Mumford and Sons are an English folk rock band formed in 2007 consisting of 4 members. They have won numerous awards including Brit and Grammy awards. The music video for their song "Lover of the Light" tells the story of a blind man, played by actor Idris Elba, who leaves his disability and restrictions behind to experience life freely. Through its cinematography and imagery, the video uses symbolism of nature, like a reindeer, to represent the man gaining strength and empowerment through his journey.

1. MUMFORD AND SONS - LOVER OF THE LIGHT
MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

2. Mumford and sons are an English Indie/folk rock band,
formed in London in 2007. The band consists of Marcus
Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums),
Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboard, piano, synthesizer), Winston
Marshall (vocals, electric guitar, banjo) and Ted Dwane
(vocals, bass guitar, double bass). They have won a Brit award
for the Best album, and have 6 overall Grammy awards. Since
2007 they have released 3 albums; Babel, their second album
sold over 600,000 copies in the US in the first week alone.
They have now been titled ‘The biggest Alternative band in
the world’ by the Guardian.
Wikipedia
MUMFORD AND SONS - THE BEGINNING.

3. THE MESSAGE/STORY BEHIND THE VIDEO
Directed by — and starring — actor Idris Elba, the "Light" video tells
the story of a blind man who literally leaves his disability at the
door, ditching his cane and wandering out into the wide world.
And though he's sightless, he bravely dashes through a forest,
sprints toward the edge of a cliff and lives his life unencumbered,
for the first time. It is an incredibly powerful, moving thing, a clip
meant to both inspire and empower ... which is exactly what they
were going for when they sat down with Elba to discuss the
treatment.
Source - mtv.com

4. ANDREW GOODWIN- HOW TO ANALYSE A MUSIC VIDEO
According to Goodwin there are 5 key ways to analyse a music video, these are:
- Thought beats – Where you ‘see’ the sound
- Narrative and Performance
- The Star Image
- Relation of visuals to song
- Technical aspects of a music video

5. FIRST IMAGE - THE REINDEER
▸ The music video starts with a wide shot, revealing
the setting and an introduction of a reindeer,
which will play a prominent role later in the music
video. The wide shot is used to display a peaceful
setting, this is done by allowing the audience to
see a large amount of space, which is only taken
up by nature and wildlife. These types of shots and
themes are commonly used within the Indie/folk/
folk rock genre and connote tranquility, peace and
positive thoughts, which supports the
conventional type of messages Indie/ folk artists
like to communicate through their music. Common
music videos of this genre often use un-
materialistic, raw or personal experiences/feelings
towards a particular situation to tell their story.
Mumford and Sons have conformed to this
convention, creating a beautiful opening shot for
the audience to engage with.
The use of a reindeer in the first
shot of the music video relates
to the main concept of the
lyrics and narrative. The
reindeer symbolises the
religious aspect of gaining
strength and empowerment
and it is most associated with
at Christmas season.
Furthermore, reindeers
represent journeying,
wandering, safe travels and
endurance, this represents him
regaining the freedom he lost
by leaving his disability at
home and following the light,
which is also a religious
association.

6. THOUGHT BEATS
▸ During the entirety of the music video the rhythm and pace of the visuals matches the
structure of the song. For example at the start of the song when there are slower verses, the
action is reduced and there is a slower pace of editing to match the lyrics. We see lots of close
up shots of the Idris Elba performing his morning routine. But then when the drums and main
guitars kick in and the lyric pace increases, there is a juxtaposition between the shots and the
lyrics because we see a lot more slow motion shots. The visuals however have a lot more
movement and action and do therefore match Goodwin’s theory of thought beats. There are
wider shots of him in his luxury house and when he is at the beach. The lead singer (Marcus
Mumford’s) voice is very distinctive, and is therefore easy to match the lyrics to the visuals. In
the instrumental interlude, there are still slow motion shots, however there are shots of him
running, and having fun. Though there are no lyrics to match the visuals at this point, the
audience are able to see the sound and still gather an idea of what it is about.

