Daniella JohnstonLawson – Standing in the dark

The genre of the bank Lawson is pop rock. ‘Standing in the dark’ lyrics explain how it has been years since the lead singer has broken up with his girlfriend yet he still misses her. When he tries to go and see her to get in touch, he realises she has already moved on. He’s never stopped loving her but is too late and therefore is left alone in the darkness having to live with his mistake as her watches her continue to live happily in a new relationship. Again, similarly to Adele’s ‘Someone like you’ this song has themes of love, relationships and breaking up. It is typical for this genre and considering both the themes and genre again, it is more likely to appeal to a female audience who enjoy mainstream music.

Representation of characters

Representations of the pop rock genre are typical. For example, audiences for these genres tend to be mainstream ones. This explains why there are characters of both genders in the video. However, due to having only one female and more male characters, the aspect of rock is highlighted, as it is known as a male dominated genre. The overall image of the band is masculine and they meet our expectations for a band of this genre. Although, they don’t look as rugged as some rock bands they still conform to the typical conventions by wearing dark clothing, including skinny jeans, plain t-shirts, vests and leather jackets. All of these are dark in colour, relating to the dull themes of the song. We could relate them to a stereotypical rebellious rock band as they are playing in what looks like an abandoned car pack and in the rain. Black connotes authority and power, linking to the idea that they aren’t supposed to be there but are carefree and don’t let anyone control them. As you can see above there are some aspects of the pop genre too. He is wearing trainers, which look like converse. These reflect the youth of the band and the youth of the audiences that enjoy listening to pop music.

Considering the representation of the lead singer when he is alone and singing to the camera, we see a different weaker and vulnerable side to him. This is shown through the use of high angle shots looking down on him contrasting with the low angle ones that are used of the band. He is wearing simple clothing; it looks like not much thought has gone into it. Similar to Adele’s costume in ‘Someone like you’ this could be because he feels like there is no point in making an effort anymore if he has no hope of getting back together with his ex girlfriend. He is wearing dull colours, especially grey, to represent his current state of ‘feeling down and grey’. He could also be wearing darker and miserable colours to contrast with the costume of the female character. The dark colours could represent that he was the person that destroyed the relationship, whereas she is the innocent one. This is a stereotypical view on females in terms of relationships as usually problems are blamed on the males. Her dress is white and her hair is blonde. This use of light colours makes her seem innocent and natural looking, and maybe also angelic like which relates to the line of the song ‘she’s someone else’s angel’.

Daniella Johnston

Genre type

Performance This video is predominantly performance based as the band performs to the camera and there are lots of shots of each member and their instruments. There are also many shots of the vocalist playing to the camera. Close ups are used showing him singing directly to it during emotional movements in the song. It is very similar to the Use Somebody video in the sense that it cuts back and forth to the lead singer on his own, telling the story of his relationship and then to the band performing together. Having band shots show the elements of rock within the song even though it is more of the pop genre.

Conceptual The video has similar themes and concepts to other videos, which I have analysed as the lead singer, sings the story of his break up with his girlfriend and the feelings that come afterwards. This includes loneliness, misery and regret, creating a overall mood for the video.

NarrativeAlthough it alters between performance and portraying the concept, there are also clear elements of a narrative in the song. This begins once the lead singer looks into the mirror. In terms of Todorovs narrative theory we would argue that the mirror is the disruption from the equilibrium as once he looks into it, he sees his ex girlfriend, slowly followed by the new person she is in a relationship with. Through the song, he is reminiscing of the old times when they use to be together and this is shown through lyrics such as ‘thinking about when I last saw her’ and ‘close my eyes and I still see you right here next to me’. The mirror almost acts a barrier between them showing they have separated and that she has now moved on.

Iconography

Daniella Johnston

Instruments They are a traditional rock band consisting of a drummer, guitarists and a lead singer but the themes and sounds of their music make it more pop like.

City Known for success and also has a lively nightlife to contrast with the lifestyle of the lead singer who is lonely and suffering from post break up feelings. It is also iconic of the genre making it a more conventional video.

MirrorIt acts a barrier between the female and the lead singer highlighting their separation. When it smashes it could symbolise them breaking up, or how he feels e.g. heart broken and in pieces, like the mirror. It also shows how he can no longer see her, in reality and imagining her in the mirror.

Bad weather Whilst the band performs we see rain and lightning, almost like a storm. This could be to highlight that the last points of their relationship involved arguing. Lightning suggests feelings of anger, which the lead singer could have due to jealousy of her being in a new relationship. Rain connotes feelings of misery and sadness.

Technical and audio codes

Mise-en-scene

Similarly to the Use Somebody video; the mise en scene consists of a city that looks like it could be New York. Not only it is known as the city of dreams and associated with success, linking to how the lead singer is successful but dreaming of another chance, but the video being set here also makes it conventional of the genre. We usually see urban landscapes like this in both rock and pop genres. The video is set during the night because we associate the night with darkness. This fits in with the name of the song ‘Standing in the dark’ as it is dark outside and the band are literally just standing playing their instruments, singing and performing. Another signification part of the mise en scene is the abandoned looking car park, which the band isolates them in to perform. This fits in with the vocalist’s feelings of being isolated and feeling abandoned by his ex. The dark and empty looking car park is juxtaposed with the bright and busy city shots of lights and skyscrapers. A binary opposition is created therefore Levi Strauss narrative theory can be applied.

