textual(analysis( of(audio2visual(texts( · textual(analysis(of(audio2visual(texts( (...

Textual Analysis Of Audio-‐Visual Texts Unit 8 Final Major Project

1

Textual Analysis Of Audio-‐Visual Texts


2

The Killers-‐Shot At The Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4YK-‐DEkvcw The genre of the video is a sort of romance and has many interpretive meanings, which links with the narrative of the music video for this song as it has a conventional narrative, using a single strand story with a linear narrative from the beginning to the end to tell the story. The story depicted in the music video is a modern version of the typical Cinderella story, with a Cinderella character, a Prince and a Fairy God-‐mother. The video opens on an establishing shot of Las Vegas, with the band name first appearing before cutting to another establishing shot of Las Vegas and then to a medium shot of the singer on a background of Vegas. The video then cuts to another establishing shot of a sun rise and includes the song title before it fades out and opens with a medium shot of the main character of the video. She is in a hotel and is wearing a work uniform, implying that she is a cleaner at the hotel as it is discolored in comparison to the rest of the background, implying that she is not a part of the glamour of the city that she works in. The hotel décor shows this connotation as it is in a harsh contrast to her. She has dull clothing and a pale look that makes her stand out from the golden color and rich items in the background to her. Also, the cleaning trolley prop that she is pushing around could infer that this is her small amount of cheap belongings when put into contrast with the plentiful rich items that are shown in the background. The costume she has is used mainly as a representational code for the audience at this point to signify the difference between her and the rest of her surrounding world, showing how her dull life contrasts with that of the city she lives in. The video then goes through a series of MLS, OTS, LS to show the character’s work and how she in comparison to the glamour that is shown, stands out to be unglamorous and lonely in her surroundings. After these, the video cuts to another close up/over the shoulder shot of the singer overlooking Vegas again, implying that he is watching over the happenings that being set out in the video. After this, another cut is made and we see the character at her small apartment, which implies that the person is not well off in the city and could also suggest that she is depressed as she is not a part of the glamour, she is under it. The video then makes quick cuts between the singer and the character at home, possible to show the difference that the character is from the rest of the glamour that is shown, before another establishing shot of Las Vegas is seen with the sun setting. Another close up of the singer is shown with the lights of Vegas blurring behind him, before returning to a close up of the character driving through Vegas, switching between her and some extreme long shots of landmarks that she drives by, implying that she is daydreaming about being a part of the glamour rather than what she is a part of, whilst also switching between shots of the singer again. An over the shoulder shot is then used to show the second character of the video and his reaction, before returning back to a close up of the character in her car and then back at work in the hotel. A long shot is then used to show the two characters together, then using medium and over the shoulder shots to show the two characters’ facial expressions. Another series of shots of the singer is used before a medium long shot is used to show the two characters and the other two characters in the room, before switching between medium shots of the characters once again. The video then uses a series of close ups and over the shoulder

Comment [SM1]: Appropriate and effective use of specialist vocabulary. Good introduction.

Comment [SM2]: You could refer to the hotel décor / props etc (aspects of mise-‐en-‐scene) connoting meanings about about the setting (in harsh contrast to the woman).

Comment [SM3]: You could add that mise-‐en-‐scene (costume) is used as a representational code here to connote (signify) meaning to the audience.


3

shots to show the change that the first character has made, then using medium shots to show facial expressions again. A series of shots are then used to create a montage style showing the activity that the two characters are up to and then finally ending on an extreme close up of the character’s shoes, to show that even though she is back at work, she still has something by which she can remember the nights activities by. The Mise En Scene of the video creates a variation of connotations and iconography to the audience.

Costume, props, location and performance all create ideas for the audience when watching the video. In the start of the music video, the character’s costume is a dull and pale color that contrasts with the rest of the scene behind her that is bright and vibrant with color. This shows the contrast of her life compared to that which is thought of in Vegas. She is one of the people in the city that lives an unglamorous life compared to that of the many other people, who live the glamorous life that is usually associated with Vegas. This dull contrast also suggests that she is hoping and waiting for a change to come for her, so that the dull life she lives can change and become something better that she can be happy about, fitting with the lyrics of ‘Give me a shot at the night.’ She is also seen as being depressed in the life she lives, as she is never shown smiling and keeps to herself, which suggests that she in unhappy and needs a change as soon as she can. On the other hand, later on in the video, the character gets this change as she changes from the dull clothes she had worn before, to a fancy dress with her hair down and makeup done. This signifies the change in her life and that she is now a part of the glamour of Vegas rather than being a part of the background. Her mood also changes as she seems happier and we see her smiling throughout the rest of the video because of the chance of a change that she has been given rather than having to live the lonely and depressing life she did before. This change can also be connoted to the theme of a modern day ‘Cinderella’ story as she starts with dull clothing and then changes to a smart and casual dress, where she is more comfortable and happier.

Comment [SM4]: Activities…and grammatically better would be to say “…she still has something by which to remember her activities.”


