Music Video Analysis

Andrew Goodwin’s 7 features of music videos
• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance
routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either
illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
• There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects
that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the
artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
• There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc)
and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
• The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)
• There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

'Carry Me'- Bombay Bicycle Club
'Carry Me' is a song by the English indie band Bombay
Bicycle Club. This song was released as a single prior to
the album 'So Long, See You Tomorrow' (2014).
The single was accompanied by an interactive music
video which was used to promote the upcoming album.
The video was set in a studio where the band are shown
playing the drums and singing while a couple dance
perfectly in time to the music. Animation has been
drawn over the top of the video which is very unique
and shows the band's sense of originality. The
illustrations have been drawn by multiple artists as a
way to promote their work, as well as the band's.

Genre description
When comparing 'Carry Me' to other
music videos, it is clearly shown how
original and interesting it is. Bombay
Bicycle Club are an indie rock band
who primarily produce imaginative
ideas for music videos. 'Carry Me' isn't
any different to this. This video (as
well as their others) fits into the indie
genre. ' How Can You Swallow So
Much Sleep' and 'Luna' are examples
of other interesting and inventive
videos which the band have created.
'How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep'
'Luna'
Bombay Bicycle Club's music videos vary from song to song. 'Carry Me' would
be described as fitting into the illustration video genre as there is a mixture
of performance and a simple narrative, between the couple dancing, have
been used. This is similar to 'Always Like This' as that follows similar
conventions to the 'Carry Me' video. However other videos, for example
‘Feel’, could be described as fitting into the amplification genre. This is where
there is a narrative throughout the whole video. The diversity between
Bombay Bicycle Club’s videos show how their music adapts to different styles
of video due to the original and alternative type of music.
‘Feel’
‘Always Like This’
Most indie music videos follow the same conventions. A
typical convention is live performance which is shown
during the ‘Carry Me’ video. This allows artists/bands
passion for their music to come across. It allows the
audience to focus on the music which is important with a
single that is promoting an upcoming album. This could
describe why performance is such a big element of the
‘Carry Me’ video. A lot of alternative artists now place
some narrative aspects within the performance/have a
video which is purely just narrative. Bombay Bicycle club
did this with ‘Carry Me’ and ‘Luna’ for example. A lot
alternative/indie bands have fully performance based
videos, which usually feature some sort of lighting effect.
Bombay Bicycle Club challenge this convention by making
their music videos individual and unique to their band.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals
‘Carry Me’ is largely performance based which means that there is little relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.
However there is an aspect of narrative which forms a relationship. During the video a man and a woman are shown dancing
together. It could be inferred that they are representing the lyrics of the song.
Towards the middle of the video the lyrics say ‘If anybody wants to know, Our love's getting old’.
This is shown to describe the relationship between the two actors in the video as declining and
getting worse. The repetition of ‘carry me’ then begins. During these lyrics the woman is shown
leaning backwards, as if she is going to fall. It could be inferred that she is wanting the man to
come and ‘carry’ her. The man then appears running which shows that he is going to catch his
partner. The enhances the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as the relationship is
clearly shown. This again is developed when the man is shown rescuing the woman when he
catches her before she falls. The lyrics ‘carry me’ are describing the relationship between the two
characters in the video. As well as having the literal meaning of the man carrying the woman, it
could metaphorically mean that two people in a relationship rely on each other to stay strong.
This strong bond is shown when the couple are shown holding each other towards the end of
the video, after the man has stopped the woman from falling.

Relationship between the music and the visuals
Throughout the whole ‘Carry Me’ video the music and visuals match one
another. There is one heavy main beat which continues throughout the whole
video. Throughout the video the visuals always match that beat. At the start
of the video, the band are shown hitting a drum in time to the beat. A close
up shot from a side angle is used to show the drum playing. The drums are
shown moving position at every beat in the music. This precise editing allows
the bond between the music and visuals to build.
During the video there is a couple dancing.
Their movements are shown being in time to
the beat due to the jumpy effect that has
been used. This makes their actions seem
less smooth which matches the music
perfectly. The lighting during the aspects
where there is dancing has been
manipulated to build the music and visuals
relationship. The lights flicker in time to the
music which makes the bond between the
movements and the beat much stronger. The
relationship between the music and visuals
stays consistent throughout the whole video.
This makes the video as a whole very put
together and sophisticated.

