‘The Kooks’ Product Analysis JP

I have chosen to analyse a different type of band to what we are going to be doing for our own music video. ‘The kooks’ are a band who is widely recognised by many people in UK indie music. I have decided to take a different approach to find out more about what kinds of camera shots are being used in different videos which we could possibly use in our own music video. By looking at a different genre of music it has opened more doors and given me more ideas to make our video more successful.

The music video I have chosen to analyse is by The Kooks ‘naïve’. The reason why I chose this music video is because it is familiar to me and it is a song I enjoy. At the beginning of the music video there is a medium long shot of the main artist walking down the stairs in a party atmosphere. This shot is used to set the scene to an extent, showing the main artist and his surroundings, giving the audience a clear understanding of what the video will entail. Right from the start there is a feeling of youthfulness and all the stereotypes which surrounds youth culture in today’s society. Throughout the music video there is a number of close up shots of the main singers face, this gives a true indication of the singer’s facial expressions allowing the audience to tell what mood he is in and more of an understanding of what is going on in the video. The music video is mainly narrative based because there is a story relating to the lyrics which are being performed throughout.

Throughout the music video there is a representative of young teenage people and the stereotypes surrounding youth drinking and parties. It is almost trying to put forward a certain message for people to look at and perhaps relate to the situation. I feel the video is aimed towards a younger audience because these are the types of people who may have been in a similar situation themselves and will enjoy the song as well as the video. It has proved to be helpful by analysing different types of music to that of a boy band. The shot types are mainly the same; there are a lot of close up shots of the main singer, lots of panning shots, MCU shots of the singer and a narrative to fit the lyrics which is what we are trying to create in our own.

However unlike boy bands, the idea of cult of youth and beauty is not being portrayed. Furthermore the band member’s looks are not being put on show; the song is not being sold further and does not generate a huge fan base through the way they look. In a boy-band music video, the female audience are drawn in because of the male’s sex appeal. During this video ‘naïve’ there doesn’t seem to be a promotion of the main singers looks, he isn’t being portrayed as a sex icon for women.