Textual Analysis of a Student music video

MUSIC VIDEO TEXTUAL ANALYSIS 

GENRE: 

What is the Genre of the Video?	Indie Pop
What is the genre of the Artist?	Indie, Pop, possibly rock
Is there a typical narrative?	Yes there is a beginning middle and end which is typical of a narrative based music video. Also Indie music videos are usually filmed using a low budget in parks/cities etc. like this one.
What is expected in the video?	A strong narrative as it is becoming more popular in this genre Close-up shots on the star Special effects Filters e.g. black and white typically found in Indie
What is unexpected in the video?	There aren’t any performance shots of a band playing which is usually expected of an Indie style music video.
Intertextual References?  (Video link to other music videos?)	There isn’t any intertextuality references in this video.

NARRATIVE: 

What is the storyline of the video?	The artist/star in the video appears to be bullying somebody and the victim stands up for himself at the end of the video.
Is there a theme?	The theme is about bullying.
Is there a recognisable structure (TODOROV – Equilibrium 5 stages)?	At the beginning of the video there is an equilibrium when the artist is with his friend, there is then the fight which causes a disturbance however, the video ends with the victim standing up for himself which takes the artist by surprise and then the equilibrium is restored.
Are there recognisable characters?	No because this is a student video.
How does the video reflect the lyrics?	“Repeating all the same mistakes” is one of the lines of the song and the video reflects this because the artist can be seen attacking the victim on multiple occasions.

REPRESENTATION: 

What issues of representation are evident?	Males in the video are represented as being dominant which is a stereotypical representation of males. Males are shown as being violent and powerful as well which are also typical stereotypes. At one point in the video as well, the teenager can be seen vandalising with a can of spray paint which is a stereotypical representation of teenagers.
How have these been represented? Stereotypes?	Again in the video we see stereotypes and past events of the characters drake portrays rather than stereotypes of the specific representations.
Look at the artist as a star – how have they been constructed?	The artist has been constructed as a powerful character at the beginning of the music video however, he gets overpowered at the end of the music video and there are many close up shots of the artist as the video is about to finish which shows the artist looking defeated and guilty which is non-stereotypical as the artist will usually be dominant within their music video.
Do they have an anonymous role in the  video or are they there as celebrity?	The main character (the artist) has been casted as an anonymous role and in my opinion the music video is very educational in the sense that the narrative shows the artist as being a villain.

  

VISUAL CODES:

Where is the video set? Connotations of this setting?	The music video is set in various locations that are typical of the Indie genre. There are scenes shot in a field/park and then a busier area like a town/city as well as in this genre videos are usually produced on a small budget which this student video really benefited from.
Dominant colour used in the video? Why? What is the effect?	Throughout the video, the picture on screen looks rather washed out and dark which is a popular filter/style when it comes to this genre meaning that the target audience for this video would have expected this.
Written Iconographics? Typography? Why?	There is not any writing in the video.
Shot Compositions that stand out?	The directors of the video have really considered shot compositions in terms of balance in colours, framing and in particular the rule of thirds such as the shot below:

TECHNICAL CODES: 

Camera Angles? Interesting ones? What effect is created?	The most common camera angle used in this video is close-ups on the artist to show his struggle and anger. There are usually many close-up shots used in this genre.
Does the way the camera moves help to tell the story?	There are significant camera movements during the fight scene where the camera would shake when each punch/kick was landed. This has been done to exaggerate the violence of the attack and to make the camera look as if it was from the audience’s point of view.
What is editing like? Type of cuts etc?	The editing is really fast paced in areas of the video in order to help deliver the narrative which is non-stereotypical of this genre as it is usually slow paced compare to other genres such as rap.

AUDIENCE: 

Who is the target audience for the video?  How does the video target this specific audience?	In my opinion this video will be targeted towards fans of Indie/pop music as there are expectations of the video that are met from these fans point of view. On the other hand, the video has a strong narrative that was very interesting and can appeal to a much wider audience beyond Indie music fans.
Demographic?	I would say the demographic for this video is males and females aged 13-25 as the video is based around bullying and abuse. It is usually these ages that will experience more of this when joining new schools, making new friends etc. and in my opinion this video is quite educational and is a realistic narrative that some people can relate to.

INSTITUTION: 

What role does the record company play in the music video?	There isn’t a record company involved in this music video.
What is the brand image of the star that is sold?  How is the star marketed and promoted?	The artist/main character in this video plays an anonymous role in the video meaning that they aren’t really being marketed/promoted as an artist instead a character that the target audience could possibly relate to or recognise.