YouTube as a Cutural Phenomenon

Youtube as a Cultural Phenomenon

The 1975 - Robbers Music Video

The 1975 - 'Robbers' music video

• Artist:  The 1975, Producers: Mike Crossey
• Record Label: Dirty Hit
• Target audience: Fans of the 1975, Matty Healy and alternative rock. Audiences will have the same demographic as the band, the younger generation, but because of the explicit content of the videos and lyrics around 16 and above. The video will be aimed at the A, B, C1 classes who have the money to be active fans e.g. buying concert tickets, albums, promoting the band on social networks.
• Psychographic group of 'explorers', who seek discovery and love finding out new things. They tend to have a lot of energy, individualized and experienced. They value difference and adventure over the standard trend which suits this genre of music as the band are known for being quite controversial and grungy. This would appeal to ‘explorers’ they don’t follow the ‘mainstream’ trends and are more open minded. The 1975 portray a side of young adult life we don’t expect to see published as we are so used to seeing clichéd love, teenage drama and happy endings in narratives of music videos from bands on MTV. However, the 1975’s videos include open references about sex, drugs, smoking and alcohol which most likely will not appeal to the majority of people as they are either too young or don’t feel it’s appropriate so they have to aim for a certain type of teenager. The band appeals to a completely different type of audience than One Direction singing about ‘what makes you beautiful’...
• Narrative: The song itself is about an ill-fated robbery heist and was inspired by the 1993 film "True Romance", a comic-book nerd and Elvis fanatic Clarence (Christian Slater) and a prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) fall in love. Clarence breaks the news to her pimp and ends up killing him. He grabs a suitcase of cocaine on his way out thinking it is Alabama's clothing. The two hit the road for California hoping to sell the cocaine, but the mob is soon after them. In the 1975's video it follows along the same lines, we see the lead singer of the band, Matty Healy, with a girl who we assume is his girlfriend/lover from the repeated scenes of them kissing and the sex scenes toward the end of the video. Matty and the girl are clearly drug addicts (she takes cocaine in the restroom of a canteen) who also drink a substantial amount - most scenes of them all together they are dancing and drinking. They go together and rob what looks to be a convenient store with a gun which we presume is to feed their drug habit. Matty ends up getting shot but they make it off with the cash.
• Cinematography: The video uses low key lighting shows dullness in what they are doing, it’s like a daily routine which suggest they only might do it as they are bored, their life has no substance. It also makes the video more dramatic and helps convey its main themes. Blue toned filter in some parts emphasises the coldness in their lifestyle and habits. Some of it is shot at night which could suggest it’s the main time they go out as it’s more acceptable to be high/drunk, feel like they fit in. Silhouettes are also used when Matty and his girlfriend are together with a red misty toned filter linking their actions together with the idea of love. The silhouettes make the video more interesting as its showing them from a different perspective, and makes the scene with them more intense and romantic - example below:

• Mise en scene: Costume - casual wear: ripped jeans, open button shirts, leather jacket, ripped tights and tattoos suggest they are 'rebels', disobey the law and do things they shouldn't like drugs. They don’t care too much about their appearance, the girl has makeup smudges under her eyes, dark circles, matted hair which makes her look more likely to do drugs and drink alcohol because she doesn’t seem to take care of herself making it more obvious.
  Prop - bottles, guns, cigarettes to show the lifestyle they lead and that they don’t follow the ‘norm, they don’t value their life or care what happens.   Setting - messy apartment, they don’t clean up or have nice things as drugs are more important, abandoned pool with graffiti, one of the places they go as no one else around and they can do what they want, the graffiti suggest no care towards others property.  
• What makes is successful? One thing that makes is successful is the use or narrative in the video, we can always tell what is happening, and it links to the lyrics creating good synergy throughout the video. It also still links in with the brands image of being alternative because of the themes in the video which will keep their audience happy. The video itself has a tone of danger and rebellion which may attract young teenagers as it could appeal to a side of them that they don’t feel they can express, the danger element may fulfil that and give a little excitement as it’s about doing something that they shouldn’t.

Muse - Plug in Baby music video

 

Muse - 'Plug in Baby' music video

• Artist -  Muse, Producer: David Bottrill.
  
  
• Record Label -  Warner Bros.
  
  
• Target audience - The target audience for this music video will have the same psychographic e.g. fans of Muse, may be of a similar demographic to the artists e.g. same age as Matt Bellamy, fans of alternative rock, male or female as the video isn't aimed at a certain genre.
  
  
• Narrative: The music video depicts the band in a room playing their instruments, with cut-aways to scenes of a women which are revealed to be part bionic with tendrils hanging down. These connect to the title 'plug in baby' connecting the women to be electronic 'creations'. The video also has some scenes with electronic equipment affecting the woman who uses them, one being a hairdryer and the other a set of ear phones, both leading to visual indications that they are somehow under control or possibly even being possessed. The end shows the lead singer of the band Matt Bellamy paused in a stress pose, in a way that looks like he has 'powered down' at the end of the song, again linking to the idea of bionic beings that the video has played with the whole way through.
  
  
• Cinematography: This music video uses special effects, most noticeably at the start of the video when the picture of the women spikes up in time with the guitar riff creating synergy between the woman in the video and the band themselves.  Through the rest of the video there is a use of cutaways to the bionic woman and the back to the band showing the narrative of the music video.
  
  
• Mise en scene: Artificial light, mid to low light intensity gives the video a darker feel which links into the theme. Costume -band members in all black to reflect mood of video and genre of music. Props - instruments used by band (lead singers guitar almost robot like to link in with woman and title of the song "Plug in baby"). The setting of the video suggests affluence as they are in an expensive apartment which contrasts with the rawness of the music and the band themselves - with affluence also comes choice which is seen in this video by Matt choosing when he wants to 'plug in' the women and when to not.
  
  
• This music video is successful in many ways a reason being because of the face paced shots which keep up with the songs tempo and make the video interesting to watch. The video itself is quite abstract and grabs the viewers curiosity. The shots are reminiscent of Guy Bourdin, a high fashion photographer, for example the close up of the two legs in the fishnet stockings, this is provocative which along with the heavy rock music is a highly suggestive images.