Music Video Analysis- I Can Talk- Two Door Cinema Club

I chose I Can Talk by Two Door Cinema Club because it is a very similar song to Doubt in pace and style. The Northern Ireland trio are a indie guitar band that were also signed to the label Kitsune, which Delphic were once signed to, this label are very modern and very niche. The video is directed by MEGAFORCE who has worked with artists in similar vain to both Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic such as Late of the Pier and MGMT. All these bands mentioned are very similar in genre and style, the video for I Can Talk, starts with a very vintage feel to it with the opening credits overlaying simple shots, the editing is to the beat, just like the lights section in the original doubt video, and similar to our plans for our music video. This video follows a more conventional route of showing the band in the video whereas Delphic are not featured in their videos. However this video takes this conventional style to a different level, shooting the band in a different setting of a house, the camera work starts static as you can see in the screen grab, but moves to pans and tilt shots, culminating in the Medium Shot of the Lead singer. The verse follows the normal conventions of following the Vocalist singing the lyrics, however works against the conventions by adding in the ideas of the vocalist changing clothes as shown in this grab, this along with the very tight, crowded filming of the choruses are used to show the viewer the quite absurd ideas of the video, it has no purpose in the narrative and it all seems like a big party, this is useful for me to analyse as this is very similar to our music video idea. In this style of music you can get away with a lot of random shots and ideas as long as it works well with the music, it is down to the editing and the camera work. The editing in this video is very strong, it is very quick and to the beat, while the camera work is very shaky and very steady, this all gives the viewer the sense of confusion and excitement that the situation needs us to be in, if all the shots were done statically then as a viewer I would be bored, however clever camera work has stopped that.

Video Analysis- Music Video Conventions

Just like feature films there are forms and conventions for music videos. I have researched into these so that, as a group, we can use these to our advantage when creating our own music video. As well as this it will aid in my analysis of existing music videos. We did discuss these points as a group to help each other out as well.

As with films, particular genres of music have their own music video style and iconography, certain things such as setting, clothing and lighting are recognised symbols we expect to see. It is clear that music videos are used promotional material therefore it is often a demand for their to be close ups of these artists to make it clear who they are and promote them. Some artists develop their own star iconography, there is also likely to be a suggestion of voyeurism created in the video.

Lyrics

• As obvious as it might sound it is important to create a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
• They help to establish a general feeling or mood or a sense of subject matter
• Key lines may play a part in the visuals but rarely will you get a literal response

Music

• the video will always make use of the tempo of the track to drive the editing
• also may emphasise particular sounds from the track by foregrounding certain instruments

Genre

• Some pieces of music are difficult to categorise and therefore the video needs to emphasise its distinctive features, being reflected in the mise-en-scene
• certain themes will be appropriate in certain genres which will also be reiterated in camera and editing styles

Camera Work

• How the camera is used, how it is sequenced will impact upon its meaning
• camera angles, movement and distance done well will give it the dynamic feel

Editing

• It is important that you film to edit-the most common editing styles being fast cut montage, which encourages repeated viewings
• slow-pace editing will have gentle transitions which help to establish the mood.
• digitial effects such as layering and transparency can often be used to good effect
• narrative is often fragmentary