James - Deconstruction of Music Video

The video that I have chosen to deconstruct is “For the First Time” from The Script’s new album “Science & Faith”. The link for the video is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtCpC8jE_Cs

Institution and Audience

I think that this video will mainly be the subject of focused viewing because The Script is such a well know and liked band and the video is very narrative based. Like all new videos by successful bands however, the video will appear on music channels and so will be the subject of ambient viewing.

I think that the band would have had a significant part in the concept and construction of this music video because they seem an authentic group. The record label would probably have helped with the creative decisions and approved any ideas that the band had but I feel that they would also respect the bands views. The record company would also hire the relevant people to shoot and direct the video.

Genre and Narrative

The music video is both narrative and performance based and follows the general conventions of music videos. One such convention is the close up shots of the band during the performance shots, these are known as ‘meat shots’. The purpose of these is to give a face to the band so that viewers and fans have someone to identify with. The lyrics also have strong links to the visuals of the video. The songs tells a story of a young girl who wants to go back home the visuals mirror this and there is even a scene at the start and end of the video when the song is not playing that create the narrative ion more depth.

This video is an example of illustration. This means that is shows the story of the lyrics and nothing else. If the video were more concept based then it would be an example of disjuncture. I think that this video could be considered art because it is shot in a way that means it is almost a short film. There are many different creative ideas in the video such as overexposed shots and the performance scenes being in black and white.

Media Language

The purpose of this video is to construct a band image and promote the new song and album. Music videos are vital in creating the bands image, if the band is shown to be ‘cool’ then the chances are that they will have more fans and therefore their songs will sell more. The music video also promotes the band and song which will again increase sales. This video has been watched almost 1,500,000 times on YouTube alone meaning that band are gaining exposure and the video is providing social currency.

Several different techniques are used to do this. Camera work is used to get meat shots of the band and to get the authentic ‘grainy’ fell that is achieved in the video. Editing is used to cut all the different lines of action, the performance shoots and narrative shots together into something that is understandable to the audience. 

Representation

The bands star persona is created from the performance shots in this video. These shots are very simple but the lighting and various camera angles used helps to keep them interesting. The performance shots show the band to be very passionate and to be enjoying what they are doing. This feeling is created by the constant use of close ups and meat shots of the band members. A first-person mode of address is also used so that the audience feel that they are connecting to the band when they are listening to them and watching the video. These things add to the meta-narrative and representation of the band by continuing to portray them as authentic and honest musicians. This will help them to sell their records because they will be seen as very respectable people who are able to produce fantastic music. This representation has obviously worked too as their new album 'Science & Faith' debuted at number one in the UK Album Chart.

Young people are represented in different ways within this video. The two characters in the narrative of the video have conflicting views about having moved to New York from Dublin. The man is in his element and is loving being in a different city, the girl however is very homesick and wants to leave. This highlights the differences in young people and shows that every person is different. It also shows the problems and compromises that people have to deal with when they are growing up.

I think this video challenges the dominant ideology that young people are willing to leave home and explore the world without looking back. However the girl in this video shows that this is not true and that young people are often very scared of being independent for the first time. I think the band would want to show this in one of their videos because it probably happened to them when they were younger and just starting to become popular.       

Dyer
Dyers first paradox states that the star must by simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the audience. The lead singer from The Script appears to be ordinary in several of the scenes in this video, an example of this is the performance shots at the start of the video. In these shots the singer seems to be very sad and emotional; this makes him seem to be 'human' and just an ordinary person.

At the same time however the singer is shown to be extraordinary, this is achieved simply in the way lighting and camera techniques have been used effectively. The band performances are in a black space with a spotlight focused directly down on the performers. The use of close ups and slow motion also gives the video a professional feel and shows the star to be extraordinary. This paradox enables the audience to relate to the audience but at the same time be in awe of them.

Dyers second paradox states that the star must be simultaneously present and absent for the audience. This is shown very well in this video by The Script. The star only appears in the performance shots and never in the narrative of the video. This gives the audience an incomplete view of the band and encourages them to consume more of the bands material to build up a better picture of them.