
the abstract narrative. But I think
thanks to the combined technical
elements and the representations it is
quite clear that the genre is drama. It
fits due to the struggle of the main
character in such a deprived area and
with his struggle against the odds
(Temptation of the girl,
fear/embarrassment of the 3 men
and fear of the man with the bat).
There are also a variety of shots that
are great examples of this struggle:
T h i s m i d s h o t o f t h e d r u m m e r s h o w s t h e
s t r a i n o f h i m c l e a r l y a n d t h e f r a m i n g o f h i m
i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e s h o t , i n - b e t w e e n t h e
t h r e e m e n s h o w s h i s l a c k o f
a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f t h e i r a t t e m p t s t o
d i s h e a r t e n h i m a n d s i g n i f i e s h i s i m p o r t a n c e
GENRE
7. T h i s c l o s e - u p s h o t s h o w s t h e b l o o d i n t h e
d r u m m e r s h a n d s f r o m t h e c o n s t a n t p l a y i n g , a n d
h i g h l i g h t s h i s p a s s i o n o r h i g h l i g h t t o a c h i e v e
s o m e t h i n g , t h a n k s t o t h e c o n t e x t u a l i n f o w e
k n o w t h a t t h i s i s a f o r m o f n i r v a n a . T h i s
e n h a n c e s t h e c h a r a c t e r s r e p u t a t i o n w i t h t h e
a u d i e n c e a s w e b e g i n t o e m p a t h i s e w i t h h i m
T h e f i n a l s h o t o f t h e v i d e o , o n c e t h e m u s i c
s t o p s i s a l o w a n g l e m i d / c l o s e u p o f t h e
d r u m m e r s h o w i n g h i s r e l i e f a s h e a c h i e v e s w h a t
h e w a s l o o k i n g f o r . W e a s a n a u d i e n c e a r e l e f t
w i t h t h e e n i g m a r e v o l v i n g a r o u n d w h e t h e r o r n o t
t h e d r u m m e r w a s h i t w i t h t h e b a t o r w h e t h e r o r
n o t h e s t o p p e d p l a y i n g b e f o r e .
…CONTINUED
9. There is one instance in the video when we see a close up of a sign that says “Do not throw
sharp objects into childrens playground” and I think that this is representative of the change
that the drummer is going through, almost as if he is moving on from a state of youth into a
more mature one. This is made apparent through the juxtaposition of the sharp object often
associated with adults (Children often being asked to seek adult supervision when using
scissors) and the playground, a sanctuary for children. It is also quite shocking to see such a
sign even exists, but is also an indicator of the tone of the video and genre.
INNOCENCE
10. There is a constant air of gender contrast throughout the video with males being
shown as very masochistic and violent and the sole female being shown as a far
more caring character. The image of the girl feeding the drummer milk has two
meanings the first is that she wants the drummer to continue and wants to make
sure he is alright, but the fact that she chose milk over water indicates an almost
maternal instinct. We are far more favorable on her character due to this act over
the men who are set out to harm the drummer.
GENDER
