This document contains a student's analysis of the music video for "Wake Up Call" by Maroon 5. The student summarizes the plot of the video, which depicts the lead singer Adam Levine shooting another man after finding him in bed with Levine's girlfriend. The student analyzes several elements of the video, including how it incorporates lyrics, shots of the band members, and a narrative structure. Overall, the student believes the video is entertaining but does not significantly depart from typical music video conventions aside from its narrative focus.

1. SUMMER MEDIA WORK

2. TASK 1
THE PURPOSE OF A MUSIC VIDEO

3. What do you think are the major elements of an album
marketing campaign the different ways in which a
band/artists identity is mediated to an audience)?
• TV adverts
• Playing at smaller venues and
festivals e.g. strawberry fields
• Magazine adverts in music or
culture magazines
• TV appearances (chat shows)
• Free singles on iTunes
• Radio interviews
• Magazine interviews
• Being played on the radio
• Band blogs
• YouTube channel and videos or
advertisements before other
videos
• Features in music magazines
• Twitter account
• Facebook feed
• Instagram
• Films (One Direction)
• Supporting more famous artists
and bands at their concerts

4. Where have you encounteredthese elements in
your daily life?
• CD or concert adverts in magazines that I am reading
• TV adverts which promote albums between programmes on ITV and
Channel 4 channels
• YouTube videos sometimes have adverts for other music videos or
albums before the video comes up
• When in the car or at home and listening to the radio, bands singles
get played and sometimes artists have interviews
• Bands playing in the Radio 1 Live Lounge
• Watching chat shows like Alan Carr and Jonathan Ross when bands
perform and chat with the host to promote their new
single/album/tour
• I follow bands and artists that I like on twitter and Instagram so I can
see what they're up to and keep up to date with news

5. What factors make you “like” a band and therefore download
their music, buy their albums or attend their concerts? How
do you decide which band is “cool” and which is not?
LIKE
• MUSIC- if I like one song
which I hear then I will go
and look further into the
band to see if I like the rest
of their music
• PERSONALITY- how a band
or artist comes across when
being interviewed is a big
factor as to whether I like
them or not
DISLIKE
• ATTITUDE- bad attitudes/
ungratefulness isn't a quality
which would make me want to
buy a band/artists music
• MUSIC- if it is a type of music I
don’t like (heavy metal) then I
wont buy their music/go to
their concerts
• FANS- fans attitude to the
band put me off listening to
the band as its wrong to be
associated with then
(“belibers”)

6. What makes a music video unique?
• MEMORABLE- something that keeps the video in the viewers
head and make them want to watch it again
• SHOCKS THE AUDIENCE-make them want to watch it again
due to a reaction they weren't expecting
• NO WHAT IS EXPECTED- something different which wasn’t
what the viewer though they were going to see and make
them want to watch it again

7. Where and when do you watch music videos?
• YOUTUBE- looking through YouTube to listen to music I
like then gives suggestions for other videos and songs I
may want to watch
• TV MUSIC CHANNELS- music channels have so many
different videos to watch so I sometimes see them on
there when there is nothing else on

8. TASK 2
CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS

9. List as many conventions of music
videos as possible
• Lip syncing
• Slow motion
• Speeding up shots
• Characters acting a story
• Dancing/dancers
• Playing instruments
• More than one person
• Costume changes
• Solo and group shots
• Variety of shot length- time
• Shots of the band/artist in
concert
• Fade outs/transitions
• Attractive girl being chased/
lusted over by boys
• Variety of props- instruments,
microphone, animals, cars
• Black and white shots
• Mixture of close ups/mid/long
shots
• Outdoor shots/locations
• Cartoons/animations
• Footage with song playing in the
background but not lip syncing
• Takes the approach that it is a
movie

