This documentary analyzes footage from Mumford & Sons' "Gentlemen of the Road - Part 3". It summarizes various scenes from their travels and performances in Australia. The documentary shows shots of the band traveling to and within Australia, accompanied by interviews where band members express their enjoyment of touring and performing for fans in different countries. Scenes from a performance at Splendour in the Grass festival are analyzed, including shots of the large crowd and an acoustic performance. The band members are portrayed in a positive light through their appreciation for opportunities to tour and perform for fans.

1. Analysis of ‘Gentlemen of the
Road – Part 3’
http://youtu.be/79TSsrXmJrw

2. 6:30 – 7:40

3. The whole documentary is shown in black and
white, and this sequence starts with some shots
that show it as being in a different country from the
previous scene. There is a shot of a plane, in a
plane and in an airport. The fact that they’re a
travelling band and play live in lots of different
countries is clearly supported. In editing, ‘Australia’
has been added to one of the shots to tell the
audience where the band are, and similar notices
were made for the other countries they visited.
The audio for this sequence is the start of the
studio version of their song ‘Dust Bowl Dance’.

4. These are more shots that show that the
band have travelled to Australia - perhaps
more significantly with the shot of the
Australian flag. The use of such shots
establishes things to the audience and helps
to fill the gap that might occur due to having a
documentary without a narrator. Marcus, a
member of the band, is talking about the band
going to Australia, and this too serves to
describe what is happening to the audience.

5. This shot shows the venue in
which Mumford & Sons are
playing. From the shot you
can’t see much about the
venue in terms of its capacity
etc, so the audience may want
to carry on watching to find
out more. The song fades
slightly though continues
playing in the background,
whilst there is audio of an
interviewer welcoming the
band to Australia and asking
“why do you think you’ve
connected so well with
Aussies?” There is also a shot
of the interviewer talking with
half of the band in the shot.

6. The shot doesn’t carry on long
enough for the band to answer the
question given by the interviewer but
instead a sequence of clips from the
gig in question are shown with the
audio of the song which becomes
louder now that the speaking has
stopped. The shots change in time
with the music and as a fairly intense
part of the song, especially live, there
are quite a few shots, of both the
crowd and the band in the build up
to the outro of the song. Of the
shots of the band in this build up, a
lot are of them walking on to the
stage. As many of the crowd won’t
know what they’re filming for, and
the band are getting ready to play the
gig, the shots are very natural and
the expressions on peoples faces in
the crowd are clear, with the fans
waiting in anticipation. The black and
white works to keep the focus on
the music rather than things such as
clothes and keep it simple.

7. As the song comes to a part which is very
loud and fast compared to the previous part,
the shots are mainly those of members of the
band performing at the gig. Each member of
the band gets relatively the same amount of
screentime, reinforcing the fact that they
don’t particularly have a frontman. The band
are shown to be putting a lot of effort into
the performance, and the crowd are shown
to be giving the same energy back and
enjoying the show. This compliments some
things said earlier in the clip about how much
they enjoy performing live. The black and
white again helps to keep the focus on the
music and the actions of both the band and
the crowd. Shots from a variety of angles are
used, with some showing particular members
of the band alone, and others taken from the
back of the stage with the crowd in the
background. Showing the band with the
crowd reinforces the band’s thoughts that the
performance isn’t just about them but that
the crowd play a huge part in making the live
performance what it is.

8. As with most music documentaries, there’s the
sense of seeing something from a position
where you wouldn’t usually get to, as if you
went to see them live you’d most likely be in
the crowd, and not on the stage with them.
This part of the song lasts for around 40
seconds and a lot of shots are used in this time.
Though this length has the potential to get
boring the editing is fast paced like the music
and as most shots aren’t repeated the sequence
is kept interesting. The fast editing almost
makes you want to watch it again as you know
that you probably missed something on the first
watch.

9. These shots reflect the fact that the song
is slowing down and the instruments stop
and it’s just the keyboard and vocals that
remain. In contrast to the high energy
performance shown previously, the keys
and banjo player are shown just standing
around and the edits are slow. This
sequence is representative of how fast
the band’s songs/live performances can
change completely.

10. 9:15 – 10.05

11. In this sequence the first few shots
have been shot in their tour bus
showing the scenery going past,
representative of them travelling
around a lot. The audio in this
section is of Marcus, a member of
the band, speaking about their
enjoyment every time they book a
tour. This gives a positive
representation of the band as they
enjoy playing music live to fans!
There is also a close-up of Marcus
whilst he’s speaking, he’s grinning a
lot - he really does mean that they
love booking new shows!

12. 12
Ted, the band’s bassist, is shown in a close-up
talking to the camera. This gives the impression
that it is a behind the scenes documentary. Ted
talks about them being on their way to
Splendour In The Grass, and that it’s one of the
biggest shows they’ve ever done - which Ted
says is “exciting” - again the band are shown in
a positive light. There is a shot from within the
tour bus showing them travelling once again.
After Ted mentions that it’s going to be one of
their biggest shows, there is a panning shot
showing the crowd to show viewers how many
people are in fact there! As with the names of
countries the name of the festival has been
edited in to tell the viewers where the band
are playing.

13. Mumford start playing in the background and you
hear somebody introduce them, and some
clapping, there’s then a shot of half of the band in
what seems to be an acoustic performance
perhaps before their main set. There’s also then a
shot of those listening, many of whom seem to be
enjoying themselves a lot! There isn’t much audio
of the performance played as Ben starts to speak.
The fact that all of the band get a chance to speak
and it isn’t primarily about Marcus (as he is lead
vocals/guitarist) gives a positive representation of
the band as nobody likes a frontman who hogs the
limelight.

14. There is a quick snippet of footage from
another show used while Ben says that
“every show has been a highlight”, and he is
then shown speaking, clearly in an
interview of some sort at Splendour. The
fact the interview is being filmed over the
interviewers shoulder out of the way gives
a feeling that you’re actually there, a fly on
the wall.

15. Ben talks about touring Australia, and as with Marcus
he seems really thankful for the opportunities the
band have been given to tour all these different
countries. Being quite humble is a positive trait and
portrays the band in a good light! When Ben
mentions touring there is footage of them walking
around (and through the camera work you’re made
to feel slightly as if you’re walking along with them
too), and then yet another shot in a bus of the road
going by. Throughout the documentary there is a lot
of emphasis on how much the band travel and how
happy they are about this, earning them the title
‘Gentlemen of the Road’.

16. Whilst Ben still speaks about touring the country there is a montage of a few clips of the
band. When there is a mention of the crowd there is an over the shoulder shot of a member
of the band, showing the crowd who are all clapping along. This is reverted as normally the
perspective a fan would get would be in the opposite direction and in this way the
documentary is showing fans things that they otherwise might not be able to see. Ben is
shown once again in the interview as he finishes speaking and another scene begins.