SW Music Video Analysis – The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfLM-LwTurQ

Genre and Narrative
The Airborne Toxic Event is labelled as an indie band and I think the music video for Sometime around Midnight reinforces this. Typical characteristics of the indie/rock genre are the band playing instruments, displaying their talent and diversity, therefore a performance-based narrative and indie songs usually have a story being told and therefore the music video can also be narrative based. These characteristics are all present in this music video, as the band are playing on the stage as this love-story is going on at the venue where the band are playing. The link between the lyrics and the visual is very obvious and is therefore an example of illustration. The video could be considered as art as the clips of the band performing are very crisp and professional; however during the video some very grainy images are used in the video. This could also be considered as inherently commercial because there is not many risks being taken for the ideas in the music video as there is no evidence of concept ideas in the video. However I think that it was an obvious decision to use a fully narrative based music video because the song is telling a story.

Media Language
The visual techniques that have been used in the video which are typical of the indie genre are the different panning shots used of the band whilst they are performing on stage. These were very useful shots and made me think about similar techniques that we could use in out music video. The mise-en-scene is very important in the music video and this is shown in the costumes that have been used. For example, the band is dressed in suits and smart clothing, which is the similar type of style that we want are band to have too. The girl used in the music video is also wearing a pretty, grown-up dress which is a costume that we are going to use. The lighting is a key factor in the video for the performance shots as the silhouettes of the band are important and create a glossy feel to the video and it shows professionalism. The lighting used are white lights, which adds class and sophistication to the band and the video.

Representation
The band is being represented as being professional and serious about the music that they produce. This is shown through the costumes that the band are wearing as they are all wearing smart clothing adding to their meta-narrative of being classy and successful. This image challenges to average ‘rocker’ as the band are shown to be clean-cut and proper. The image of the actual band shows a cool, edgy looking band which appeals to many different audiences, which is emphasised in the video and therefore creating a broader audience for the band.

Institution and Audience
The video might be consumed on indie/rock channels such as MTV TWO and VH1. However, because the video is very commercial the video could also be shown on other pop-based channels as well and would appeal to that audience too. I think that the video could be consumed by ambient and focused viewers as it is a very interesting video to watch with the story being told as well, however it could also be a video that could be turned onto and an ambient viewer would enjoy it, half-way through the song. The video could also be appreciated by solo and communal viewers as the song could be played in the background of people chatting, but could also be appreciated by a person on their own. For this promotional text for The Airborne Toxic Event, the record label would make sure the band are represented as well as they can. This would be done by showing regular close-ups of the band to show the bands faces and making sure that they show as many images of the band playing the instruments therefore showing the talent and skill of the band.