Textual Analysis of Three Existing Music Videos

To help analyse these four videos, I will use Goodwin's theory, or Goodwin's six:

The video demonstrates characteristics of the genre, (performance elements for rock, or the showing of wealth in rap.)

There is a relationship between visuals and lyrics, (illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.)

There is a relationship between music and visuals, ( " " )

The video must meet the demands of the label the band are on, for example close ups of performers, or motifs reoccurring in the video, (this is for a visual style.)

Reference to the notion of looking, (treatment of the female body)

There is often intertextual reference, (to TV, films or other songs/videos.)

I will also look at camera work, editing, mise en scene and lighting. I will also use, where I can, commentaries from either the director or performers themselves.

The first video I will look at is from Guns n' Roses debut album Appetite For Destruction and their second ever single:Welcome To The Jungle. The video is a mixture of performance mixed with narrative directed by.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1tj2zJ2Wvg

At the time, Guns' label Geffen was having a hard time selling the video to companies because of a lack of popularity of the band (the album only took off a year after it was released.) David Geffen made a deal with the MTV, and the video was aired just once around 5:00AM on a Sunday morning. As soon as it was aired, they received loads of calls from people wanting to see the video again. Despite the video being played so early in the morning, it managed to catch the attention of the audience and became MTV's most requested video at the time.

The video starts with a reference to the lyrics, giving it a small narrative. The song is about Axl Rose (the singer) hitchiking to LA describing it as 'the jungle' and makes references to life in LA throughout the song. The narrative is based on the Ludovico technique which is a fictional drug-assisted aversion theropy from the novel and film A Clockwork Orange. It involves a patient being made to watch violent images for long periods of time, while under the effect of drugs. The basic idea is that if the patient is forced to watch the horribly graphic images while suffering from the drug effects, the patient will assimilate the sensations and then become incapacitated or very ill either attempting to perform or even just witnessing said acts of violence. This shows huge intertextuality. (One of Goodwin's six.) That being said, it is a clear influence for this videos narrative as Axl is seen watching TV images of the LA lifestyle in a shop window, (where Slash is seen sat propped against the wall drinking out of a bottle in a paper bag) >When Axl is shown strapped into a chair in a straight jacket whilst watching images of police beating people and various other violent images. (This is the whole Ludovico technique idea.) As the video goes on, Axl is shown watching TV in bed with more violent images glued to the TV with a very vacant expression. Then in one of the final shots, Axl is shown outside the same TV store dressed as a punk in appropriate clothing after going through the process of the Ludovico technique. This is the narrative part of the video, there are only a few shots to show this, but it reflects hugely on the lyrics as this technique is used as a metaphor for what happens when people are introduced to the city lifestyle. Intertextuality is also a feature of postmodernism. This supports the link between postmodernism and music videos.

The narrative is also illustrative of the connection between visuals and lyrics. It shows the meaning of the lyrics and does so through the narrative as well as what you can actually see.

The first shot of the video is a long hand held shot of Axl's bus pulling up, with the drug dealer waiting at the bus stop. The construction of this shot makes the audience feel like a bystander of the action and watching on as the video takes place. This helps the audience relate to what is happening on screen.

The second shot is a mid shot of Axl getting off the bus and looking around. This shot gives the audience the idea that Axl has arrived in a big place (the jungle) and is but a small member of it. This is shown as he spins around looking up at the huge buildings and bright lights. This particular shot is the first milestone of the narrative as it shows Axl before the he is exposed to the city.

The lighting for the opening few shots is low key, obviously it's at night. However there are a few coloured lights that emphasise the effect of the jungle. For example, there is a green light along the road behind the two in shot.

After another mid shot of Axl, he is shown looking at a woman walking past him. The next shot tilts up the woman's body from low to high. This shows reference to the notion of looking. (Another of Goodwin's six.) Then there is a straight cut back to Axl realising that he has hit the jungle.

After this, Slash and the TVs that Axl is about to watch are shot in a frame based on the window of the shop. There is a close up of Axl screaming while strapped into his chair. This is a powerful shot and could have more than one meaning. It could be Axl screaming at his Ludovico treatment, it could just be because it looks good, (style over substance) it could be a metaphor for the meaning of the song, or it could be used because the vocals of the track commence and basically the singer is screaming. I think a combination of these is used. This is also a link between the music and visuals, because he's screaming, not necessarily due to the fact that he's singing the song, but because the vocals come in and the picture looks like he's performing that part.

