The music video represents the band as free and happy. It shows them enjoying a liberal lifestyle, running around in the countryside in what seems to be summer weather. The band is represented by Rough Trade; who are known to be a more laid back, fun loving record label. The video aims to show an alternative band having fun in a carefree situation. It is a self-representation of the band as they want to appear to have a happy, exciting lifestyle which is reflected within the video. The actual clips that make up the video are real clips of the bands progression and are the bands favourite memories from the pas t few years.
The denotative levels of the video show the video running parallel with the lyrics. The main chorus phrase of “Home is wherever I’m with you” reflects the clips of the band together as friends who are travelling through different locations, however always seem to be enjoying themselves as they are all together and do not need buildings to cement where there “home” is. The connotative meanings of the text are shown through the nonverbal meanings. The band constantly look like they are having a good time throughout the video by the way they are skipping around and holding hands playfully. The setting also supports this jovial theme as the several different locations are always shown in a summery season. Verbal undertones such as the whistling also denote happiness and an outdoors lifestyle. Visual techniques like the old fashioned film camera effect create a feeling of nostalgia.
The narrative doesn’t run in chronological order and has no particular storyline to it. However all of the scenes show no sign of performance to an audience until the last clips which are of the band performing. Suggesting that there is a slight storyline to the video with the band beginning with a journey and ending up at the performance. Although the narrative of the video is questionable, it does stay within the realms of verisimilitude as the video keeps within its genre. Although the video mainly uses voyeurism in which the band are unaware of their being watched; it does have elements of narcissism when they are aware of the camera and play up to the fact they are being filmed. There are no distinguishable protagonists/antagonists in the video as there is no fight for good or bad. However the low angles of the band do suggest superiority, and make the band the centre of attention in the video. The muffled style of the vocals on the video add to the effect of nostalgia and give the video a “vintage” feel which is a major convention of this style of video. The ideology of the video portrays a feeling of “summer love” in which the scenery is beautiful and everyone is joyful and loved up.
The genre of the video is alternative, however can also be described as indie rock. The band use ‘folky’ instruments to create this vibe such as acoustic guitars and the addition of people whistling. The upbeat tunes and meaningful lyrics are all conventions of this genre and allow the audience to recognise and relate to the artist and their lyrics. The nostalgic image is also carried through in the bands clothing. Their style is extremely vintage and can be associated with a ‘hippy’ lifestyle. There are no fictional characters within the video, and all the people seen are the members of the band. This is another convention of this video type as the artists want to convey the style of the band and not put on a front. The video conforms to the characteristics of the genre with it’s nostalgic style and portrayal of the band. However, this almost goes against the conventions of the indie style as this would suggest doing something that isn’t the norm and doesn’t conform to a stereotype.
The institution representing the band is Rough Trade. Rough Trade are well known for their production of ‘indie’ music. They treat the artists with respect and only associate with real musicians who write their own music. The video was distributed on YouTube and the bands website as, although they’re a commercial institution, the funds for the band are relatively low due to their genre not being popular in the mainstream.
Just like the original music videos that aimed to give the audience a sneak peak into their favourite artists life, the music video appeals to the audience by showing clips of the band. The video suggests that the audience will be fun loving individuals who like the idea of a carefree lifestyle and can use the video as an idyllic situation they can aspire to. I think that the video is a good reflection of the style and character of the band and their music. It is possible to create such videos on a low budget which is beneficial for smaller bands who need to promote themselves but can rarely afford to. The idea of the clips being the bands favourite memories from the past few years only adds to the sincerity of the video and denotes the lyrics of the song perfectly.
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