Technical Analysis - The Delays - Hideaway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS0im89Arnc

This video is mainly a narrative focus. The idea itself is very simple; a couple running away from a man in a suit (connotations of government-type figure with earpiece.) So there is an obvious relationship between the lyrics and visuals (Goodwin) as the couple are trying to 'Hideaway' from this man. This relationship is presented through amplification, rather than literal meaning. The editing is quite fast in some places with some shots lasting only one or two seconds to make the narrative seem quicker, more varied and exciting. The video does also have elements of performance in it as the band are present, but this not the focus of the video.

0:00-0:02 - Long-shot of lead singer walking down stairs at the side of a house. As part of the mise-en-scene, the house contains the colour yellow to connotate a light-hearted side to the video. Just because the song is slow-paced does not mean that the video is gloomy. This contrasts with the singer's costume of a black jacket, dark trousers and a white t-shirt, which has been used to emphasise the lead's star motif and present him as being cool and sexy - female gaze (Laura Mulvey.) This shot establishes the lead singer as the focus of the band for the audience, which is more prominent when watching the video than their matching costumes to try and represent equality.

0:02-0:03 - Mid-shot of the lead singer on the stairs putting his sun glasses on, which connotate him as being cool and enigmatic (what sort of man is hiding behind the glasses?) and also has connotations of having a good time when viewed with the mise-en-scene as it shows that the sun is out and the mood is light and cheerful. This is an example of the demands of the record company (Goodwin) by setting up a recognisable star they can commodify (Dyer) to promote and sell records.

0:03-0:05 - Mid-shot of the lead singer being given his guitar by another member of the band. It is a generic convention of a rock video for the band to be playing their instruments, even though the song itself may be slow paced. However, the video later subverts this convention as there are relatively few shots of the band playing their instruments. There's no organised performance within a studio. The two members' costumes are identical, showing that the band have a distinct look and style, which acts as their star motif. They are a union rather than just a male solo star or a lead singer who dominates the lime-light - the costumes represent equality.

0:05 - Medium close-up of another band member, this time wearing a green jacket, which contrasts with the other members' matching black jackets. Could be an example of meta-narrative - is this member the rebel of the band? However, another interpretation is that he fits in with the mise-en-scene of bright colours. He does also conform to the band's style as he is wearing the sunglasses to show he is cool.

0:06 - Close-up of the fourth and final band member walking - he is wearing a black jacket like the first two members seen and is wearing sunglasses to reinforce the star image.

0:06-0:08 - Close-up pan - very voyeuristic shot and an example of dismemberment. The shot begins with a close up on a woman's breasts and pans up to her face with her eyes shut to protect her eyes from the sun - she is not a band member so does not wear sunglasses. It is also more seductive; by having her eyes shut and leaning her head back towards the sun she is there purely for objectification - male gaze (Laura Mulvey, 1970.)

0:08-0:09 - Long-shot of the blond woman, leaning back on the car, facing the sun. Her costume is a bright blue summer dress cut to show off her boobs, legs and arms for male pleasure. The fact she is leaning back on a white car raises enigma as to what she is doing leaning on the car - waiting for someone? Going to make a getaway? It also makes her more sexy and voyeuristic - leaning back connotates her seducing the men, but at the same time the car connotates her as being independent. The notion of looking (Goodwin) is obvious here.

0:09-0:11 - Extreme long-shot of a black car driving down an empty suburban road towards the camera. The colour is chosen to contrast to the girl's white car - good versus evil. The mise-en-scene sets the scene as everyday life; the message applies to everyone, even if it is presented in a dramatic way. This makes it easier for the audience to identify with video and therefore the song and band, which is an audience gratification identified by Blumler and Katz, 1974.

0:11-0:12 - Medium long-shot of boy sitting in a living room on the sofa looking down at a table, where he opens something, which causes light to being emitted. This is a very enigmatic shot to catch the audience's interest as to what is in the box. His costume is a red top to connotate danger.

