Grizzly BearGun-shy

Conventions and CinematographyThis is a concept video as it doesn’t have a narrative and none of the artists are performing the song at any point. The actual concept of the video itself though is ambiguous, but it seems to display a close connection with water and blood, and perhaps water replacing blood. This is an effect of being in a differen conscience, combining with a psychedelic nature to create a superficial atmosphere. There are several close up shots used of objects or skin in depth, and some shots are looped a few times to create a psychedelic feel. Moreover several shot do not seem to move on to the next shot, and seem either tenuously related or not related at all; contributing to the theme of the unknown.

Generic Codes and form

It is a video based on concepts derived from the lyrics of the song, which seem to be rather transcendental and psychedelic. It doesn’t follow a specific or typical form of a concept video either, because the concept(s) are so ambigious that it seems to shift and not settle and focus on a single idea or motif.

Mise-en-scene and EditingThe artist are all wearing light blue shirts, that carry several contrasting connotations. One is that this may imply that they are in a mental institution, in which the concept would thus embody the effect of drugs on mental patients, which would link to the medical equipment that is present throughout the video.A different interpretation would be that the clothes relate to the relationship with water as explained earlier. Long panned takes are used to fully establish the objects and actions in the shot, and as seen on the right in some shots there is lot to take in as the viewer. There is also prominent use of shot-reverse-shots between two different shots to show lack of continuity.

Effects and Audience There are some effects such as looping, which is used frequently which suggests time continuity, adhering to the psychedelic nature and effect of drugs. Extreme magnification as an effect is also prevalent in the video, which are used to show aspects of great detail. The audience can be encapsulated quite simply as fans of alternative music, which one would assume to be young adults because of the complex concepts which combine to create the video.

Institutions and Representations

Grizzly Bear are signed to Warp records. It has several different negative interpretations of men, as there are no women in the video. It could be the supposed inhumane doings that occur in mental institutions, or the insanity of the patients.