After this, the setting changes to what could be a club, where the band are performing. The first two shots are very definite. The first shows a close up of Axl's upper half striking a powerful pose, showing his presence and importance in the video. The next is also focussed on Axl, which is a low angle midshot that very slowly zooms out. This shows Axl as a very powerful and important person. This could be a comparison between him and the general public. These two shots are very important to the video because they strike a very powerful look and set the scene for the video, and also sum up the band.

After this is an establishing shot that pans around slowly. It shows the whole band and the crowd in front of them. This shot is used as an introduction to the rest of the band.

For the verse, close ups of each of the band members are used. This is to show the audience who they are and what they look like, increasing popularity.

A strong shot used in the verse is a long two shot of Axl and Slash performing side by side. This is a feature of many of their videos and performances, if you like, a motif. (One of Goodwin's features.)

During the chorus, there is an insert of a clip of police beating someone, this links with the narrative of the video.

Every now and again, there are shots from what would be a member of the audience of the gig they are playing. This makes the audience of the video feel as if they are at the show and helps them relate and get into the video.

During Slash's first solo, there are close ups of him, with straight cuts to Axl watching TV in bed. This is a connection between the music and visuals because the sounds created by the guitar and vocals sound as if they could be that of someone being tortured. I guess it's more related to the narrative.

During Slash's second solo there are many close ups of him. There are also low angle angle shots of him making him look big similar to that of Axl in the intro. There are also close ups of the other members from time to time.

When the solo ends and the song hits the break down, the Axl in the chair is the focus of this scene. It is filmed in the room where he is rather than on a TV through a window like before. The first shot is a long shot with the chair right in the middle of the shot. This is to show the situation and make it clear to the audience to be focussed on what the situation is. The next shot is an over the shoulder shot that pans around the back of the chair showing many screens of violent images while Axl struggles on the chair. This part is where the narrative is made clearest of all because the focus is solely on that particular character. There are a few more close ups of the band in this sequence, and an insert of what Axl is being made to watch to show the audience what he is actually watching. Then a huge zoom in to Axl's eyes to show the pressure he is under from this treatment, also to show that it is Axl. After this is a connection between visuals and music, there is another zoom in on Axl, while a guitar makes a glissando noise which matches the zoom. This show what is happening in the mind of the character.

The final shot of this character in this sequence is a close up and shows him struggling harder and screaming. This matches the music because the song has just built up into the final chorus and the character has been pushed almost over the limit.

As the song draws to a close, there is a mid shot of Axl watching the same TVs as before in the video, but this time he is dressed to suit where he is. At the start he was dressed in a baseball cap, a buttoned down shirt and jeans as if he had come from the country side. Now that the treatment has happened and we are at the end of the video, he is dressed in a more punk style suited to the genre of music. This mise en scene and costume change relates to the narrative of the video and shows that the metaphor of the Ludovico treatment has taken place.

The lighting in the performance part of the video is simply how it would be at a gig, with spots etc. In the sequence with Axl in the chair, there is not a lot of lighting, just the light of the TVs and some low key lighting on Axl himself. The background is pitch black to make Axl the focus of the shot.

The shots are mostly short in length and are separated by straight cuts to give the video a fast paced effect to match the song.

The only thing even near to commentary that I could find was from the band's manager Alan Niven during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. He said that he "came up with the idea of stealing from three movies: Midnight Cowboy, The Man Who Fell To Earth and Clockwork Orange."

The second video that I will look at is the first single from Oasis' fifth album Heathen Chemistry, The Hindu Times directed by W.I.Z.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLPbl8Nigk

The video was shot at Abbey Road Studios where the song was recorded. It features mostly live footage of Oasis because this is how they prefer to do videos, as well as various words that keeping appearing that are linked to the song. At first, the video was set to be shot in New Delhi, but this did not work out. The video was shot at a "time when the band were starting to pick things up"* from the time between their last album until this one and it is shown in the video in the way that the performers are happy and the video is fairly energetic. The whole video is in black and white.

*From Noel's commentary on the DVD

The video starts with a hand held shot mid-long shot of Noel sitting with his guitar that tracks and moves as if deliberately done. At this point, the song is not playing. Gem is playing piano and the actual audio from the shoot is used and you can hear background noise from the set. These two elements combined create an effect that you are there and part of this session with Oasis. It also gives the video a very laid back feel from the start. The piano music is also very atmospheric and gives you the same feeling you get before seeing a band live.

The second shot is of Gem playing the piano. This obviously show the connection between music and visuals. This is also hand held and wobbly giving the effect that you are actually watching him play. It is also to show you that someone is playing it in this session.

