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1. By Jumana Ismail

2. Overview of music video
‘Holocene’ is a song by the American indie folk band called Bon Iver. The
music video is directed by Nabil Elderkin and was filmed in Iceland using a
red camera.
This music video is about a young boy who wakes up in the morning and
realises that something may be wrong in his life or perhaps he is missing
something. He then decides to go on a long journey in which he walking
through fields and across mountains. This emphasises on the fact that Indie
Folk music video’s tend to be about ‘journeys’ and achieving something,
being able to reach the unreachable.

3. Camera (Shots, movement and angels)
The use of the wide angel shot allows the audience to
be introduced to the young boys bedroom. This
allows the audience to feel closer and more intimate
towards him and therefore may feel like they are
following him on a journey throughout the music
video. Additionally, the use of close-up shot on the
little boy emphasises on how sweet and angelic he
looks which therefore makes the audience feel
attached towards him.
The extreme wide shot of the little boy standing
between the view of the mountains depicts the
contrast between him and the mountains.
Mountains usually represent endurance, strength
and courage . The fact that the young boy is walking
through the mountains portrays the fact that he is
going on a long journey as he may be searching for
something missing.

4. Sound
The sound used throughout
the music video overall is
very calm and relaxing. This
has a big effect on the music
video as a whole as it would
allow the audience to focus
more on the actual lyrics.
The lyrics are very
affectionate and talk about
how someone is special or
not, therefore the fact that
there is less non-diegetic
sound throughout the video
makes it more realistic.
The pace throughout the video slows
down and increases depending on
the scene. For example, the pace of
the music started slowing down
when their was slow motion
throughout the music video and the
young boy was twisting around with
the stick. As soon as the young boy
started running down the slope, the
pace of the music picked up and was
much faster. This emphasises on the
different thoughts that are going on
inside this boys head and portrays
the fact that he confused due to the
fluctuations in the pace of the music.
In my music video that I will produce, I have decided to follow one of the main
conventions that I have seen common in this indie folk video which is the fluctuation
in the pace of the music depending on what is going on in the scene. This will enable
my target audience to stay focused and keep on track with the little details that will be
going on in my video. Fluctuations in the pace and the sound will encourage my
audience to be captivated, as the visuals on the screen will also vary depending on the
pace and the beats.

5. Editing
The use of the continuous jump cuts may be used in this music video to highlight the confusion this boy is going
through and how he is unable to make his mind up on whether to leave the house or not and go on his ‘journey’.
In addition, the jump cuts emphasise on the level of decisiveness of the young boy, as it is typical of any young
boy at his age to be unable to make his own decisions. By doing so, the audience is able to relate to this young
boy and sympathise with him.
The editing technique added in of
the fade out and fade in is very
effective as even though we are
being introduced to the boys back,
we can still see his emotions and
feelings through the slow fade out of
the boys face which grabs the
audience is attention and keeps
them hooked. Furthermore, we can
see that although the young boy is
looking out of the window to see
where he is going next, his mind and
thoughts are still at home.
As I have decided to follow most of the
conventions of indie folk music video’s, I
have decided to use a lot of jump cuts in
my music video as it will emphasise on the
struggle the young girl is gong through in
my music video . In addition, I will use fade
in’s and fade out’s to highlight the contrast
in events that occur in the young girls life.
This will be useful in my music video as
most of the music video will be
surrounding the theme of ‘appearance v.
Reality’, highlighting the young girls true
feelings when she is not around people.

6. Mis-en-scene
The scenery throughout this music video has a
massive impact on the music video as a whole
due to the high use of nature, the mountains
and the greenery. Mountains usually
represent strength and positivity which
emphasises on the fact that the young boy has
decided to change his life and do something
different.
Throughout the music video the colour blue has
been present a lot due to the emphasis on the
sky and the water. The colour blue usually
represents harmony and calmness which may
portray the fact that the young boy has chosen
to go through another pathway in his life and
feels positive.
In my music video I have decided to include a lot of natural imagery including a big park
and a forest. I feel like nature occurs a lot in music videos that are within the Indie Folk
genre and therefore the genre of my music video will be clear that it is Indie Folk. We have
decided to film during the Autumn season as we feel like the warm and motley colours
are very typical of the Indie Folk genre.

