Analysis of 'Unveiled: Diane Young (Amex UNSTAGED: Vampire Weekend)' for my Media Studies Advanced Portfolio.

1. Analysis of ‘Unveiled: Diane Young
(Amex UNSTAGED: Vampire
Weekend)’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTzgvUiUi-M

2. The clip opens with establishing shots of the
area in which the studio is that the band are
in. This sets the scene for the clip. In the
background an early recorded version of the
track that the video is about can be heard.
As fans you would only generally get to hear
the final version so this is clearly an exclusive.

3. After these establishing shots Rostam (the
keyboardist of the band) starts to speak about
the early versions of the song. This happens
whilst footage of him and Ezra (lead singer and
guitarist) listen to the version that was
previously playing (both bits of audio are
playing.) There is first a mid shot of just
Rostam as it is he who is speaking, and then a
two shot from another angle of both of them.
Then he is shown speaking, and then playing
the piano - which the audience hears as
diegetic sound.

4. As Ezra begins to speak, the shot
changes from that of Rostam to some
close-ups of various items of recording
equipment. He discusses “when we’re
working on our album” which fits well
with the shots used.

5. These shots of the equipment are
followed by firstly a mid shot of Ezra
looking straight at him (though he isn’t
looking directly at the camera) and then
another mid-shot of both Ezra and
Rostam, and Ezra is still speaking.
Through both the shots of equipment
and of Ezra, the diegetic sound of the
piano being played continues in the
background. The source of this sound is
reiterated with a shot (from a different
angle) of Rostam playing the piano.

6. As Ezra finishes speaking, this marks the end
of that particular scene and a change in
setting. This is shown through a couple
more establishing shots, the first showing
that it’s a different time of day, and the
second that they’re still at a studio of some
sort (probably the same one, though now in
the practice space.) The shot of the case
with the bands name on reiterates who the
clip is about and suggests that we’re about
to see them playing something live.

7. It is shown that it most likely will be a live
performance with a mid shot of Ezra holding a
guitar, which is followed by a close up of the
guitar. The sound of the piano also ceases and
you hear more diegetic sound of drums etc.
Ezra’s speech explains the situation, acting as
narration for what is going on in the scene.
Before they start playing, Ezra is shown speaking
(again not looking directly at the camera.) As
Ezra finishes speaking the shots return to ones of
the band practicing.

8. This particular scene opens with Rostam asking
the others “Should we start with Diane?” which,
as with Ezra’s speech earlier, explains what is
happening and tells the audience that they’re
about to play ‘Diane Young’, the song which the
clip is about.

9. The shots of them performing last for almost 30 seconds, mostly
with just the audio of this performance, but later with Rostam
speaking about the development of the studio recording of the
track and the music continuing in the background. The shots used
to show them performing include close-ups of Ezra singing, and
often seem to focus on the instrument, for instance the shot of
Rostam playing guitar pans down to the guitar itself rather than
just showing him playing it. The drummer, Chris, isn’t shown in
these shots, perhaps as the drums haven’t kicked in yet in this part
of the song.

10. After explaining how they had experimented
with Ezra’s voice, and how they had settled on
the ‘middle ground’ making him sound ‘older and
younger’. Rostam appears to play this part of
the song on his laptop and the audience hears it,
though it’s as non-diegetic sound (perhaps so it
will be louder and clearer.) This audio then
changes seamlessly to a live version in the studio.

11. Ezra next explains how Rostam can control the
pitch of the voice live, and we are shown this,
through a mid shot of him, and then a close-up
to show the piece of equipment and what he is
specifically doing, as well as a close-up of Ezra to
show he is singing in real time and it’s not all pre-
recorded. The song continues in the background
whilst Ezra is speaking. The narration acts as
some behind the scenes information about how
the song is performed live.

12. As Ezra finishes the point he is making he is actually shown speaking,
rather than only having his speech over the top of other shots. The
shot used has been used previously in the clip, showing that the
interview was probably recorded with a few cameras and then the
footage from these used altogether to create something that flows well
and doesn’t stay on one shot for too long. At the end of this 2 minute
section of the clip, the band are shown performing the song, carrying
on from the section that has been playing in the background.

13. Shots of all four members of the band are shown in the
performance. No shots of the whole band together are
shown, so it feels very up-close and this is further
emphasised through the use of close-ups of Rostam’s
guitar and Baio’s bass guitar. The camera shots chosen
seem to focus on the instrument that is most prevalent
in that part of the song.

14. There is another interview shot of Ezra and
Rostam, whilst Ezra talks about a particular aspect
of the song. The live version of the track can still be
heard in the background, and the interview shot is
broken up by one of Rostam playing guitar, and at
this point the speaking stops and the audio grows
slightly louder. The interest of the audience is kept
as the clip is about how the song came together.

15. There is another shot of Rostam
playing the guitar, this time it is
closer than the previous - with
particular focus on the way in which
he is playing guitar, which is what
they’re talking about at that time.
There is then a close-up of Baio
playing bass. For the first of these
shots, there is only the song, but in
the second, Rostam begins to speak.
These shots are followed by another of the interview
scenario, from a different angle to the previous interview
scene, where Rostam talks about the way in which he
achieved this sound on the recording, giving fans an insight
into the process. There is also another shot of Rostam
playing guitar which zooms into a close-up.

16. Ezra begins speaking (a different topic to that
which was being talked about previously) but
footage of them performing the song is shown.
The audio of this performance continues in
the background. There is a close-up of Ezra
singing, whilst the audio is mainly him talking.
Ezra mentions something about “figuring out
how everybody can be performing”, and shots
of the rest of the band are shown.

17. As well as mentioning that when performing it
live, everybody needs to be performing, Ezra also
mentions Baio using samples, and at this moment
there is a shot from behind him of him playing (to
remind the audience who they’re on about),
followed by a close-up of his foot pressing the
effects pedal, giving an insight into the complexity
of the performance. Rostam then goes on to talk
about how the samples give a flexibility to their
performance and make it more enjoyable.

18. For the closing moments of the clip the live
performance of the track is shown, in the last moments
of the song. Various shots and angles are used to keep
it interesting for the audience rather than the same
shot of the whole band for 20 seconds. As with many
times before, close-ups of the instruments are used as
well as of Ezra whilst he is singing.