2. The entirety of the music video is filmed in black
and white. This creates an atmosphere of mystery
and anonymity as well as causing the exterior
shots of the bus to contrast strongly with well lit
interior shorts of the band performing.
3. There are both performance and narrative elements
to the video. The performance takes place primarily
on the bus and features strong lighting and numerous
close ups of the artists. One of the characteristics of
music videos that Andrew Goodwin identified was
that there is a demand on the record company for lots
of close ups of the main artist or vocalist. The
narrative aspect of the video establishes several
characters of which we see frequent close up shots.
Primarily we follow the journey of Keeley Hawes’s
character from sitting on the roadside, obviously
upset, to boarding the bus and being comforted. This
narrative combined with the performance on the bus
represents that band as being fun and freedom
enabling.
4. This video features a fairly dark colour palette throughout. This reflects not only the
personal style of the artist but the genre of the song and the lyrics also. The style and
tone of the video aid in the reinforcement of the band’s star persona. There are various
wide cityscape shots combined with medium and close up shots of the artist. The
darkened edges on the city shots are vignettes. This is originally a photography technique
and it adds to the mysterious and sometimes impersonal nature of the video.
5. Shots of the lead singer looking into a mirror
are repeated throughout the video. They
reflect the questioning nature and flaw of
character insinuation that the song proposes.
They also illustrate and amplify the lyric
‘everything in your eyes’. Andrew Goodwin
states that one of the characteristics of music
videos is the relationship between the lyrics
and visuals.
Heavy eye makeup and dark clothing is worn
during the video. This purposefully stylised
‘goth’ or ‘scene’ look is typically of lead singer,
Taylor Momsen and is a trait which she has
already established and is well known for. This
type of styling is inspirational and attractive for
the target audience of the video. Also, it helps
to reinforce the star persona of the lead singer.
The transition between cuts is very shaky and
this combined with the flashing of lights and
jumpy movements of the artist creates a lot of
movement which reflects the fast paced, heavy
beat of the song.
6. The live performance sections of the video is
trademark for the rock genre of music. This is
indentified as one of Andrew Goodwin’s
characteristics of music videos - ‘particular
music genres have their own music video
style and iconography. Such as live
performance in heavy rock’ It create a
relationship between the music and the
visuals as it emphasises and amplifies the
intensity and emotion of the song.
7. Pulp’s video features numerous close ups of
the lead singer. They capture his already
established quirky traits and personality. One
of Goodwin’s theories is that, over time, an
artist may develop their own iconography in
and out of their videos –this is true of Jarvis
Cocker. The close ups also establish a
relationship between the lyrics and visuals as
his facial expressions convey what he’s singing
about. For example, the second screen shot
illustrates his disappointment and
vulnerability while he sings the lyrics ‘well I
guess it couldn’t last too long, I came home
one day and all your things were gone’ Again,
Goodwin has identified that music videos
often have a strong link between the lyrics
and visuals.
8. The video is set against a plain white background and there is very little detail meaning
that the prime focus is on the artist. This is aided by the mise-en-scene of his bright
green shirt and dark suit which boldly stand out from the background.
There are a lot of trademark Jarvis Cocker dance moves as well as numerous hand
gestures which are often used to frame his face and add further emphasis to the lyrics
and escalating pace of the music.