Sundara Karma - 'Flame' Music Video Deconstruction:
Band Background Analysis:
Sundara Karma are signed to RCA Records. RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of SME's three flagship record labels, alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records.
Retrieved from Wikipedia, 19th September 2017: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Records
Lyric Deconstruction:
The song is based on Plato's Allegory of the Cave, whereby the allegorical meaning depicts that a dark cave suggests that the contemporary world is full of ignorance. Within the allegory, people are chained to the cave unable to see the light, these people are symbolic of people in an ignorant world. The raised wall is symbolic of the limitation of our thinking, as we do not think outside of the box, or metaphorically 'over the wall', in order to escape the ignorant life we lead in a consumer based material world. The lyrics and video depicts how we are brainwashed as a population to follow obscene values, believing they are of importance. In an interview lead singer Oscar stated: "It is the perfect visual representation and emphasises the real message of the song. We are basically commenting on the whole post-modern reality that we find ourselves living in... The Matrix. Where adverts, politicians, the war on drugs, terrorism, consumerism, mass production, celebrity culture, social networks etc are the shadows that permeate our walls - and we all buy into it. We have grown up being forced to believe that these things have true value and that it's the only reality accessible to us. The video reflects this idea in more of a day to day light, a way in which practically all of us can relate to."
Interview retrieved from http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/sundara-karma-flame on 20th September 2017
Deconstruction:
0:00 - 0:18:
The video begins with the visuals of static (typical old-fashioned TV static) before a fade to black transition, which quickly cuts to a close-up pan shot from right to left. The angle of the camera frames only the shoulders of its actors. Other straight-cut displays a mid-shot of the family, revealing their identities, as they tilt their heads from side to side. The shot slowly zooms out to reveal a wider span of the room, as cups move their way through the living room on a conveyer belt. There is a straight cut to a vintage industrial looking clip of chimneys pumping out thick black clouds.
0:18 - 0:40:
At 0:22, the viewer receives their first view of the band, through the use of a mid-shot of band's lead singer Oscar Pollock, in a new location surrounded by TV'S with static masks. A zoom in transition is used to switch between various old-fashioned, grainy shots of people dancing before a straight cut reveals the same shot of the family shaking their heads from side to side. A disorientating mid canted angle shot of one of the band members playing a 'prop' musical instrument (guitar) establishes the performance element of the video. Close-up shot of the lead singer before cutting to a wider mid-shot of the whole band.
0:40 - 1:30:
Constant use of close-up shots which then straight cut transition to a wider angle shot of the same action occurring, but highlighting the mise-en-scene of the video, which prior wasn't within the frame or couldn't be seen due to a shallow depth of field. The mid/long-shot of the family shaking their heads is repeated multiple times, before one element of the shot is altered, for example at 1:19, 1:25 and 1:28 one of the band members joins the family replacing the family members, wearing identical clothing. This is followed by a straight cut to an old-fashioned video of women in no clothing; adhering to the view that women are often overly-sexualised in media artefacts. This sexualisation of women within music videos or media is known as Voyeurism.
1:30 - 2:10:
Various mid-shots of the family as household objects (e.g. toothbrushes are passed along the conveyor belt), with straight cuts between the media they are watching.
2:10 - 3:48:
As the climax and pace of the song increases shot length decreases. A panning close-up shot from right to left has been used to mirror the first introductory shot of the family, however, instead the band members have taken their place (3:31). At 3:39, there is a mid-shot of the family, with the camera slowly zooming in before the shot's fade in a crossfade transition to a final long-shot of a multitude of TV's; whereby the family are watching the inserted vintage clips from the entirety of the music video. This is used as a metaphor for Plato's Cave Analogy, as they are simply consuming what propaganda is being fed to them.
The music video has a total of 133 shots, between two distinctive locations.
Mise-en-scene:
Location: There are two locations within the music video: the living room and the simplistic warehouse where the band perform. The living room features natural lighting, to emphasise the natural lighting that shines into a living room during the day, which makes the set feel more homely in coherence with the warm-toned wallpaper and bright yellow sofa. The clock within the foreground of the living room is used to display passing time, and how the families monotonous life of actions continues in a cycle. The decor of the living room doesn't reflect the time period in which the video was filmed in, instead appearing similar to the decor from the early 70's, perhaps elucidating that the family are old-fashioned in their viewpoints. The layout of the room with the sofa and coffee table purposefully displays that the family are constantly consuming information from their TV, which feeds them biased propaganda. The viewpoint of the camera is positioned in the placement of where the TV would be, highlighting how transfixed they are.
