Snow Patrol - 'Run'

Snow Patrol are a big Indie rock band in the UK, this is one of their biggest tracks, it was covered by X-Factor winner Leona Lewis in 2007.

The video begins with a fade in from black, to an establishing shot of an evening flat landscape with a lone man pushing a motorbike silhouetted against the sky. This shot fits nicely with the sober atmosphere and context of the songs lyrics. The long shot cuts to a close-up shot of the man's feet walking, this shot then pans up to his face; during this time narrative enigma is created as the audience doesn't know who the man is. As the lyrics begin he starts lip syncing and looking directly into the camera, this signifies to the audience that he is the lead singer of the band. As is typical for music videos in the rock genre, the focus is predominantly on the front man.

The following sequence of shots follow the front man as he walks along with his bike, the shots are long takes, varying from close-ups to medium shots. As the pace of the song is slow the shots are cut more to any changes between instrumentals and vocals than to the beat. The lead singer then discards his bike in the bushes and continues to walk on.

The shots become darker, signifying that time is passing into the night. The lyrics match the concept of the visuals as the song reaches the chorus. On the line 'Light up', the lead singer lights a flare which brightens up the shot, the audience can see that the the lead singer is stood in water, he then discards the flare in the water. This repetition of discarding objects could be a message for the unimportance of material goods.

There is more elliptical editing as the sun has risen to signify morning, and the lead singer is back in the forest, and suddenly again it is night-time. The main focus of all the shots up until this point has been the lead singer until this point when there is a cutaway shot; a medium close-up of another man with his hood up, this signifies youth. Another flare is lit by somebody else in the background, and now the lead singer is not longer alone.

The lyrics of this song are about a goodbye, therefore this video would be classified as a concept video because the visuals don't match the narrative. A possible alternative to this video could have been to signify a relationship between two characters and have them say goodbye to each other, possibly in an airport or at a train station.

Friendly Fires - 'Kiss Of Life'

Friendly Fires' music is an eclectic mix of numerous sub-genres such as; alternative dance, electro and disco house.

The video begins with a long shot which is not focusing on the background, instead it focuses on the plant in the foreground. The focus then switches to the blurry figures so the audience can make out the men dressed in brightly coloured clothing holding tribal drums, one of the men is dressed all in black, and two of the others are dressed in black and white this makes them stand out.

The next shot is almost an extreme close-up of the lead singer, this is signified by his lip syncing to the words. The use of an extreme close-up isn't that conventional as usually, despite the focus being on the lead singer, the camera tends to focus less closely on their face, as their image/style is important, and that involves their hair and clothes.

Cut away shots in between the close-ups are cut to the beat and very short. They feature more close-ups of instruments being played, this is a common convention of performance video. The instruments and the dancing create an energetic atmosphere for the audience which is expected of a dance video, as the aim of the dance genre is to get the audience to want to dance.

There are some longer shots of the band together in the frame following this, the lead singer is dancing, this is something which for this band is a famous signature move in a similar way to artist such as Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley but on a far smaller scale; however this may be where the front man took his inspiration from. This section of the video is also in slow motion. The shot cuts to a girl doing a similar dance, also in slow motion, she has blonde hair and skin on show, which attracts a male gaze, however her face is covered by a mask so this is counter-typical of that.

This would be classified as a concept video, despite the other band members playing instruments, they aren't playing specifically the instruments which can be heard on the track, this is a common convention of the dance genre videos. Though there are some common aspects seen in pop videos and performance videos such as focus on the lead singer. The concept of the video is based around the location, and the backing dancers which are dressed peculiarly with brightly coloured clothes and gold, hooked nose masks. The video is quite simplistic and could therefore have quite a cheap production cost, however the beach location looks as though it is in a hot country and as Friendly Fires are an English band, this would suggest they would have had the cost of travel added to their video.

Elliptical editing is used, this is signified by a silhouette shot of the lead singer where the sun is clearly much duller and has set further than the previous section of the video where it is very brightly lit.

This video uses a wide variety of shots and has relatively fast paced editing, the shots are not chronological or even similar at times, towards the end it's a complete miss match of shots used. Some of the shots are quite artistic, such as shots of a girls eye behind the masks they're wearing, this is more common of an indie genre, this highlights the difficulty of matching common codes and conventions to a genre, when there are so many sub-genres and so many artists produce music which is of a slightly different style to their previous work each time they release new songs.

Paramore - 'Decode'

This is the official sound track for the first film in the twilight saga by the band Paramore, their music fits within the punk, indie rock genres.

This video is a performance video, set in the middle of a forest with no audience. The location is obscure but using intertextual references from the film it ties quite well, as many parts of the film are set in a forest which looks very similar to the one the band are located in.

