Textual Analysis - Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara - I Was A Fool

Genre - The genre of the piece of music and the band that are singing it is Indie Pop, however the genre of the video that is playing over the music is Drama, because both the music and the video feature themes of heart break and relationships. In this video the viewer should expect to see a link between the visuals and the lyrics of the song, while also seeing performance by the two members of the band as this is typical of all their videos. The unexpected element to this video is the fact that there is a major narrative and storyline as this is rare considering the bands previous videos.

Narrative - The main storyline of this video follows the female actor as she deals with the break up currently happening in her life, there is no major theme as the video is set in the present day. This video features 3 stages of Todorov's 5 stages, it features a destruction, a recognition and an attempt at fixing the issue. Like most music videos, this video features one main character who is trying to deal with a break up, and it also features the two members of the band Tegan and Sara who are singing the song and doing the performance in the video.

Representation - The video has mild traces of representation, the female in the video is seen to be the weak, heartbroken one out of the couple, however you never actually see the other person in the relationship, you simply see their name on a phone, which is 'Sidney' and because that is a name both males and females could have the stereotype of the women being the weak and heartbroken one in the relationship may not apply as strongly here. However the fact that the main character is a woman who is heartbroken does fit with the stereotype women are given when dealing with relat

ionships. The artists in the video are constructed in a very interesting way, the fact that they are performing, but also featuring in the background of the shots implies that they have also felt how the actress in the video is feeling.

Visual Codes - The video is set in multiple rooms in a large house, this is typical of someone who is going through a break up as it is unlikely that they would want to leave their house and go out in public. The video overall doesn't use one major colour, however the performance section of the video is done in a very dark and dull environment, and the acting is mainly done in a brighter environment implying that the main female in the video is trying to get over her heartbreak but finding it hard as her life is going from light to dark like the video. 'How I prayed for you calls' is the lyrics which is song when a shot of her phone ringing comes up, this links the video and the lyrics together smoothly.

Technical Codes - One member of the band, Tegan, who is playing the piano is shot from a high angle multiple times implying to the audience that she is vulnerable or has once been in a vulnerable situation like the actor in the video. The female in the video, when she is taking the broken painting out to the bin, is shot from a low angle, this shows the audience that she is regaining power and overcoming her pain and heartbreak. The camera angles changing from being low on the main actor to high as the video progresses shows the progression that the female has had through overcoming her pain and heartbreak.

Audience - This video is mainly appealing to people over the age of 18, because they are the group of people who are most likely to be able to relate to feeling the way the people in the video do. The clothing and style of the actor and the band members in the video is very youthful and young meaning the video would most likely relate to people who are 18-35. The demographics of the video is most likely E & D.

Institution - The record company require multiple close up shots of both of the band members in the band, this is so people who are watching the video focus more on the band than on other characters in the video, and also so the public get a better understand and can remember what the members of the band look like.

Textual Analysis - Plan B

Plan B - Writing's On The Wall

Genre - The genre of the music featured in this music video is alternative/rap however the genre of the music video is drama. The music video has some very typical narratives considering the genre, it has very strong narratives of Love and Heartbreak which are typical of the genre Drama. When you learn the genre is Drama so expect to see things such as performance from the artist in the video which is featured, along with links to the lyrics, also featured. However you also wouldn't expect to see so of the events which feature in the storyline. 

Narrative - the storyline of this video features a male and a female going through a rough patch in their relationship because of the males carer and life style. The main theme of the video is that of the 1970's, the style of the housing and clothing in the video indicate this. The video has a recognisable structure in terms of Todrov's 5 stages, this video features equilibrium, destruction and recognition, meaning that the video ends when the characters in the video acknowledge the issue. The only main recognisable characters in this video are the male who is the protagonist and the female who is the antagonist.
Representation - a recognisable type of representation which is evident in this video is that of gender, initially you see both males and females being represented stereotypically because the female is at home make dinner for the man and doing housework, where as the male in the video is out enjoying night life and partying, both of these actions show actions stereotypical to that gender. This video makes the male look in the wrong and like the bad guy, whereas it constructs the female to look like the victim, this is very stereotypical of music videos, if the artist is male they tend to be made to look like the hero or the most important.
Visual Codes - The setting of the video helps the viewer understand how the two main characters in the video are being constructed to fit stereotypes. The women in the video is seen in the kitchen and around the house, doing various different jobs, mainly for the males benefit and getting the house ready for his return, this is seen to be very stereotypical of females. The male is seen in a nightclub/concert environment which could be seen as a dangerous environment for someone who is in a relationship with someone. Also nearer the end of the video the male is seen with another female in the back of a taxi, the windows are steamy, this could have connotations of sex and romance. The female is seen wearing and surrounded by bright, bold colours, this puts her in a positive light, whoever the male is seen in dark, dull colours making him seen negative and bad. The video features some written iconographic, you discover the males stage name which is 'Strickland Banks', this may mean something to the viewer so they can link this character to the artist of previous videos, also it says 'Sold Out' next to his name implying that he is popular.
Technical Codes - Effective camera angles are used in this video to help the viewer understand how the characters are feeling, there is a large amount of close ups on the male performance showing how he is feeling and also because the record label typically require this of a video, there are multiple close ups of the food the female is preparing to help back up the stereotypes she fits into. Also during the phone call between the male and the female there is a high angle shot on the female showing how she is a in a vulnerable position. The editing in this music video is fast pace, this could reflect confusion in the characters, another thing which could reflect confusion is the fact that the camera cuts off pieces of the females face and is peering from behind cupboards and other pieces of furniture.
Audience - The target audience of the this video is mainly people who are 18+ purely because the narratives of the video are about relationships and people who are over that age will be able to relate to it, also because of the setting of the video, in a nightclub, people overt the age of 18 would be able to relate and understand that setting. The main demographics which this video would appeal to are E and D, which are blue collar works, the unemployed and students.
Why? - I did this textual analysis as it will help me when I come to making my video, it will aid me in planning out my music video as it will give me an insite into conventions which are used in music videos, specifically ones that are made by an english artist.