7. Representation & Dominant Ideologies
 The representations in this music video subvert the common representations in
the media. This is due to the fact that the young boy in this music video is
portrayed as very independent, due to the fact that he is living alone and decided
to go on a long journey alone. Normally in the media, young boys tend to be
represented as part of a family, so by depicting this young boy in this music video
as alone and independent it enables the audience to sympathise with the young
boy and become more captivated, wondering where this boy is going.
 In addition, this music video has gone against the ideologies of how young children
should be bought up, portraying the young boy being alone. However, there has
been on several movies in the past that have presented young children as smart,
independent and able to rely on themselves. This has been portrayed in movies
like, ‘Matilda’ for example. By portraying young kids as independent and wise, it
allows the audience to see children in a different light and not constantly under
estimate their abilities and what they are capable of. I feel that through this
representation that has been portrayed in this music video, it sends a very unique
message to the audience that we don’t tend to see through music video’s in
general.

8. Audience reception and Stuart Hall’s theory
 The audience reception is highly vital when it comes to music videos as without them,
the music video would not be successful. This ‘Holocene’ music video by Bon Iver can
lead to many interpretations as it allows the audience to be captivated into a magical
scene. This has been purposely done by the director of this music video, Nabil Elderkin
who’s selected Iceland’s glacial landscapes to visually showcase the magnificence of the
setting, as well as emphasise on the lyrics of the song. The song and the music video is
all about knowing that we are all something small that is part of something really big. By
using wide shots and extreme long shots to capture the monstrosity of the mountains
surrounding the small boy, the audience can automatically visualise what the lyrics mean
and the message the band is trying to communicate.
 I believe that according to Stuart Hall’s theory on oppositional reading, this music
video attracts various and different audiences which therefore all have different
readings. For example, an audience that may include teenagers may have an
oppositional reading towards the music video as a younger audience may be
experiencing various feelings and emotions which would enable them to think deeper
into the music video. This is because the narrative behind the music video is quiet
ambiguous and therefore the video is more interesting and offers a variety of
interpretations.

9. Binary Opposition
 Levi Straus was an anthropologist that believed that
everyone should look at a word more differently than just
in it s normal definition.
 His theory of binary opposition states that the audience can
understand the word and its opposite. Binary opposition
tends to make a music video more interesting to watch as it
encourages the audience to watch the product more.
 An example of a binary opposite would be Good and evil ,
happy and sad, black vs. White, or even political groups
that have contrasting values and ideologies.
 This theory that Levi Strauss advocated of ‘Binary
Opposition’ constructs two characters in the audiences
mind with the stereotypical portrayal of the archetypal
character types.

10. Binary Oppositions in the video (Levi
Strauss theory)
 A evident example of Binary Opposites in this music video could
be small and big. The music video clearly depicts the opposites of
the small boy and the big mountains in Iceland. This enables the
audience to construct their views on who they think is more
superior. For example, some people may believe that the young
boy should not be left alone as he is simply a kid and others may
believe that this child is powerful and growing in order to
become as superior as the mountains.
 Moreover, another example of a binary opposite in this
music video would be dark and bright. The music video
starts of with dark and dull colours of the inside of the small
hut, and then the young boy takes a stick and walks out of
the hut, into the bright and ablaze colours of nature. The
contrast in colours makes the binary opposition clear to the
audience. The fact that the young boy walked out into
brightness may highlight the fact that he is starting
something new in his life, as the brightness may represent
the positivity and excitement of whatever he decides to do
on his journey.