Two Door Cinema Clubare a three piece up and coming band in the UK indie music scene. They are signed to the prestigious indie music label Kitsune, their music is upbeat with electro synths and beats, targeting their music at teenagers and young adults, with their music being used in clubs, and playing at various festivals. Members include; Alex Trimble, Kevin Baird and Sam Halliday. Their music has been loosely compared to the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and Broken Social Scene but without a definitive capacity to be pigeon-holed. Melodic vocals, which hail from all three members of the group, infused with guitar riffs that have been described as “oceanic” and rhythm described as “pulsing”.
I Can Talk is the second single by the
Northern Irish electropop band
Two Door Cinema Club. The single was released November 23,
The video I have chosen to analyse is Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down, the song was the second single for the Sheffield band to release, following a performance based debut single. However in this case the video has taken a narrative route rather than a performance based route, which links it to the direction that we would like to take our music video. The videois basically about a prostitute who as the lyrics say roams 'the streets'. Though the video does link to the overall story of the lyrics, it does not follow the lyrics completely, the exact words of the lyrics are not reflected through the video. The genre of the music video would be 'indie' and I think this is represented quite well through the mise-en-scene, the setting is in a city its easy to relate to, the shots are quite gritty with a greyish tint to them which adds to the overall raw edgy tone of the video. It's shot almost like a student video, it has a trendy cool edge to it which would be appealing to their audience of indie/alternative music lovers around the ages 17 - 30 who are very interested in style, and appearing to be individual and 'cool'. This video definitely is individual, it is not the common performance based, superficial music video that most musicians have, which sets it apart and gives it a selling point.
The video opens with a stunning, high definition closeup of a average looking girls face with her hood up, with a back drop of a council estate, tying in directly with the opening line 'So who's that girl there?', adding intrigue for the viewers. The shot is not conventionally appealing, it is not bright or exciting, but by starting the video with a closeup the viewer immediately becomes attached to the character, and the realness of the shot makes it quite intimate, and relatable. The shots that follow are set out in a slow montage, all in everyday locations following the initial girl, and a suspicious looking older male, again creating a sense of intrigue, and maintaining the audiences attention. The lead actress makes frequent eye contact with the camera, as though she is aware that she is being watched, but the expression remains passive and vulnerable, again creating an intimacy between her and the viewer, and compelling the viewer to watch the video, and find out what is going on.The editing follows the slow paced music, the shots are long, and each cut hits the beat, creating fluidity.
After the slow montage of shots the pace of the track changes and becomes faster, with this there is a swift change in shots, the shots become handheld making them shaky, and are point of view shots from a car, through city streets. The colours are bright, and the movement of the camera is disorientating, contrasting dramatically to the slow and static shots from the introduction. More shots of the girl in an estate location, and city are used, she is mostly alone or with the suspicious looking male, as the lyrics state 'scummy man'. She is never place in warm mise-en-scene or in a home at all, she is seen to be standing on street corners and making 'subtle propositions' to males, there is subtle hints that despite her casual attire of a duffle coat and track suite bottoms that she is a prostitute. There are hints that the suspicious male is her pimp, in most of the shots that they are in together he seems to have a dominate hold over, frequently actually physically taking hold of her but in a menacing way that could not be mistaken for affection. The subtlety of the hint increases the intelligence and overall edginess of the music video.
The video then becomes integrated with shots with brighter lighting and a homely mise-en-scene with soft browns and red colours, contrasting to the dark and moody tone of the earlier shots. The new shots include a magician and confetti, and the girls costume changes from being dark and dull to wearing a pink tutu, I think these shots add a new dimension to the video which is slightly fantastical, and suggest perhaps a happy ending for our troubled girl. The shots become are rapidly edited towards the climax of the video, keeping the viewer absorbed in this mini film, the shots become so short and fast that it is hard to understand quite what is going on, there is a lot of physical violence and more handheld shaky disorientated shots. The main purpose of this is probably to prompt the viewer to re-watch the video to gain more understanding of what is going on, which would mean the viewer would be listening to the song again, pushing them to buy the track or the video. The video ends on a terrain of sharp and short cuts of closeups and shaky handheld shots of a forceful, violent argument between the girl, the magician and the suspicious male. The video ends with the return to the darkly tinted, desolate looking shot of the girl sat on the street with the suspicious male dominantly holding her beneath his arm, indicating a continuous loop of events which takes the viewer back to the start of the video and again prompts them to re-watch it.
