Music video analysis

Artic Monkeys- The view from the afternoon

In this post I am going to analyse my final music video. The video that I am going to look in great detail at is the view from the afternoon by the Artic Monkeys. Artic monkeys are an English Indie Rock n Roll band which burst onto the scene with their debut album Whatever people say I am, that's what i'm not. The album became the fastest selling debut album in British history, surpassing oasis' Definately Maybe. Theie music can be described as very upbeat and a new style of music.

Firstly I am going to look into the mise en scene of the video The view from the afternoon. The first thing that we see when watching the video is the use of location. The location could be described as very run down and bland. Traditionally tower blocks are associated with run down areas. It is very far away from the glamour and riches of some areas, which I beleive is used to almost represant the band and their ideologies. The band very much represent the common man, even after they became famous they didn't want to be in the spotlight and still have a real sense of home. The Artic monkeys songs are a realisation of real life, and real stituations that normal people encounter. It tells us the truth that is far away from the glitz and glamour we see in movies and the tv. So by using this particualar location the audience get a feel of what the band are all about. This is backed up by the lack of any real colour. The black and white gives a sense of lack of excitment, fun and happyness. One again supporting the ideologies of the band and their music. It could also be said that the video itself has conventions of a film noir movie. Film noir is a term used to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasise cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. This could be used to poosibly suggest that this is real life, gritty and hard. Once again suggesting that the things we see in the movies are a million miles away from real life. The use of a shopping trolley at the beginning of the video is also good use of props. We often see trolleys that have been stolen left on a tower block area, so this immediately gives us clues and ideas as to what the video is all about.

The video itself seems to be based around a teenager and his love for just purely playin the drums. The first shot that I noticed in the video is the birds eye view shot directly above the boy. I beleive that this shot draws our attention to his drum set, specifically the pattern on the main drums. It almost seems like a target area, suggesting that the drums are all that matter to him, and that they are his main focus in life. The following shot is a medium close-up, slighlty below the boy. This may have been used to show the boys emotion, and once again his passion for playing. Is seems as if he is building himself up for something, like this is a big display that he cannot afford to get wrong. When he begins to play the drums we see a gradual zoom in from a long shot to a medium close up. This could be argued to be a reaction to the boys drumming ability. As if people didn't think much of him, that he would be poor, but are now standing up and taking notice of him as a musician. This together with the lights directly behind him brings attention to his talent that is not traditionally associated with these run down areas. A common theme that I have noticed is the constant long shots that seem to be on the tower blocks. This gives the audience a sense that someone is watching him, almost keeping an eye on what he is doing. I also noticed that the birds eye view shot is repeated a few times in the video, reinforcing the idea that he is only thinking about his drums, even when the men in the video are throwing chips at him.

The editing in the video is very effective, with a constant theme being shown throughout. The constant cuts from long to medium chlose ups is very interesting. It could suggest that the boy playing his drums is in his own little world. That there is the outside world, then him. This is very much inkeeping with the idea that the boys drums are his world, that nothing else really matters and the rest of the world is looking at him. The constant theme is a stylistic element of the video, which could be described as a motif. There is also a dissolve between the two shots, giving a feeling of a transition between two worlds. If the change was a straight cut it would feel like it's the same world, and that it is merely just changing the view, however with the dissolve it feels like the audience are changing worlds. The cuts are very sharp and quick, which reflects the music well. This allows the audience to establish a relationship between the music and the video.

The sound in this video is simply the band performing which promotes the music and establishes a relationship between the fans and the band. The song gets the bands name out there and produces a brand name. As well as this the only other sound we hear is the sound of the wind, giving a feeling of calmeness and peace. However it does also install a sense of the quiet before the storm as we see that something is going to happen to the boy towards the end.