"Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men
My analysis of the video.
Script:
“Little Talks” by Of Monsters and Men is an animated video
seeming to draw inspiration from art house cinema. A mixture of both
photographic and illustrated images are combined together to create a more
mature looking animation. This ensures that the video appeals to the bands
target audience (13years+ approx.) and doesn’t come across as childish, which
would taint the songs appeal.
The quirky plot with
adventurous elements helps captivate the viewer by taping into their
imagination- encouraging them to engage more in the video. The video takes place
in multiple fantasy lands that are visually rich, with detailed landscapes
inspired by extreme places in the real world. Each land is obviously different
despite the use of de-saturated colour throughout the video. The huge variance
in location absorbs the viewer in the aesthetics of the video as it gives the
viewer the same sense of discovery the protagonists (band) feel as each new
land is shown. This makes the use of master shots in the film crucial as it clearly
establishes spatial relations between characters and identifies new lands
clearly. Lots of diverse shots are used in the video to intensify the onscreen
energy.
The dark tone of the
video and connoted feelings of cold, mystery and danger, are ever-present; yet
the magical girl and any good in the footage is visually represented in an
overpoweringly vibrant, spectrum of colours. This highlights the strong
contrast between good and evil the video plays on.
The antagonist creatures are often oversized and loom over
the band but are always defeated by the girl who is still small in comparison
to them but is presented as more powerful.
Strong parallels can be seen between the mise-en-scene, (in
particular the costume and make-up) and tribal artwork. The band remains completely
de-saturated and wears thick, powdery face paint in tribal style. Where as the
magical girl wears a floaty, swirling dress and head piece full of colour. They
both have very theatrical make up but the band’s is very simple and the girl’s
is very bright and complex.
The band’s walking is very jerky and on beat exaggerating
the puppet-like movement and animated style. Parallel sound is key to this
video as all the action compliments the song and a lot of the movement is
synchronous to the track. For example as the song slows in tempo during a sound
bridge the characters fall into an underwater world and the footage becomes slow
motion to replicate the idea that they are floating.
The special effects in the footage aim to amplify the
magical element of the video. The explosions of colour when a creature is
defeated heighten the action and excitement as well as being visually
impressive. On the other hand the inky effect connotes a shadowy danger undoubtedly
identifying the creatures as threatening. There is a lot of movement in the
creature designs, which makes them more artistically impressive and eye-catching.
