FC - Analysis of Metanarrative - Stciky Fingers

Album Cover - Caress Your Soul.

  Dyer's star image theory.

• The video is one continuous shot with a simple black and white filter, this links to Dyers star theory because it makes the band seem both ordinary and extraordinary, helping to construct star image and make up a star construct.
• Because the whole video is one continuous shot of the band performing, the 4th wall is constantly being broken, creating para-social intimacy. This combined with the black and white filter makes them seem both present and absent
• Because the group are not mainstream the video does not have a massive budget, this makes it hard for Dyers theory to be applied because the image of the group haven’t been constructed to appeal to a mainstream audience.
• The front man is continually positioned in the middle of the screen with the camera swaying in time with his movement, this puts the focus on him and helps develop star image. It is also quite an innovative idea for a video where some other artists might of used inter cutting to give the video a more clear narrative.

Goodwin's genre conventions.

• The video defies Goodwin’s genre conventions because the video is not typical of any genre, as well as this the actual music isn’t one genre it incorporates many different sounds. This therefor creates juxtaposition with a simple video combined with quite an unusual song.
• The video is entirely performance base leaving little space for a narrative to develop, this gives the band prevalence. The laid back choreography helps reflect the genre of the song even though the genre can’t be pinpointed.
• The video is not amplified, it’s quite understated and not exaggerated meaning that the focus is centred around the music as a commodity and a product.
• Visual motifs like the drum kit are reflective of the genre so in this sense the video is conventional of certain genres, as well as this the mise-en-scene in the video is very simple and conventional.
• No clear narrative or story is shown during the video which means that the video is disjunctive.




 

This still shows the forms and conventions evident in this video. the video is shot on a roof top and the wires from the various instruments and amps are very visible emphasising the unique sound of the group. Furthermore a Dalmatian turns up midway through the video, the dog is not relevant to the song so this reinforces that the video is disjunctive in terms of narrative. 

The camera movement that can be seen in this still is significant, the camera moves towards the front man during the chorus. This causes the deep focus to change as the rest of the band are less visible. this can be linked to Dyer's star image theory as prevalence is given to the front man who is also positioned in the centre of the shot through out the video.

Some factors of the video could be perceived as rebellious. for example the video is shot on a rooftop which is quite a strange location, costume is also slightly random, the front man for example is wearing a bucket hat ( this shows intertextuality and references popular rave sub culture) and a large coat where as other band members are in t shirts and sunglasses. you could also argue that the video is post modern because of its black and white filter. The filter creates an enigma code as does the random Dalmatian that walks into shot, because of the lack of narrative this enigma code is never answered.

 

Finally one of the most unusual features of the video is the fact that it is just one continuous shot with no intercutting. There is a variety of camera movement  but the framing is always the same with the front man centre of the frame. This simplicity is innovative and adds to the bands meta-narrative of being innovative in terms of sound. Because its just one continuous shot the editing is also unique in that it is minimal and simplistic. Furthermore the action code of the piece leaves the viewer wondering what will happen next because the video is hinting that something will happen next throughout.