Close ups and motifs
Throughout the video, Jack Steadman is shown as being the main singer. Barely any close ups are used during the video which
demonstrates and reiterates the genre and sense of individuality that the band has. The video hasn’t followed the common
convention of using many close ups of the main artist. Mid way through a semi-close up is used on the main singer. This shot only
lasts few seconds but is then repeated later on. This helped to build a relationship between the audience and the main artist. This
would allow a fan base to form, meaning that the band have more sales when their album is released.
Even through not many close ups are used, many motifs have
been used. This is another common convention used in music
videos, which Bombay Bicycle Club have followed. The shot of
the band playing the drums is repeated multiple times. This
allows the audience to feel connected to the music as well as the
band. When the singing begins Steadman is shown stood
forward while the rest of the band stand behind him. This
demonstrates how their record label wants there to be a main
singer who leads the rest of the band. This is different to the
beginning of the video where Steadman is stood with the rest of
his band members. This showing diversity throughout the video.

Reference to the notion of looking
During the ‘Carry Me’ video the notion of looking is used
by the band members. Eye contact with the camera is
gained which allows the audience to feel more involved
with the band themselves. However this is mainly only
used at the start of video. This is because the visuals
match the main beat which continues throughout the
song. The bands head moves in time to the beat which
results in a lack of eye contact. Due to the indie genre,
the lack of eye contact and notion of looking is expected.
The reference to the notion of looking is a very common
convention in pop videos. This demonstrating why it
hasn’t been used that often throughout the ‘Carry Me’
video.
The notion of looking, when used, is mainly used by Steadman.
This allows him to stand out as being the main vocalist and
leader of the band. Record labels like bands to have one main
leader/vocalist. This has been achieved in the ‘Carry Me’ video
by Steadman having the most eye contact with the camera. This
allows the audience to feel more involved and it helps build a
relationship between the band and the fans.
Even though eye contact is used, the band members facial
expressions do not allow a stronger bond to form between the
audience and themselves. They look emotionless during the
aspects with eye contact. This doesn’t allow their personalities
to come across to the audience. The band have followed the
common convention of using eye contact and the notion of
looking. However they haven’t used it as much as most videos.
They also haven't used it in a seductive way which a lot of music
videos do. This has allowed them to keep their originality as well
as using aspects of common conventions during music videos.

Intertextual References
The main story throughout the video is about a couple who are struggling with their relationship. However despite this, they
still rely on each other. This relationship is shown through their movements. Their dancing is very intimate and shows their love
for one another. There is a line in the song which says ‘if anybody wants to know our love is getting old’ which is telling the
audience that they aren’t as close any more. However, the man is later shown running to catch his partner which shows that
they are still there for one another.
Despite the meaning behind the song and video, it
has no intertextual references to films or other
music videos. This is expected due to indie genre of
music. The band’s style is very original and therefore
the ‘Carry Me’ video doesn't have any intertextual
references.

‘Falling’- HAIM
‘Falling’ is a song by the American girl band HAIM. The
band consists of the sisters Este, Danielle and Alana
Haim. ‘Falling’ was apart of the band’s ‘Days Are Gone’
album which was released in 2013. It was the third
single from their debut album, showing that it was used
to help promote the band and album. ‘Falling’ was
accompanied by a music video which was nominated
for an NME Award for Best Music Video. The video is
set in a jungle and it introduces the band members and
their relationship with each other. It allows their unique
‘Indie-Rock’ style to come across. Over the top of the
video a filter has been used to make the picture seem
vintage and unique to any other video.
As well as the video itself, a behind the scenes video
was put together for the making of ‘falling’. This would
allow the fans to see the band’s real personalities as
well as seeing how the video was made and what they
thought of the process. This may have been used to
help market the album as fans are more likely to buy
the album if they feel like they know the band.

Genre description
Haim’s music videos follow similar conventions throughout them all. They all fit into the illustration description as they
involve both performance and narrative. ‘Falling’ is no different to this. Despite the similarities between the band’s music
videos, they are all still very unique and well thought through. They all fit into the indie-rock genre of music which is
expected for the style that Haim aim to achieve. Haim are a pop rock band with a slight edge. Their music videos are always
extremely different and stand out as being their unique style.
‘Falling’ is about the three sisters exploring a jungle-like
area. During the video viewers get to see survival activities
as well as the band messing around and being their usual
selves. Small dance routines commonly feature in Haim
videos which is an individual trait that the band have
adopted. The dancing is never normally too serious
however, this making it more interesting and rare. For a
part rock band, dancing and acting isn’t common
throughout music videos. Therefore these features allow
their indie approach to be shown.
The mise-en-scene chosen for Haim’s music videos
are always very individual and interesting. The
location for ‘falling’ is very different to other
videos. The use of the environment during the
video allows it to have a professional and individual
finish.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals
The ‘falling’ video is largely performance based as the band is constantly lip syncing throughout the video. This makes it hard
for their to be a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. There are many interpretations as to what the lyrics
mean, however some may think that they are about falling in love. It could be believed that the person that they are falling
for isn’t approved by others due to the lyrics ‘don’t stop, no, I’ll never give up’. This may be the narrator encouraging herself
to do what she wants to do; rather than listening to the ‘voices’.
This analysis of the lyrics shows that the bond between the lyrics and visuals is very weak. By just watching the video, without
the lyrics, this meaning would not be seen. The only link is the band actually lip syncing the lyrics during the video. Other
than that, the visuals are very unrelated to the lyrics and the meaning behind them. This demonstrates that the band is
diverse and doesn’t just do the expected. They think of something exciting and create a video based on that- rather than the
lyrics. This makes the band much more interesting as their videos are unpredictable. ‘The Wire’ however does have a
stronger relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This shows how diverse Haim are when it comes to their videos.