Camera

Long shots, like the one above, establish the setting and set the mood for the video. In this shot, the lead singer is in the centre and is the first person we see in the music video, showing he has a higher importance in the

Daniella Johnstonband and that the song will be centred on him and a situation in his life, rather than one of the other members of the band. There is a clear juxtaposition between the lead singer sitting in his apartment in the dark on his bed and the bright New York skyline outside. The lively and exciting nightlife is juxtaposed with the lifestyle of the lead singer allowing the audience to compare theirs to that of a regular person. This shot is very similar to the first one in the song Use Somebody and it has the same effect on creating feelings of loneliness. The mise en scene in this image above shows that he is in an empty space and alone, highlighting his current situation and his current feelings, helping develop the concept of the video.

Close ups, extreme close ups and medium shots are used. Using a range like this makes the video look more professional as it doesn’t just stay and rely on one type of shot. These types of shows are all relatively close to the lead singer creating a sense of closeness and intimacy between the audience and the lead singer. They make the video feel more exclusive compared to if it only had shots of him sitting far away from the camera. We only tend to see these during the emotional parts of the song where the lead singer is performing to the camera. They allow us to see clear facial expressions and body language, helping us decide how we think the characters is feeling. In this particular shot, direct mode of address is not used and in terms of his body language, he is positioned slightly away from the camera. This is effective as it allows the audience to clearly see his emotions and empathise with him, and we can see that he wants to be left alone and have some time to himself.

Aerial shots are used in this video. They usually involve the camera being attached to a crane or a helicopter; therefore they look down on the setting. This image above shows an aerial shot which is used at the beginning of the video, taking us closer into the city to where the band are. They are effective as they establish the setting well, make the video look professional and enticing and begin to take you on your journey through the rest of the video.

Wide shots represent the unity of the band as they allow us to see the entire band in the frame together, performing as one. These types of shots also widen the variety used and contrast with the ones more close and personal with the lead singer.

Daniella Johnston

Low angle shots like this example are used to empathise the power a particular character has. We see many of these of the band performing together conveying that rock music is powerful and the band have a lot of power when they are performing together. Through the video we see the lead singer looking weak when he is alone, however there is one low angle shot of him walking towards the mirror. It shows that he has plucked up the courage to go and look in the mirror and see his current situation reflected in it.

Editing

Here is an example of a special effect, which has been used in the editing process of making this video. This is the first out of the three I have analysed, which has used special effects. I have found that it is more frequent in pop videos in comparison to genres like rock. However, they are effective and the video would lack fundamental pieces of iconography and symbolic codes without them. In the first image we can see the mirror shattering, and we can see that it is incredibly unrealistic as if we saw a mirror shatter in reality, the pieces of it wouldn’t fire out that far. Slow motion has also been used to empathise that he has broken the mirror and give the audience enough time to take this in. The breaking of the mirror is ambiguous and could have been used for many reasons. One could be to represent his feelings of anger and like he is falling apart, another could be to highlight that he is unlucky in relationships or it may just be to highlight that he is suffering a break up. The fact that he touches the mirror and it smashes does however reinforce his masculinity and power, making the representation of his character more conventional of rock.

Every music video that I have analysed has included a fade therefore I am likely to use one in my own video. They allow comparisons. In this case, we can see that the characters who were once in a relationship with each other, are now on opposite sides, showing they are now seen as individuals rather than a couple. We can see both of their facial expressions too therefore it is a good way of showing how two different characters are feeling during the same part of the song.

Daniella Johnston

Most of the shots of the lead singer and quite bright making it seem like a conventional pop video. However, shots like the one above show that the hue, brightness an contrast levels have been altered to make the image appear darker, like images are dark in rock music videos. This darkness makes the video fit in with the songs themes of loneliness and misery. It also relates to the title of the song ‘Standing in the dark’ as it would contradict the meaning of it if the band were performing in daylight and the image was clear and bright.

Sound

Unlike the other two videos I have analysed, this one has sound other than the actual song. At the beginning there is non-diegetic sounds of police sirens that gradually get louder to create the effect of entering the city. These help establish the setting of the video before it has even begun.

Neale’s ‘Mental Machinery’

The video adheres to the main genre conventions of rock with elements of darkness, with the songs themes being miserable, but also to conventions of rock as the themes focuses on are love and relationships. We see elements of both genres, especially through the lighting used in the video. The band shots where they are performing are much darker highlighting the genre rock in comparison to the shots of the lead singer, which are in daylight and brightness, highlighting the genre pop. This is important as it meets audiences expectations for both genres whilst is still effective in telling the story of what has happened in their relationship.

Ideologies

The ideologies encoded into this music video are almost identical to those encoded into ‘Someone like you’ by Adele. The only difference is that in this video, the character which is suffering is male, which is ironic because the genre of his band are a hybrid with rock, and artists of this genre tend to be more powerful, rugged and fierce. That is not the case in this video though as the lead singer is the one suffering the misery and regret after breaking up with someone who he still loves. Many people will be able to relate this to a similar situation in their own lives and for that reason, they share the same point of view with him and empathise with him. Because of this, the audience decode the film the way the media makers intended for them to do so.