Overall the video holds a very dramatic and captivating mini-film, the plot is not in depth, the shots are vague and confusing but this all adds to the mystery and intrigue of the video. The lead actress is captivating in front of the camera, her frequent looks into the camera immediately place the viewers in her positon, and makes them relate emotionally to the video, and hope for her to have a positive ending. I think this video is definitely something that our group can look at and be inspired by, the video ticks all the boxes and leaves the viewer feeling satisfied, yet craving more.
Our teacher was enthusiastic about the second pitch, however she didn't like the idea for the first verse, as it doesn't seem to correspond well to the rest of the music video. So our group came up with an alternative idea for the First verse:
2) First Verse - We see the girl from the woods emerge out of a tree draped in streamers, she walks along a path and sees a clown holding balloons beside her, the shot is very close to her side so you can not see the arm farthest away from the clown. She watches the clown till it is out of sight then turns to the camera, the camera pans to the side where her arm has been cut out to show her arm holding a balloon, she looks in curiosity then turns back, point of view shot - the clown is gone. Cut to a shot of her sat on a chair strapped to the chair with streamers wrapped around her body the clown emerges slowly standing up from behind her, and covers her face with its hands as she struggles.
I think the idea links better to the idea of the clown being fantastical, and taking over her body, indicating that she has some kind of split personality disorder. I think this idea is more interesting than the first two ideas, and will have a more captivating look to it.
After deciding to change our song choice to the more upbeat and erratic 'I Can Talk' by Two Door Cinema club our group had to develop a new idea for our music video:
1) Intro - As the song begins with the vocals 'A, O, A, E, O' there would be close up shots of faces with different expressions, at different angles - profile and side profile. The faces will change with fast paced cuts that mirror the rhythm of the vocals, with a haunting close up of a clown face flickering in and out between the cuts of different faces. Then as the song breaks out into a short instrumental piece there will be a handheld shot following a girl running through a wood looking over her shoulder in fear, some of the shot will be adjusted so that she is running backwards, and will cut between different size and angled shots.
2) First Verse - As the first verse begins there will be a shot of a girl sprawled over a guy on a large double bed, the camera will pan around to find a clown in the corner of the room watching the bed. Then as the camera pans back to the bed the girl will be sat on the bed with her head down while the male does up his trousers, he will throw some money on the bed, then there will be a close up of the girls face with tears in her eyes. The male leaves, once the door to the room is shut the clown walks to the bed picks up the money adjusts the girls bra strap then opens the door and another man walks in.
3) Chorus - On the chorus we will return to the footage in the wood of the girl running and looking back, she will find a man slumped against a tree with blood on his stomach. The camera pans around to find the clown with blood on his hands, the girl screams and runs away, the slumped over man lifts his head and we see he has a clown makeup on his face, zoom into red lips.
2) Second Verse - Zoom out of red lips of the girl from the woods, she is putting on makeup in the mirror in a large public bathroom, she turns to her friend who gasps. Point of view shot of her friend seeing the girl from the woods with her face covered in clown makeup, point of view shot of the girl from the woods as her friend screams and runs out of the bathroom. The girl from the woods turns back to the mirror and her face is made up normally in the reflection, the clown is beside her in the reflection now but she cant see/ignores it.
3) Chorus - Further shots of the girl running through the wood, with point of view shots of the woods. Then a shot of the girl stood on a street still, with people walking around her, the shot will be adjusted so that it plays fast forward. The shot will flicker between her alone and her with the clown possessively wrapping his arms around her.
4) Instrumental - At the beginning of the instrumental section it is slow paced, then the pace begins to increase, we will have a montage of random shots from throughout the music video as well as other images that we might find when filming that we can not fit into the video. Then as the instrumental section reaches its climax, and we return to the 'A, O, A, E, O' there will be a shot of the girl stood opposite the clown, the shot will move from seeing her face around the back of her head so the audience can see the clowns face, and then the clown will remove the mask and the audience will see that she is beneath the clown mask.
