Kaiser chiefs ruby
- 1. Goodwin's theory suggest each genre of music has themes that re-occur throughout it’s music videos. The Kaiser Chiefs music video, Ruby, is a good example of a generic indie music video. It contains a performance from the artist- the whole video is the band performing. There is also a narrative going on around the band as they play. As in most music videos the appearance of the band is very important, and in this video the band are dressed in their ‘indie’ style, with shirts and jeans. This establishes their genre and could help them appeal to people who wear the same style. Long shots are shown to establish each musicians role in the band and to show that they, unlike most mainstream pop, play their own instruments.
- 2. 2.There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Most indie videos contain a performance part, and also a narrative part, which often illustrates the story in the lyrics. However, in the Kaiser Chiefs video, the narrative appears to be completely unrelated to the song. The lyrics appear to be about a girl the song writer is in love with and he is unsure of her affections. However the narrative is of a mini city being built around the band as they play. This may be as they felt the lyrics were ones most people could relate to, which would make it appeal to them. By doing a video unrelated to the lyrics people could watch and not be influenced by the bands version of the lyrics and the girl they talk about, so the song is still as relatable for the audience.
- 3. 3.Relationship between music and visuals The video mostly focuses on the singer singing, but switches between the members of the band playing their instruments, and in moments, such as the guitar solo, there is a shot of the guitarist playing.
- 4. 4.The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artists may develop a motif that reoccurs throughout their work Lots of close ups of all the members of the band, especially the singer, are used. This is for recognition- so the audience will recognise the band if they see them again, and increase their chances of buying their music. It’s also for the chance the audience will find them attractive, and so may be drawn to the band for that reason. These close ups of the band members also allows the audience to see their ‘indie’ style.
- 5. 5.There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body This music video completely rejects this theory, as there are no females in the video at all. All the band are male, and at only 2 points are any other characters shown in the music video, and both are also male. 6.There are often inter-textual references There appear to be no inter-textual references in this music video
- 6. Is the video primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based and how elements of each are used The video is simultaneously narrative and performance based. Whilst the band performs, narrative is going on around them. We can see the band performing, before the video cuts to shots of the city being built around them. Often the shots are incorporated, and we see both the band performing and the city being built in one shot.