10. TASK 3
ANALYSIS OF MUSIC VIDEOS

11. FEATURES OBSERVATIONS EXAMPLES
GENRE CHARACTERISTICS
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
LYRICS AND VISUALS
“questions never maybe”
“another one in my bed”
“shoot him dead”
“questions” and “maybe” appear on the screen
Man and girl in bed that Adam and the girl have just
been in
Adam shoots the man and he dies- later seen trying to
destroy the body
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MUSIC AND VISUALS
Hear drums
Big hit of drums
Drummer hits drums
Adam kicks door down- as if the sound is him not the
instrument
ARE THERE CLOSE UPS OF
THE ARTIST AND STAR
IMAGE MOTIFS?
Band logo on screen at beginning of song
Names appear of all band members- and when in
jail with names
Close ups of all band members in group shot and in
their story lines
-
IS THERE REFERENCE TO
THE NOTIONS OF LOOKING
- -
ARE THERE INTERTEXTUAL
REFERENCES?
- -
IS THE VIDEO CATEGORY
ILLUSTRATION,
DISJUNCTURE OR
AMPLIFICATIONS. HOW
MUCH OF EACH?
Illustration- 90%
Amplification- 10%
-
ARTIST: MAROON 5
NAME OF TRACK: WAKE UP CALL

12. TASK 4
QUESTIONS

13. • Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
• The video is fun and entertaining to watch and the concept of what is being acted out is easy to understand. I also thought that
showing the lyrics on screen and involving all of the band members was a good idea as this meant that fans of the band would
recognize them and be interested in their “story”
• In what context did you encounter it?
• I liked the band and the song and bought their album. When I was on YouTube I looked up the video and saw it
• What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
• I watched the video with an open mind, as it was the first time I had seen it; I really like the band so therefore I would be biased in
my opinion however I though the movie style of the video was really clever and made it fun to watch
• Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
• Narrative, full band shots, variety of shots and length, styling, playing instruments
• To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of it's genre?
• It doesn’t really stretch the genres conventions, the thought of the lead singer of the band shooting someone is quite unlikely
however that links in to the narrative convention and the telling of the story
• Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of it's genre?
• It doesn’t really
• What sort of audience did you feel the video was aimed at (how typical was this of the genre/style of music?)
• The band have a lot of fans who are mainly female and so the video would be aimed at them which is very typical of a pop rock
video. However in some ways I don’t think this is very typical of pop rock bands video as I don’t think the narrative would be such a
huge part of the video however the full band shots are very typical and would therefore appeal to people who know and like the
band as they will like them and recognize them.
• What sort of person does it assume you are?
• It assumes that you like the song as the lyrics are shown on screen a lot. It also assumes that you like the band as they are shown
with their names so it assumes you know who they are and what role they play in the band as well as in the film
• What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
• Because it is an all male band who are most likely to be liked by women it would assume that the audience would be mainly women
• What interests does it assume you have?
• I can't say it does assume we have interests in anything, as the video is like a film and I can't really sum up an age range

14. • What relevance does the text actually have for you?
• It doesn't really hold any relevance to me other than it is a band who I enjoy listening to. As a media student I can appreciate the
work and effort that it must have taken the producers and camera men and the amount of planning involved in creating the story
• What knowledge does it take for granted?
• The video has taken advantage of the need to exciting and eventful and therefore takes for granted the knowledge that you like the
band
• To what extent do you resemble the ideal reader that the video seeks to position you as?
• I'm a fan Maroon 5 and so the fact I like their music makes me the intended audience but I don’t think there is a specific audience
which the video has been created for other than the fans
• Are there any notable shifts in the video's style?
• There is talking at the beginning which allows the audience to realize there is a story behind the video. Through out the video the
lyrics link in well to the images seen on screen and in the middle there is more talking and the an explosion . The shifts make it seem
like an actual film
• What responses does the video seem to expect from you?
• I think the response that's most common would be shock, due to the fact the music video portrays a murder and a cover up which
wouldn’t be expected
• How open to negotiation is your response (are you invited, instructed or coerced to respond in particular ways?)
• I am a fan of the band so therefore my opinion would be quite biased however I think that fans would still like the video and still like
Adam because he is the lead singer and they know of him. People who aren't particular fans of the band would probably say the
video is “alright” because it’s a bit different to stereotypical music videos and is quite exciting to watch. We should dislike the girl who
had an affair because she cheated on the singer however, even after he kills the man, the audience still sympathizes with Adam
because they know who he is.
• Is there any penalty for not responding in the expected ways?
• Not really
• To what extent do you find yourself reading against the grain of the text and genre?
• I only see the woman cheating on Adam being in the wrong however that is because I’m a fan and I love Adam Levine. I feel sorry for
him and see him as the victim even though he was the killer
• How typical do you think this video is of Music videos?
• Because the lyrics coincide with what we see on the screen I think this is very typical of a music video however I think that by making
it out to be like a movie makes the video unique as well as fun and entertaining to watch