5) Chorus - Rapid shots of the girl struggling to remove the clown mask from her head, images of her running from the clown. Then on the last note of the song the girl removes the mask and drops it then disappears, as a new hand comes into shot and picks it up.
As we have decided to do our music video to I Can Talk by Two Door Cinema Club, I decided to look at Kasabian's music video's as they are also an Indie band. Vlad the Impaler captured my attention as the video details a narrative of a the killer 'Vlad the Impaler' hunting and killing people. I thought this reflected our finalised idea of featuring an assumed evil clown, and also because the video is set mainly in a wooded area, which is where we would like to set our video. Furthermore the video is solely narrative, the artists do not feature in the video at all, which is perfect as our video will be solely narrative.
The overall colour of the video is very antique, with a slight brownish dull tone to it, and erratic editing. The shots all have a oval shape to them, with the black disintegrating into the shot, it is very nostalgic of old aged films in cinemas. The editing is very fast paced and erratic, making the narrative quite nonsensical, yet incredibly captivating. The lyrics do vaguely reflect the narrative, with violent lines such as 'All my friends are as sharp as razors, cut you down if you touch the fades, High class girls hung in elevators' and 'Cut throat this blood runs thick'. However the Narrative does not follow the lyrics in a linear way, for example on the line 'I'm frying in the heat in the cauldron stir me' there is not an image of a cauldron, the lyrics are not reflected exactly in the video.
I really like the overall colour of the video, and the dark attire of the lead actor playing 'Vlad the Impaler'. I think the footage in the woods is incredibly striking with the blueish light from the moon shining between the branches and silhouetting against the white shirt of the man walking through. I also like the point of view shots in the wood, showing the light of the torch through the dark dense trees. I like the shots where the focus is pulled, and the extremely fast zooms into Vlad's face, and into screaming mouths/faces, adding intensity and drama. I also think the shots of people running through the woods with the yellowish spotlight that looks like a flashlight also adds to the drama of the situation, whilst looking interesting. Furthermore I like the repetitive shot of Vlad walking along the road, giving it the feeling that hes omnipresent, and always hunting people. The shots are mostly handheld, which adds real drama and authenticity to the shots. Overall I really enjoy watching the video, I think it is re-watchable, fascinating and will be a helpful video to re-watch during the process of making and editing our music video
There are many different conventions for music video's depending on the genre. Through looking at music videos from different genres of music, I have developed an understanding of what genres of music expect from their music videos I have briefly described my understanding of the codes and conventions of music videos, according to their genre:
Rock/Metal - Through looking at rock/Metal artists music videos, I have developed an understanding of the traits that are present in most of this genres music videos. The hue of the videos are usually quite dark, but with high contrast levels, to give the video an overall dark and edgy tone. The music videos are usually incredibly performance based, shots covering the whole band playing, yet focusing mainly on the front vocalist. Narrative music videos are also used, however I would say it is very likely that a narrative video would also show many shots of the band performing. The story lines are usually dark, to match the dark sound of the music, and dark meaning of the lyrics. The performance it's self usually has a dark and 'scary' tone to it, the performers are usually dressed in completely in black, appearing as stereotypical rock/metal listeners/performers with multiple piercings, dark makeup, and a dark and edgy demeanour. The editing is usually snappy and fast paced, to match the normally fast tempo of rock/metal songs.
Pop - Music videos that belong to the genre of pop are usually extremely performance based, with the singer, or band lip syncing throughout the song, as well as performing via dancing or in a narrative story that reflects the meaning of the lyrics. The overall tone and hue of the video will be very bright, with the artist wearing bright trendy mainstream clothing. If the lyrics are or a more sad nature, the overall tone of the video may be brought down a little, but will still be quite bright. In pop music videos the main artists are almost always present in their music video in some shape of form. Pop music videos are usually fun and light hearted to appeal to a younger audience.
