The Postal Service is an electronic group from America made up of two men called Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello. The reason I chose this band and specific track for my textual analysis is due to it sounding a lot like 'Galaxies' by Owl City. The same electronic sound is used and there is a theme of space involved in each. This will give me a better idea of music video conventions used in this genre of music.
The song I am analysing starts off very slow paced and quite dreamy. To match this, the first shot is a close up of a window. From this we can see that a city-scape has been created from cut outs. This gives an interesting textured look to the scene. The lighting used is a mellow blue which not only gives the illusion of night time but also fits the mood of the song. From this shot a person is also visible holding up a cut-out moon. This makes the shot very unusual and quite theatrical. As the scene moves on, the set changes and the lighting shines an orange hue on the scene, indicating the transition from night to day. This is very clearly telling a story.
This is a close-up of an alarm clock giving the viewer an indication of the time. However, the digital screen is in fast-forward giving it quite a surreal look. It indicates time 'flying-by'. It links in to the first shot where we see night moving into day.
In this wide shot we can see from the mise-en-scene (bed, bed-side table, lamps) that this is a bedroom. Linking this with the first shot, we assume that it is an apartment in the city. Unlike the first two shots, this shot has no moving objects. This leads the viewer to assume that nothing is changing inside the room but the world is changing outside. This is an important part in the story-telling of the music video. The dim lighting gives off a sombre yet peaceful mood. The props within the room such as the lamps and artwork on the wall give the setting a contemporary feel and indicate that this could be aimed at late teens to early twenty year-olds. The city-scape shows that the audience will mostly dwell in urban areas.
This is a close-up of the girl on the bed from the shot before. This establishes that she is the main character in this music video and also seems to be in her early twenties due to the youthful look about her. The strong use of makeup and jewellery suggests that this girl has possibly come home from a party or night out. These close-ups continue in the next few shots, including the character's feet in high-heels to indicate that she hasn't bothered to get changed at all from entering her room to getting on the bed, The character then moves her feet away from the square of light being projected in by the window. This could suggest that she is shying away from any outside contact.
Here there is an interesting use of projections upon the bed of different characters. They all take up different positions next to the main character which could suggest that these are past occupants of that side of the bed. The mid-shot focuses on both the character and the projections to make the relationships between each of them stand out. This links into the song itself as the main character is currently sleeping alone.
In this shot, the city-scape has been repeated with a particular close-up on the sun and the moon. This is a reminder that time is still passing rapidly.
The theatrical performance continues as characters outside walk up and down as if on a side-walk. This shows that life is going on as normal outside in comparison to the unnatural stillness inside the apartment. The lighting continues to alternate between orange and blue for night and day. I assume the cut-out buildings also change to show a change in locations as well as bed occupants.
The projections change to interesting and psychedelic patterns as the light in the apartment blacks out. This abrupt change matches the transition in music as the tempo increases and the beat becomes more conspicuous.
In this scene the bed suddenly transforms from a quiet, solitary place to a confusion of bodies, lighting and colours. The faster tempo and beat fits to the party scene. The abrupt change in the music and story is captivating and keeps the younger target audience captivated.
Target Audience:
The target audience for this music video would be youthful people of both genders (16-25). They would most probably live in urban areas and have a very active life. Night life and relationships would be high priority to them. Their social class would be D/E as they would most likely be students at University or working as waitresses/waiters, shop attendants, etc. The target audience would mostly be explorers; being active and adventurous in consumerism is what would generally define them which would link to the party scene in the music video. However, reformers could also come into this as they value 'underground' products which would link in to The Postal Service itself.
Rock Genre - Muse/Van Halen
Music videos of the rock genre, such as Muse, tend to use darker lighting and steer clear of bright, bold colours. This gives the music video more of a moody, angry feel to it. However, different sub-genres of rock have different conventions. Van Halen, for example, produces generally more upbeat songs such as 'Jump' and so has to match this mood with bright clothing and lighting. A stage setting is also present in a lot of these types of music videos as live performance is a big part of the rock genre.
What have I learnt?
- I have gained a better understanding of the unusual conventions used in an electronic pop music video such as strong use lighting and theatrical performance.
- These are unusual compared to conventions of, for example, videos of the rock genre where the storylines are more complex and generally have a darker feel to them, although there are exceptions, as with any genre.
- I now know that having the visuals match the beat and tempo of the song is very important as it links the two together creating a fluent video.
