How are narrative techniques employed in U2's video Every Breaking wave

"Every Breaking Wave" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track from their thirteenth studio album, Songs of Innocence, and was released as its second single. It was produced by Danger Mouse and Ryan Tedder, with additional production from Declan Gaffney. Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's sound grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music, yet has maintained an anthemic sound. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns. Popular for their live performances, the group has staged several ambitious and elaborate tours over their career. 

The song was in the top 30 in the US and in the charts for France. It reached number 7 in Belgium and did very well in the UK. Rolling Stone ranked "Every Breaking Wave" as the third-best song of 2014, calling it a "stark, shimmering ballad" that stands as the "emotional centre piece of Songs of Innocence".

The song's official music video is a truncated, four-and-a-half-minute version of the 13-minute short film Every Breaking Wave, which was directed by Irish director Aoife. The film dramatises the violence of The Troubles in Northern Ireland during the 1980s by depicting a teenage couple on opposing sides of the conflict. McArdle used the album and acoustic versions of "Every Breaking Wave" in the film, along with another track from Songs of Innocence, "The Troubles". The film premiered on 12 February 2015 before the music video was released on 23 February.

Figure 1

The video follows Tzvetan Todorov's theory as he states that it should have five main points. A state of equilibrium where everything appears calm and normal. Then a disruption or disequilibrium where it is a set back, then a realisation then an attempt to repair the disruption and then back to the equilibrium. The video has these elements as in the beginning there is are shots of young people partying and there is a sense of calm and normality. As you can see in figure 1 a clear sense of equilibrium is being created. This carries on to when the the protagonist, in this case the boy in figure 1 meets a girl and they are shot in very scenic places such as the country side and in a sunset thus creating the equilibrium. This soon changes as the disruption is when the protagonist sees his dad in trouble with the police and he has to try and help him with his friends. This immediately changes the video and there is a clear sense of panic from the main character. The shot in figure 2 of the boys running together  shows the panic as before that the boys had always been smiling or having fun      

Figure 2

together so having a tracking shot of them running shows how the story has had a turn for the worse and how it has effected them. There are then hand held shots of a group of people who are trying to fight off the police and get the main characters dad out of trouble. The use of shallow focus and deep focus in these unsteady shots shows the panic and allows the narrative to be told about how the situation has changed dramatically. Also after this the boy and girl character and separated and not in shots together for the first time which reinforces the disequilibrium. The narrative then has a realisation as the boy and girl are in shots together again as there has been a realisation of the disruption. The main character tries to then repair the situation by him and his friends getting guns to help out his dad with the people he got into trouble with. However the final scene of the video does not follow the theory as it end with a bomb being set off and the main character and his friends being injured in the explosion leaving the story on a open ending. Although the ending does not conform the theory the rest of the video does and follows the clear pattern of Todorov's theory. 

Another theorist is Roland Barthes who states that at the beginning there is an enigma which allows the audience to guess what happened and creates tension. This is when the main characters dad is doing a deal with people he knows and the main character knows its trouble but doesn't do anything about it. This leads to the audience trying to guess what was happening thus creating an enigma. Another narrative technique of Barthes is the hermeneutic code which is where they avoid telling the whole truth so they drop clues and create mystery and it allows them to make the narrative interesting and keep the audience guessing. This is shown when the main characters dad gets arrested as we do not know why he has been arrested for but we have to guess ourselves which allows the narrative to have the mystery and draw in the audience.        

How are the conventions of the indie genre evident in Alt-J video for Breezeblocks

Our genre is very loose and can be fitted into either indie, psychedelic or rock. The Alt-J genre is indie but it has a psychedelic and loose narrative feel to it by the lyrics being very abstract just like our song. The video for Tempesst Tidal Wave is very psychedelic and hard to understand just like this video so i feel they link well. "Breezeblocks" is a song by British indie rock band alt-J from their debut studio album An Awesome Wave (2012). The song was released on 18 May 2012 as the album's second single. The song was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury, Thom Green, Murad Merali and produced by Charlie Andrew. It reached the top ten in the UK Indie and US Alternative charts, and was voted into third place in Australian radio station Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2012, behind "Thrift Shop" and "Little Talks". A music video was created to accompany the release of the song. Directed by Ellis Bahl and starring actors Jonathan Dwyer, Jessica DiGiovanni, and Eleanor Pienta, it is the band's first official music video.

