10. I went to the concert and I fought through the crowd, guess I got too excited when I thought you were around....

Ergh doing homework in a study how nerdy am I but I must thank Eleanor for letting me borrow her library card as mine is at home.

SO THANK YOU ELEANOR!!

Mr M said it would be a good idea to have a little online focus group thing. So if you wanna skip the bulk of this post and just comment back with your opinions on the ending questions then that would be fantastic. I give a nerdy myspace guarantee that I will do a comment answering my questions in return for a comment on any of your blogs :).

So I was thinking if I post my textual analysis on here then it saves me having to print it off on paper to hand in and it also allows for people to comment on the video thus creating and online focus group thingy.

So as previously mentioned I've decided to study The Strokes videos as we will be borrowing one of their songs, their indie and I love hearing there music again and again.

The Strokes - Heart In A Cage

So for my first attempt I choose "Heart In A Cage" as it very aesthetically pleasing. The song has also a lot of layers to it. I've already posted this before for an idea ... but hell I'm going to post it again as it's just such a favourite song of mine.

The lyrics can reflect two meanings. However only one is reflected in the video. First the song could represent a break up between the narrator and a girl. The guy’s heart feels trapped in cage as he stuck at the dead end of a relationship and deciding on what to do next:

Oh my heart beats in its cage, all our friends, they're laughing at us, all of those you loved you mistrust, help me I'm just not quite myself, look around there's no one else there, I went to the concert and I fought through the crowd, guess I got too excited when I thought you were around...

However the meaning which is more reflected in their video of the song is the sense of feeling trapped in a city which has no community spirit. The lead singer (I think he's called Casablanca, what a surname!) is describing how it feels like to live in the featured New York city when he rather live in a more rural location. Casablanca’s then combines these two feelings of entrapment in the verse:

I don't want what you want, I don't feel what you feel, see I'm stuck in a city, but I belong in a field...

The video is shot in New York and in monochrome; this gives a very stylish look to the video. To add to the sense of being crushed in a vice by a city, Casablanca performs most of the song on the floor with the surrounding people almost trampling him.

The shots on the roof of the building almost ended killing the guitarist as the 40mph winds almost blew him off (thanks wikipedia for that fact), however the ending shot of dropping the guitar off is so rock and roll it hurts.

Now for some questions, answers with opinions would be appreciated much better than just yes or no replies...

1) Is the opening shot of the speed up sun rising in New York city too short or do you prefer the quick introduction of location, thus the video concentrating on the song more?

2) This opening shot is book ended by an equally fast paced ending shot of the clouds, did you enjoy this shot or (like me) would you have preferred they ended the video with the dropping of the guitar?

3) Were the lyrics reflected well in the video, or would you have preferred there to be a narrative to explain the break up story side of the lyrics?

4) General opinions on black & white vs colour?

5) Is the fast paced editing too much or does it reflect the energy and upbeat feeling of the song more?

So yeah ... any opinions would be marvellous.