Lyric Analysis of my first choice of song

This is the lyric analysis of my chosen song, from analysing and looking further into these lyrics and the meaning of them, it gave me more insight to the song and also inspired me with some ideas for my actual video. 

Overview of Textual Analysis'

3 videos I analysed...

1. The Kooks- Always Where I Need To Be
2. Oasis- Wonderwall
3. Arctic Monkeys- R U Mine?

Genre Conventions...

• Presenting themselves in a rebellious way (going against conventions of the other genres, for example- not having a video that is solely based on the performance of the song or how popular and good the artists look- focusing mostly on the lyrics of the song by having them singing in places where not many people will be watching- e.g. the Kooks on a rooftop or the Arctic Monkeys who are listening to their own song on the radio and pretending to be performing it in the car), whilst still trying to stress the importance of the meaning of the song and its lyrics
• Spreading their own ideology through the video and it's lyrics; that music is not always about performance and making the artists look good, they stress the importance of the song through its lyrics. Tim O'Sullivan's theory suggests that it is only extremely powerful groups of people that can spread their certain ideology, however, in videos such as these, bands and artists can spread their ideology through their videos and lyrics, through many aspects of the video such as mise-en-scene, editing and cinematography.  
• Do not focus too much on their own image, but the audience can still tell that they want to look good, in some ways this is the conventions of their image- that they do not try too hard.
• Locations- subtle but still enforcing their success and fame. e.g. in The Kooks' video they cut from them performing in a small apartment, to a rooftop with the NYC skyline in the background. And the the Arctic Monkeys video the radio station may be a shabby looking place but it still shows that they are famous because their song is being played to all the listeners. These artists also use social realism, in not only this video but in the majority of their videos. They present the working class way of life in a more realistic way (the term social realism came about in the 60s, and it meant that not only in the music industry but also in many other media forms the working class were starting to be presented in a more realistic way, with more and more working class artists having their realistic image put out there). They show that to be successful you do not need to lead a lavish lifestyle- for example in the R U Mine? video they have their song playing on a radio station that looks shabby but the main idea is that their song is being played and thousands of people will be hearing it. 

Form Conventions...

• All 3 videos use lots of different shots, for example, all 3 use close ups (focusing on many different aspects of the video. For example in The Kooks' video it has close ups of iconic buildings and locations, instruments, as well as the artists... and in the Arctic Monkeys video when they are miming we are shown a close up of their faces to reinforce the lyrics of the song). 
• Long shots and establishing are also used, which help promote the artists image because it helps show how far they have come- representing their fame to the audience; such as the rooftop with the NYC skyline in it in The Kooks' video.
• The Kooks' and Arctic Monkeys' videos both have fairly quick editing, cutting from shot to shot many times in each video- as a convention of all music videos, however, because they edit to the beat of the song, the Oasis video is edited a bit slower compared to the other two as it is a much slower song, so each shot lasts longer than the other day- I will take this into consideration when I am doing the storyboard for my video as it is also a slow song, meaning the editing will not want to be overly fast, otherwise it will look out of place with the song and would not follow conventions of music videos. 

Textual Analysis 3 (Arctic Monkeys)

My 3rd analysis of a music video is Arctic Monkeys 'R U Mine?'

The introduction of this video starts off with it being introduced as if it were a radio show, by introducing the band and the song this way, it is constantly reinforcing the name of their band, getting their image out there to the public, allowing them to be recognised by this song.

 Followed by the line 'Take it away boys' (which is not part of the actual song- which is an example of making diegetic sound fade into the non diegetic sound- a convention of sound in music videos) it edits to this scene of 2 people in a car, we are shown them sorting out the camera so we have them in a 2 shot medium close up, pretending to play the drums to the songs. This also follows the conventions of the previous rock music videos I have analysed because although it has some aspect of performing the song, the entire video is not based around the performance; just certain sections are. The mise-en-scene is very basic in this video, with black and white setting (similar to Oasis' video, suggesting that music is a simple thing that people turn into something complex that it doesn't need to be) the lighting is quite dark, giving connotations of the dark vibe this rock music has. With both the 'performers' having sunglasses on (despite it clearly being dark outside) again gives connotations of their celebrity status, perhaps they are trying to hide their faces because they do not want to be spotted by paparazzi that may be following them. So although they are not performing a big stage in front of thousands of people, we are still reminded that they are celebrities.

