Alt J BreezeblocksANALYSIS OF A NARRATIVE MUSIC VIDEO

The Video.

‘A Murder In Reverse’ – the

Narrative.

The video is a narrative based video; it creates a story only in reverse

(from the use of editing). We initially see a dead woman lying in a

blood-stained bath tub with a cinder concrete ‘breezeblock’ collapsed on top of her with her lover/murder looking devastated at

the result of their destruction. The reversing then begins and we see

what lead to the woman’s brutal death. We see images of physical

domestic violence between the couple; the woman is not wearing

her weeding ring which may represent she has betrayed her

husband or wanted to leave him.

The narrative fits the lyrics perfectly which almost makes the story

feel and seem more ‘real’. It is an interesting take on depicting the subject of domestic way; though it is very graphic the editing and camera work makes the video seem more ‘artistic’.

Alt J an Alternative Band – Does the Video Fit

Common Alternative Music Video

conventions? Yes. Alternative bands are usually known for ‘thinking outside the

box’ focusing more on a topic in their music video rather than just

picturing themselves in the music video like many Pop music videos.

It is very common for alternative bands to represent the meaning behind their song through their music video so they can create a

connection with their audience explaining the thoughts behind their

music.

The video is also quite dark and obscure feeling which many

alternative bands like to incorporate into their music video to create a message.

Camera Work

The main shots used within the music video are close up shots, mid shots, establishing shots and panning shots.

Establishing shots are used at the very start of the music video – this is done to set the scene. The first shot of the

girl in the blood-stained bath tub with the ‘breezeblock’ on top of her so when we initially first watch the video

we get a sense of what the narrative entails, this close up shot somewhat ‘foreshadows’ the destruction that has

taken place.

We see a mid shot of the man with his head in his hands – we are then introduced to what we think is all the

characters within the video. We then are shown a close up shot of the mans hands highlighting the importance

of his wedding ring. Close ups are used to highlight the importance of certain objects which then the audience

can then use to create assumptions and their own idea of what has happened.

We see many close ups of the running bath taps, this shot is flickered in-between the fighting scene to reinforce

what all this fighting will lead to. The tap is almost a symbol of the girls death.

A close up of the girls limp lifeless hands is shown submerged in the bath water, this shot has a eerie sense to it

and highlights how she is lifeless and dead.

We see a long shot of the man standing in the door frame, it then flashes back to the girl rising ‘out’ from the

bath, then then see this same mid shot of the man only he his holding the breezeblock which took the woman’s

life

We than see many close up shots of the mas facial expressions which reinforce that sense of anger that he

beholds.

Camerawork Continued. We then see a mid shot of the girl looking at the man, she looks in fear but almost emotionless which creates an unsettling

feel to the audience, it somewhat looks like this fight is no surprise to her.

We then see a close up of them fighting over the breezeblock, which again shows the objects importance within the fight. Whilst this fighting over the breezeblock is taking place we see a close up shot of their feet – it almost looks like they are dancing which creates quite an unnerving feel to the audience considering the unhappy context that it is in.

We see close ups of the actors, this is the first time we really feel a slight connection with them as so far we have seem them as cold and emotionless.

We see a panning close up of a bottle (that would have been thrown at the wall) becoming ‘put back together’. We then see an over the shoulder shot of the girl aiming for her lovers head, at this point it is confusing as we cant tell whether this is in a act of self defence or if she was trying to hurt her lover. We then see a mid shot of her still aiming for him however, he is covering the camera with his body – this shot is confusing as it creates a sense of suspense but we already know she has missed him.

We see a low angle shot of the girl on the floor it looks as if she is hiding, she is then trying to drag the man down but it looks as through she is struggling this creates the idea that he has the most power and she is inferior. When we see a mid shot of him lying on the floor (after the fall that is about to take place) he looks like he is ‘weakening’ as the shot stays on him lying their for a prolonged amount of time.

We then see a long shot of the girl being pinned up by him which creates the effect that he is stronger and is the antagonist.

We then see a close up shot of another girl crying because of the destruction that is taking place. Which portrays her as weak and helpless.

Camerawork Continued. We then see a mid shot of the man standing and the girl sitting which reinforces the idea that he beholds the

most power again.

We see a panning close up shot of the man face he still looks blank and emotionless about his actions, in the

blurred background of this shot we see the first girl swinging a knife in her hand standing over the man. He is

now positioned as weak and powerless.

We then see a mid shot again of the man with the second girl, it looks as though he is cupping her face

wiping away her tears which creates a ‘caring’ feel. This is then contradicted when we see a close up shot

(which happens after another shot of a running tap) of him taping the girls mouth up, this pictures the man as

evil.

A panning shot is then shown of the man shutting the second girl away in a cupboard. This depicts him as

inhumane and evil.

Then we see a sequence of close up shots picturing his coat, keys, and his turning of the lights. It then looks as

tough he is leaving the destruction – running away. T

The video is finished with a mid shot with is a silhouette of his figure which then fades into black. This creates a

‘done’ feel, he is done with everything and is now leaving (when in reality it has yet to begun due to the

reverse effect).

Editing. The editing is used in a very clever and successful way. Though the video does not feature effects such as split

screen, green screen effect. It is very well edited to the beat of the music and to the lyrics. For example the

opening lyrics are “She may contain the urge to run away but hold her down with soggy clothes and breeze

blocks” and we see the shot of her in the bath then on the upbeat “La La La” the shots change quickly in time

with the music which fits well with the song.

The use of variation in speed of the shots is also very successful. We see a lot of slow motion which fits in time

with the music then the shots are then abruptly speed up following the faster beats of the song. When the

music goes quiet we even see extremely still shots of the characters just still. We can see a great variation in

speed to fit the song which is successful as I keeps you engaged and really connected in the fight, you can

imagine how it feel to be there.

The most apparent use of editing is the use of the reverse effect , this is successful as we can see what caused

the death in another way. It leads back to the fight rather than leading to the death. Using this reverse effect is

also confusing as we can’t really tell who is go and who is bad. For example the man is pictured as evil tapping

the second girls mouth however, this is in reverse so surely he is actually freeing her? There are many points like

this that are confusing. The reverse effect pictures him as evil but it’s in reverse so is he actually good?

To ‘show off’ this reverse effect we see a bottle being pieced back together again which really reinforces this

effect as well a levitating objects, bodies, coats and keys.

I feel a slight use of colour correction has also been used to give of that overall dark frightening feel.

Use of Mise-en-scene

Lighting – The lighting is very dark and gloomy, however the lighting does tend to become lighter on

object of importance which s done of obviously to highlight their importance. The dark lighting really

gives a unsettling unhappy feel. All characters are in dark lighting so there is no real sense who is

‘purer’ than one another.

Location – The location looks to be in a modern house however because of the dark lighting it

almost looks dusty and unkempt which emulates that destructive feel. By picturing a slighting

modern house they are also reaching out to their modern audience through their location. Lastly,

the house is pictured as quite plain, there are no signs of colour within the house so all focus is on the

fight.

Costuming – Both main characters are wearing dark toned colours so we don’t get a clear sense of

who is the clear protagonist between the two and who is the antagonist. The girl that we later meet

in the video is wearing lighter clothes which could suggest that she is a victim watching the fright.

Makeup – All characters are very natural looking, also very plain looking which somewhat represents

the lack of emotion that the two main characters have. The second girl is seen with mascara

running down her fact from crying which is done to picture her as weak and scared.