Diane Young, Vampire Weekend

Analysis

The mise-en-scene in the initial shot is quite distinctive. The number of people, framing and composition of all the actors provides the shot with similarities to The Last Supper. This is an unusual comparison which could be used to illustrate a point or just an attempt to make the video as unusual as possible - which is conventional of many alternative and indie rock music videos.

The mise-en-scene in the initial shot is quite distinctive. The number of people, framing and composition of all the actors provides the shot with similarities to The Last Supper. This is an unusual comparison which could be used to illustrate a point or just an attempt to make the video as unusual as possible - which is conventional of many alternative and indie rock music videos.

Another way in which this shot is unusual is that the props and costume seem to very much contrast each other. For example, the candles and pillars are very differently and not usually seen with guitars, suits and coffee makers. This further adds to the crazy, unorthodox tone that the artists are trying to create.

The band members playing their instruments in the video is conventional, however they do not perform as themselves. Instead they act similarly to the actors in the sequence. This is not uncommon in music videos as it can be useful to make the band seem abstract.

The letters 'DY' on the back of the phone. This suggests that despite the connection being ambiguous, there is a link between the lyrics and the abstract visuals being shown. Therefore the music video could be argued to be an amplification video rather than disjuncture and that the narrative within the video uses metaphors rather than illustrating the lyrics literally.

The song is mostly edited to the beat. An example of this is where the scene flashes between day and night during the significant drum beat. This editing style is conventional of alternative rock videos as it promotes the song to the audience, where as video where the visuals are edited independently from the music would less effectively do so.

[Example  (1) shown below presentation]

During one scene of the video, the lead singer whispers into the ear of the central actor while the actor lip syncs the words he is whispering; as if the singer is speaking through him. This could be interpreted as the new generation being controlled by the media or just generally being susceptible to other people telling them our to behave. The use of lip synch in the video, however, is conventional for alternative rock music videos.

[Example 2 shown below presentation]

This tracking shot of all the band memebers is conventional in that it shows all the artists however the actions that they do in the shot are very strange.

Despite the video having high key lighting, a certain scene is shot in only candle light with minimal movement. This demonstrates how alternative rock bands often try to defy convention in order to make their content more unique.