The video features a violent fight in an apartment between a male and a female character shown in reverse, beginning with the death of the female character at the hands of the male character, who bludgeons her with a breeze block. As the fight progresses backwards, it is revealed that the female character is the aggressor in the fight, having ambushed the male character, who is falsely imprisoning his wife. The video aired for the first time on YouTube on 23 March 2012. As of June 2016, it has over 100 million views. The video won at the UK Music Video Awards for “Best Alternative Video” on 8 November 2012.

The music video starts out by having it in reversal to distort the audience and make them become engaged by the strange editing. The music video for our song is very psychedelic and makes the audience think about what the narrative could be about and how this links to the song. The way in which the music video always keeps you guessing for the narrative and a sense of mystery to it is what you can find in more modern indie music videos. The music is very abstract and therefore needs a abstract narrative. I will take this into my music video by using a filmic style of music video as i feel that gives you a better meaning to the song and allows you to engage with the song also. Indie music tends to look at subjects that are typically not talked about and be controversial. Breezeblocks narrative has elements of domestic abuse and a man cheating on his wife. This is a convention of the indie genre as it tends to be controversial and i will take this into my music video by having a narrative that will a talking point and raise some issues that need to be raised.  


Mise-en-scene is very important in the indie genre. In more modern indie music the mise-en-scene can tell a story and is key portraying the genre. In breeze blocks they use costume that tells the story at the end of the music video. In the video the man is shown in a close up shot wearing a ring and this allows you to unveil the story of him being married and having an affair.The indie music genre uses subtle hints like this to draw the attention of the viewer and allow the narrative to be worked out as you go through the video. The music video challenges conventions of the indie genre by the editing. The editing is made so the videos is in reverse. This is something that the indie genre doesn't typically have in their videos as editing is not the main focus of the genre.Alt-J is very similar to another indie band Mumford & Sons. They both use abstract lyrics that can be portrayed in many ways and have an abstract narrative which goes with the way in which the lyrics do not seem to make sense unless you read into them. This type of indie music is what relates to my song as my lyrics have the same type of poetry to them and i will have to have a narrative that can explain my lyrics for me.

Applying Goodwins music theory as he states that there is a relationship between the music video and the lyrics and this is shown in this video as when the lyrics have breezeblocks being said the music video has breezeblocks in the visuals. This amplifies the music video to give the video and lyrics a connection. Overall the indie genre is evident in Breezeblocks as it follows certain indie genre conventions such as the abstract lyrics but also challenges by using editing techniques such as reverse editing which isn't generically used in the indie genre.  

     

How does the music video 'Left Hand Free' by Alt-J appeal to its target audience?

Band background
Left Hand Free is a song from English indie rock band Alt-J. It is their second single from the bands second album 'This Is All Yours'. The song was released second as it immediately gives a feel of what the bands music is like. Alt-J, are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds, by Gwil Sainsbury, Joe Newman, Thom Green and Gus Unger-Hamilton. The band's debut album 'An Awesome Wave' was released in May 2012 in Europe and September 2012 in the United States, and won the 2012 British Mercury Prize. Gwil Sainsbury amicably departed the band in early 2014. Their second album, This Is All Yours, was released on 22 September 2014 and went straight to UK number one. The band's unusual sound stems from the fact that due to living in student halls, where noise had to be kept to a minimum, they were unable to use bass guitars or bass drums. Left Hand Free with its Southern rock influences, it is typical for an Alt-J song. 

Audience
The audience for Alt-J is very much of the lifestyle of the band themselves. A university student, male or female, who doesn't enjoy any mainstream music or activities. These are things such as listening to chart music or anything that is played on the radio frequently. This is because the audience are people aged between 18-30 who are not your typical young person. They they listen to indie rock and keep away from anything mainstream from fashion trends to places to see your friends. The music they listen to will fall into the indie category and are bands such as Mumford and Sons, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers etc.. The clothes they will wear are from charity shops or unbranded clothing as they would not spend a lot of money on what they wear. They would meet their friends at coffee shops or in unusual places to maintain the anti mainstream persona they portray.

Figure 1

This is the band in figure 1 and as you can see they are dressed more individually than the mainstream population of their age group. They wear smarter shoes, baggy jeans and a more casual style. They are also stood outside a small quirky shop that relates to them as it is off the mainstream and a place where only they would go. Two of the band are wearing glasses which relates to them not caring about what is generically 'cool' as they wear what they think is 'cool' to them. They are altogether going for a indie/nerdy look of a university student.