4

The costume of the other character I smart but casual. He looks well off and a part of the glamour of the city they are in. This gives costume gives him the conations of being the modern day ideal of a ‘prince’ or ‘hero’ that can provide a change to the first character as he does, fulfilling his role in the ‘Cinderella’ story. His smart look can also connote that he is the person the character has been looking for in their life, and is the shot at the night that she has been looking for. He also shows that he is happy and is looking for someone to be with and will happily have this girl if she wants him, and he will give show the glamour of the world rather than the lonely and depressing place she had seen previously.

Also featured in the video is the artist of the song. He overlooks the whole of the city, connoting that he is looking of the two characters like a guardian angel, or if you consider the theme of the video, he could be seen as the ‘Fairy God-‐mother’ to the events that go on below. He is wearing dark clothing which suggests that he is in the dark and also wants a shot at the night and the lyrics are his thoughts about the world that he lives in and also about himself. At the line ‘Look at my reflection in the mirror, underneath the power of the light,’ he stares at the window in front of him, suggesting that he is looking at himself in the power and influence of the Vegas lights, but also could suggest that he is looking out at the city and realizing how it has changed him as a person, and what it could do to many other people. The sound used in the video is mostly non-‐diegetic throughout the video, as the video focuses on the characters and what they are doing and the music track plays over the events. The only times that the sound becomes diegetic is when the artist sings the lyrics in his few shots, and when the characters sing the song on karaoke for a few seconds. This works effectively as it focuses on telling the narrative of the song rather than focusing on the song and the artist itself. The editing of the video consists of no fade effects between each cut, it is just a smooth transition between each cut in the video. This allows the video to flow smoothly through the storyline rather than constantly changing between scenes using visual transition effects. Some colour correction has been used throughout the video to enhance the effect that the costume and background has on the audience, making the costume of the woman look duller and the colour of the city around her brighter to enhance the contrast between their lives. Not many visual effects will have been created for the video as all of the footage for the video comes from recording rather than post-‐production editing, but the titles will have been visual effects created in the post-‐production stage. The target audience for this music video would be fans of The Killers of any age as the lyrics and video are age appropriate for anyone. The narrative also contains the traditional Cinderella story so this would make it more appropriate for younger viewers visually and the visual representation of the songs meaning would be the more appropriate viewing for older viewers.

Comment [SM5]: Very good. You are discussing what I suggested earlier.

Comment [SM6]: I wonder if you would be able add more about some technical aspects such as editing and colour correction and any visual effects that might have been used? Also, it would be good to discuss the audience – who is the target audience and why would the video appeal to them? Does the video meet their expectations of music videos in general as well as their expectations of a video for this artist / this genre?


5

This video would appeal to the audience because it captures the essence of the traditional Cinderella story in a modern and up to date viewing, all while sticking to the main themes that a typical Killers music video always has, by sticking to the same format of including the artist in the video but focusing more on a storyline that involves them and other characters telling the story behind the meanings they interpret into the songs lyrics. This main concept of a Killers video is what the audience expect to see, and this is why it appeals to the target audience and meets their expectations of a music video that are made by the artist, but also meets their standards of music videos in general as it contains all aspects a typically good music video has to include.


6

The Killers-‐Bones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FufL80hJsP8 Mostly made of recorded footage but uses stop motion animation with some CGI as well. The genre of this video isn’t easy to describe as it can have different interpretations. This leaves the audience to decide what genre the video is. It uses stop motion animation and CGI as well as recorded footage and clips from old stop motion films such as Jason and The Argonauts to create the music video. This video was directed by Tim Burton, one of my favorite people in the media industry, which can easily be guessed by the dark style of the video, as this is a typical Burton auteur. It features a linear, conventional narrative but it can also be seen as a montage. The story is about the relationship between a couple and how it has deteriorated from how it was when they started, and the love is shattering like broken bones and the flesh is hiding what they both feel. The music video opens with a short clip of living stop motion skeletons from the film Jason and The Argonauts, before it moves to a close up of the two main characters in a car, looking through the window at what appears to be a film. This is shown in the next cut as an establishing shot is used to show the scene, a drive in theater in the desert with cars stretching far out and the screen playing another clip from the film. The video then cuts to a long shot of the band playing the song in a small playground underneath the film screen, before going back to footage from the film. An over the shoulder shot is then used behind the characters as the watch the film, and the man looks at his partner in the car before moving back to the screen. It then cuts to a low angle shot of the guitarist, and medium close ups of the rest of the band playing with the film in the background. The video then shows the two characters driving in a car, as the woman looks out of the window, then switches to a medium close up of the two characters in the car as the look at each other. We then see two more close ups of the band playing as the character’s story are now playing on the screen behind them. There is then a low angle long shot that shows the woman with a beach in front of her, which both characters then run off into. A mix of establishing and extreme long shots show them run to the sea where they stop, as the camera cuts to the band playing again with the characters’ story still on the screen behind them. A low angle long shot of the band then shows the character’s story in the background, before cutting to close up of the characters in the car again, as the man pulls the woman in to him. A short long shot of where the band was now shows them on the screen, before it cuts back to the story of the characters, where a close up shows them taking off their clothes, and revealing CGI skeletons underneath which then run into the sea, before cutting back to a deep focus shot of the band in the park again, with the guitarist now a CGI skeleton too. The camera then quickly cuts between different shots of the band where they are mixing between being themselves and CGI skeletons. A long shot then shows the characters laying on the beach kissing as the waves roll over them, revealing the CGI skeletons again, before it cuts back to the band and the characters in the car for a few quick shots. It then cuts again to the a close up and over the shoulder shot of the characters in the car, as they take away their skin to reveal the CGI skeletons. Then the video flicks between the band and the characters, who are now skeletons. An extreme close up is used to show the characters holding hands as they are