The editing throughout this video is very clever, whenever there is a section in the song when there is more than one singer, the 'camera man' who is also the performer switches the camera framing back to a two shot. Then it cuts back to a shot where only he is visible, in a close up this time.
As with most rock music videos, this one does not have a clear narrative, although we are aware there is one there, it does not appear to actually tell a meaningful story relating to the lyrics. It is mostly about the performance, expressing the 'alternate rock' image that this band is trying to give themselves.
By cutting to this shot, the lighting suddenly changes (still black and white, just a lot lighter) and we are shown this shot of a man with his arm around 2 girls in cowboy hats and masks, again not relating to the lyrics, it is more about how they have presented themselves.



This video is fairly different to the other two videos I have analysed, as this one is a lot more performance based than the previous one. This video focuses a lot more on the image of the performers who are represented as typical 'rock stars' who want to look good for their audience and spread the ideology that they are different from other rock artists, but still whilst fitting in with the conventions of their genre.
The way Arctic Monkeys have edited this video will appeal to their target audience as the alternate, individual approach to their video will attract the audience that would listen to this song. The audience will probably be people around their own age and those who are younger who will be influenced by aspects of their image such as the way they dress. The ratio to males and females will probably be fairly equal because the males will aspire idolise them, and females may be attracted to them which would encourage them to listen to their music and enjoy their videos- which is another reason why they may still care about their image, even though it may not be one of the main aspects of their video. This is how they are represented in order to appeal to their target audience; they know that young people will idolise them and will like their image, therefore, they make it work for them without making it a major part of their video.

Textual Analysis 2 (Oasis)

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is Oasis - Wonderwall.

This video has used mise-en-scene in a very interesting way; by having one of the members reading the paper and holding the paper up to his face, this connotes that every now and then he just likes to hide from the fame he has, and maybe read about the normal things going on around him. The blue of the guitar in colour that stands out against the black and white lighting of the rest of the video signifies that there will always be their music that separates them from the rest of society (just like the clown stands out when he is cut in every so often). The black tint in the singers glasses represent that perhaps he wants to hide from his fame, but the lights that are reflecting in the glasses show that his fame will always be there and it will be hard to get away from.

As this is from the same genre as The Kooks, the conventions are the same; again focusing on the meaning of the lyrics, slightly more than the actual performance of the song- trying to spread the message that what the lyrics are trying to say, rather than how they are said, is the most important thing. This is further reinforced by the opening scene of their record being played, it is just a plain record with the bands name on. Again it is similar to The Kooks as there is one of the band members playing the guitar, however, there is no audience- showing that it does not matter who he is playing his music to, just as long as someone is listening. With it being in a mundane setting (no big stage or infront of a huge audience) this is reinforced. The use of cinematography in this scene is very clever, it has a gradual close up and it is only then when we realise who is actually playing the guitar, before this close up we are not aware of who it is- meaning it could be anyone, showing that again the actual music is more important than who is performing it.
The editing is a lot slower than in The Kooks' video, however, it is still fairly quick, breaking normal conventions of music videos. There are quite a few cuts to instruments, signifying the importance of the music to the audience. By representing the artists this way it shows to their audience how much music means to them, similarly to The Kooks- almost like they are thanking for what they have done for them and constantly reminding them that the music is the most important part for them, not the fame that comes with it.

By having the main singer in blacked out sunglasses sat singing to the camera it is similar to The Kooks' as it still has an aspect of performance so it is like he is interacting with the audience, and is singing directly to them.
The artists in the video are cut from playing their music to doing everyday things (such as read the paper) showing that despite all the fame that they have they still enjoy doing the 'normal' things they used to do. The scene to the right represents the crazy world that has come with their fame, and how everything is all mixed up since they have become famous, and they have their music and fans to thank for it. The constant black and white theme throughout the video signifies that although their world is crazy now since they have become famous, they want to perhaps keep it as simple as they can, the black and white connotes archaism and that despite the fame they have, every now and then they just like to go back to when things were simple, as things often look a lot simpler when they are in black and white. This is also reinforced by having their own record playing at the start of the video on a record player as records are not as popular anymore, suggesting the artists want to go back to this time. It also suggests that even though their life has been turned around and may be a little crazy since its happened, they are still in control as they chose to put the record on, the record being a metaphor for the song they are performing.
I think this video will appeal to the target audience because the band are really involved in it, which I think consequently makes the audience feel like they are also involved. The target audience for this video and song will be that of similar age range to The Kooks and Arctic Monkeys, however, because they are a band that have been established for much longer than the other two bands, and the members of them are much older- which would mean that those of an older generation would have been listening to them for longer. The way they are represented presents them in a very 'mellow' way, in order to appeal to their chosen audience, who, as they are from an older generation, would not want to appeal to someone who is presented in an uptight, image-oriented way.