Music video analysis

The Arctic Monkeys

R U Mine?      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQH8ZTgna3Q

This music video by The Arctic Monkeys is a performance/concept video all edited in black and white. Throughout the video, all of the lyrics are lip-synced, giving a performance element to it because it is as though Alex Turner- the lead singer is singing to the camera, with Matt Helders- the drummer, drumming certain parts of the song and the other band members singing backing vocals.

The first part of the music video is filmed in a car with all of the band within it. It is filmed on a camera that is handheld and that can be moved around. The camera is being moved around during the first part of the music video, in the car. This allows for different compositions on the screen, different camera angles and movements. I think this is a very clever way of adding variety to the scene and adding a sense of closeness and involvement that the audience might feel, as well as this, eye contact is maintained making the audience feel as though they are being looked at.
This has been done without the use of cuts so the whole music video is shot in one shot.

The second part of the music video has more of a performance element with the band getting out of the car and then playing their instruments but before that they also use the reversing camera of the car on the dash inside the car and films it as the lead singer crouches down and lip-syncs into the song. This also adds another dynamic to the video and makes it more interesting.

This music video raises a lot of questions. This has been done because the song title is in itself, a question: 'R u mine?'.

We see them in a car in the first shot, we can see them driving and the car moving but where are they going? Who is in the back seat? They are also both wearing sunglasses which is mysterious because we cant see their eyes and it is night so there isn't any point of wearing sunglasses. When Alex does take his off, it is filmed through the reversing camera on the back of the car so it isn't very clear. The girls with the masks and the hats on are also very mysterious because we cant see their face and we don't know why they are there or who they are. They also only appear in the beginning of the second part of the video so that would mean that they were in the car the whole time hiding in the dark with another member of the band. when they arrive at the place they were driving to, it looks quite barren and empty except for the props that are used so the question arises of where they actually are. Also, there are 4 members of the band but we only see 3 of them in the video so where is the 4th member?

I think the whole concept of this video is mystery and uncertainty. It also keeps to the continuity of The Arctic Monkeys as their albums include black white and grey and so is this music video.

The performance element is present due to the lip-syncing, eye contact into the camera and playing of instruments.

The whole music video is well structured because it has a constant theme running through it and it is interesting to watch. There is also performance in it so it is not solely a concept video.