In this post I will look at the branding of the band 'One Republic," starting with the music video "stop and stare" from the album 'Dreaming Out Loud.'
Locations: The majority of this music video is set on location, which is quite unusual for mainstream music videos. The locations we see are: outside in a desert like area, walking around, in a car, in a hotel waiting room and in a hotel room. Even the performance parts of the video seem to be filmed on location, suggesting a natural un-staged feel to the artist.
Characters: The main 'protagonist' of the video is, as to be expected, the lead singer of the band. As well as shots of other band members there are also a lot of extras in this video, from the elderly man who is a priest, to the dozens of people who gather around the hotel to watch the band.
Iconography: It's clear in this video that the artists own image comes through, which we see in the casual yet still quite smart clothing and the concentration on the instruments the band members play throughout the video shows part of the personality of the artist.
Narrative: Narrative is definitely present in this video but it is quite a complex narrative as it is often unclear why we are seeing what we do. There is no particular disruption, so Todorovs theory is not present. Because the video is basically an extended metaphor for different choices people can make in life and where they could end up because of those choices. For example, the pregnant girl and old man with the grave represent life and death while the people who surround the hotel to watch the band all represent a different path, walk of life or choice. Because of this highly metaphorical meaning, the video can appear not to make much sense without knowing about this metaphor, although it still seems meaningful from the mise en scene and action taking place.
Media Language: As with most music videos, close ups and extreme close ups are used in the video to connect the audience with the artist. At some points we see two of the same person in the same shot, showing how cinematography has been used effectively throughout the video. There are also sequences in which we see flashes of different shots for example the artist led under water in a bath, adding to the complex narrative. The lyrics and editing pace both match the visuals, creating a link between what we are seeing a hearing.
Ideologies: Although typical ideologies such as 'good vs evil' may be difficult to pick out from this video, the metaphorical meaning of 'how did my life end up in this place? How do I change it?' lends itself to the idea of 'make the most of now' and the idea of thinking before you act.
Quotes about the video - Ryan Tedder (artist) http://www.onerepublic.net/forum/default.aspx?cid=405&tid=215740
The second video I will be analysing is 'All The Right Moves' from the second album 'Wakeing Up'
Locations: unlike the last video, 'All The Right Moves' is filmed in one location, most likely a studio or real dance hall, which is more typical of a mainstream music video. The location of the dance hall fits partially to the lyrics of the song, which are referring to wealthy upper class people (connoted by the red and gold colours) who would be likely to socialise at balls like the one shown here.
Characters: As this is a performance based video, the main 'protagonist' is again the lead singer. There are also many extras in form of the dancers and a little boy who introduces the band, then goes around the room while the well off men put money in his hat. He also pickpockets them, which could be an intertextual reference to films such as 'Oliver Twist.'
Iconography: In this video the artists continue the smart-casual style but in a slightly more grown up manner which lends itself to this specific video. While in comparison to the male ballroom dancers their outfits are quite shabby, the suit jackets with casual shirts/trousers fit the image of the band and their personalities. Again, we see them playing instruments including piano, drums and guitar, showing how the music itself is an integral part of the band, not just the video.
Narrative: There is no typical narrative in the video to follow Todorovs theory, however the narrative of the performance is interweaved with shots of the dancers and the little boy who pickpockets the men, suggesting that despite the lyrics saying that "they got all the right moves and all the right faces, so yeah we're going down," this suggests that the people 'in power' are not always on top and we can still 'get one over' on them.
Media Language: The media language in the video is fairly typical of most mainstream music videos as the editing fits the face of the song, and the lyrics at least partly correspond to the visuals. There are close ups used throughout the video to create a relationship with the audience and the artist/characters and camera movement is used to make shots of the band as interesting as possible. High key lighting is also used throughout the video to highlight band members.
Ideologies: There are no obvious dominant or alternate ideologies present in this video, though the fact that the dancers glare at the band (protagonist) at the beginning of the video, then have the little boy pickpocket them is almost a Robin-Hood like sentiment, 'stealing from the rich to give to the poor.'
Albums:
The artwork for 'One Republic's' first album 'Dreaming Out Loud' -
The artwork for 'One Republic's' second album 'Waking Up' -
Over the course of these two albums, the artists image and branding has remained basically the same. Although the two album covers look quite different, they have a lot of similarities and both fit the band well. Both album covers have quite an abstract image (the second one more so) but neither can be directly linked to a song or video from the album, also reflected in the sometimes quite abstract meanings in the band's music videos. The names of the albums themselves, 'Dreaming Out Loud' and 'Waking Up' are directly related as going to sleep and dreaming (first album) then waking up (second). This suggests that the bands first album was a more idealistic and unrefined version of their music whereas with the second album the style is more definite and certain as the title shows. The font used for the text on the second album is also more bold and stands out, whereas the title of the first album was soft and floaty, again suggesting the transfer into more definite territory. Despite this, the sound of the band has obviously stayed the same (as shown in the music videos) as has the genre of music. The style of the band has also remained constant. The only real change shown in the branding of the artist is to suggest they have grown up somewhat between albums, something which would definitely be welcomed by the audience as they wouldn't want to buy an album exactly the same as the first. The fact that a lot of the artists videos are now a mix of location and studio based shots instead of one or the other also show have they have kept with the elements of videos from the first album along with the quite constant use of colour, particularly a slight golden hue in both videos, while adding in something new.
In conclusion, the branding of the artist has remained constant as shown in style and the music itself, although the image has developed to reflect the passing of time and age of the band.
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