Next is an over the shoulder hand held shot of who I believe to be Andy Bell showing the stage. This is to make the audience feel a if they are watching the band and behind someone in the crowd anticipating the band coming on stage. You can already see that this video is to show the band is if playing live in a rehearsal or recording session and you are there.

After this the sound check comes with Gem standing in position getting levels. This is another hand held shot that is a mid-long shot that shows other equipment. The focus field is deep to show Gem as the focus point, rather than a mic in the foreground.

The next few shots are very similar, showing other band members getting ready.

Once the band are ready, there is a close up of Liam Gallagher from the side, the piano stops and there is the sound of a tape recorder's button being pressed. This is clearly to show that the band are now recording as the song kicks in.

After this, there are close ups of all the band, mainly the singer, and some master shots of the set. These shots show a huge gun and cut outs of women holding guns. This is clearly a theme to the video but does not have any relevance to the song itself. One of Strinati's features of postmodernism could describe this; style over substance. Meaning that these props are just used because they look good. They have no meaning. They could well be a reference to another text. The master shots also show signs that flash saying 'pills'. This is a connection between visuals and lyrics because the song is about drugs.

During the closeups of Noel, you can see that he is using his signature Union Jack guitar. This is something that people can relate Noel to and could be on order of the record company for him to use it so it is something for the audience to recognise.

During the first chorus there is a close up of Liam shot as if it was through the barrel of a gun and it spins around. This is a link between lyrics and visuals because it is a very trippy effect and links to drugs.

As the song goes on, it is clear that Liam is set up to face the band. This shows that the video is a recording session, not a live performance. This links to the recording sound heard earlier. However the band still perform as if they were playing live. For example, Liam still pulls his signature pose while singing. This is also so the audience can relate to the video and can watch the band playing as they do live. This is probably due to the label.

There is a sequence of shots that link lyrics with visuals in the second chorus. There are 3 shots in quick succession of the signs around the band. The sings say Pills, then a straight cut, Or, another straight cut, Bombs. These words are a direct reference to the lyrics.

Also during this chorus is a mid shot in slo mo of a woman dancing as if on drugs. Another link between visuals and lyrics.

At the end of the song, there is a very high angle shot of the band as they walk off.

During the video there are shots with a bottle of milk in them, and an x-ray type shot after someone drinks the milk. I can only guess that this is a reference to the lyrics and a metaphor for taking drugs that go directly into your blood stream.

In the commentary by Noel on this video, he doesn't say much other than "things were a lot better for the band at this time" and "I like this video". He says nothing on the making, or ideas of the video.

All transitions are straight cuts to make it seem as if it is live and you are there watching it and lighting is not really an issue as its in black and white. However there are spots on the members if the band.

The third video is the title track from Kasabian's second abum Empire. The video was directed by W.I.Z and was featured in the single's digipak. It shows the members of Kasabian as members of the 11th Hussars during the Crimean War and was shot in Bucharest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCIVF3GSu-4

The song was written as an anti-war message, and the video matches this. (The visuals match the lyrics.) The band are situated on the frontline as a message is brought to them by a boy. This is a direct reference to another song on the album, Shoot The Runner. It is mostly a narrative style video, but does have elements of performance with Tom singing, and the odd guitar in shot here and there.

The first shot is a close up of some long yellow grass. It fades in from black and has a very shallow focus field. The camera then slowly zooms out and pans a short distance onto a lady walking in the long grass. There is a focus pull so she is in focus and the grass is not. A deeper focus field. There are also the black bits on top and bottom of the screen. This makes it seem like a feature length film from the cinema. This is a feature of videos, they can use whatever form they like. There are birds singing as the woman bends down to pick up a dandelion seed. This sequence gives the video a very professional beginning as if it was a real film, plus it shows the time the video is set in because of the clothes she is wearing.

The second shot shows an old man giving someone a letter, then saluting. It is a very close over the shoulder shot. This shot is used to show the person the letter is being given to.

After this is a hand held shot of a boy with the letter running. The sound of him breathing has been boosted to give an atmospheric effect. A hand held shot is used as a metaphor to his journey and how hard it is.

Next is a very long wide, if not, a master shot showing the landscape from a human view. This is used to show the setting and makes you see that the video is set on a battlefield. The boy comes running into shot then stops at what looks like a small camp.

