Florence And The Machine- The Dog Days (Are Over)

This video links with the one we are hoping to create in the sense that the genre is alternative/indie. The video starts with a forest covered in party accessories, with no sign of life. This is ambiguous and intriguing for the audience, especially as the party accessories suggest there was life here at some point. We then see a woman’s feet- also suggesting ambiguity as we wish to know who she is. The woman blindfolds the main artist and leads her wondering towards very abstract characters dressed up. This is abstract and links in with the idea of masks and forests in our storyboard. The abstract feel helps to reinforce the theme of the song- confusion.

Very fast cuts of the characters are used to portray the abnormal feel to the video. There are lots of bright colours in the video, which is typical of this indie/alternative genre. The majority of shots used

are medium shots. This could be because within the first minute we are still coming to terms with the abstract nature of this video. Instruments/images of the band are not used in this video. However,

there are clips of the characters using wooden sticks in order to create sounds- reflecting an abstract take on the usual use of the band in an indie video.

When the artist takes off her blindfold there are lots of fast clips of her from different angles. This reflects her confusion of where she is and who these characters are. Whilst the artist is running through the forest we continually see high angle shots of her. This shows her as being vulnerable as characters are chasing her. When the artist falls over, the video begins to slow down. We see slowed cuts of the characters, which are slightly blurred. This reflects a dream-like state and also reflects the dizziness one feels after they fall over. After this, it is impossible to make out what is being filmed. We see tangles of cloth, rope and hands. This is confusing to the audience

and follows the theme of the video that we have seen so far.

The actors then spin around and twirl things over their head- again, reflecting this theme of confusion. The artist then seems to become one of the characters and the tempo speeds up again. We now see low angle shots of the artist and so we are looking up on her. This reflects her change in status in relation to the characters; that she has become one of them. In the background, they have used birdcages as props. This may suggest that the characters are free

(reflected in their dancing) and so they are not confined, as they would be in a cage.

The majority of shots in this video are fast-cut- reflecting the confusion and the abstractness. The narrative of the video does not seem to reflect the song and if the video were to be played on mute I do not think the audience would guess what the lyrics were about.