As the video is the official sound track for the film, the producers have legal access to clips of the film, and these are used throughout the video.

An unconventional aspect on this video is that the lead singer, and therefore front (woman) of the band, is shot from a high angle instead of a low one, creating the opposite affect to what is typically seen in performance video. She is made to look small and vulnerable.

We see a lot of rotating panning, this could signify that there's something unusual happening, as this would fit with the theme of the film and also the video.

Aspects of the film are mimicked by the band members, such as vampires ability to run at high speeds, through the use of shaky camera work and sped up clips the other band members are made to appear as though they're also vampires.

The lead singer Hayley Williams is in many shots alone, thought other shots of the band members are not two shots which she is also in, this shows that there is less focus on the font woman and more equality between the band members

When the beat picks up there is some very fast paced editing, with the shots cut to each beat of the drum.

Hanson - 'Penny & Me'

This song is by Hanson, they are an American band and their music is of the pop rock genre. This song was released in 2004, from the video it is clear that the clothing worn by the band members is slightly outdated.

The opening shots are edited into 4 separate screens, and the shots consist of close-ups of nondescript items such as electrical wires, a road, road signs, a guitar being strummed, decks, headphones and
a sofa. These then change to some shots of a girl, they are framed unusually such as extreme close-ups or the camera is positioned for high angle shots.

A common feature in romantic comedies, where the screen is split in half and the two characters 'destined for each other' are on either side of the screen alone in their homes acting out similar things, is used this video. This signifies to the audience that there is a romantic link between these two characters on screen. Cut between the narrative sections is some performance shots of the band.

A lot of the visuals are of the girl driving, the images are not clear because of the sun, this helps to signify a relaxed atmosphere. The girl they have cast for this role is an actress who at the time was acting in the teen drama 'The O.C'. This could help draw in audiences as Hanson's predominant fan base would be teenagers.

This would be classed as a concept video as the visuals don't necessarily match the lyrics, the lyrics of the chorus and the title of the song 'Penny and me' would suggests there be two people together, but this isn't signified on screen.

During the performance sections the editing is relatively fast paced, and there is a wide variety of shots. The shot changes are cut to the beat. There is also an example of product placement, as the speakers in the background of the shot are made by Marshall.

Bruce Springsteen - 'Dancing in the Dark'

Bruce Springsteen was a huge American star in the late 70's and the 80's, his music is of the soft, folk rock genre.

This video is a performance video and is stereotypical of most performance videos i have looked at by artists such as, Guns 'N' Roses and Magnetic Man. E.g. there is a stage, a live audience and various shots of the singer and the band throughout.

The opening shots use narrative enigma as there are several shots which are cut just below the head and another from behind so the audience is unsure of who is on the screen. The first shot of the artist's face comes as he begins to sing the lyrics. The sound on the video is not diegetic sound from the performance but the track laid over the video instead.

The artist is wearing a simple and plain outfit, jeans and a white t-shirt, this is signifying that he isn't glamorous just an average American singer/songwriter.

Frequent shots of the crowd are shown throughout, this helps to signify that they are enjoying themselves and therefore promotes the music, the artist and encourages fans to pay to see him live. It also shows off the size of the crowd which signifies his fame.

There are a variety of shots used, including close-ups of the artist, medium shots with the band in the background, long shots with the crowd in the background and shots from the artist's point of view of the crowd, almost every single shot has Bruce Springsteen in, there are only 12 shots in total throughout the entire video in which he doesn't feature. The shots are all cut to the beat.

Towards the end of the video, the artist gets a crowd member up on stage, this is quite an original idea for a performance video. The fact that this crowd member is the actress Courtney Cox however suggests that this was planned out and staged for the video. She also happens to be wearing a 'Bruce Springsteen' t-shirt which again helps to advertise and promote him as an artist.

The fact that this is a performance video for a big star, with a large venue/stage and crowd suggests that this video had a relatively high budget.

Blink-182 - 'First Date'

The opening shot shows the band, blink-182 walking into a garage set up with musical instruments, what this could signify is that they aren't a mainstream band, however existing fans would be likely to follow a preferred reading that they are reverting back to the days when they were practicing in their own homes. This could signify to the audience that the band haven't forgotten their roots or let fame 'go to their heads'.

The opening also begins by not going straight into the intro of the song, instead their is a bit of diegetic dialogue between the two band mates, this adds a comical element to the video, which is maintained throughout. blink-182 are renowned for their slightly immature humour, especially during their stage performances, this is also something they like to add into their music videos as it helps to attract their target audience, which is predominantly teenage males.

