George - Music Video Analysis

The video i have chosen to deconstruct is The Man Who Can't be Moved by The Script.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16nOViwmSJ4&ob=av2n

Institution and Audience:

1. I think that with a video like this quite a lot of the consumption will be focused viewing becase of the strong narrative the video has. However like all music videos they are used for ambient viewing for example this may be on a chart show on tv in the background as it was quite a success.

2. The role of the record company in this case may be to come up with an idea for the video that would match the artists image and genre. If the band themselves came up with the idea it would be the companies role to find someone to shoot and direct the video.

Genre and Narrative:

1. The characteristics of this video is typical to the genre which involves a strong narrative with performance based shots too. Using Goodwins guidelines you can see the relationship between the visuals and lyrics are that it follows a loose story that the lyrics are telling, futhermore the cutting rate changes at different tempos of the song accordingly. As with many music videos close ups of the lead singer are common throughout, other close ups of the band are also introduced within the performance shots. The only possible reference to looking in this video i think is through the camera of the news broadcaster. As with many of their videos this one is both performance and narrative with both being portrayed an equal amount.

2. This video is an illustrative example because there is a direct relationship with the lyrics and visuals throughout of him sitting in a street and not mooving until his love comes back to him.

3. Some of the techniques involved in the video i think could be conveyed as art, the sped up shots towards the end showing time passing definitely create an artistic feel and the process of making this video and the intial idea and creation thought process are much the same as an artist who would be painting a picture.

Media Language:

1. I think that the purpose of this video would be to back up the lyrics with a clear image of what the song was trying to express which in this case is love and how some people would do crazy things for it. However like all videos it's also used to create an image for the band which would be a typical alternative one usually having a meaning to their songs and convey an image of style and fashion dominant of the time.

2. The shots used at the end i think are particular good at representing the image they are trying to create for the song to show just how long he is there for, for example with the time lapse of the watch. Furthermore close ups of the singer and his facial expressions also do this of concern. As for band image the use of New York city is iconic to say they are successful enough to shoot there and representations of living in New York are considered respectful and 'cool' to a younger generation.

3. The only very vague intertextual reference in this song is the news but not one station in particular. Also the image they have created for themselves can be seen with other bands of similar genre, for example Maroon 5 are similar to the script and dress and portray themselves in a similar fashion.

Representation:

1. The band as said previously being positioned in New York gives them a cooler look and may appeal to more people as something respectful to listen to which helps them to sell. Furthermore the fact their songs have meaning may help to draw in more listeners. I think the fact that they are a band and perform their own music has a timeless effect with people as they do more than just sing other peoples songs.

2. Within this video the different social groups are represented fairly with both male and women police officers pictured as well as reporters. The only negative being the police pushing reporters away. Overall i think that the dominant beliefs and values of society in this video are being challenged to show equality in all.

Dyer:

Dyer talks of how a bands style is constructed from a range of materials, the media language. What they do with these materials is create an image that is incoherent to the consumers and thats why it is interesting for them . The stars themselves are a paradox of being both present and absent whereby the camera and editing sometimes shows the band and what theyre like and then other times are not seen but just their style is expressed which makes the consumers strive to consume more. Then the other paradox is being ordinary and extraordinary whereby a band will appear to be normal to the consumers and relatable through experiences or clothing or a message and then they will be extraordinary because they stand out from the crowd and have something special that the consumer enjoys. I think the script covers all these aspects through messages of their songs and how they dress, yet they are unique with their style also and performance. Furthermore many of their album covers never show the band making them absent yet their videos show a lot of the band making them present which will make the consume want to make it coherent and consume more.