At the start of the video there is a quieter beat which
continues four times. These beats indicate a cut and
change of mise-en-scene. This builds a relationship
between the music and visuals from the very
beginning of the video. However, despite there being
a strong continuous beat throughout, the band have
not chosen to match that beat with the visuals all the
way through. At certain points there are cuts which
match with the beat, this mainly happens towards
the middle of the video.
The band’s movements match the continuous beat at certain
points. Most of the movements are very slight but this makes it
more effective and professional. For example slight head
movements have been matched with the music. This creates a
bond between the music and visuals. Towards the middle of the
song the music gets slower and the lyrics ‘falling’ is repeated.
The band is shown running in slow motion during this part. This
strengthens the bond between the visuals and the music. When
the music begins to speed up again, the band is shown dancing
in time to the music. The relationship between the music and
visuals is very subtle.

Close ups have commonly been used throughout the ‘falling’ video. This is expected as it is a camera angle that Haim often
adopt. All three sisters have long hair which has been used during the video. Close ups of band ‘swishing’ their hair has been
used multiple times. The use pf these close ups allows a close and personal relationship between the fans and the band to be
built up. There are many close ups of the band whilst they are singing. This would allow the viewers to feel connected to the
lyrics as well as the band. As ‘falling’ was used to help promote the album, these close ups are an important aspect of the
video as it would encourage fans to buy the album due to the closeness. Towards the end of the video, the colour palette
gets a lot darker and the band are shown with shadows over their faces. These close ups make the band members look
fierce, showing a different side to them.
Dancing is a very common feature throughout all Haim music videos. It is always the band themselves who dance too, this
showing that they are not afraid to get involved, this making them much more likeable. This allows all the band’s videos to
stay consistent and similar. ‘Falling’ features a small dance routine towards the end of the video. The dancing isn’t really that
serious however it is still at a high standard, showing that they have found the correct balance. The dancing aspects shows
their personalities and confidence. This would make the audience feel connected to and like they know more about the band
members.

Eye contact is quite common throughout the ‘Falling’ video. This allows the audience
to feel more connected to the band and the song. As ‘falling’ was a single before the
band’s album was released, the use of the eye contact would allow the band to gain
more fans and promote the album better. The use of the eye contact allows the video
to feel more performance based as the band interact with the camera. They don’t act
like the camera isn’t there, like a lot of artists do in their own music videos. Haim find
the correct balance between performance and narrative. This is partly due to the
notion of looking. The use of the interaction with the camera makes it more of a
performance, compared to the acting parts which is more narrative. Majority of
Haim’s videos have a similar balance of narrative and performance, due to the use of
eye contact. I believe that this balance is one of the reasons that Haim are so popular.
Eye contact is used at different points in the video.
Some parts involve the whole band interacting with
the camera, while other parts involve individual band
members. These individual parts are commonly close
ups. This allows the audience to feel even more
connected to the band. This would help with sales of
the album as the band would seem more likeable.

Intertextual references
The ‘falling’ video is very similar to ‘Hothouse’ by
78Violet. Both videos involve the same amount of
performance as one another. The mise en scene is
very similar as both involve fields and flowers etc;
they involve a lot of nature. The women in both
videos are wearing similar clothing, all outfits are
quite plain but effective for the location that they
are in.
Other than the 78Violet video, ‘falling’ doesn’t have
any direct references to any other film or TV
programme. Haim’s videos are very unique which is
why there might not be any intertextual references.
Programmes such as Skins use a similar location to
be free and chill out with friends. This is a similar
idea to Haim’s video which is set in a jungle. This
band are shown exploring the location which is
similar to the activities that the Skins cast get
involved in.