Following the opening, the band begins to play, and from here there are common codes and conventions of performance video seen, such as constant camera movement, focus on the band members to showcase their instrumental talents and close-ups of the front-men. This is an unusual aspect of this particular band, that there are two front-men, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge, as they both play guitar and both do lead vocals, they also share the amount of screen time and the amount they each speak on stage and in videos, pretty evenly between them.

The video is set in the 70's, this is clearly signified by the titles on screen 'El Segundo, CA 1974, but also the outfits, especially the hairstyles and mustaches which are clearly outdated, and also the props used, such as the old VW wagon, predominantly seen driven by 'hippies' in this era. The purpose of setting the video in the past could be to provide their audience with some variety within their music videos. From this section the visuals contain more narrative than performance, making this more of a concept video than a performance video, which is a common aspect of rock video's to mix the two together.

The concept of the video isn't visuals which match the narrative, which are based on a 'first date'. Instead the aim seems entirely to provide the audience with a humorous video.

Again to attract their audience of teenage boys, there is much objectification of women seen in this video, there are many medium shots which focus on the female form from the neck down, of women with a lot of their body on show. This is also seen in the Guns 'N' Roses video 'Welcome to the Jungle' suggesting that male gaze is a common aspect of rock genre videos. Also with the use of p.o.v shots the band members are shown to be 'checking out' girls from their van as they drive by.

Guns 'N' Roses - 'Welcome To The Jungle'

This Guns 'N' Roses video is set in Los Angeles, the city which Axl is metaphorically referring to as a 'jungle'.
This is a concept video, as the visual narrative relates to the lyrics indirectly. The narrative focuses on Axl as he goes from a small town into a big city. The opening shot uses narrative enigma as he gets off the bus as the shot is framed so he is facing away from the camera so the audience can't see who it is, the straw in his mouth signifies his small town background, but it becomes clear as he turns to face the camera.

As the front man Axl is the main focus in the majority of the shots, his appearance is stereotypical of the heavy metal subgenre, glam metal: Long hair, tattoos, leather trousers. He is also wearing his staple baseball cap worn back to front.

The target audience for this genre would be teenage males, they are targeted imediately in this video, less than 30 seconds into the opening there is an example of the male gaze, as a close up of axl's face looking toward something, is cut to his point of view, panning up the legs of a young woman wearing stockings and high heels, nothing above the waist or from the front is visable in shot which is an example of how this genre encourages the objectification of women, spreading the message that her face is irrelevant if she has a 'hot' body.

The next character to appear on screen is the lead guitarist, drinking on the pavement under some television screens. This could signify they lead a rock and roll lifestyle which typically involves abuse on substances such as drugs and alcohol.

From this the shots zoom closer and closer in on axl's face on the television screen, then cuts to a close-up of him with the same tortured facial expression whilst singing on stage. From here the video becomes a performance video and follows many of the codes and conventions of performance videos. [see blog post]
Cut into the performance scenes is footage from various sources on television which are relevant to whichever lyric is being sung at the time

The Script - 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'

TheScript are a band from Dublin, their music is mainstream indie pop, this song was one of their biggest selling records in 2008.

The video is set in New York, we can tell this because of the setting. The opening shot of his shadow uses narrative enigma, then it is quickly revealed that the shadow belongs to the lead singer. This shows that the key focus is on him, as is a common convention of music videos in the pop, indie and numerous other genres. The editing is very fast pace and there are a variety of shot types and angles, which is unusual for the introduction of this song as it is slow tempo classical guitar.

As the lyrics kick in the lead singer begins lip syncing, which would signify to anybody who hadn't heard of the band before that the man we see on screen is more than just a central protagonist in the video's narrative and is the front man of the band. He frequently looks into the camera as though he is singing directly at the audience, this helps to draw the audience in.

This would be described as a concept video as the visuals have a narrative. Throughout the opening scene, the lead singer continues to walk through the streets, which matches the lyrics 'Going back to the corner where i first saw you' because it signifies he is returning to the street where he met her.

When the track hits the chorus the street scene switches to a performance video, though there is no audience present. The setting appears to be in a brightly lit multi-story car park. This fits with the urban setting of the previous scene. Here we see the typical codes and conventions of performance video, with close ups of other band members playing their instruments to convey they're talented musicians, and a slight low angle on the lead singer to portray his iconic status as front man of the band.

The video then cuts back to the narrative section, at which point the lead singer has reached his destination, and camps down with his sign, this again shows how the visuals match the lyrics. Many point of view shots from the singer's perspective are used, as there are low angled shots of pedestrians walking past looking down at him. There are numerous shots of a police officer with their head out of the window of their vehicle, in order for the visuals to match the lyrics; 'Policeman said, "Son you can't stay here."'

