HALF TERM - Charmer-Kings of Leon - Tom Howse

Key Features of a music video- Kings of Leon- Charmer



1. This music video is of the genre indie rock, in which we see a stage performance from the band. The rock genre is usually linked with band performances, as the song is keyed into the instrumental prowess of the individuals, whereas boy band is more dance routines and image, not evident in this video It is merely the band showing their talents and playing their instruments. There notion of looking in this video is very evident as we can see no audience, the lead singer is singing and looking directly into the camera and the whole band is facing the camera.

2. the use of close-ups in this video is crucial. When emphasis is put on either the singing or an instrument being played , a close up will be used on either the instrument of the person playing it. Long shots are also used to set the scene, showing the whole stage and the band on it. The use of changing focus is also used often in this video. When the camera is showing on particular person the other members will still be in the background but out of focus, showing emphasis on the one man, as well as reminding the audience it’s a band performance. The beat of the music is fast and the editing has been done so in fast cuts to link in with the music, chopping from person to person, instrument to instrument. The camera cuts to a different angle every time the drummer he hits the snare drum.

3. In this video the band are shown for whom they are, an honest music playing band, there is no evident address of their meta-narrative. They play their instruments and sing in a very memorable style, used throughout their career, so singing this video is recognisable of Kings of Leon’s style at which they work.

4. The visuals are clearly linked with the sound as we can see the band is singing and playing along to the music. The lyrics are not in parallel with the lyrics though, as what they are singing about is not shown in the video. There is no narrative to this video, instead it is illustrative of the band. The camera is also linked with the music in the way in which when the lead singer screams, the camera vibrates a little, adding emphasis onto the music itself, a sense of ambience.
5. in a way this video could be seen as harking back to the days when nearly all of the first music videos where performance videos on a stage, and we can see it is being performed in an old theatre

6. This is mainly a commercial video, showing the band and advertising them for what they are best at. It is not just advertising the music they play, but their image as well. This video is not arty as it is only a simple stage performance.

7. This video doesn’t really focus on social groups too much, the performers appear to be of middle class white social background and the music audience is aimed at a similar target audience, it neither addresses social context in the video nor argues with it.

9. This video would mainly be viewed on narrowcast channels such as MTV2, however it has a pop element and was high in the charts so will also be played on broadcast channels and pop/chart channels. The video is not the most drawing video to watch, as it is merely a performance, so ambience viewing is probably the main form of consumption, as its easy listening whiles doing other things.