‘Houdini’- Foster the People
‘Houdini’ is a single from the American band
Foster the People’s debut album ‘Torches’ (2011).
It was the band’s forth single from the album,
following "Helena Beat", "Call It What You Want“
and "Don't Stop (Colour on the Walls)”. The single
‘Pumped up Kicks’ kick started the band’s singing
career, landing them a record deal with the
company Startime International.
‘Houdini’ was accompanied by a music video
which featured the band members Mark Foster,
Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink. The video would be
described as being in the amplification category of
music videos. It is primarily a narrative as it has a
strict plot throughout it all. The plot is that the
band have an accident and end up being killed.
They have a gig the next day so they get turned
into robots so that they can still perform. Towards
the end of the video there is a slight performance,
however despite the performance it is still part of
the narrative as they are still acting.

Genre description
Foster the People would be described as being an Indie Pop band due to the upbeat, infectious albums. The band’s music
videos are usually very inventive and unusual. They predominantly fit into the amplification category of music video due to
the common use of a narrative. The band’s videos aren’t necessarily that similar however this makes each video very
individual and exciting. The single ‘Pumped up Kicks’ was the band’s first single which got them famous. The video for that
single is one of the band’s only video which is mostly a performance. This show that the band might have decided afterwards
what sort of path they wanted to go down for their videos.
The use of the narratives throughout their videos makes them a lot more interesting and exciting. ‘Houdini’ is about the band
getting turned into robots after they were killed rehearsing. They go on to do a gig while they are robots. This plot is very
inventive and different to other music videos. This sort of plot is not common, this making the video popular and unique. The
videos shows that the band do not mind getting involved and having fun with their videos- a lot of indie bands would not be
like this. This would make them a lot more likeable, helping them to sell their single and later their album.

Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals
The ‘Houdini’ video is very bizarre and random. It is very unique and has
a very unusual, comical plot to the narrative. Due to this, the
relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is very weak. There isn’t
as bond between the two. The band decided to create a video that
doesn’t have any relevance to the song, other than the slight aspects of
performance. For an indie band this is expected. After watching many of
Foster the People’s videos, you can see that they enjoy creating ‘weird’
videos. They stand out as they are so uncommon. As a viewer, you would
be able to pick the video out as being a Foster the People video. This is
very important and would make the band as a whole a lot more popular
due to their unique music videos.

The relationship between the music and the visuals is much stronger than the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.
The visuals throughout the video matches the beat and most phrases in the music. At the beginning of the video the band are
performing and therefore the music matches the visuals perfectly. After the lights fall the relationship weakens slightly. The
visuals are just of the production crew panicking, so therefore this isn’t in time to the music. However once the lyrics begin
the visuals begin to match the music once again. For example the crew’s heads all turn in time to the beat. The Asian man is
also shown clicking in time to the main beat with continues through the song. The relationship is very subtle as there are only
slight movements which match the beat in the music. However all of these slight movements together make a strong bond
between the music and visuals.
Mid way through the video the band are
shown being made to dance. Their movements
are in time to the music perfectly which builds
the relationship between the music and
visuals. This bond grows once again after the
band have been turned into robots and begin
to perform. The visuals match the beat
perfectly.

Throughout the video close ups aren’t commonly used. Closer shots have been used to show facial expressions and
emotions but this isn’t always just on the band. After the lights fall onto the band, the crew’s emotions are shown by the
use of close ups. Throughout the video a lot of zooms to close ups have been used. This camerawork empathises the
emotion in the actors face. A close up has been used to show the process of one of the band members being turned into a
robot. This is very unusual for a music video and therefore reiterates how unique the band are. Throughout the video the
band are shown performing the song multiple times. Due to this being repeated, mainly on the chorus, repetition occurs
which allows the video to look professional.
The video has a strong plot which means that the band are constantly acting throughout. This results in there being a
lack of eye contact with the camera. If there were eye contact with the camera it would ruin the effect that they have
desired. The only slight part which has eye contact with the camera is after the band has been turned into robots and
are walking to the stage. There is about 3 seconds of eye contact which shows that it isn’t that significant.

Intertextual references
‘Houdini’ doesn’t have any direct intertextual
references however it has had some Television
features. It appeared in series five, episode one of
Gossip Girl and the video game SSX. These features
show that their music is very popular however so
unique that it doesn’t have any references to films.
For example the music video for the single doesn’t
have an direct links to films or any other music
video. This is expected however due to how
unusual the video is.
The plot for the video is very unique and well
thought through. No other band/artist has created
a video with a similar storyline. This would be
because it is so unusual and some might say brave.
Despite the video being very different, it is
incredibly entertaining and interesting. This is what
makes it so popular. However this is also why it
doesn’t have any references to films- its so
exclusive.

Music Video Analysis

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Music Video Analysis

Music Video Analysis