Key features of music video. 5 Years Time- Noah and the Whale

I am analysing ‘5 Years Time’ By Noah and the Whale. The director was from Wes Anderson film, using the same style as the director typically uses in his films. The genre of my music video in indie/folk. The characteristics that are common in indie/folk are quite simple videos and in this video the acting and scenery are minimal.

The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals isn’t a great lot. At the beginning the line ‘well in 5 years time we could be walking round a zoo’ and in comedy there is a scene of them sitting in a farm. When the line says ‘i'll put my hands over your eyes but you’ll peek through’ they act out the man doing that to the girl. They use illustration to help understand the lyrics if there is not action to go along with it. For instance ‘there will be sun sun sun’ there stand 4 boys in bright yellow clothing portraying the sun and pointing up towards the sky. This is then repeating in throughout the chorus.  As the next scene approaches and the line opens with ‘ill be laughing at all your silly little jokes and laughing at how we used to smoke’ a guy smoking holds up his cigarette laughing. The man then picks up a bottle of wine and cigarette for the line ‘stupid little cigarette and drink stupid wine’ laughing as he is pitying what they used to do. In the chorus of ‘love love  love’ a boy and girl stand with their hands over their hearts showing the heart beating, the girl also wear a heart shaped ring. When the words ‘5 Years Time’ they act out putting their hands up to signal 5, then making a Y with their arms then making T with their hands.

At the beginning the link between music and visuals is shown by instruments you hear the guitar come in and as it does a girl playing it is introduced, then the same with a man and the violin. Following the flute solo bit a girl gets a flute and starts to play it. When there are lines when the boy and the girl are talking a girl voice speaks over ‘I’m always pretty happy to be kicking back with you’.  At the end of the video when there is whistling and tapping their feet are shown tapping. So the solo instrument scenes are illustrated through the video. The only change of the music pace in the video is towards the end when people think the song is over as it slow down, then the music picks up again for the last chorus.

This track is an easy-listener, its ideal to listen to with friends on a summer’s day. The track is meant to bring people together. I think the image is meant to be a mock of like ‘brownies’ or a summer camp image, of course as they are adults. There outfits are dressed like that. This video to the other video’s of the bands is different, as this video was their first video they kept to simple filming with not a lot of locations. In the other videos such as ‘Shape of my heart’ have different locations and filming shots. In this video compared to other the all interact more, such as actions and being ‘silly’.

In regards to ‘notion of the looking’ there is no reference to any sexual display at all, or any references to ‘looking’.

The only Intertextual Reference is when the boy and girl are standing opposite each other and the line reads ‘I no longer feel I have to be James Dean’ and points to a picture of James Dean.
James Dean was a good looking cowboy in the 1930’s and the man is referring he doesn’t have to feel good looking and outrageous anymore.

The music video is mainly performance based as the singers interact in the music video a lot as well as playing instruments. They don’t act out the song as there is no story-line but they use illustrations in some ways to show what they are thinking through the lyrics. It’s a mix or narrative and performance. They play an equal part.

In conclusion this music video sticks to the indie/folk genre by keeping to the same mise-sen-scene and camerwork use as other indie/folk video’s. They only challenge the lyrics and visuals, as some lines of the lyrics don’t really go with whats going on in the video.