Review of Music Video #3

Review of Music Video #3

Reasons for choosing to review this video:
For the third and final review of a music video, I have chosen to look at a video which is relevant to my chosen genre of Indie/Rock music. The video I have chosen to do for this review is "If You Wanna", by The Vaccines. The main reason why I have chosen this is because this video is similar to many Indie band's music, and conforms to typical characteristics of this genre, including conforming to Goodwin's Theory.

Mise-en-scene:
The mise-en-scene is very basic for this music video, as I believe that this is one of the very first videos the band did together, meaning that the budget wouldn't have been very high; this can be compared to their other videos, such as "Melody Calling" and "Norgaard". The band take centre stage, with all their instruments. The lighting is the most striking aspect of the video, with the colour of the lighting changing every couple of seconds to bright, vibrant colours. The use of and placing of the instruments in this music video is stereotypical to how they are presented in indie music videos. The lead guitarist is placed at the front of the band, and is usually the main face of the band, and who the public most likely follow and pay attention to. Other members of the band are in the background, with the drummer even further in the back - this can be seen in many Indie music videos, as most bands use this format when they are just starting up, because the budgets for their music videos would be low as they haven't reached national and international fame yet. The lighting is very important in this video, as the different colours displayed add dynamism to what the audience is seeing. The video starts off with different shades of bright red, moving onto yellow, blue, and many other vibrant colours - this could signify to the audience that they imagine that they are on a big stage performing in front of massive crowds, as that is the kind of set up they would have if they were performing at a big venue. In most cases, this is the dream for many bands of their respective genres, and The Vaccines are trying to signify their dream of performing in front of live crowds.

Camera Angles and Shots:

There aren't a lot of camera shots and angles in this music video, and this could be representative of their budget - because this video is one of their earlier songs, the budget for the music video would have been a small one, and the band would have wanted to keep everything minimalistic. Although it wouldn't cost anything at all to use a variety of camera angles, the minimalistic approach of the music video is kept consistent in all aspects of the music video, such as; mise-en-scene, camera angles and shots, editing and last of all sounds.

The most common use of camera angle and shots used is the close up - this is used to show the audience which member of the band is singing, and also which member of the band is playing the instrument which the audience can currently hear (a close up on a guitar solo for example). In the earlier videos for bands, a close up shot to differentiate each band member is very important - this is because they are a new band, and new mainstream audiences might not know which band member is which and what each member does in the band; that could be a reasoning for extensive use of the close-up shot. A low angle shot is used to create assertion - the band members are the ones in power because the fans are following their every move. Another camera angle used is the long shot - in the instrumental parts of the song, the long shot is used to create a sense of unity, because the entire band are playing their instruments together. This long shot is also used during the chorus, as that is the main part of the song, and the bit that attracts the audience the most.

Editing

There was a lot of editing, although there wasn't a range of editing techniques, used for this video, due to the fact that it was very minimalistic. The editing is synced to cut each angle in time with the music, as well as the lip-syncing for the main vocalist. 

The most common form of editing used is the clean cut between each camera shot - this is used to keep up with the pace of the song, and so the audience feel the tempo. 

Sound

As this video was very simplistic, there are only diegetic sounds used - we only see the band in one location, so the only sounds we can hear is the instruments and the vocals of the song. In most videos, the use of the song would be seen as non-diegetic, as the audience can't actually see the band performing. In this instance, we can see the band performing the song, so therefore the song counts as being a diegetic sound. 

Goodwin's Theory

This video conforms in some instances to Goodwin's Theory. For example, as the music video is actually showing the audience The Vaccines on stage, this conforms to Goodwin's point about stage performances representing an entire genre. The way The Vaccines dress and the way that they perform on the stage represents the "Indie" genre, as at many live shows indie bands are seen performing like this, such as the Arctic Monkeys.

            There is no relationship with the lyrics and the music video, as the band are actually performing the song in the video. There is a link between the visuals and the music, as the lights in the background and the pace of the editing signify the pace of the song, therefore conforming to Goodwin's Theory. There are also a lot of close ups of the lead vocalist, as they are the image of the band.