RB: Technical Analysis

The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved (Klasfeld, 2008)

• For my technical analysis, I looked at a music video by The Script. They are of a similar genre to Bloc Party and this video has a similar concept in the narrative to ours.
• I looked at the length of each shot, the type of shot and what was shown in each shot.

Number	Duration	Shot Type	Mise-en-Scene
1	2 sec	High angle MS, slowly tracking to left	Shows the lead singer’s shadow walking along the pavement. Dull colours (black and grey) used and pavement appears dirty and cracked.
2	1 sec	CU shot slowly tracking backwards. Shallow focus used	Shows the lead singer in a city walking along the street. His non-verbal language connotes that he is upset. Him walking alone creates a contrast to the busy city in the background of the shot.
3	1 sec	High angle CU, slowly tracking left	Show the singer’s feet walking along the pavement. The costume shown is also dark coloured which fit in with the dull surroundings. The colour scheme reflects the singer’s mood shown from his NVL.
4	1 sec	Low angle MS, slowly tracking left. Zooms in slightly during shot.	Shows singer walking past a row of shops in the city. He is looking down at the ground with his hands in his pockets, again suggesting that he’s upset.
5	1 sec	Low angle MS tracking backwards	Shows the singer walking past shops. More people are around him but all walking in opposite direction connoting that he’s alone. Brighter colours and lighting are used (a blue sky is shown for the first time) which contrasts with the singer’s dark coloured costume.
6	5 sec	MS to CU with shallow depth of field using steady-cam. Slowly zooms in.	Zooming in on the singer’s face as he looks into the camera singing. The shallow focus gives him prevalence although the activity in the city (crowds of people and cars) can be seen in the background.
7	2 sec	Low angle MS moving to the right using an arc shot.	Shows the singer standing on the corner of the street looking at his surroundings. The low angle shows the large buildings behind him. Although the angle would typically be used to put him in a position of power, it makes him seem smaller in comparison to the buildings. He has also stopped walking but NVL suggests that he is looking for something/someone.
8	2 sec	LS tracking to the left. Rule of thirds used to keep the subject in a similar place in the frame throughout the shot.	The singer is crossing a road in the city. He is once again presented as being alone as no-on is around him. The location of the city also makes him seem smaller because of the large buildings.
9	2 sec	CU eye level shot with shallow focus. Arc shots used as camera tracks around subject.	Singer looks into the camera as he sings which is very typical of the genre of music video. A shallow focus is used in most shots of him singing as they focus the audience’s attention on the song. The size and positioning of the shot present his emotions to the audience.
10	2 sec	MS panning to the left	Show the singer singing as he walks down the street and sings at an older man passing by. At this point, the lyrics tell the audience that the singer is looking for someone and him talking to another character using the lyrics creates an illustrative relationship between the lyrics and visuals; a contrast to the amplified relationship up to this point.
11	1 sec	Static eye level MS	Shows the singer and man centralised in the frame on the street with other people walking in both directions either side of them. In the shot the man is shaking his head at the singer. The actions shown by the singer are similar to those outlined in the song which brings the relationship between the lyrics and visuals closer.
12	3 sec	Eye level CU with camera panning to the left	Shows the singer shaking his head whilst walking as he refuses money from a passer-by. This also illustrates the line being sung. The size of the shot only allows for the singer’s face and part of the building behind to be seen meaning that the dull colours used also reflect the singer’s emotions.
13	2 sec	Low angle MS with camera slowly tracking to the left	The singer passes another man as he walks down the street. Rather than the dull coloured buildings in the background of the shot there is a red painted doorway with pictures on. The singer’s dark coloured costume in the foreground creates a contrast to this and emphasises his emotions to the audience.
14	2 sec	Low angle MLS, zooming in during shot.	First show of the entire band performing in a deserted car part with the singer in the foreground and the guitarist and drummer behind him. An amp, guitar case and spare guitar to the left of the guitarist creates a more authentic look for the performance.
15	2 sec	Static eye level MCU shot with shallow focus	Shot of the singer holding the microphone as he performs the song in the location. The guitarist can be seen in the background but the shallow depth of field gives prevalence to the singer.
16	1 sec	Static MS using the rule of thirds	Guitarist shown playing in the performance space. The positioning of the camera allows his guitar to be seen as well as the location in the background.
17	1 sec	Static CU with shallow depth of field	Meat shot showing the singer singing. Showing the microphone creates a more authentic performance than the shots of him singing in the narrative. The CU also shows his emotions.
18	1 sec	Static MCU with a shallow depth of field	Close up shot of the guitar being played which creates authenticity and advertises the band’s talent.
19	2 sec	Low angle MS slowly moving away from the subject	Whole band are shown performing but angle gives prevalence to the singer. Natural light comes in from windows in the background which makes the performance location look less like a studio or set.
20	1 sec	Static MS using rule of thirds	Shows the drummer at his drum kit with the left side of the shot showing the empty performance space.
21	3 sec	MS to MSU starting and low angle and pans down	Shows the singer sitting down on the corner of a street and looks out across the road. This illustrates the lines being sung about him waiting for a girl. A group of people can be seen across the road, emphasising the fact that he is alone.
22	1 sec	Static low level MS with shallow depth of field	The singer is sitting on the pavement with a sing saying ‘IF YOU SEE THIS GIRL CAN YOU TELL HER WHERE I AM;’ a previous line from the song. The shot only shows the singer from the chest down but the dark colours of his costume and the cardboard sign present him as a homeless person, also hinted through the line ‘some try to hand me money.’
23	5 sec	Static CU using a high angle shot	The shot shows the signer placing a watch down on the pavement beside him. This could be interpreted as him watching time as he waits. Another reading would agree with the previous idea of him being presented as homeless as he is stripping himself of his valuables.
24	1 sec	Static MLS at low level	Shows the singer sitting outside a brightly coloured shop with a sleeping bag next to him. His dark coloured clothes in front of the brightly coloured background emphasise his misery once again. The shop has ‘PARTY BIRTHDAY’ written in the window which also contrasts to the singer’s emotions.
25	2 sec	Static LS at a low angle	Another shot of the singer in front of the shop with a passer by walking behind him. He shifts position connoting that he has been there a while but his costume remains the same.
26	1 sec	Static shot at eye level	Shows a street in the city with pedestrians and cars moving along, possibly used to symbolise time passing and other people’s lives moving on as the singer sits on the corner.
27	1 sec	Eye level shot panning to the right	Shows a woman passing the singer and looking at him on the ground. The difference between her standing and the singer sitting makes him seem weak. This shot also shows that the singer is beginning to draw attention to himself.
28	1 sec	Eye level mid shot with slight movement to the right	Another passer-by is shown looking back towards the singer sitting on the corner. This draws more attention to him and the group across the road further contrast to him on his own.
29	1 sec	Static MS at eye level	A police car has stopped by the corner and an officer is looking out towards the singer. The officer’s NVL suggests that they are annoyed which is reinforced by the lyrics stating that he had been told he couldn’t sit there.
30	2 sec	Static MCU using a low angle	The guitarist is shown in the performance location singing the backing vocals to the song. This shot makes the performance seem more authentic as the singer is not the only on singing on the track.
31	2 sec	Static MS at low level	The singer is shown on his corner singing as a passer-by passes. At this point, the lyrics sound as though the singer is desperate which is reinforced by his NVL in the shot.
32	1 sec	Static MS at eye level	The police officer in the car signals at the singer to move on before winding up the car window and driving off. This suggests that the officer has given up after realising that the singer is not going to move.
33	2 sec	Low angle MS tracking backwards throughout the shot	The singer is walking down the street whilst turning to look around. This is similar to other shots of him looking for the girl and also ties in with the lyrics.
34	3 sec	MCU eye level arc shot	The shot follows the singer as he turns in a circle in the street. This shows the city behind him and emphasises the enormity of the area in comparison to him.
35	2 sec	Low angle static shot at low level position	A woman is stood at the edge of the frame looking at the singer. Her NVL language suggests that she is pities or feels sorry for him. At the end of the shot another person can be seen besides her looking at the singer as well.
36	2 sec	Low angle static shot at low level position	Another woman joins the other two people watching the singer. A passing bus also contains people who look out the window at him. These shots build on the earlier shots of passers by watching him as they passed and show that he is now gaining real attention. It also shows that time must have past and the singer must be feeling desperate.
37	2 sec	Low angle over the shoulder static shot	The first and third women to stop and look at him are still there as well as the two men who look surprised and concerned. This shows that he has quickly gained attention from passing people, all of whom he stands out against.
38	2 sec	Low angle static shot at low level	The crown has grown and many people are now filming the singer on their phones. A woman with a microphone followed by a man with a camera push through the crowd towards the man. This shows the effect he has had as so many people seem interested. This also links in with the lyrics at this point as he talks about people talking about and noticing him.
39	2 sec	Low angle hand held style MCU in video recorder style	The singer is talking into the woman’s microphone whilst being filmed by the camera. It also shows that he is on ‘breaking news’ and the poorer quality of the camera connotes that the video is being filmed in a hurry as the singer was only recently discovered. This also fits in with the line ‘and maybe I’ll get famous as the man who can’t be moved.’
40	1 sec	CU bird’s eye view of stop motion sequence	A stop motion sequence showing the singer’s watch and a photograph of the girl is used with the time on the watch changing as time passes. The position of the objects move showing that the singer has been looking at them. This emphasises his emotions.
41	3 sec	Establishing shot panning upwards during time compression taking place	A shot of the singer’s corner is shown from a high angle pans upwards as the day turns into night. This emphasises the time passing as the singer continues to wait for the girl.

