9 Frame Analysis

Alt J – Breezeblocks

Frame 1

Frame Time: 00:01

In the first frame I have chosen, which is also the first frame of the video, you can see a medium close up shot of a woman in a bath. She is under the surface of the water with a cinder block weighing her down. This shot intrigues the viewer as obviously there is a life threatening situation happening, but because the shot is so close up, it is unknown whether there are malicious intents behind it. The colour palette of this shot is a very dull gray. This palette fits in with the song title – Breezeblocks. It also sets the mood of the video which seems to be quite depressing. This fits in with the melancholic style of the music. The breezeblock is taking up the right third of the shot, fitting in with the rule of thirds. The lyrics being sung during this frame are “She may contain the urge to run away, but hold her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks”. This is clearly referencing the girl in the soaking wet clothes in the bath tub and also the breezeblock.

9 Frame Analysis

Frame 2

Frame Time: 00:57

By the time of this frame it has been shown that this video has been reversed. The woman and the man are fighting over the breezeblock. This is a close up shot focusing on the hands and the breezeblock that the man and woman are fighting over. This shot also closely follows the rule of thirds as the woman takes up the left third, the breezeblock is the centre third, and the man takes up the right third. The breezeblock moves to the left and the right as they push and pull it towards themselves. The colour palette is still the same, a dull gray setting the video as moody and sad. The walls also make it look a sad and gloomy place, painted white bricks. Their clothing looks like natural everyday clothing which makes it seem like this fight they are having occurred naturally. The viewer could think at this point that they are a fighting couple and that he ends up killing her in the bathtub.

9 Frame Analysis

Frame 3

Frame Time: 01:15

This frame, chronologically happens before the man grabs the breezeblock on the left, shows a lot about the place where this video is taking place. It is a medium shot of a corner of the house or apartment they are in. The objects within the shot are two breezeblocks holding up a plank of wood to act like a shelf. There are some books placed on top of it, but it looks very dusty. The bare walls and the makeshift furniture give a chill to the video as this place does not seem like a home for anyone, it just seems like a place nobody cares about.

Frame 4

Frame Time: 02:02

In this frame, they fell in reverse from the floor onto this table as they had been fighting and rolling over it. In this shot you can see a lot more furniture and the place seems to be a lot more lived in that it has in previous shots. You can see art on the wall and part of a sofa. This transforms the audiences opinion of the abandoned place where a man seems to murder a woman, to hint at the

9 Frame Analysis

idea that this is their apartment and perhaps they are a couple. This wide shot gives a lot of information about the entire seen and entices the audience.

Frame 5

Frame Time: 02:15

In this frame the man shoves the woman against a bookshelf. The aggressive behaviour from the man portrays a lot of emotions, including anger and fear. This is responsible due to the dark shot and low medium angle that is used. The hair across the woman’s face hides her fear but at the same time amplifies it. She is so scared she cannot look at her attacker. She is backed into a corner and scared. The dark background as well as the dark clothes and bookshelf in this shot represents these emotions.

Frame 6

Frame Time: 02:35

9 Frame Analysis

In this frame the woman is holding a knife. This gives the audience a much more serious view of the fight at this stage. This prop is gives off a very threatening idea that the male is defending himself from. It becomes clear at this point that the man is not the aggressor but it is in fact the woman. As the theorist Nicholas Abercrombie says, “Television producers set out to exploit genre conventions it makes economic sense”. I think this applies to this music video as the conventions of indie rock are often displaying a lot of performance in a music video whereas this one contains a complete lack of any performance. This has exploited the conventions of the genre it classes as to appeal to a wider audience, which is what Abercrombie means by economic sense.

Frame 7

Frame Time: 02:56

9 Frame Analysis

This frame completes the narrative storyline, the man has arrived to find his wife or partner in a horrible situation. This then makes the viewer think about the rest of the video and the events that transpired. The audience realizes that the man is not the bad person. This is a statement about equality of gender from the artist Alt-J the mise en scene in this frame is very similar to the whole video. The colour pallette is grey which is representative of the situation.

Frame 8

Frame Time: 03:23

Frame 9

Frame Time: 03:38

This is the final frame that shows the man arriving in his home. At this point the audience knows what is going to happen but the actor doesn’t. This is an example of dramatic irony. The mise en scene is slightly different in this scene, it is black against a lighter background behind the man in the open doorway. He slowly shuts the door on the scene and the screen goes black. This lets the viewer reflect on the video to try and understand it.