There are a couple of shots where the camera is panning slowly around the singer, this could be to signify turning of the earth, or seasons, and of the time passing.
There are also close-ups of the crowd which grows around him as hit sits at his corner, this conveys their emotion of confusion, pity and general interest in his strange behaviour.
As the lyrics 'Maybe I'll get famous as the man who can't be moved, and maybe you won't mean to but you'll see me on the news' are sung, the shot changes to being one from a television, with broadcast borders of 'LIVE' and 'BREAKING NEWS' on the screen, again this continues the matching of visuals to narrative.

Following this, the shots begin to speed up, we can see that the car headlights become blurry and the light of day fades to the dark of night within seconds, this continues for a couple of seconds, we also see a change in weather conditions and the hands on his watch spinning rapidly, this signifies more clearly that a lot of time is passing by as he remains in the same place.

Throughout the narrative there are still cut away shots back to the performance, this might be an attempt to not detract from the fact this is a band, and keep some focus on the other band members as well as the lead singer.

As the last chorus kicks in, the editing pace picks up and there are a lot more shot changes, until the final shot which lingers for a 8 seconds as the song ends. The narrative remains unresolved as the audience never find out if the girl ever comes to find him.

Katy Perry - 'Teenage Dream'

This song by solo artist Katy Perry would fit within the 'Pop' genre, it also has a slight dance and electro beat to it which is represented towards the end of the video, as there is a group of young people dancing at night, with lighting used to create a club-like atmosphere despite the setting being outside. Also the editing becomes quicker paced to match the beat of the final chorus as the dance element of the track kicks in.

There is a variety of shots used in the car scene, including some close up shots of the sun reflecting in the mirror, the speedometer and the driver's foot pressing down on the gas pedal. This is more abstract than the usual content of a pop song video. It's clearly signified that the video is set in America, as the artist is from California, by the left hand drive of the car.

The concept of teenage years comes across in the video through the visuals, such as the use of lockers signifies school corridor, and the stereotypical conventions of American teenage life, such as the jock giving the girl his jacket which is seen toward the end of the video. Therefore this would be a concept video. Some of the lyrics match directly with the visuals, for example, 'We drove to Cali' and got drunk on the beach, got a motel and built a fort out of sheets.' These are two settings used within the video.

The main focus of almost every shot in the video is the artist which is a common convention of the genre, especially seen as she is a solo artist there is little need to focus attention on anyone else. There are a range of shot types used, in most she is lip-syncing.

As seen in the Taylor Swift video, again they have cast an attractive male role to star alongside Katy Perry, as this will attract a female audience. The artist herself is likely to attract male audiences as she is considered to be attractive, in many of her videos she also complies to male gaze theory as she often wears little clothing, a good example of this is 'California Gurls' in which she is shot entirely naked. On top of this, in the beach scene we see numerous young attractive girls jumping around in their bikinis, and similarly for female audiences the same is seen with the male extras.

A romantic connection is connoted in the video between the artist and the co-star, as this again matches the theme of the lyrics which is love, and how it feels like teenage infatuation again. Sexual activity is also heavily connoted in the video though nothing beyond kissing and removing clothing is actually shown, this helps to keep the audience age range broad as it would be unacceptable for anyone under 15 to view the video if more sexual activity was shown, it would also affect what hours the video could be viewed and therefore affect the video and single's popularity among the younger fans, which is the prodominant audience for the pop genre.

Chromeo - 'Momma's Boy'

This video is by the band Chromeo, there music is conventionally electro with aspects of funk and techno. The band consists of two members, the lead vocalist who plays the guitar and the other plays the keyboard.

Together their image is entirely opposite, with the piano/keyboard player dressed as a typical black gangster and the lead vocalist dressed as an upper class 'geeky' white boy.

The video opens with a title scene, including the band's i-dent and the song title, the introduction then plays over this. The shot then cuts to the pianist playing the intro on a grand piano.

The style of the video is animated in black and white, highly contrasted outline throughout, this shows they have used CGI and possibly suggests quite a high budget. The style of the animated video means there is a lack of shot variety and editing, many of the drawings flow into each other from one scene to the next instead.

The animation has a true likeness of the two band members which will help attract fans of the band. This also shows that the focus is on the lead singer which is typical of almost every genre.

The visuals within the video are a mix of both performance and narrative. The narrative section fits with the lyrics of the song, set in a cinema which is a lyric within the song. The performance is not conventional, this is due to the style of the video, it isn't easy to achieve close up to show of musical talent with instruments with animated images, similarly it's not possible to include fast pace editing, tracking or panning shots, or much shot variety.

Other songs by Chromeo such as, 'Bonafied Lovin' have also used animation in their music videos.