 

• I chose to analyse this video as it uses similar ideas to those we are planning to include in our own video, for example, this video shows the singer in the narrative as well as the performance as we are planning to do with one of our band members. It also uses similar locations, such as an outdoor location for the narrative and a separate indoor location for the performance section.

• This video shows a man after a break up which is a similar concept for our video, meaning that techniques such as the non-verbal language and colour schemes used in The Script's video may be similar to those used in ours. We also plan to create a video with an amplified relationship between the lyrics and visuals so the style of video after the couple break-up will be fairly similar. 

• Although the whole band is shown in the performance, only the singer is shown in the narrative, giving him prevalence over the other band members. This is often the case in music videos and we are planning to feature one of our band members in the narrative of our video.
• The video also enlightened me to how fast the cutting rate is in music videos, even for fairly slow paced songs. This has allowed me to understand how much footage we are going to have to film in order to create a suitable video.
• Throughout the video, I noticed how each shot was set out and realised that the rule of thirds is used throughout this video. This alerted me to the fact that when filming, we will have to plan the layout of each shot to ensure that it is aesthetically pleasing.
• I liked the use of time compression in shots towards the end of the video to signify time passing and the singer's desperation growing. I also liked the short stop motion sequences which showed the singer's possessions moving.
I also noticed the different shots of the band throughout the performance sections of the video. I paid attention to the different angles and shot types used to understand how many times we will have to film the performance to get enough footage for the video. Overall, the technical analysis of this video has made me fully aware of how much footage we will have to shoot to make this video and how much planning this will require.