Big Sur by The Thrills analysis

1. ‘Big Sur’
The Thrills
Released: 9 June 2003
Label: Virgin Records
Genre: Alternative Rock
From their debut album: ‘So Much for the City’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1fGNCvZL_w

2. Key Frame 1

3. Key Frame 1
The first frame relates to one of Andrew Goodwin’s six features of a Music Video in
the sense that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
During the line “Hey, hey you’re The Monkees, and people said you monkeyed
around”, lead vocalist Conor Deasy is kicked into a swimming pool, which therefore
represents the band messing around, as the lyric suggests. As a result, not only does
it help the audience identify with the casual mood and atmosphere of the song, but
it also establishes the group as ‘the bad boys of music’, creating an almost fun brand
image that will sell to audiences.

4. Key Frame 2

5. Key Frame 2
This frame conforms to one of Goodwin’s features that there is frequently reference
to notions of looking, which are particularly voyeuristic images of the female body
showing their curves. As a result, this attracts primarily a male audience to the video,
helped by the actresses little amount of clothing.
It also establishes a sense of narrative. As the band are looking on, we get this shot of
the girl looking back, suggesting perhaps the lead vocalist is remembering a former
passion, one that leads him to sing the opening line of the chorus: ‘Just don’t go back
to Big Sur’.
The audience can at least infer of the location as the big sur because of the long
stretch of beach. Furthermore, the use of the golden camera filter is effective for
conveying the summer sunshine of California which therefore enhances the realism
of the video.

6. Key Frame 3

7. Key Frame 3
Another aspect of Goodwin’s six features is that the demands of the record label
will include the need for numerous close-ups of the artist, which allows the label to
promote a set image for the band that audiences will recognise across their
material. Moreover, in this case the close-up of the lead vocalist is highly effective
for appealing to the female audience because the good-looks of the band members
are presented clearly. Therefore, with the combination of Frame 2 and Frame 3, The
Thrills have clearly attempted to attract both genders to their video to increase
sales.
With regard to the ‘star image’ as part of Goodwin’s analysis methods, Deasy is
presented as ‘cool’ and laid back, yet he performs with a slight melancholy nature
most likely because he s thinking about his former love which we are presented
various flashbacks of. It is important that audiences sympathise with Deasy as a
method of promoting the record.

8. Key Frame 4

9. Key Frame 4
The Music Video for Big Sur falls primarily into the ‘performance’ category of
Goodwin’s three types of video, with a hint of ‘narrative’ aswell.
The fourth key frame depicts pianist Kevin Horan and guitarist Daniel Ryan playing
their respective instruments and miming along to the song, conforming to a
stereotypical ‘performance’ of a band’s record.
The frame also shows one of Goodwin’s six features, ‘Genre characteristics’. This is
because of Ryan’s use of an electric guitar, which is a highly common instrument in
rock songs due to it’s heavy sound and fast pace.

10. Key Frame 5

11. Key Frame 5
The use of editing within the Mise-en-scene is effective here through the use of
transparency. Not only can we infer that the lead singer is remembering the ‘girl’
we have seen before, but due to their positioning in frame it looks as if they are
facing each other and as a result, this relates to Goodwin’s ‘Relations of visuals to
the song’ and the sense that this frame is ‘illustrating’ the band’s motif in this
single, helping the audience identify with the narrative.
It is also ‘amplifying’ the relaxed mood of the song and being creative with that
tone to convey the band’s desire of exploring the meaning behind the record they
are selling.

12. Key Frame 6

13. Key Frame 6
The final key frame relates to the narrative and performance aspect of Goodwin’s
analysis methods in the sense that it gives us the ‘general gist’ of what is going on
without going in to too much depth – since it is a music video, not a film. With the
message clearly conveyed this gives the video, therefore a coherent repeatability
where the artist acts as both narrator and participant, telling us the story whilst also
appearing to be fondly remembering the subject involved. This helps mainstream
audiences appreciate the authenticity of the video.
The prop of the jeep gives a fitting conclusion to the story as we assume the lover
has finally left the lead singer, disappearing frame right. The pace of the car
continues the fast-pace of the song and links to the appealing tone and
atmosphere.