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows an Alt-J fan who is dressed the same as the band. He is wearing the glasses, jeans, shirt and smart shoes. This is the target audience for Alt-J. The guy will live near or in a city and lead the students lifestyle. However the constructed audience is this guy who looks like a indie intellectual young man but sometimes the actual audience can vary and people who are into other indie bands or like art/ alternative types of indie music will listen to Alt-J but they do not usually attract many people outside the target audience. 



How the music video appeals to their target audience

In Left Hand Free it consists of young people getting alcohol and going to do summer activities. The way in which at the beginning there is a shot of a girl buying alcohol at a store immediately attracts the target audience as students can relate to the situation. The band have used the audience being able to relate to the video at the beginning to catch their attention and make them feel comfortable with it, this is reinforced by the costume as it is very much what a typical girl of that age would wear and the location is a very recognisable place. This has been used to allow the connection to be made with the music video. The male audience has been addressed as the camera is focusing on the girl with a shallow focus as the Alt-J fan base is mainly male they have used this to grab the males attention as another way to get them engaged to the video.

The video then shifts into what the target audience would aspire to do. For instance in the picture to the left the guy is in a river with his friends using a rope swing and this will target their audience as young adults are the main focus and doing activities like this in the summer is what Alt-J's audience would want to do. It captures them by the use of location, the location is very mysterious and this intrigue their audience by allow them to escape into a video which has their ideal summer day. The video then goes to them having a barbecue by the river and this leads on to the idea of the ideal summer day which is perfect for the age range of their audience.    

How are different groups represented: Robin Thicke - 'Blurred lines'

Blurred lines is by pop singer Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. It is the lead single from Robin Thickes album, 'Album of the same name'. It was in the charts in over 30 countries and has over 450 million views on Youtube. It was directed by Diane Martel and came into a lot of controversy when the video has indications of rape and lyrics like 'i know you want it' indicating that all women want him and that he has total power over them.

The video represents women as inferior and promotes an unhealthy attitude towards sex. In the explicit version of the video it starts with Robin Thicke laying on a mattress with a naked girl next to him. The mise-en-scene shows how the women is shown as an object and not as a person. Robin Thicke is wearing a suit and this connotes ideas of wealth and power however the women is naked and this shows her and being powerless and that she isn't in charge of the situation at all because he is just using her as an object for his own pleasure.

Figure 1

The lyrics make women seem like objects as well and that they have no power over men. The lyrics of 'I know you want it' show a sort of rape mentality in the music. These lyrics represent women as sex drived and the only thing they want from men is sex, but also that men can control women by sex. These lyrics got the song into a lot of controversy as the issue of consent for sex was raised by the media as they were not happy with the fact that the song promotes sex even if the woman has not had a say in the situation. An article from The Guardian from 2013 'Blurred line, the most controversial song odf the decade' stated "It promotes a very worrying attitude towards sex and consent," explained Kirsty Haigh, EUSA's vice-president of services. "This is about ensuring that everyone is fully aware that you need enthusiastic consent before sex. The song says: 'You know you want it.' Well, you can't know they want it unless they tell you they want it." The song and music video blew up in the media and the use of representing women in a derogatory way meant that the song had a lot of backlash. The use of the lyrics linking with the music video uses Laura Mulvey's theory of 'Male Gaze.' This is where a media text is created in a way that reflects the viewing pleasures of a hetero-sexual male. This is evident in the sense that these women are wearing a costume that is very provocative to please the singer and to also please the viewer too.

Figure 2

The representation of women being powerless is often a convention of pop music videos, figure 2 shows how the women are represented. The use of the men in suits and women in underwear shows the power imbalance and how the men are in complete control. This is an example of the 'male gaze' in the composition as the girls are on the rule of thirds and this makes   

Figure 3

them in the perfect position for the viewer to only look at them. The male gaze is a convention of pop music videos as it is mainstream music that emphasises the power imbalance between man and women. This is also shown even in artists who are women. The women are used in the male gaze to allow the producers to sell the song and them. For example Rihanna is overly sexualised to allow her to sell records to both genders. Men want her and women want to be her. The pop genre represents women as being the lesser sex as it allows them to sell records to both genders. This is shown in figure 3 as the men are just looking at the women which will encourage the audience too as well. The men will be satisfied and the women will want to be her as she is getting a lot of attention.

