Viva Brother: Analysis across their music videos

As part of my Planning and Research, I have decided to look at some of Viva Brother's other Music Videos to identify underlying themes that may run through each of them. 

As well as 'Still here', the band also shot videos for the songs, 'Darling Buds of May', 'Time Machine' and 'New Year's Day'. 


Director: Adam Powell
Running Time: 03:16

Mise-en-scene

Location - Slough, UK; performance shots on a roof.
Weather - Overcast.
Props - Instruments (full band), 
Costumes - Fishtail parka coats, coats/jackets, jeans and loathers. 
Colour - Subtle colour editing depicts a grey, natural-looking overcast Britain. 

The video completely plays on the 'Britpop culture' of the 90's. From the sense of costume and instrumental performance shots, to the chosen weather to shoot the video in. The performance location is key because it fully illustrates what the band represents (essentially Britpop rivalists). By using an industrial setting it depicts Britpop in its entirety, in which it stems back to unemployment during the late 80's/ early 90's and the populated cities where this new music and culture was created. 

Editing

• Lots of cut-away scenes from the performance shots, giving us a narrative of the band's journey so far.

• Manipulation of transitions from colour to B&W (giving it an 'old fashioned' look).

Director: Jamie Roberts 
Running Time: 3:17

Mise-en-scene

Location - dark room/venue. Lots of miscellaneous shots accompany the performance.

Weather - Use of dark indoor lighting, and in the outdoor scenes we see an overcast sky. 

Props - Sunglasses, jewelry, balloons, performance lighting, instruments (full band).

Costumes - band perform in usual attire (shirts, loathers, etc) however, women are dressed in bizarre outfits and heavy makeup.

Colour - Strong colour manipulation purposely chosen to give the video a 'psychedelic' edge. 

The combination of the above makes a very effective Mise-en-scene for the video and what particularly stands out is the relationship between music and visuals. The song is entitled 'Time Machine', quite a futuristic and enigmatic topic, so this psychedelic theme has been used effectively and for this very reason. In my opinion this video is probably the most unique of the band's videos.  

Editing

• Strong use of colour manipulation intertwined with camera techniques to give the video an obscure and delusional look. 

•  Lots of cut-away scenes. The video does not follow a set narrative and in terms of a concept is quite open. 

Director: Dan Henshaw 
Running Time: 3:29

Mise-en-scene

Location - Living room (mexican-looking?). 

Weather - Bright lighting. 

Props - Instruments (full band); however the guitars and amps are slightly a different style, skull, photos, etc.

Costumes - Usual band attire, nothing unusual about this.

Colour - Bright; emphasis on sunlight piercing through blinds. 

The video looks as if it has been shot in what looks like a foreign living room (Mexico?), however we can assume the band probably shot it on a set in the UK. What supports this is the vintage instruments the band uses, the exaggeration of miscellaneous props (i.e. photo frames, bird cages, skulls) and the low ceiling, living room doors and windows. The location is not your typical estate living room (demonstrated in 'Darling Buds Of May'). Over the course of the video, we see the room where the band are performing beginning to fall apart, as pictures fall off the walls and wallpaper peels off. You can also pick up on the band members and their slow movement (i.e. bassist and drummer during 1:09-1:11). This suggests that the members themselves are falling apart, like the room around them. What I find interesting is that the band move around as if they are on strings and this could be an inference of being 'puppets to the industry'. 

Editing

• Use of many cut scenes, otherwise the video would be a 'one-shot'. This is effective and allows the director to use this one location and focus on other things surrounding the living room. 

• Textures of dust and haze make the video look old-fashioned, like something you would expect in a cowboy western film and this supports the idea that the scene has been made to look like a mexican house. Flashing lighting also emphasizes this. 

• In terms of lighting, the most important aspect is the use of sunlight. The sun would often shine abroad in a hot climate, which is another obvious hint of a setting that hasn't completely been established for the audience.