Blue Skies by Noah and the Whale (Director Charlie Fink, 2009)
The single Blue Skies is taken off the band's second album, The First Days of Spring. It is essentially a trailer for the band's film that is partnered with the album. The pop promo begins in the style of a film with credits showing the production companies and we then move to a continuing two shot of two bearded men having a conversation about when was the last time the man, pictured above, had fun. There is only dialogue during this section and the song only begins to play after about 30 seconds. There is then the reveal of the title of the film and album in a font that resembles handwriting which suggests that the film is intending to be quite elegant.
Following this the lyrics kick in talking about broken hearts and we see super 8 film footage of a woman playing by a tree which indicates that the song is going to be about broken romances. There is then the introduction of several storylines via cross cutting with heavy use of slow motion in order to emphasise the movements of the characters which involve, the two previous characters riding their bikes, an old man on a porch swing and a man carrying the urn containing the ashes of what we assume was somebody close to him. I believe that the locations of each character are also important. For example, the two men going on a bike ride switch from mid shots in street pathways into the open countryside suggesting that they are looking for an escape from the town. Interestingly, at one point there is a cut from a long shot to a mid shot which implies that the man is becoming more important as he goes on his journey.
There is then a conventional edit to the man carrying the urn as the instrumental chorus kicks in and there is further cross cutting across the various storylines all of them in slow motion which may also be to suggest that the people are existing in a kind of hyper reality. After the chorus there is the juxtapositioning of locations, the forset for the urn carrying man and the beach for the two men. The forest is shot in mostly wide shots with subtle camera movements in order to establish it as an elegant and maybe even slightly mythical aesthetic location which ties in with the theme of grief. In contrast the beach uses panning shots to show the full breadth and apparent emptiness of the location and there is then a two shot from behind the two men which shows that they are cut off from the rest of the world. The beach is a sanctuary after personal difficulty. There is also the close up of one of the man wandering towards the sea which may be intertextuality to the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye.
Finally there is the section of music featuring heavy use of trumpets which create an atmosphere of triumph and this coupled with the long shot of a red car, being driven by the man who deposited the ashes, indicates that this particular character is moving on with his life.
Love of an Orchestra by Noah and the Whale (Director: Charlie Fink,2009)The pop promo begins with sketchy super 8 film footage of the same girl that appeared in Blue Skies who once again looks happy and contented in the location of the forest. In the background soft barely audible orchestral sounds are heard on the beginning of the track which helps create an atmosphere of tranquility. We then dissolve cut to a man in what I estimate may be his mid sixties. The last remnants of the super 8 film footage plays out on the projector screen behind him giving the impression that the footage was his memories coming back to him.
It is also important to note that there are no cuts for almost the rest of the promo. Indeed there is just a mid shot of him sitting at a desk which contains a glass and bottle of alcohol which indicates that he has been drinking which may have been the catalyst in the recollection of his memories and for his later actions. More orchestral music begins (heavy use of violins and cellos) and it conjunction the man begins to put on a white tie. As he does this the camera gradually begins to move in closer and we see an expression of what can be described as liberation. These factors contribute to suggest that the man is reaching an important point of self realisisation in his life.
Finally the orchestral music climaxes and the beat of a brass instrument we see the first cut in nearly 90 seconds to a close up of the man. Lyrics of a choir like orientation are heard and instanstaneously we see the man miming the lyrics which is done in a comedic fashion. After he has done this the desk parts in two via some sort of mechachnised joint and he moves onto a stage illuminated by low key lighting and he is seen making conductor movements whilst the first lyrics by the band's lead singer are heard. They talk about never being lonely because, "I've got the love of an orchestra." These lyrics tie in with the theme of the album which is that taking comfort in other aspects of your life in order to move on from other personal grievances. During this section of the video the man dances exuberantly defying his age and sending out a message that he has received a new lease of life.
There is one final cut that which is that to a close up of the back of his head almost in silhouette as he is walking away. His ears seem unusually bright compared to his surroundings and this may be a representation that his ears are powerful conduits for music which creates intense energy in his being.
Shape of My Heart by Noah and the Whale (Director: Charlie Fink, 2008)
The pop promo is a homage to the horror and sci-fi movies made from the 50s to 80s by Mexican wrestler El Santo as the band are fans of this type of alternative cinema. It is shot with what appears to be super 8 film making the promo look homemade and therefore more intamate with little desire for vain self-publication and the location is on a deserted beach which is very windy and seemingly cold. These conditions immediately create a feeling of isolation and possibly sadness because of their negative connatations. After a couple of establishing shots we have close ups of each member of the band via the camera panning across from left to right.
For the first minute only two members of the band are shown with musical instruments with the rest holding sound recording equipment and appearing to be making a film within the pop promo. There is also a zoom out from a little hollow on the beach to reveal the band and this technique may have been used in order to showcase the appearance of the band on the beach and giving them an almost mythical quality. Simultaneously bright yellow text appears at the bottom of the screen saying things such as 'Boom Recording' which ties in with the idea of the band making their own film within the pop promo. Also during the slower portion of the first verse the camera slowly moves to follow the violinist but then cuts directly at the point when the melody jumps to a more up tempo chorus as wee the rest of the band skinny dipping.
We then see a close up of a brightly coloured kite and we then cut to an over the shoulder shot in order to show the kite begin to fly. This shot is very close to a point of view shot and it helps to show the audience the height from the beach at which the kite was flying. There then follows a montage of all of the band playing their instruments as the kite scatters around the sky and it gives the effect that the flight path of the kite is directly influencing the rythm of the song.
During the final section we cut to another location which appears to be a house in the middle of a seaside town and in it is a single individual who has a sound receiver and picks up the recordings made by the band. This runs concurrently with the high tempo music at this point which is heavily driven by the use of trumpets. The man arranges the sounds in what seems to be his bedroom which has the mise-en-scene of a classic science fiction film because of its low key yet multi coloured lighting and the various gadgets attached to the main computer which gives it the look of a technological hub of activity. The final shot is of the band on the computer monitor which signals that they have achieved their ambition of creating a film out there on the beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment