Music video analysis - The Cads

Music video analysis: The Cads – Club of Rome

Genre: Indie/Alternative

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The main themes of this video seem to be related to summer and love. There are many techniques and methods used to put these themes across and make it obvious to the audience what emotions are being conveyed.

Firstly, with regards to mise-en-scene, the initial setting for the band performance shots is a wooded area or forest in which the band are playing but with large gaps between trees through which the sun is shining.

This immediately gives off a summery feel to the video and communications positive emotions, which goes perfectly with the song. The setting for the ‘narrative’ part of the video implements many different locations and settings; including a beach, a beach-town, cliffs, a swimming pool and a house. These can be seen as typically summery and romantic and are perfect settings for this type of song. The song is complimented by the video and vice-versa due to the sound also being bright and cheery, giving off happy connotations. Costume also plays a role in portraying these themes, as the band are wearing what can be recognized as conventionally ‘summery’ clothes (loose checkered shirts, chinos, bright tee-shirts).

Regarding camera work, the shots of the band playing are mostly smooth and flow with the beat of the music. Lots of close-ups are used, of instruments and of the player’s faces, as well as a few long-shots and mid-shots of the band. Each member is concentrated on equally, which shows a sense of integrity and equality to the band which also reflects the positive atmosphere. The editing is smooth and features fast, snappy cuts between shots to further suggest an upbeat mood, which again can also be heard through the lively music. 

The main editing technique featured in the video is that of the ‘narrative’ shots, which appear to simply be lots of photos strung together and placed to the beat of the music. The subject of the photos is a young couple smiling and generally enjoying each-others company, hence the theme of love. These photos flash up quickly once after the other, again creating a fast-paced feel and are seen in the parts where performance shots are not shown. These sections of the video could be seen as narrative, but as the narrative that we see is very vague and patchy, it is difficult to determine exactly what is going on and to construe a precise story. It appears that a ‘tint’ or filter has been added to these photos during editing to make them look old fashioned or vintage. This adds to the romantic feel as it give off connotations of love.

 I think this music video is very successful in its execution, and conveys the themes and moods it sets out to represent very well. It uses a number of techniques appropriately and is simple yet effective.