4. Music video textual analysis 2

Analysing HURTS-wonderful life.
The video I am analysing is by HURTS and is called wonderful life. It is directed by Kendin Cos.
The genre of music that this video belongs to is that of the 80’s synth pop scene. It’s hard to identify this genre within the video. Possibly within their vintage clothes that are worn within the video as well as the iconic electro piano which makes its appearance throughout.
The Mise-en-scene I thought was very effective throughout the video. The lighting used is very dimly lit…if any. The light of the evening plays a great role within one of the shots used which involves the female dancers, dressed in black, with the faint sun in the background reflecting itself on top of the pool. The dancers are wearing black veils which is a popular accessory to be worn at funerals which definitely suggests the dark tone of this song which is predominantly about saving a man from suicide.
The cinematography and shots aren’t exactly innovative but still captures the video beautifully. Especially the long shot of the dancers dancing close to the pool, I got the feeling that the dance being performed was a sequence of anger and frustration until finally they all jump into the pool which relates back to chorus of persuading the protagonist not to jump.
Another interesting shot was the crane shot used which enables the dancers to be seen within the pool from a shot above. I also noticed the rule of eight within framing wasn’t followed within some shots which I liked. This can be seen, for example, in the beginning shots of the two band mates but surprisingly the lead singer is in focus whilst the other band mate isn’t??
From listening and watching the video the music video definitely cuts to the beat which I believe is either a make or break for a music video, whether the editing is spot on or slightly lacking.
This can be seen for instance with the chorus. This part of the song definitely speeds up a little as well as including more instrumentals. This speed up is shown when the video cuts to the dancers which begin their set piece.
The artist and their style is generally seen as a gentleman’s style in the sense of donning a tailored suit with the exception of a tie. The band like the vintage look and the lead singer wears a singular gold earring similar to the days of depache mode or prince.
What I have noticed within this video is the amount of time the second band mate (the one who doesn’t sing) is continually faded out within the background whilst the lead singer is in full focus on a close up but when there is a close up of the second band mate the lead singer is never faded out?
Voyeurism in this video isn’t to extreme as their last ‘better than love’ which was full of exhibition. Maybe the close ups of the guys for instance could satisfy the female and or male fans but apart from that….unless short skirted female dancers can be classified within the category of voyeurism but their dancing was hardly alluring.
The music video they have made is a combination I feel of both performance and narrative based. More performance based than narrative though in this case.
The narrative can be seen within the older actor in some scenes in which he shows discomfort within his facial expressions and others when the video has shown the lead singer floating, which may suggest that the protagonist has jumped, the older actor is seen pushing a photograph of a female into the pool. Possibly contradicting the songs words in the sense that he hasn’t jumped but instead she has.