Deconstruction - Vampire Weekend

Oxford Comma Music Video - 

Synopsis -  

The video is a 'concept' video that follows lead vocalist and guitarist, Ezra Koenig through a large field. The video is shot as one continuous shot. Throughout the video we come across lots of different characters from all walks of life. About half way through the video Koenig rejoins his band where they all play together. He then continues to walk through the field introducing more characters. The video ends with Koenig getting back into the car he started in in the beginning and being driven off. 

Timeline -  

The music video is shot in a long take and doesn't cut throughout the whole music video. High key lighting is used throughout the video. 

00:00 - 00:16 → This first shot shows a white car being driven. This goes from being an  extreme long shot to a long shot. At 00:03 the words 'CHAPTER ONE' appear on the screen in large bold writing. At 00:08 the music comes in.

00:17 - 00:37 → The band member exit the car and walk briefly into a mid shot. A tracking shot is then used to follow lead singer Ezra Koenig as he walks further into the field. At 00:25 Koenig begins singing.

00:38 - 00:48 → The tracking shot continues as a mid shot. 3 new characters are introduced who seem to be playing the roles of the press and tv crew however, they have old fashioned video cameras. 

00:49 - 01:03 → A new character walks into shot and hands Koenig a  guitar. Koenig stops walking and stands still whilst he passes the guitar strap over his head. The camera then carries on moving to the right where a new character is introduced in a close up of her torso.  She then pretends to shoot the man. Finally, the words 'CHAPTER TWO' appear on the screen. 

01:04 - 01:37 → This is a continuous tracking shot of Koenig walking through the field. He passes a man holding a cow who begins walking behind Koenig for a short while before coming across a man in a suit who passes him something (mid shot). He then walk past a cow shed and some other characters playing chess before reaching his band. We see the man dressed in police uniform running into the shot. He walks in to join the band. 

01:38 - 01:53 → Koenig reamins in the same place whilst playing with the band. The other guitarist (Chris Baio) begins to walk forward towards the camera as the camera moves backwards (zoom).

01:54 - 02:21 → The camera begins to pan right following a group of children dressed in cowboy costumes. At 01:56 the words 'CHAPTER THREE' appear on the screen. At 02:00 Koenig walks across the front of the shot giving a close up on his torso. At 02:02 the camera tilts upwards to show Koenig's head. A tracking shot follows Koenig until he reaches a band of guitarists at 02:08. As he walks past them they mimic his movements. The camera then continues to follow him until 02:21 when it begins to pan away from him.

02:22 - 02:31 → The camera continues to pan around until it is facing the opposite direction. The words 'CHAPTER 4' appear on the screen as the white car from the beginning of the video enters the shot from the left. The car is followed by a tracking shot until 02:29 and then the camera pans right to show 3 men stood round a desk and Koenig approaching them.

02:32 - 02:45 → Koenig approaches the desk and three men and hands the man opposite him his passport. The men at either end of the desk then lift the desk up and a tracking shot follows them until 02:45. 

02:46 - 03:10 → The camera pans back to Koenig and then through the use of a dolly another tracking shot follows Koenig moving until 3:04 where he gets off the moving platform and gets into the white car and closes the door. 

03:11 - 03:39 → The car then drives off. At 03:14 the word 'EPILOGUE' appears on the screen. The camera then pans to the right and the car continues to drive off with all the characters running after it. At 03:20 the music stops. At 03:28 the screen then begins to fade to black. 

Shot Types - 

Extreme Long Shots - 1
Long Shot - 1
Mid Shot - 3
Close Up - 2
Tracking Shot - 7
Pan - 6 
Tilt - 1
Zoom - 1

Mise-en-scene -

The whole music video is set in a field. Although there are no geographic markers we can tell this is set somewhere in the countryside rather than in a town or city. The opening shots show a small country road running along side the field. 

The high key lighting reflects the freshness and cleanness of the air that is associated with the countryside.

As Koening walks through the field he passes a cow shed and barn. These things help to signify that he is perhaps on a farm. This reinforces the fact that it is set in the countryside rather than in a town. 

Independent music videos are often shot outside. This is because they have low budgets and so cannot afford big studios and sets to shoot their music video in. It is also easily accessible and they may even not need to get permission to use the area.

Costume and Make-Up - 

In the video Koenig is wearing a white suit. This is more smart than most of the other characters in this music video. This could be to signify he is more important than the others as he is lead singer. Another band member is wearing a black suit and tie and another is wearing white trousers, a top and a white cardigan. The final band member is wearing a police man's outfit. This could show a hierarchy between the band members as suits are often associated with business men and higher class people, where as police men are seen 

to be lower class than this as they serve the community. 

Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits - 

 

Album Digipak - 

"Vampire Weekend is the debut studio album by the American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released in January 2008 on XL Recordings. The album was produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij, with mixing assistance from Jeff Curtin and Shane Stoneback."

Vampire Weekend (album). n.d. In Wikipedia. Retrieved 23rd June 2017. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_Weekend_(album) 

The front panel of the digipak is a complete contrast to the 'Oxford Comma' music video. The music video is shot all outside with high key lighting. The front cover image is clearly taken in a house and the shadowing suggests that low-key lighting was used. 

The band name is written down the side which makes the rest of the back cover stand out as it is central. The use of the dark background makes the white writing stand out and easier for the consumer to read. The colours all compliment each other which makes it more aesthetically pleasing and therefore may entice more people to buy it. 

The CD is mainly yellow in colour. This compliments the front cover as it is in keeping with the yellow/orange colour theme.  The writing is a similar colour to some of the text on the back cover which means it ties in with the whole CD digipak. The track list being on the CD is good as it allows the consumer to easily see which track they want without having to use the digipak. 

Magazine Advertisement - 

I could not find a magazine advertisement from this artist for this album. However, I did manage to find a magazine advertisement for another album from the same artist. The album covers are very similar. 

The use of simple layout and minimal information means that the image of the album cover stands out more. This is good as it draws the attention of the consumer and means they are more likely to remember this image. This in turn means that they are more likely to recognise the album in a shop and therefore may buy it. The use of simple layout also reflects the album cover as there is little text and a simple image of a girl.