0:12 - Long-shot of the black car pulling up outside house - sense of danger and foreboding.

0:13-0:14 - Close-up of the boy's face in the living room looking down at the object he has got out on the table, light still being emitted on his face. He leans down to get a closer look, which is, again, very enigmatic as the audience want to know what it is he is looking at and have the feeling that it is important enough to make the black car pull up for it as well.

0:15-0:16 - Long-shot of man in suit getting out of car and looking around while the camera zooms in slightly. Connotations of danger - he is looking around to make sure there is no one about - a fact that the audience know about due to the long shot of car driving down the street. Enigma building - is man going to attack boy? Steal whatever the object is?

0:17 - Close-up of boy looking up from the object he is holding - the light gets brighter on his face. Enigmatic - why is this? Also, why has he looked up? Does he know he's in danger? Is it a look of self-satisfaction on his face - blissfully unaware?

0:18 - Extreme close-up of government-type files the man in the suit is holding, with a picture of the boy with the object on it and the name 'Spartacus' written in bold letters with something crossed out - enigmatic - what is crossed out? Is Spartacus a code name? Confirms that the boy is in trouble and the man is after him - but is it because of the mystery object?

0:19 - Close-up of man's face from the left hand side looking at the documents. The camera pans around the man's head so the focus goes from the documents to his face - it is visible that he is wearing an earpiece like a secret agent or government body. Intertexual reference to films such as Men In Black or James Bond. Shows his status is high - he is an important man not be underestimated - serious threat.

0:20-0:22 - Close-up of man's face from the right hand side, focus is of the back of the head with the documents visible in the background. The man walks off towards the house - heightened sense of danger - the camera stays in it's position so the man walks away from it, but the camera does pan to follow his path.

0:22 - Mid-shot of band member with green jacket sitting in a chair with his sunglasses on looking moody. Cut away from narrative to put focus back on the band and the song - the music video is meant to promote the band as a commodity.

0:23-0:24 - Mid-shot of lead singer - not actually singing, but playing the guitar - relationship between music and visuals (Goodwin) as guitar melody is prominent part of the song running all the way through. There are two other band members in the background standing on the porch of a pink house. Again, the mise-en-scene has bright colours when the band are on screen to contrast to the dark enigmatic nature of the narrative. This technique makes band more appealing and enhances their star quality. The member in the green jacket jumps off the porch, which could be seen as part of the meta-narrative again as it shows he is the rebel trying to draw attention to himself and not conforming to the group.

0:25 - There is a quick cut, which is shorter than a second, of a bag being zipped up. The bag has a bright light being emitted from it, so it is obvious that this is the boy ready to go and hideaway - relationship between lyrics and visual (Goodwin.)

0:25- There is then another very quick cut showing a high angle view on the boy zipping up the bag. The room is very dark to create enigma and reinforce the sense of danger. The light is dimmer to highlight how dark the mise-en-scene is.

0:26- Long-shot of man in suit approaching front door of house - danger getting ever closer. It's like a game of cat and mouse - the cuts are getting a lot quicker to emphasise the increasing tension.

0:27 - Another high angle shot of the boy, but this time he is going up some stairs with the bag. He looks behind him, acknowledging that he knows he is in danger and needs to hideaway - relationship between lyrics and visuals (Goodwin.)

0:28 - Extremely quick cut back to man in suit at front door - reinforces connection between the boy looking over his shoulder with the man the approaching door.

0:28-0:29 - Mid-shot of lead singer putting on his sunglasses and then beginning to play his guitar; an example of a genre characteristic (Goodwin.)

0:29-0:31 - Jump cut - the camera has moved to the right and upwards a bit so the lead singer is not in the bottom left of the screen with another band member walking from the right of the screen to the middle. The attitude of the band is very laid back - not taking performance very seriously - subverts genre characteristics but at the same time inflates their star motifs as being relaxed and cool.