Music Video Analysis

Our music video is going to be a narrative to fit in with the style of a usual Kasabian video. We are going to create a storyline within our video, almost like a small film. The video begins with three cowboys sitting around a table in a poorly lit room; their faces are in the shadows so their identities are hidden. The camera pans down to their hands and we see they are playing poker, also on the table are shot glasses, money, traces of drugs and a map. One of the men places a winning fold on the table and a another man flips the table in anger, drawing his gun in the process and shooting the winner. The main beat of the music kicks in. He then looks for the other cowboy and realises that he is running away, map in hand. We soon find out that the map is for hidden 'treasure' and that the men were playing poker to win it. There will be a lot of intertextual references to Sergio Leone's 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and other spaghetti western films.

One of the interpretations of the lyrics of the song is that it is about the effect of taking drugs and the withdrawal symptoms. We are going to take this interpretation and incorporate some of it into our music video by showing the characters to have a slight drug problem, and having a disorientating camera effect when using point of view shots. We will also use point of view shots during the chasing scene so as the viewer can feel as though they are there and it will create a fast pace to the video which reflects the chorus of the song, this will also be emphasised by fast moving camera shots. During the poker scene, we will use mostly close ups to convey some expressions and emotions. However, because the men's faces will be partly hidden, it will have a feel of mystery over who the men actually are and what type of people they are; whether 'goodies' or 'baddies'. There will be guns on the table which will be an action code for violence, so the audience will have an idea of what's going to happen. We will also use mid shots for this scene so that the audience can see all of the characters together and their environment, which will create the western feel. Slow moving camera shots will be used to that the viewer can take in the scene and the feel of the video, also because the start of the song is very slow and rhythmic. As soon as the main riff of the song kicks in, the speed of the shots will increase ad there will be more action, this will fit with the beat of the song. This will give the audience a feel of action and confusion, which will help them relate even more to the characters. During this scene there will be no transitions, just fast cutting, however when the men run away there will be a 'fade out fade in' transition to show the change of time and location.
The colour and lighting of the video play an important part in the western genre so we have chosen to have dark lighting for the first scene to give it a mysterious and dark feel, especially because drugs and alcohol are being used so the audience will feel that something bad is going to happen, this goes with the rhythm of the song. When the men leave the room, the lighting will be very bright sunlight because usual western films are in hot, dry locations and it helps with the fast pace of the song, this is a contrast to the darkness of the room. However, in both scenes there will be warm colours, like yellows, oranges, browns and sepia tones to show the heat and humidity of the Wild West.
Masculinity is an important aspect of the western genre as the main character is usually a 'rugged' cowboy who saves the day in a way that the civilized characters cannot. His skills are also displayed in a physical manner; through gun slinging, horse rising and lassoing. Gambling, cards and shot glasses are important iconography for the western genre as they represent the close relationship between the West and 'risk taking'. They also show the openness of western societies compared to other cultures during that time period, as activities such as those would have been frowned upon. The use of gambling is a plot device used in many western films, usually being the cause of a 'disagreement' between two outlaws.