Analysis Of Music Videos- Video 1: Arctic Monkeys- R U Mine?

Arctic Monkeys- R U Mine?






Structure of the song : Intro, Verse 1, Chorus 1, Verse 2, Chorus 2, Break, Solo, Verse 3, Final Chorus.

The video starts with a radio presenter introducing a brand new song, this is made clear by the mise-en-scene of a huge microphone prop placed in front of the presenters face. Video effects are also used during the video as it is all set in black and white which refers to Andrew Goodwin's theory that music videos tend to use certain characteristics to show the genre of the song. Therefore the black and white effects shows the audience that the genre is most likely going to be rock/indie comparing the video to other musicians such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The screen then fades to the inside of a car which seems to be being recorded through a handheld camera due to the shakiness and the diegetic sound of rustling as the camera is moved around, this could be to show the audience that the band doesn't want to spend a lot of money on making a professional music video. The camera is then turned by hand to reveal two of the band members: Alex Turner (singer) and Matt Helders (drummer) before cutting back to the radio presenter who then introduces the song. This could have been used to inform the audience that the song they are about to listen to is by the artists using the handheld camera in the car.

At 0:23 the song begins to play and the two band members are shown pretending to drum along with the song creating thought beats, this continues through most of the video until 1:12.

The two band members are also shown wearing sunglasses throughout the whole music video however the camera shows outside of the car and it seems to be set at night. Therefore the sunglasses are being worn to create star image.

At 1:06 the lead singer/guitarist Alex Turner is shown to be combing/slicking his hair back to show the audience a rockabilly theme, again to show that the genre of music is rock/indie. 

One of the band members (Matt Helders) is also shown with a pair of drumsticks in his hand making it obvious for the audience that he is the drummer within the band.

At 2:07 the bassist (Nick O'Malley) is shown in the back of the vehicle miming to the song to perhaps show the audience that he sings that part of the song. He is also sat with two women which brings in the male gaze theory and to send a message to men that if you lead the rock star life you get attention from women.

At 3:12 of the song the full band is shown outside playing their instruments to finally make it clear to the audience who does what within the band, however guitarist (Jamie Cooke) is shown on a TV screen as he was not present for the video.

Finally at 3:29 the arctic monkeys logo appears in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to show the audience what band they have just listened to in order to create a bigger fan base.