Product Analysis 1 - Hot Hot Heat - Middle of Nowhere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64wOKm1FCfk

• This video uses a grey filter to wash out a lot of the colour and actually leaves the finished product looking brighter and more in-your-face.
• The focus of the video is on the performance; especially the singing of the lead singer, but the performance works around a narrative of the lead singer being isolated and alone in the world. This narrative is used to break up the performance of the lead singing into the camera, so that the video does not become stale and repetitive.
• The video starts with a long shot of a building to set the location and gives the audience time to register the colour tone used.
• The second shot is inside the building in a room where the band are performing. The shot is a classic example of the screen within the screen showing the band. The audience are positioned to look at a camera man's screen filming the band's performance. This reinforces the 'notion of looking' identified by Goodwin.
• This shot pans into a long shot of the whole room to set the scene for the audience and make them feel like an onlooker in the room themselves; as if they were a member of the crowd surrounding the band.
• The band are surrounded by people watching their performance, this enhances their star status and makes them look popular and makes the audience feel that by watching the video they are entering this exclusive gang as well and getting close to the band.
• All the listeners are women as well, reinforcing the band as 'Music Gods' who women regard as sexual objects - men want to be them, while women want to be with them.
• The video can be seen as providing a hyper-real experience to the audience, as the editing allows them to experience the performance from varying angles, and the use of close-ups allow the audience to objectify the lead singer. This makes the performance more interesting to the audience watching the video, than it is to the women that are seen sitting there in the video itself.
• There are quick cuts throughout the opening either showing mid-shots of the different band members to set the scene of the performance and allow the audience to appreciate the 'stars.' There's also an extreme close-up of the keys of the keyboard being played as well as a point of view shot from the people sitting on the ground listening to the band - this emerges the audience into the world the video is representing and makes them feel like they are sitting by the band as well.
• The lead singer then steps from behind the keyboard and begins to sing, which sets him up as the star of the video and the audience's main focus, which is reinforced by a close-up of his face.
• There is a relationship between music and visuals (Goodwin) as the pace of the cuts are edited to follow the pace of the song, meaning that the cuts are steady, but regular.
• There are still cuts to the other band members, but they are given mid-shots so that the focus is on their instruments as well as them as a person. Long shots are used to give a view of the whole room - the invisible fourth wall technique is used here, which is unconventional for music videos and more typical of television programmes. Music videos usually break the 'fourth wall' rule, giving the audience a more panoramic view of the location.
• There is further unconventional techniques used when the lead singer leaves to go to the toilet! He is left alone, allowing the audience to identify with him because from this point onwards he becomes the center of attention of the video. This unconventional technique is used to make the video stand out against other similar videos that will be streamed on the music channels. This means that the video lives up to repeatability, as people will want to watch the video as it is different and unique. The sound of the music changes to make it seem like it's coming from the next room, while the vocals sound live with a mixture of lyrics and humming. This 'live' sound authenticates the lead as a performer.
• When he goes back to the room where he was previously performing, he is all on his own as the band and girls listening have gone. This is where the narrative aspect of the video starts and the lyrics have a strong relationship with the visuals (Goodwin) as the lead singer is now left alone as if he is in 'the middle of nowhere.'