RnB - This genre of music video usually has a light tone to it, the hue is usually bright similar to pop videos. Typically the video will involve the artist in a narrative setting or simply performing in a setting such as a nightclub, mansion, beach etc. There are usually dancers present, to reflect the sound of the music. The clothing is usually revealing on women, and show the wealth of the artist, with lavish jewelry and expensive cars. The narrative of the storyusually reflects the lyrics of the song, and like pop videos usually the artist will lip sync throughout the video. Again similar to pop music videos RnB videos have a good, positive, lighthearted feeling to them. Indie - This genre of music videos has a huge variety of conventions, the hue can be dark, bright or black and white depending on the tone of the lyrics. Indie music videos are also split generously between being solely narrative, and performance based, sometimes the artists do not even feature in the music video for their songs. However Indie music videos can be performance based either featuring the entire band, or simply featuring the main vocalist. Narrative music videos in the Indie genre are typically quite arty, and symbolic, rather than spelling out exactly what the lyrics say.
When we had decided that we were going to use 'I can talk' Two Door Cinema Club. We then thought that we need to look at the lyrics and try to work out what they mean. So we printed out the lyrics on an A3 page and analysed them.
All music videos have to represent certain codes and conventions. The 5 main music video codes and conventions are:
1. Lyrics- They establish a general tone to the song, and address the storyline or subject matted. Key lines sometimes play a significant part in the visuals, but rarely would there be a full interpretation, and sometimes the lyrics do not directly correlate with the music video, it may just be the tone or mood of the lyrics which is conveyed in the music video
2. Music - The tempo of the track should drive the editing of a music video, fast paced music should mirrored with fast paced editing, and slow paced music should be accompanied with slow paced editing. furthermore particular sounds in a track may be foregrounded and emphasised on screen, for example if the video was performance based there would be a close up of the guitar or drums.
3. Genre - Each genre carries its own codes and conventions, a viewer would expect to see. This would be reflected in the mise-en-scène, the camera work and editing style. I have highlighted the different codes and conventions of music dependant on genre in a separate post.
4. Camerawork - How the camera is used and how images are sequenced has a significant impact on meaning. The angle, movements and shot distance would fluctuate depending on the music. Up beat tones are likely to require more dynamic camerawork.
5. Editing- In the process of filming the director and camera worker must film to edit. Some music videos would feature fast cut montages (sometimes containing of random images). This then encourages repeated viewings in case the viewer missed anything the first time. The editing helps to establish the mood, and is sometimes is used to fragment the narrative.
Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Therefore music video's will usually include the artists, to allow the viewers to identify with the artists and aspire to be like them. Therefore music videos have to be incredibly aesthetically appealing and captivating. Once an artists is established they can then use narrative music videos rather than performance based music videos, which is virtually a short film that corresponds in some way with the music, perhaps the tone, the actual lyrics or just the sound of the music. Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation , live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film.
On deciding to dismiss the initial idea and initial song our group had to develop our music video further with a new song. We decided to stick to the gender of indie/pop, as we wanted to create an up beat, fragmented music video thatwill captivate viewers attention. We wanted to staywith the initial idea of the clown mask, yet develop the idea further into a strange fantastical video. Our teachers problem with our fist idea was that it was too linear, and that the song was too slow and sentual for the content of the video. I Can Talk by Two Door Cinema club is an irratic, up beat track, with many increases and decreases in tempo. We played the song to our teacher and she agreed that it was a good choice.
Lyrics
I Can Talk - Two Door Cinema Club
You won't believe what I tell you, White coats and clever minds will choose You get a lot from thisLoose tongue and arrogance It's not appropriate Don't think that this is it
Now I can talk, no one gets off (I know how you like to) Now I can talk,no one gets off (repeat)
A longer sentence brings no more Than one that I had said before It's hard to compromise When I see through your eyes It's just a common view I guess it's lost on you
Now I can talk, no one gets off (I know how you like to) Now I can talk, no one gets off (repeat)
instrumental
Now I can talk, no one gets off (I know how you like to) Now I can talk, no one gets off (repeat)
Two Door Cinema Club are a three piece up and coming band in the UK indie music scene. They are signed to the prestigious indie music label Kitsune, their music is upbeat with electro synths and beats, targeting their music at teenagers and young adults, with their music being used in clubs, and playing at various festivals. Members include; Alex Trimble, Kevin Baird and Sam Halliday. Their music has been loosely compared to the likes of Death Cab for Cutie and Broken Social Scene but without a definitive capacity to be pigeon-holed. Melodic vocals, which hail from all three members of the group, infused with guitar riffs that have been described as “oceanic” and rhythm described as “pulsing”.
