1. The Temper Trap- Love Lost
The Temper Trap are not shown in this music video, instead the main focus
consists of a group of cross-country runners. Also, it seems that the music
video is set in England, but not in the present day. The band is Australian so
I’m not sure why they have chosen English cross-country boys to feature in
their video, but it does seem to work. The coach is quite a humorous
character; he has some lines of dialogue which helps to build the
representation of old school English cross country training. I think the
randomness of the sequence aids the song which is a mixture of alternative
rock and general atmospheric sound. The camera stays arguably static for the
duration of the video, it is in a steady-cam position, and when the camera
does move, the movement is fluid. The camera is driving backwards as the
group of runners run forwards, and this gives a clear medium/long shot of the
runners, and also the surroundings. However there are some cuts when the
distance of the camera changes to get closer to the runners, and this is
usually to show facial expressions of the runners miming the song to the
camera. Also, the angle of the camera sometimes changes, it moves upwards
to the sky and then down again to signify the passing of time, which I think is
really clever. Sometimes the camera changes to a high angle shot, but this
shift is not dramatic- they are only slight changes but they are effective. The
camera work in general is quite simple in the sense that there is no fast
cutting or even change of setting to deal with. The sequence feels very natural
and I received a feeling of being involved as I watched this music video
because it seems like the runners are singing to us, the audience. As the
song is finishing, the camera is tilted slightly as it is left filming the setting, it
then straightens up as the song finishes- I think there is some really
interesting camerawork which isn’t too complicated but gives great subtle
effects to this video. It is also comical when the end of the sequence features
all the boys running off either side of the camera and then the camera moves
backwards a little bit to see a boy left behind, obviously quite tired and maybe
not in peak physical condition. Overall I really like this music video 
Everyone should watch it.
Foals- Miami
This music video features trans-gender people weight-lifting and then having
a fight with some other trans-gender people, and then they all start dancing,
and then some of them get into a blue car and drive off- in Miami. I thought it
was pretty original, from the usual stuff…
The song is not the most interesting song in the world; however I think the
cinematography of this video is quite interesting. The scenes are tweaked in
slow motion, and this makes the fight scene look effective- and the song has a
slow vibe as well, so it matches the imagery. There is a lot of colour in the
video- from the clothes, the make up, the objects. I think it is supposed to be
chaotic in some ways but quite mellow at the same time, and also humorous-
or it could be challenging the conventional “female” image in most music
videos (as a bunch of transvestites walk towards the camera in high heels).
Similarly it could be highlighting the controversy regarding acceptance that
surrounds trans-gender people, maybe they are making a point that more
music videos should feature people that are trans-gender, because it makes a
music video that much better.