Full music video analysis-Catfish and the Bottlemen

The music video for ‘Cocoon’ follows a narrative storyline where the two protagonists meet at a rehab centre. At first, the two appear to be distant from one another, however, as the video continues the audience learns that something has happened between them which has challenged their relationship. After a series of flashbacks from the male protagonist’s point of view, we understand that he misses his girlfriend's company since something happened to her mentality whilst being at the rehab. He tries to bring her back to my repeating activities they once done together and putting up with other people rules in order to stay with her. The climax occurs during the instrumental of the song when the male protagonist tries to escape with his girlfriend and results with being caught by the staff where he is punished for going against the rules. Although he tries to struggle from their grasp, he remembers the flashbacks of his relationship and decides to endure the punishment so he can be reunited with her mentally. It finishes with him and his girlfriend sitting together at the end of a room and holding hands. In an interview about the song, leader singer Van McCann said that the song was based around being away from a loved one and wanting them to just be together despite what anyone says. The music video follows Goodwin’s theory of illustration as it suggests an alternative scenario where two people want to be together and ignore all the rules so they can be. The music video also does follow a performance element but takes an alternative approach. During the instrumental bridge of the song, the patients in the rehab centre are playing the instruments. This fits the protagonist’s situation and follows the music video’s storyline as well as showing the audience that the band are responsible for their own music. It also shows that the band is different and experimental from mainstream indie/rock bands as the lyrics are explicit and very honest which would usually not get air time because of its lyrics.

Within the video, there is a great use of mid-shots used. This automatically indicates to the audience that there is a distance between the two protagonists and makes the audience feel a little uncomfortable. The protagonists are rarely central in the shots which suggest that they feel lonely or that they are missing the other person and needs them to be in the frame for the shot to be complete. The use of mid- shots helps illustrate the meaning of the song and sets the mood for the audience to feel. Extreme close-ups are only used when the male protagonist enters and exits his flashbacks. The focus on his face shows emotion and longingness for the female protagonist which the audience can connect with on a personal level. The shots are effectively connecting with the lyrics as McCann sings ‘I remember when you…’, and first extreme close-up premieres followed by a mid-shot of him meeting the girl. This illustrates the lyrics and helps the audience understand the key moments of the song. Camera Close-ups During the protagonist’s flashback, there is a variety of different close-ups used. This allows the audience to see a different side of the characters’ relationship and to be a part of it. The juxtaposition of the shots used is effective as it represents the difficulties of their relationship as well as the positive sides to it. Camera Positioning Camera shots are also used to help introduce the different characters and show their role in the narrative. Those who play the authority in the rehab centre such as the female doctor and the staff are always a centre of the frame. This is deliberately done to show the audience that they have the biggest influence on the storyline and determine the two-protagonist’s love story. This makes a change as usually the artist or the main actors would be a centre of the frame, however, this has a greater impact on creating an entertaining piece of film. If it wasn’t for these characters, then the equilibrium would not have been disturbed and the video would have not connected with the lyrics and meaning of the song.

The editing in this music video is very limited. The transitions are all straight cuts which are very commonly used for narrative music videos since they tell a story like a film. The shots have been edited together to help tell the story and create emotion. This is most effective when the protagonist enters and exits the flashbacks as the audience finally understand the relationship he had with his girlfriend. The shots follow Goodwin’s ‘Cut to the beat’ theory. The sound falls within the Indie/Rock bracket. Being associated with this genre enables Catfish and the Bottlemen to explore and experiment their alterative sound and express themes and emotions other mainstream genres may be advised against. Although many people associate Indie Rock to be more grunge, the lyrics of the song take a more reinsuring approach which is a positive outcome of sticking to an independent image. When asked about the sweet nature of the song in Diffuser’s interview, lead singer Mccann said… ‘I actually wrote this tune in New York when I came to the city for the first time to write some songs. And I kind of already had been writing a few and been doing a few things, but then this one came along. And I thought, “Man, this is f—ing good. I’m gonna keep this one.” It’s a tune about, whether it’s your best friend or your dad or your missus or anything, as long as you got someone else with you or you’ve got a direction, it doesn’t matter if people try to get at you. As long as I’ve got you and you’ve got me and we love each other, then that’s sweet. We don’t need anything in life. It’s about whatever you want, whenever you want and being positive, especially when people are trying to get you down. Be happy, and that’s it.’ The mise-en-scene in this music video is a key component in making it successful and realistic. As the video is set at a rehab centre, the patients and staff need to look like they belong there. The medical staff are dressed in white clothing which is the stereotypical image for doctors whilst the patients are given something different to express their unique individuality. The makeup used to give the audience a good indication about the different characters and emotions. For example, the nurse is wearing red nail varnish which we would relate to as danger or power. This might influence the audience to think a certain way about her and the impact that her character creates. Another example is the female protagonist. When the audience is first introduced to her, she appears to be very pale and ill. However, as we enter the flashbacks, we see more colour in her face which suggests that something has happened in the rehab centre to make her look different.

