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.