Music Video Analysis 1 - Nick

Name of Track: When You Were Young
Artist: The Killers

Narrative/performance based video

The video often cuts between the visuals of the narrative to shots of the band performing the song. The band are shown playing and singing at the same time as the actions in the narrative are continuing.

There is certainly a band image created with The Killers they are often dressed in the same clothes often darker clothes and have some form of facial hair. This helps to create a continual image of the band.

There are often Close-Ups Brandon Flowers. This is to promote not only the song but it also creates the star image as well as that of the other band members who are also focused upon with close-ups.

As is present in most videos there is a voyeuristic approach within the video. The band are playing in a bar and there is an audience watching them play as well as the women when she enters the bar stops and stares at the band as they play the song. We also are following and watching the women and she is a number of times framed as we watch her life and what is happening to her.

There is an element of post-modernism within the video. The video begins and the song doesn't start for 90 seconds.

The video has a relationship between visuals and lyrics. The beat of the song matches the cut and when the song beat slows down so the cuts and the shots are longer at this point to when the beat is at a faster tempo.

The video also stands up to repeatability. The narrative of the video makes it compelling and a number of features occur within the video which are often missed the first time through and to fully understand the narrative it needs to be watched again. Moreover it offers a compelling viewing which sets the video up for repeat viewings.

The video does comply to a lot of the conventions of a rock video. Often they are narrative/performance based videos, shots of the entire band playing at the same time often seen as close friends.

The lyrics are not directly linked to the narrative but there is a close relationship between the two. The narrative is therefore loosely related to the lyrics.

Urban location of the video appears to be set in South America with cultural codes such as the old church, her praying, the old bar.

There is a first person mode of address as Brandon Flowers sings to the camera and it makes it seem that he is personally singing to us as he engages the audience throughout the song when in shot.