Indepth Analysis of Video From Chosen Genre - The XX

The XX - VCR



I have chosen to analysis this song as The XX are an alternative band, and this video for their song 'VCR' has similar themes to what we want to put into our video and also has some similar shots to what we want to put in our video as well. This music video also contains some theories which can be found in Goodwin's Theory of Music Videos.

 

Firstly, this video displays stereotypical genre characteristics of both the genre but also the artist, The XX are an alternative band, and their music and videos completely live up to and adhere to what is expected from this genre. Their music tends to be very mysterious and have a lot of hidden messages, the video for this song is one of their more 'easy to understand' videos as many of them are extremely artistic. Alternative music tends to very deep and about love, this video displays these characteristics as a couple are featured in the video.

 

Secondly The XX are presenting a vague link between the lyrics and the visuals in this video, there aren't any actual things shown in the video which link directly to the lyrics that is being sung at the same moment, however there is an overall link to the visuals and the lyrics. The song is referring to a couple throughout the song by reference to the lyrics 'I think we're superstars,
You say you think we are the best thing' and featured throughout the video is a couple.

 

The link between the music and the visuals also has a very weak link. There are some points when the cuts and changes of shots fit with the music. A good example of when this happens is at the beginning of the video, the songs contains some chiming sounds, and whenever one of these sounds is made, on most occasions a cut happens. This is effective, due to the fact the video isn't very elaborate, the fact that the music and the visuals have a link near the beginning will help get the attention of anyone watching the video.   

 

One of Goodwin's Theory points with regards to music videos is having multiple close ups of the artist in their video, this isn't possible in this video as the artists aren't featured. However the two people in the video, despite not being the artists, do have many close ups, helping the audience see what they are doing and also helping the audience see the emotions they are feeling in the video.

 

In this video there is no obvious attraction to the notion of how people look or dress, or any voyeuristic attitudes towards women. The video is in completely black and white throughout meaning you don't get any real detail on what the characters in the video are wearing, both characters remain full clothed throughout also. Both the female and male in this video are seen to equal as they are doing an equal amount of what could be considered as 'work', also the male doesn't have an characteristic attitudes towards the woman, such as making her a house wife, however this could be due to the fact they are both young.

 

The song isn't featured in any major films, meaning there are no major clips which could have been featured in the video, this may also be down tot he type of band The XX are, as they aren't a commercial band as such, they are unlikely to feature any films in their videos. However the song was featured on a programme called 'Lie to me' which would have given the song some exposure, however there is nothing relating to this show in the video.