Tuesday 16 August 2011

GM - Patrick Wolf: The City


Artist: Patrick Wolf
Track: The City
Year Released: 2011
Director: Kinga Burza
Genre: Indie Pop
Main Audience: 15-24year olds, both male and female


  • I feel that the main audience for this video is 15-24year olds. This is influenced by the age of the artist and the actors in the film sequences. It appeals to both male and female fans because the lyrics are not gender specific and the locations and actions that appear in the video represent having fun, something which every young adult can relate to. There is also a variety of races within the cast.
  • The lyrics are talking about love which could have many different meanings - Patrick Wolf talking to Digital Spy says

"It's saying that no matter how homeless, poor or jobless we are, we won't let that affect our love and relationships." The video itself presents love as a hetrosexual romance with a group of young males and females frolicking on the beach, including numerous kisses and other romantic gestures.




  • The mise en scene is inkeeping with the pop genre but in this video it is presented in a more individual way, fitting in with the storyline. The common convention of the use of bright colours and flashing lights are taken from the fairground rides. These are used in both long establishing shots and close ups.



  • The costumes included in the music video are not what I would necessarily call 'everyday' clothing, they are all fairly outgoing and certainly demonstrate and indie influence which fits in very well with the genre of the music. The female characters are in minimal clothing; short skirts, bikinis, shorts and white tops that go see through when they are wet. One of the frames is of a young woman topless, holding a hat over her chest. This attracts the male audience. I think that there is less of an influence with female gaze in this video however the artist is onscreen for the majority of the videos, making direct eye contact with the camera.

  • The editing of this music video is rathe fast paced made up of a variety of shot types and lengths. There are long establishing shots to capture all of the action on the beach but close ups of the casts faces to see the enjoyment and chemistry between the sexes. Pans and tilts have been used to move to each actor(ess) and this camera method also shows off the backdrop location as it turns. The shots have been edited using jumpcuts, mainly from the artists performance on the beach to the extras running around having fun. In some sections the clips have even been edited to change with the beat of the song (for example 0.32s-035s). Jump cuts have also been made between the action on the beach to shots of the scenary for example a 360 degree low angle shot of the buildings or looking up at the trees. 












  • The lighting in the establishing shot has been considered thoroughly. It has been shot at sunset which is often thought to be the most romantic time of the day, thus supporting the message of the song lyrics. The other frames of the video are very busy however this one is slow and isolated, just Patrick walking along the beach with the fairground in the distance.

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments are moderated so please make sure they are appropriate.