The XX 'Chained' Music Video Deconstruction

The XX - 'Chained' Music Video Deconstruction:

Band Background Analysis:

The XX are a band comprised of three members, Romy Croft, Jamie Smith and Oliver Sim. The indie pop band formed in 2005 in Wandsworth London, when Croft and Sim met in school. The band quickly began posting their demos on social media such as Myspace, attracting the attention of record label Young Turks, a subsidiary company of the Beggars Group. The band released their eponymous debut album in August 2009. The album was a commercial and critical success, winning the band the Mercury Prize in 2010. (The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland.)
Record Label Analysis:

"Young Turks is a British independent record label owned by Beggars Group, launched by Caius Pawson in 2006. It has grown from an imprint of XL Recordings into a successful and influential label now partnered with XL and operates across a range of genres. The label's current roster includes The xx, FKA twigs, Sampha, Jamie xx, Koreless and Kamasi Washington."

Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Turks_(record_label), Friday 22nd September

Music Video Deconstruction:

0:00 - 0:10: 

Mid-shot of a white flag flapping in the wind in slow-motion (optical flow), the white juxtaposing the dark stormy skies in the background of the shot. The flag doesn't fit the whole frame and is instead aligned at the right-hand corner of the frame, breaking the rule of thirds. Extreme close-up of ripples on grey water. Extreme long-shot of a castle in the foreground past the expanse of water and grey storm clouds. Short time lapse of the clouds moving in slow motion over the castle. Extreme Steadicam close-up of the profile of the lead singer in the left-hand corner of the frame, with reflections of the light from the sun through the clouds, evident on his face. The shot filmed in a handheld style and tracks behind his head, whilst focusing on the fine details of his face. 

0:10 - 0:30: 

Slow motion mid-shot from underwater of someone jumping into the water, with natural light leaks from the reflection of the sun on the lens. Tracking dolly long-shot, travelling over the expanse of water, with a boat in the foreground. Pan close-up shot from left to right focusing on the lead singer walking. Slow motion low-angle shot from underneath the person in the water, displaying the depth of the water. Close-up of the water rippling. Close-up of the lead singer walking, before switching with a quick cut transition on a beat change to a close-up of his hand swinging by his side, the water can be seen with a shallow depth of focus in the background of the shot, emphasising the importance of water in this music video, perhaps inferring that it is water that has metaphorically 'chained' him. 

0:30 - 1:00: 

Slow motion over the shoulder shot of the lead singer walking. The slow-motion shots make the music video appear almost like a dream sequence, providing the video with a cinematic quality, with the use of light reflections making the video appear almost magical, relating to the band's music definition 'indie dream pop'. Mid-shot of the person sinking deeper into the water, surrounded by a mass of bubbles. Long-shot of someone beginning a dive into the water from a profile angle, before switching on the beat change to a continuation of the shot from behind; making the audience feel as if they are experiencing the action from all angles. 

1:00 - 2:00:

Slow-motion close-up of a man swimming, water droplets splashing onto the lens. Quick cut to a close-up of the woman in the ocean in the left hand corner of the shot, making her appear smaller and insignificant to the water. The shots remain in slow-motion despite the rising tension in the shot and the action. Long-shot of another man walking past a wall towards the water. 

2:00 - 3:00: 

High angle shot of the water, with the person who has jumped into the water, seen just below the surface. The high-angle shot infers the power of the water and how the humans are at the mercy of the ocean. The dark colouration connoting potential danger. The shot then switches with a straight cut to the man swimming underneath the surface. At 2:17 there is a low-angle long-shot of a wall and the sky, whereby the grey dim mise-en-scene is contrasted by bright vivid colours, which is an allusion to their album cover for coexist; which contains an image of an iridescent oil spill. This motif reoccurs throughout the remainder of the music video in a montage like sequence of colour seen from e.g. 2:28, 2:31 up until 2:51. The last shot is a close-up of the mans head breaking the surface of the water, before a fade to black. 

Mise-en-scene: The overall mise-en-scene of the video consists of a lot of grey tones, as represented through the raging storm clouds and the water, which could perhaps be a metaphor for the glum grey feelings that have entrapped the women's mind (chaining her to her depressive thoughts), precipitating her attempt at what one could interpret at suicide. However, the omnipresent high-key light is a motif that appears in multiple shots, such as the light breaking through the storm clouds, and the light visible from under the water, 'light' being a metaphor for the hope that persists, even in the darkest of times. The set consists of a castle and a white wall that runs around the water. The white wall surrounding the water is decrepit, with its paint peeling, this could represent that the characters are struggling, not only to retrieve the woman from the water, but metaphorically. However, the fact that they run all the water around the water infers that they act as a support system or a barrier, like the members of the band are to one another. Stereotypically, a white flag infers a surrender, which could represent the woman's surrender. 

Costume: All of band members are wearing black clothing, with one member wearing a black denim jacket; which matches their overall aesthetic as they are often seen wearing black items of clothing. The connotations of black include danger.