Alex's Music Video Analysis

Air Traffic - Charlotte

This video follows some key generic conventions used in music videos . For example, it uses syncronised editing with the song at the beginning, this is when the camera shutter button is pressed and the guitar kicks in, from here on the video uses offbeat editing because of the mostly long shot lengths. Syncronised action is also used when the photographs of the band playing instruments passes under the needle of the record player, the photographs then come to life and start playing as the instrument starts in the song. The majority of the shots of used in this video are panning across rooms, through objects or around objects which incorporates stop motion. Stop motion is used purely for visuals and serves no other purpose than to make the video “unique” with a camera sprouting photos of the band which are later used in the syncronised action.

The lyrics in the song are in disjunction (Andrew Goodwin) to the action, the only reference is to the song title “Charlotte” which is featured on the spine of the book and the label of the cassette which is taken out of the microwave and then is listened to at the end of the song. The ‘random’ action within the video outcomes in the creation of a song called “Charlotte”, this could be related to how the song was created and the creative processes taken. The video uses gliding angles to sweep around the various instruments and the members of the band giving them "star persona" and showing the audience that they're a "real" band which is typical of this genre, these shots also help add to the chaotic feel of the room.

The lyrics and the tempo set the upbeat mood for the song and the objects involved and the 'vintage' feel relays a current indie feel (Sven E Carlsson's modern mythic embodyment, this shows the commercial exhibitionist because it represents the lifestyle of the indie genre). This is reflected within the mise en scene of the video, for example the film camera used and vinyl player which are currently typical of what 'indie kids' want to own or do currently own and the vintage feel is created using the greens and the old books which, to me, connotes old. The video is generally performance based, including lip syncing and shots of the band performing together although these are shown via a television screen or via photographs, the performance is typical of this genre as well as the lip syncing, although this is more typical of the pop genre. Voyeurism (Andrew Goodwin) is used a lot within this video, after the band has performed together the main chorus, this is then repeated via a television screen later on when the book entitled "Charlotte" is inserted into the VCR, during this, the shots of the lead vocals are normally close-ups of his lips to emphasize the fact that he's singing (this also links in with John Stewarts theory on music videos containing the aesthetics of a tv commercial, close-ups are used to emphasize the goods, in this case, the "goods" are the lead vocals.)

I think most of the things in this video could be recreated but lower scale, or example, we wouldn't be able to recreate the camera sprouting the roots and shoot because that would take a lot of time and preparation.