7. NARRATIVE AND PERFORMANCE
▸ There is a strong link between the lyrics and the visuals, but this video is not a performance video. It is
very much narrative, and therefore the lyrics have a huge impact on the direction and style of the
music video. There is constant reference to the Deer and the outdoors, two key features of the video,
this creates coherent repeatability within the film. the link between the lyrics and the visuals is very
strong, and the audience are able to fully understand the narrative behind the visuals. So much so
that if you watched the video without lyrics and vice versa you could still develop and understanding.
The lyrics suggest that this is a man trying to escape from his disability ‘’Skin too tight and eyes like
marble…you spin me high so watch me as I glide’’. There are constant references both in the lyrics
and the visuals to enforce the fact that he has disabilities, and that he is trying to escape them.
▸ As Marcus Mumford said in an interview to MTV, he wanted this music video to be ‘’Observational
and not narrative’’ - This makes it a bit more challenging to understand than just a simple narrative
video.

8. THE STAR IMAGE
▸ The star of this video is Idris Elba (OBE), a well loved and highly regarded actor, musician, DJ
and TV personality. As well as being the sole actor in this production, he also wrote and
directed the video himself, with input directly from Mumford and Sons. The image he is
promoting is purely to promote the narrative. But the importance of Elba is that people are
keen to watch this video because he is starring in it, and the audience pose the question ‘’isn’t
that the video with Elba in it’’. He is already an acclaimed star, and the image he is
representing to support the star image is associated with the folk rock genre, wearing smart
yet bland clothing. So that in theory anyone watching the video without sound could instantly
know that this is a folk/indie/alternative style song/video. The style of the video alongside
Elba’s star image is very reminiscent of peoples assumptions of the folk genre, with
countryside, rolling hills, sunsets and wildlife (all common styles/features occurring in folk
music videos).

9. RELATION OF VISUALS TO THE SONG
▸ In this music video there are a specific set of images used to illustrate the meaning of the lyrics
and genre, therefore it is very illustrative. But also these images are constantly shown throughout
the video, enough so that they are drummed into our vision.
▸ The image of Elba, who is disabled, is used to illustrate the lyrics. For example in the lyrics
‘’There'll be no comfort in the shade’’ there is an image of Elba crying, shortly followed by a wide
shot with a sunset in the background and Elba in the foreground. This matches the lyrics
because of the ‘’no comfort in the shade’’ in the lyrics and the sunset in the visuals. To exploit his
disability in the visuals the same concept is used, in the lyrics ‘’to close my eyes and ears’’ are
represented by a shot of Elba’s shadow, not him. By using a shadow to represent his disability, it
connotes a sense of inability to see, the fact that the shadow looks like a grizzly bear suggests
they are trying to represent Elba as having strength and power, and being able to ‘lose’ his
disability.

10. TECHNICAL ASPECTS
▸ The film is more often than not edited to the beat of the song. Also when there are slower verses, there is a
slower pace of editing to match the lyrics. But then when the drums and main guitars kick in and the lyric pace
increases, there is a juxtaposition between the shots and the lyrics because we see a lot more slow motion shots.
Yet the pace of editing will still increase to match the increase in pace of the lyrics.
▸ The camera is handheld to create a natural look and feel, and to match the un-easy movements and lifestyle of
Elba through his disabilities.
▸ The trees, countryside, hills, deer, beach and sunset all conform to the overfall feel of a folk/indie music video.
This allows the video to attain an authentic and professional feel, because it matches the song/instruments used.
▸ The lighting and colour has allowed the audience to know when to feel sad for him, for example the clear shots
of his disability and when he is crying, the editor has chosen to use darker colours and use less lighting. But in
the happier scenes, like when he is running and on the edge of the cliff, they use bright and vibrant colours and
lots of natural lighting from the sun to resemble the joyful and happy mood.