ALT-J -- BREEZEBLOCKS

Full Music Video Analysis

OVERVIEWAlt-J are an English Indie Rock band, and have released a variety of very popular songs, for example Breezeblocks. The videos that Alt-J release are very different from regular videos. They have their own style and story, and this applies to Breezeblocks. This video tells a story of a fight between two, assumed, lovers. However, it has a twist to it, whereby the story is told backwards. It starts at the end of the story, whereby the girl has been thrown in the bathtub, and ends at the beginning, whereby she has been locked in a cupboard.

MISE EN SCENEThe mise en scene of this video is dark. The clothing that the two characters wear, are plain, and dark coloured, to ensure that there is minimal distraction from the story being told. The setting that the couple are in is their own home, I assume, and is set up quite comfortably, with quirky objects, that become a main feature of the video – the breezeblock. The bathroom scene is interesting because it is a change of scenery from the regular living room area. Its slightly lighter in colours, with the use of white instead of grey, which enhances the lighting, making the scene a lot clearer.

The couple are presented and dressed as though they are quite wealthy, due to the nice clothing, and smart home.

EDITINGAs mentioned earlier in this slideshow, the video is shot backwards. This gives the video a twist as you can see how things happened, by viewing it backwards. The pace of the video speeds up when the pace of the song does, which makes the audience’s reactions and mind-set go along with the video.

There are certain aspects of the video that capture interesting aspects, such as the glass shattering. It repeats the same scene about 3 times, from different angles, capturing the smashed glass and as its played backwards. This helps emphasise anger, and violence, but also shows very obviously that the video is backwards.

There are other aspects of the video that show the audience that it is backwards. Such as the use of a small clear cup dropping on the floor, or the movement of books on a shelf. These help emphasise the look of the video, by using small objects to display it.

LIGHTINGThe lighting in this video is very dark, which matches the mise en scene of the video. Its all very dark and emotional, hiding certain clear aspects and concentrating on facial expressions instead of decorations etc. This gives minimal distraction to the main focus of the video, which is the couple fighting.

I think that this type of lighting works really well with the theme of the video, which is anger, violence but love as well, which is shown through the rings worn on the couples’ fingers. However, the violence and anger over takes that, which is reflected through the dark light, as dark behaviour is happening throughout the video.

CAMERA ANGLESThe camera angles used in this video are very interesting. Its very rare throughout the video to get regular angles such as medium shots or long shots. The angles are mainly close ups, or low angled shots looking up at the character or event.

There is also a lot of panning, and running camera shots, as it follows the couple around their home as they fight. This makes the audience feel very involved in the story line, as they feel as though they are either part of the fighting, or within the room as a spectator.

THEORYThis video has a lot of theory behind it, but also lacks certain theory such as The Male Gaze by Mulvey. I think that it is a good thing that this isn’t apart of this video, because this video isn’t about sex, or the woman in the story, its about emotion, and it displays the woman as an actual human being.

This video does however, include part of Goodwin’s theory, ILLUSTRATE, as it illustrates some aspects of the song (breezeblock) in the actual video. It also includes AMPLIFY because it repeats some of the same scenes, such as the glass, over and over again.

I think that this video also includes the Uses and Gratifications Model, as it makes the audience feel a certain way, such as sad or angry, but they don’t act on it, however, this could be argued as the Hypodermic Needle/Model.