Full music video analysis-Fall Out Boy

"Young Volcanoes"-Music Video


The video is mainly a narrative clip as it contains the band being heavily emerged into the narrative. The video is part of a series of music videos, each following the story from the previous video. Fall Out Boy has named these the ‘Young Blood Chronicles’. It can almost be classed as a short film. Despite the whole clip being narrative based, the lead singer is shown to be miming the words to the song. However, he remains heavily in character when singing, which takes away from the typical performance clip where the artists are boastfully singing or playing an instrument. The singer’s character is clearly in pain from the torture of the mysterious women, an act that he upholds whilst singing. The video follows the abduction and extremely forceful abuse of the band from scantily clad women dressed in leather. They are seated at a grotesque table and given drugs, fed (supposedly) human organs and exposed to nudity. I interpret this song to be about breaking boundaries and social norms. From looking at the lyrics, “When Rome's in ruins, We are the lions, Free of the coliseums” one would assume that the band are promoting the image of freedom and revolution from social expectations. However when this lyric is matched with the visual, it seems to be pointing at the opposite, as the rest of the band members are shown to be bound with rope in an very animalist way. The lyrics then go on to say “Tonight the foxes hunt the hounds” which is rightfully matched with a shot of a group of women pushing and abusing the male band members. The lyrics suggest that the previously oppressed social group will now become top of the social ladder/ food chain, replacing those formerly in power. In this instance, women are the oppressed group, so seeing them abuse men, who stereotypically are the dominant sex, reflects the lyric and how in today’s society, social boundaries are being exceeded. “Americana, Exotica” is matched with shots of the helpless men being tied to the chairs where the lead singer has been placed since the start of the video. The lyric suggests something different and foreign, so when matched with the visual, it is clear that the band are again showing the idea of women gaining a stronger influence in society, which is something very different from previous years.

The genre of this song is pop rock, however, it is hard to put songs into genre category's as there are so many overlaps. Fall Out Boy is classed as a rock band, however, this album has hints of the pop genre. The conventions used in the music video are typical of the rock music genre. It contains the lead singer as the main focus, has a hidden meaning of change and breaking social boundaries and uses very low and dark lighting. It contains a lot of rock iconographies such as wooden beams, long candles and shining red apples. The video is actually reaching Gothic iconography, however, I think the light, up beat song and the humorous acting of the band take away from the more serious tones associated with Gothic music. Regarding Sven Carlson’s theory, Fall Out Boy is ‘commercial exhibitionists’ as they are trying to evoke a memorable charisma. They can also be classed as a ‘televised bard’ as they are acting as storytellers to the narrative of being abducted by a group of crazy women. The video uses a lot of typical props that would be associated with horror or gothic narratives, such as the human organs, old dining sets, chandeliers, shisha pens, snakes and ruby red apples. The grotesque table spread creates a morbid and crazy atmosphere and represents the girls’ psychotic thoughts and deranged ideas. The lighting is also extremely dark, typical of the rock music video genre. It immerses the band into a completely new world. The characters in the narrative don’t know where they are, and neither to the audience, ultimately making them feel more empathetic towards the characters. The clothing of the band is very typical for a rock band, which makes the audience more confused as it creates the illusion that the band aren’t actually acting and that they are in fact being abducted by a group of girls in tight leather trousers. The women are dressed in very provocative clothing, which is not typical of average women, but is typical of the ‘male fantasy’ stereotype. These women fulfill the ‘male fantasy’ prophecy as they are shown in very little clothing. However, any fan of the band could suggest that they are doing this in a mocking way, to point fun at the big name artists who continuously portray women as sexual and objects. This idea can also be seen through the use of humour in the acting and the playful tune of the song.

Regarding editing, the clapping of the song is timed correctly with the napping of Patrick Stump’s hand. It emphasises the beat of the song, generally making it more enjoyable to watch/listen to. Also, the amount of screen time that the lead singer gets falls in line with the conventions of rock music videos, where the lead singer gets most of the focus of the narrative. There aren’t many effects added to the video, apart from when some of the shots are put in slow motion. It is generally the shots of the rest of the band being pushed and shoved by the abductors. Personally, I think it is just for aesthetic purposes without any deeper connotation. However if could be said that this is used to create a more dramatic atmosphere and to represent how the characters would be feeling disorientated. Regarding camera work, a lot of moving shots are used. Sometimes the camera is moving sideways using a tracking shot, and sometimes it looks like a hand held camera is being used. This constant change between uniform and disorientation connotes the confused and stressed feeling of the characters in the narrative, all together consuming the characters and the audience, enabling them to feel involved. The moving of the camera gives the illusion of walking and looking around. There is also a lot of close-up shots of the various items on the table. These are used to fully show the setting they are in, allowing the audience to fully understand and immerse themselves in that world. It could be argued, using Michael Shore’s theory, that this music video conforms to the ‘soft core pornography’ music videos that he says are filling up the music industry. The portrayal of the artists is completely fictionalised. However, some fans of the band have suggested that this song, along with the music video, is about how they were restricted before they split in previous years and how they have reformed and everything will be changing. The “foxes hunt the hounds”, creating a new world and experience for the band. The video represents the artist to be helpless and completely impressionable as they are captured by a group of young girls. However they are shown to be funny as it is clearly not a completely serious video. The message behind it may be serious, however, the band are known for their humorous music videos that mask the darker message. Sound The start of the video doesn’t start with the beginning of the song. This left room for sound. The shot shows the women going down a crooked lift in a run down building and the audience can hear the clanking of the belts of the contraption. The buzz from the lights is also a prominent sound, all adding to the disorientated feeling of the characters.

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