7

skeletons, before going back to a medium shot of the singer who is now a CGI skeleton. A close up of the woman is then shown, which changes to a long shot of her jumping in a pool where she changes to a skeleton. A close up then shows the skeleton in the pool on the screen as the band play underneath, before it changes to an establishing shot showing the band as skeletons on the screen again, then switching between shots of the swimming skeleton, and a deep focus shot of two of the band members as skeletons, and then medium close ups of them all as skeletons. A low angle shot then shows the singer with another classic film showing on the screen. Then using an over the shoulder shot to show the characters with their heads together as they watch their film. The video then cuts between different shots of the band as skeletons and humans playing before cutting to a close up of crashing waves, then using long shots to show the skeleton characters running towards each other on the shoreline. A few different cuts show the band, the characters in the car and the theater watching the footage of the character’s story before cutting back to a close up of the skeleton characters running, before cutting to a long shot of them both crashing into each other and falling to the ground as a pile of bones. A low angle shot then shows the screen as the band play on the beach, and then an establishing shot of the theater as it shows the footage from another classic film, still cutting between different shots of the band as they play in both human and CGI skeleton form. The video ends with a long shot of the car, cutting to a close up of them as skeletons inside as they look at each other and the camera pans to follow them drive away. It then cuts to a long shot of the band as they finish playing as skeletons and fall to the ground as a pile of bones like the characters did.

The mise en scene of the music video shows what style the video is meant to be, a dark style that is like any other work by Tim Burton. All the costume is dark and simple, which suggests the dark but simple meaning behind the song. Most of the video is made up of CGI skeletons and footage from old films, so the costume isn’t shown as much at all, as half way through the video, most of the people in it have become CGI skeletons. This leaves only the location that can create the most meaning. A dark drive in theater that shows a range of classic films on the that orange dusk night in the desert. This could suggest the meaning behind the song, that it looks back at a relationship that has failed and the characters are taking a look at their relationship as they are in the middle of nowhere with it, which is connoted by the desert location, and the orange dusk night could represent the hope they have in working their relationship out and fixing things between them.


8

The video features the whole of the band that wrote and recorded the song, which fits with audience expectations, and also has a good narrative that helps the tell the story and meaning behind the song lyrics. The sound used in the video is mostly non-‐diegetic throughout, as the video switches between the character’s story and the footage from old stop motion films, but the video also uses diegetic sound when the band is shown playing the song at various locations. This is effective to the audience as they can watch the narrative and also still see the artist play the song as they always will. The editing of the video features no visual effects to move between cuts, which allows the video to flow smoothly and tell the narrative that is playing out and quickly switch between cuts of the present and the past memories that are shown on the screen. Colour correction has been used on all aspects of the video as it features a large amount of dark and faded colour throughout, which is only possible to create using colour correction in the post-‐production stage, as when filming, a lot of the video would have been filmed in light areas in the desert and beach. Visual effects have been used a lot on the video, as the CGI skeletons that feature throughout the video were created in the Post-‐Production stage of editing and just the background settings were filmed on set. The target audience for the music video will again be for fans of the killers but alternatively can be for fans of Tim Burton and his style of video as this contains the essence that makes Burtons work so memorable. The video also contains classic clips from stop motion films of the 1950’s era, which could mean that this appeals to older members of the audience as these classic films are featured. The video still captures the essence of an average music video by The Killers whilst also capturing the essence of Burtons typical style, which makes this one of their best videos to date. It sticks to the same format of including the artist featured in shots throughout the duration, whilst also giving a visual narrative to enhance the meaning behind the lyrics of the song. The main concept behind a video by The Killers is to give their audience a visual interpretation of the meaning behind the song, whilst also allowing it to be interpreted many other ways by their audience. This is what the audience expects to see and this is what this video includes, which meets the standards of the audience’s view of videos by The Killers and also of their standards of music videos in general, as all aspects of the video are what typically make a music video a high standard and popular throughout the target audience.

Comment [SM7]: I have not added comments. It is a very good analysis, however use my comments on the last analysis to see if there is any more you could add. Also, you could use the term auteur in relation to Tim burton. An auteur is a film director with a very distinctive style. Both analyses are very good. Well done.

Comment [Office8R7]: I wonder if you would be able add more about some technical aspects such as editing and colour correction and any visual effects that might have been used? Also, it would be good to discuss the audience – who is the target audience and why would the video appeal to them? Does the video meet their expectations of music videos in general as well as their expectations of a video for this artist / this genre?

textual(analysis( of(audio2visual(texts( · textual(analysis(of(audio2visual(texts( (...

Documents