Genre
The genre of the song and video is electronic indie pop, which is also the genre of the artist.
The music video has a fairly typical, straightforward narrative, which isn't always a characteristic of videos in the genre. In the storyline, a boy and his friends assault a classmate and then the main character, who is also the lead singer, feels guilty about the incident.
The theme of guilt is expected in this video due to the lyrics of the song. For example, the lyric, "My eyes are stuck in a gaze reflecting every move you make. Another one trapped in a maze, repeating all the same mistakes", shows that he feels guilty about something he's done - "repeating all the same mistake".
There is not much about this video that is unexpected as it conforms to most generic conventions of the genre.
There are no intertextual references in this music video.
Visual Codes
The video is set in the following locations:
- A field
- A gym
- A dark room
- A fire pit
- A road
- An alley
- A bedroom
Many of the shots in this video (the shots of before and after the incident) have been coloured to be very grey. This connotes the lead singer's guilt as he is blocking it out and trying to forget what happened.
The writing at the beginning of the song, ""Stuck" Canopy Climbers", is in a very bold, plain font. This connotes how the storyline will be fairly simple.
The worms eye view of the boy punching the punch bag could connote his determination to protect himself from anyone who tries to hurt him again.
The framing of some of the lip syncing shots puts the singer directly in the middle, making it clear that he is important and making him stand out against the plain background.
The body language of the singer in the following shot shows that he is overwhelmed by his guilt.
Technical Codes
During the assault scene, the camera work is very shaky. This helps to connote the frantic mood of the situation and looks almost as if one of the characters filmed it themselves. The movement of the camera in the assault scene helps to connote the fear of the boy.
The editing pace varies in this music video. For example, at the beginning, it is moderate but during the assault scene, it begins to move at a much faster pace.
Audience
The target audience for this music video would be teenagers, between 13-19 in BCD demographics. This is shown by the behaviour of the characters in the video, which is also stereotypical of this demographic.
The video targets this demographic by using young actors and having the story focus around young characters.
Representation
Males are represented very stereotypically in this video, as they are seen to need to establish their dominance over other people. However, the main character breaks the male stereotype as he is seen crying in some of the shots, which is stereotypically seen as a feminine thing to do.
The main character is also seen arguing with a female character that seems to be his girlfriend. He is quite assertive and violent, which is also stereotypical of males.
The artist has not been represented in a positive light or as a celebrity in this video. It is more like the video is the artist's confession of guilt as he is disappointed in himself.
Narrative
The storyline of this music video is that a boy and his friends assault a classmate and the main character feels guilty about the incident.
There is a strong theme of guilt, as he knows he has done wrong.
The video mostly incorporates Todorov's narrative structure:
- Equilibrium - at the beginning where the main character is sitting in a field with his friend
- Disruption - the assault
- Recognition - he feels guilty
- Attempt to repair - he apologises
- The new equilibrium is not reached as he is not forgiven by the boy#
Analysing this music video will help when creating our own, as the shot compositions are very well thought-out and they are appealing to the audience. Therefore, we will make sure to pay attention to the framing and timing of our shots to ensure that the viewer remains interested in the music video.
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