Analysing Music Video - The Looks, Romeo

This is the music video for The Look's debut single Romeo which was released in 2010. The Looks are a relatively new indie band from Dublin and this video was directed by Pete Meighan.

The video is set indoor with one wall being the backdrop for most of the video. During the video there are repeative shots of all the band members, their instruments (drums, 3 different guitars and synthesizer) and they draw on the wall.

Using Barthes' code theory the audience can identify their genre through the mise-en-scene and creative style of the video. They are wearing skinny jeans, simple t-shirts and polo shirts which the audience would identify as indie. However they are also wearing leather jackets and cuban heels, and Graham's long hair links to harder rock n' roll style which might expand their audience and appeal.

The video is all shot in stop motion which adds to the creative indie style of the video. The cuts are quite fast which fits in with the quick beat. The backdrop of the wall stays the same throughout the video and the different actions of the band members, changing lighting and the introduction of drawing that changes from each shot gives the audience an idea of action and makes it more interesting to watch. There is no smooth continuity in the video because of the stop motion effect which works well when introducing a different band member or prop. Other than the stop motion the only other editing is the split screen also in stop motion, this shows all the members of the band and links the 4 screens with the knome statue which moves through the screens. 

The band are unsigned and produced this themselves which shows how a music video can look effective without a high budget. From this I have learnt about how to make stop motion look effective and that if we were to use stop motion in our video, we would have to make obvious changes to the shots to create the effect of movement and actions. The clear changes and differences between the shots make this effective especially because the backdrop is the same, the movement of the band members and introduction of other props and colours makes it more interesting and seem less monotonous.