Institution and Audience
· This video would be viewed as either ambient or focused viewing.
· It would be viewed on YOUTUBE or on television music channels.
· As the music video is highly enigmatic it offers repeatability as the audience will try to understand the plot.
· The mystery in the video’s narrative fits in well with the bands style and metanarrative.
Genre and Narrative
· There is a narrative running throughout the video which is conventional of a music video of this genre.
· There is also a performance element of the music video which is also common for music videos, especially Radiohead who have previously had just performance-based videos such as in their song “No surprises”.
· There is no apparent relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. According to Goodwin then, this is an unconventional aspect of the video.
· There are several references to looking in this video, most significantly as the band is watching the scene on the street below through a window.
· This music video could be considered art is it does present some challenging questions and ideas.
Media Language
· It seems that there probably is a “message” or purpose of the video however it is unclear what this message is. This mystery is what makes the audience want to watch the video more than once to try and decipher this message.
· This is created by the narrative and the camerawork. There is a mix of high and low angled shots in juxtaposition with one another.
Massive Attack - Karmacoma. Directed by Jonathon Glazer
Institution and audience
· This music video would usually be viewed as focused viewing due to the concentration needed to understand the plot. Even if this video was shown on a music channel the viewer would be sucked in by the enigmatic nature of the song and the video.
· This video would be mainly viewed on YOUTUBE by fans of the band.
· This video also has massive amounts of repeatability due to the complexity of the narrative.
· This does fit in with the bands metanarrative and massive attack’s unique style, however because of the filmic yet perplexing plot, it seems even more unusual than the bands other videos such as “Angel”, “Inertia creeps” and “safe from harm”.
Genre and Narrative
· Having a plot running throughout the video is a very conventional aspect of music videos. However, they are usually slightly easier to follow. Although this genre of music does suit a mysterious and ambiguous video.
· There is a performance based element of the video but this involves the singers but they are in the setting of the narrative and part of the framework. This is a common technique used by Massive attack.
Such as here in the video Angel which two of the band members are also in.
· There is very little or no relationship between the narrative and the visuals. This seems to be fairly common for the genre, however Goodwin stated that this was unconventional, there usually is a relationship between the two.
· There are a number of references to the notion of looking littered throughout the video. Such as this close-up of a camera lens.
· This video is defiantly art as it is very challenging and includes some original and inventive techniques.
Media Language
· The name of the song suggests that the meaning could be something to do with “Karma”, maybe that if you don’t admit the wrong you have done then you will be in a daze like a “coma”. What the actual meaning of the video is extremely hard to decipher. It does seem to have some possible intertextual references, particularly to “The Shining”. For example, with this shot down the full length of the corridor.
Institution and Audience
· This video could be viewed as either ambient or focused viewing as it is much less demanding than the video for “Karmacoma”.
· It would be viewed on music channels but probably more commonly on YOUTUBE.
· The video is less enigmatic and challenging than the last two so it offers less repeatability.
· It is very identifiable as a massive attack video because of the continuous walking throughout the video. This technique is frequently used by the band. Like here in “Unfinished Sympathy”, this was referencing the iconic video for “Bittersweet sympathy” by the verve.
Genre and Narrative
• There is not a clear narrative running throughout the video but it seems to follow a woman walking up to her apartment and she is being followed. The audience is not aware who the man is, why he is following her and what will happen after the video ends.
• Like most massive attack videos, there is a performance based element of the video but the performer is kept within the world of the narrative.
• Again, there is no clear relationship between the music and the visuals.
• This music video is also artistic. It uses the black and white filter that is used in many Massive Attack videos. It is art as it is original and imaginative and is far more risky than conventional music videos that dominate the charts. Media Language
• The title of the song “Safe from harm” suggests that the song is about a woman suggesting that she will protect the people she loves. The video doesn’t seem to reflect this, but it does show aliteral representation to some of the lines in the song. such as “I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me”
• There is at least one intertextual reference in this video. One is a shot of a child behind bars but it is a child version of Freddy Krueger.
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