Costume: The costumes for the narrative element of the video are highly minimalistic, with each member of the family wearing jumpers with muted block colours. (Light blue, red, green and white) The costumes represent the plain lifestyle they are living, whilst also being very conservative. The bright red and white that the two women are wearing connote the difference between innocence and danger, which are connotations that are stereotypically attributed to women. In juxtaposition, the band are wearing items of clothing that are highly current mimicking what the youth of today would wear, which makes their band appear highly relatable to their target audience (Teenagers and young adults aged 17-25). The lead singer is also wearing black skinny jeans; which is a common costume for indie music videos. He is also wearing a black and white striped long sleeved t-shirt. The pattern of this t-shirt connotes the stereotypical exaggerated robber - which makes him appear daring and controversial as he is making a statement about society through the highly controversial meaning of the song and alluding that society has been metaphorically robbed of our individuality by the reality we live in.
Sundara Karma are signed to RCA Records. RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of SME's three flagship record labels, alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records.
Retrieved from Wikipedia, 19th September 2017: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Records
Lyric Deconstruction:
The song is based on Plato's Allegory of the Cave, whereby the allegorical meaning depicts that a dark cave suggests that the contemporary world is full of ignorance. Within the allegory, people are chained to the cave unable to see the light, these people are symbolic of people in an ignorant world. The raised wall is symbolic of the limitation of our thinking, as we do not think outside of the box, or metaphorically 'over the wall', in order to escape the ignorant life we lead in a consumer based material world. The lyrics and video depicts how we are brainwashed as a population to follow obscene values, believing they are of importance. In an interview lead singer Oscar stated: "It is the perfect visual representation and emphasises the real message of the song. We are basically commenting on the whole post-modern reality that we find ourselves living in... The Matrix. Where adverts, politicians, the war on drugs, terrorism, consumerism, mass production, celebrity culture, social networks etc are the shadows that permeate our walls - and we all buy into it. We have grown up being forced to believe that these things have true value and that it's the only reality accessible to us. The video reflects this idea in more of a day to day light, a way in which practically all of us can relate to."
Interview retrieved from http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/sundara-karma-flame on 20th September 2017
Deconstruction:
0:00 - 0:18:
The video begins with the visuals of static (typical old-fashioned TV static) before a fade to black transition, which quickly cuts to a close-up pan shot from right to left. The angle of the camera frames only the shoulders of its actors. Other straight-cut displays a mid-shot of the family, revealing their identities, as they tilt their heads from side to side. The shot slowly zooms out to reveal a wider span of the room, as cups move their way through the living room on a conveyer belt. There is a straight cut to a vintage industrial looking clip of chimneys pumping out thick black clouds.
0:18 - 0:40:
At 0:22, the viewer receives their first view of the band, through the use of a mid-shot of band's lead singer Oscar Pollock, in a new location surrounded by TV'S with static masks. A zoom in transition is used to switch between various old-fashioned, grainy shots of people dancing before a straight cut reveals the same shot of the family shaking their heads from side to side. A disorientating mid canted angle shot of one of the band members playing a 'prop' musical instrument (guitar) establishes the performance element of the video. Close-up shot of the lead singer before cutting to a wider mid-shot of the whole band.
0:40 - 1:30:
Constant use of close-up shots which then straight cut transition to a wider angle shot of the same action occurring, but highlighting the mise-en-scene of the video, which prior wasn't within the frame or couldn't be seen due to a shallow depth of field. The mid/long-shot of the family shaking their heads is repeated multiple times, before one element of the shot is altered, for example at 1:19, 1:25 and 1:28 one of the band members joins the family replacing the family members, wearing identical clothing. This is followed by a straight cut to an old-fashioned video of women in no clothing; adhering to the view that women are often overly-sexualised in media artefacts. This sexualisation of women within music videos or media is known as Voyeurism.
1:30 - 2:10:
Various mid-shots of the family as household objects (e.g. toothbrushes are passed along the conveyor belt), with straight cuts between the media they are watching.
2:10 - 3:48:
As the climax and pace of the song increases shot length decreases. A panning close-up shot from right to left has been used to mirror the first introductory shot of the family, however, instead the band members have taken their place (3:31). At 3:39, there is a mid-shot of the family, with the camera slowly zooming in before the shot's fade in a crossfade transition to a final long-shot of a multitude of TV's; whereby the family are watching the inserted vintage clips from the entirety of the music video. This is used as a metaphor for Plato's Cave Analogy, as they are simply consuming what propaganda is being fed to them.
The music video has a total of 133 shots, between two distinctive locations.
Mise-en-scene:
 |
| Oscar wearing skinny jeans and a striped long sleeve top |
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