This links to Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos as he states that music videos often have frequent references to the notion of looking and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body. The visuals often link to the lyrics and this is the case in Blurred Lines and the use of the women looking into the camera, this is used in a seductive way to further represent women as being overly sexualised and powerless.  

Applying Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos

The song 'Love the way you lie' By Eminem and Rihanna shows many of the conventions that Andrew Goodwin states in his theory of music videos.

Andrew Goodwin states that there should be a narrative and a performance part to the song. This allows the artist to be involved with the image of the song but also get across and a narrative. It makes the song look more realistic and giving the audience a connection to the song. In 'Love the way you lie' if flips between a narrative of a couple who are arguing and then fine again showing their struggle which you are a part of. Then it flips to performance elements from Eminem rapping or Rihanna singing as then you can feel the connection with the artist and it allows them to be connected to the song too.

This links to Star image being a factor too which means the artist has to be the centre of attention as they make the music video more appealing and they bring their unique style and persona to the video. It helps to show the artists image and this is shown in 'Love the way you lie' by having elements of Eminem showing him looking rugged in a costume that shows where he is from and his sub-culture that he is part of and then shows Rihanna in a different way. She is shown as sexy and a lot of close ups of her biting her lips which show here persona as being flirtatious with the camera to create that image for herself and bring that aspect the the music video.

Another aspect of music videos that Goodwin talks about is the link between the visuals and the music. In 'Love the way you lie' when Rihanna sings the lyrics of 'watch me burn' in the music video the house if on fir and the two people are burning but not in pain. This is to illustrate the meaning of the lyrics. She is talking about watching her burn and she means in a relationship sense which is explained in the video. Goodwin argues that this is to help explain meaning and allow the audience to feel like they have understood the song on a deeper level.  

The video uses many conventions that Goodwin states are in music videos and this shows his theory is relevant to mainstream music as you can see in the 'Love the way you lie' that the conventions are very much used in the whole video.    

How do music videos use media language?

Music artists use media language to get the right style and message sent across to their target audience. The music video for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' but a 'g' thang.
The music video shows the typical conventions that are used in gangsta rap music videos and is portrayed in the mise-en-scene, the camera work and other factors like lyrics.

Figure 1

The mise-en-scene is used to immediately to show what type of genre this music video is. The way in which there is a luxury car in the hood, which is a run down place in America and the contrast between the luxury car and the run down area shows how this is a rap video as the rappers would come from bad areas but have luxury clothes, cars and other material items and this video demonstrates that straight away. Also the crowd of people that are surrounding the car shows the way in which the media language is used as they are there to be a symbol for gang culture. The people who are crowding around show that they are all together and have a brother like bond and creates the gangsta rap persona they are trying to create.

Figure 2

Costume shows the genre and portrays the media language by allowing you to see the culture that the people in the music video are from. Snoop Dogg is wearing a hoodie and a cap which is the clothes of the rap culture. The man behind him is wearing a gold chain and this also signifies the rap culture by it being an expensive item but belong to a poor culture which is what rap is all about. The girls in the music video are shown as wearing very little clothes and come across very over sexualised. The women are wearing bikini tops and very small shorts and this again is the media language used to show the genre of music.Women are portrayed as weak and just a 'play thing' for a man which is shown in the video.

Figure 3

Camera work is also very important and it shows the who is the important figures in the video and as you can see from the picture above there is a close up shot of Snoop Dogg rapping which is a commonly used theme in rap music videos and this is because it shows you who is in charge and that he is a dominant figure. It is also intimidating and the low angle shot also shows his power and dominance over the people there and the audience and this is a common theme in rap music videos as it shows the culture of dominance that they live by.

The editing shows the media language as it is very quick cut and made to look even more shaky than it is because it shows the fast paced life of a rapper. The way in which it quickly cuts from the rapper to either girls or his mates shows what his life consists of and how the media language is used and the people or things that are cut to are symbols for the rap culture and how it allows you to feel emerged into their culture.

Micheal Eric Dyson stated that political rap didn't get the support that it deserved when it prominent in the 80's and 90's. Therefore it reverted to the flashy, sexualised, criminal rap which we know today and as through display it became more prominent and more mainstream. This shows how the media language is used in Nuthin But a G Thang as the media language came from the rebellious side of the industry and has stuck with it because it became the generic conventions that are used in rap today.

  

 

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