Seafret Atlantis Music Video analysis

I chose this video to analyse as I am particularly interested in the genre of music it is based around and really loved the narrative concept behind it. I feel it was shot really well and had an almost in the moment feel to it and was able to submerge me within the action enhancing my connection with the music giving me further reason to love the song. Directed by Jonathan Entwistle, Atlantis is a narrative piece which ties to the lyrics and music of the song yet at the same time drifts to produce a viewer interpretable piece which is hugely visually compelling. The piece is based on Identity and life experiences and escaping the hardships of the modern world as an innocent child and is almost from the perspective of the protagonists thoughts and mind.

Lyrics and Visuals relationship

Overall I feel there is no concrete connection between the visuals and lyrics however I do feel there is elements where the lyrics compliment the cinematics of the final piece. Conceptually the lyrics provide additional emotions which carry through with the song and shift accordingly throughout. The song explores themes of escaping which seemingly is what the boy is doing as he plunges into a dreamland in an attempt to flee from his problems enforced by the song through the Chorus which states "run Atlantis" The visuals are more linked to the musical style and mood as the editing speeds up in cuts and cinematic help to reinforce emotion through the extensive use of handheld camera throughout the video which connotes underlying fear and helps submerge us within the characters realm. The narrative finally resolves by leaving the dreamland and entering back into reality as the song reveals how reality cannot be avoided and that you should embrace reality and its hardships no matter how hard it may be.

Cinematics

A   large majority of the video is shot handheld and really reacts with the action and emotion in the video. There is also a huge emphasis on colour to distinguish  between reality at the start and the land the child becomes entwined in. The colour palette has clearly been altered to create this almost flawed dream land as the narrative focuses on global crisis so a more grunge  look is applied to the what would be considered a dream like place however still retains the dirty like, non stereotypical appearance to what seems to be the protagonists happy place in his mind. Frequent close-up shots are used throughout to help emphasise emotions of the protagonists as the Non- Linear narrative progresses. The close-ups bring us as a viewer to a more personal level with the protagonist and helps evoke impact of the video and establishes a stronger connection between the audience and the character and thus helps create meaning to the song the video is placed with. Similarly 2-shots are also used frequently which connotes a unity between the boy and the creature he has befriended in the dream like world. The unity helps once again enhance emotion and create a stronger connection between the viewer and the protagonists as the emotion shifts as the story progresses.

Alternatively wide shots are also used to create isolation of the protagonists from reality as after watching the video a few times I decided that the white monster could be the child's innocence and purity and is hidden and taken away from him in reality in what seems to be a Stop correcting “distopian” world. He is forced to abandon his innocence in reality and is only able to live his childhood within his mind in this other world he has been forced into. The wide shots present a distance from reality as it depicts them as being small in frame and also creates separation and vulnerability of the boy.

Representation 

Childhood innocence is a theme represented throughout the video as the narrative progresses and the boy is forced to leave the white monster behind in his mind. Once again it is apparent the boy is forced to abandon his childhood in the war stricken reality he lives in and has almost become forced to prioritise survival. The video shows the boy reuniting with his innocence and childhood as he becomes unconscious and is able to be happy and explore the world in his head he has missed out on all this time. The video also explores independence as most young children of that age would be dependent on an adult figure however in the narrative he seems to be leading the other character who seems significantly stronger and bigger compared to the boy around the location showing a lack of fear and an inquisitive nature which most children retain throughout childhood. The boy is then chased by reality and eventually forced to leave his innocence behind as we assume he is forced back into reality by the end. the narrative enforces a huge ambiguity throughout the story leaving a large amount of interpretation down to us as a viewer which I feel works really well as it allows each person to connect with the video on a different level more suited personally to them. This once again allows a unique effect of the video specific to each person, the personal connection the video helps enforce also helps to achieve its primary purpose to market and increase revenue for the band as the video may help to inspire and connect certain emotions or inspire certain life messages to each viewer they would then associate with the song and therefore it would lead to a purchase or repeat listening's to the song increasing the bands revenue from the production.

I really like the emotion behind the narrative of the video as I feel this is also a trend which runs throughout most indie style music video as they help to project a certain outlook on life to evoke emotion or understanding to the video something which I would like to recreate in my final piece. Abstract features also such as the use of representing childhood as an emotion also helps convey certain messages leaving the viewer in depth of thought and impacted once the video has concluded.

Pace and editing Styles

As far as editing goes the piece is very simple and mainly all shot practically. there is very little complexity to the editing style and cuts of the video which provides a very minimalist piece which creates a very contemporary feel linking back to the genre conventions of the piece. The cutting of the piece is very minimal and conforms to the beats of the music creating a very comforting watch throughout as the pace seems to retain the same as does the song so the experience despite being quite stressful towards the end still compliments the dream like world the protagonists are within. Graphically there is no evidence of any graphic overlays which once again links to genre conventions as through research I found this genre of music often creates realistic looking videos mainly shot practically to create a very humble feel to them retaining warm emotions which would be clouded by loud graphical work and heavy colours. the videos specific to the genre are very subtle and I find enjoyable because of this factor, they are a "light watch"

to conclude I really like this video by Seafret and feel its a very creative way of telling a story and I feel it is shot very well and coloured excellently. In addition I love the narrative concept and feel it links to the style of their other videos I shall look into when planning my music video and I shall use this video as inspiration for my project as I love the concept and message in which I as a viewer took away from it after watching and would like to replicate this within my work.