Once the boy arrives, there is a straight cut to a long shot of three soldiers, but none of their faces are shown. The main focus of this shot is a big puddle in the middle of their camp. This is a link between lyrics and visuals because it emphasis the anti war message and why it is so bad. The boy walks through the puddle to get to his destination. This could be showing that soldiers will/have to do anything on order.

After this is the first close up of a band member, the singer who salutes the boy as he is brought the message.

Then a close up of the boys face, then a mid shot from behind him as he is shot. This is in slow motion to give a dramatic effect.

After this is a series of close ups of the band as the music starts playing. (One of Goodwin's features.) These close ups show Tom reading the message with a look of dispair on his face. This obviously shows that the message is not a good one.

After a minute of the video, you realise that the framing of the shot doesn't always show everything. Often when someone moves, their head is cut out of shot for a few seconds for example. This is to show the confusion of these people at war, also because it makes you concentrate on things other than people's faces such as the clothes they are wearing so you understand the video more.

The video also is a reference to TV series Sharp. This shows intertextuality which is one of Goodwin's features.

The next shot is a close up of someone fanning someone, the camera pans to the man who sent this message. This shows that this man is important, therefore the message sent was most probably his orders.

There is a close up of his hand flicking open some kind of locket or pocket watch. This shows that he most probably is an important person, and is checking the time to see if everything is happening when he wants it to.

An over the shoulder shot of him shows two other men in uniform. The hat that the closest man is wearing shows that he is another man of importance. Perhaps general. They are sat at a table with ale and eggs on. This shows the difference between the two groups. The band/soldiers sitting in the dirt doing all the work and putting their lives on the line, and the 'important' people sitting at a table drinking, and eating and probably discussion battle tactics. This helps display the message of the song.

After this is a close up of Tom standing in heavy smoke, maybe after a cannon has been fired, this close up goes from one extreme to another, the next shot is a close up of a rich woman smiling. She is smiling and happy, even though there is a war going on. It almost shows the video and war as a game for rich people to win land and money while poor people and soldiers are the pieces on the board.

When the chorus starts there is a shot of a cannon that exploads in time with the music. This is a connection between visuals and music.

Then there are shots of war combined with a close up of the man who sent the message, drinking ale. This emphasises the point just made.

Then is the first close up of Serge. The lack of close ups in the video could be linked to the fact that the video was not made to promote the band, but just as an anti war message.

The next shot is a close up of the singer singing the chorus with the note in his hands. An important part of this shot is that he sings the line "we're all wasting away." This is important because it shows him as a soldier in shot as if the soldier was saying we are all wasting away. After this the story starts to come together that the band are disagreeing with the orders sent in the message.

There are more shots of war, and a shot in which all of the members of the band walk through at once, this is the first time they are shown together. This could mean that soldiers are in groups, but really they are on their own out there.

The next time this shot comes around, Tom takes off his jacket and a close up is shown as he throws it on the ground. This emphasies the fact that he is against war.

The next shot is similar to a two shot but is a kind of long two shot and shows the important people standing up in disbelief and looking through telescopes.

The man with the hat stands to salute the band but is interupted by the chorus. (A link between visuals and music.)

The next straight cut shows the band, and Tom singing the chorus to the people at the table. This shows their rebellion. This time, the band have instruments, confusing the type of video this is, but that is a convention of videos.

There are point of view shots from other soldiers showing the band walking back through the war scene past fighting soldiers.

As the song goes into the breakdown, the woman with the dandelion comes back in a close up of her hand bringing the dandelion to her mouth. As she blows the seeds away, there is an explosion on the battlefield and the members of the band are killed, except Tom who keeps walking. This is a metaphor for the rich people being in control of all of these soldiers. At the click of her fingers she can have all these people killed.

There is slow motion footage of the band members being killed in a sepia tone, while the woman's and mouth are inserted onto the side of the shot. It shows her smiling and that she is enjoying seeing these people die, and that war is just fun for these people.

As the chorus comes back in, Tom is confronted by 5 or 6 soldiers pointing guns at him. As he sings the chorus, these soldiers realise that they aren't so different from Tom's character and withdraw their weapons.

As this happens there is a close up of the man in the hat from the table and his expression shows that he cannot believe what he's seeing.

There is a mid/long shot of him that pans as he walks, the shot framed by the soldiers.

As the man points the gun at Tom, he salutes, showing that you can still be honourable without having to fight and have war.

There is a long shot reverse shot of Tom and then man, this makes the ending quite emotional as Tom is shot.

After this is a long shot of the man turning round, ordering his troops on and acting like nothing had happened, showing his lack of respect for another man's life.