TEXTURAL ANALYSIS 1

By Joe Hall

◦ In this piece of work I will be analyzing 3 different music videos for songs which are in the same genre as the video I will be producing. When I am analyzing the three videos I will be linking them too Andrew Goodwin's theory…

◦ Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.

◦ There is a relationship between the music (beats used) and the visuals used in the video.

◦ There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.

◦ Intertextual references also.

Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve

◦ This is a single from the album Urban Hymns which was released on June 16th 1997, but was recorded in 1996 in Olympic Studios London. This song falls under the Britpop, and Indie rock genres of music. The song itself is 5:58 mins long.

◦ The song was written by song writers Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Richard Ashcroft. The song was produced by Martin Glover who has also produced many songs for the verve and also Paul McCartney.

Genre & Characteristics

◦ Indie rock videos almost always have more emphasis on the performer than the narratives, if there is any narratives. In the music video for bitter sweet symphony they challenge stereotypes of the indie genre as they embed the performance into the narrative. This video could be argued to be more Britpop like than a typical indie video but it still has some key conventions that occur in many indie videos. For example the clothing that the singer in the video is wearing helps to bring across the depressed moody personality which is associated with the indie genre. Other aspects of Mise-en-Scene help to bring across this for example the background at the start of the video is of roadworks which is something that we would never have seen in ages like pop as it is too raw and helps to show the world without a filter.

General Technical Aspects

◦ This video is shot using only about four different shot types, the most commonly used in the video is the movement shot. In this the camera usually moves. There are different types of movement. The camera can be static, which means it does not move. These are usually integrated in short duration shots but can be highly affective, as in the video the camera is either in front of the lead singer as he walks down the street or the camera follows him and is behind him. This shot is effective as it shows the way he walks and helps to portray him as if he does not care about his surroundings.

Music and the visuals

◦ The music in this song does not match the on screen visuals as the music is very orchestral oriented where as the setting and the visuals show a realistic view of suburban England. It is like a symphony, but bittersweet in that you have rules and regulations imposed on it and that people are just governed by money and will only be successful when you have enough and not successful as a person.

◦ In this video we see the tempo of the music increase with the drumming getting faster and the vocals getting extended and changing rather than repeating the lyrics. As this happens we see the other band members enter the narrative behind him and they all walk in as if they have no cares and cannot change their paths.