Mumford & Sons- The Cave Analysis

Catagory- This is a performance video. Although the video doesn't fit in with the common conventions of being set in a studio or rehearsal room it does show instrumental performance and lip-syncing throughout. It also has a hint of narrative as it contains a visual story, although at the beggins of the video there seems there is no link between the introduction of the video when they pass over the instruments to the band members and the whole video.

Genre- The song is by an indie band called Mumford and Sons and the song is called the The Cave. The genre of the song is indie folk/ indie rock.

Goodwin's Analysis- Goodwin's Theory states that all music videos show some sort of characteristic elements of their genre. This applies to some aspects of the video. There is no link between the lyrics and visuals of the video but there is some relevance between the music and visuals as during the strong instrumental and chorus the editing becomes fast and shaky when it cuts to the band playing but through out the editing is slow whilst the band are on the bikes. Due to the indie genre of the song there are no voyeuristic treatment of womens bodies, firstly because there are no woman in the video and no sexual references towards them, and secondly due to the nature of the band. There are a lot of close ups of the main singer and the band that are playing the instruments, mainly to show the lip-syncing and not the emotions of the group. This will probably be due to the record label wanting to sell the band.

Craig Davis's Analysis- Craig Davis's analysis states that the video is an example of an amplification as the video has an element of performance due to the lip-syncing of the band and the use of instruments throughout. We think the director has amplified the creative of the video and the slightly unusual ideas, for instance the narrative at the beginning of the video has no link to the majority of the video as they want to sell the band of their music and not particularity there faces. There is still a direct link to the video as it is edited to the beat. For example the editing becomes fast as it builds to the chorus and switches from the band to the people playing the instruments and then back again.

Camera Use-There are close ups but mostly of the main singer, alongside medium shots of the rest of the band throughout the video. There are no inter textual references to any films, TV programs or music videos that we can see. Throughout the video the shots vary from close ups of the band showing them lip syncing and medium long shots from behind and the front, all of which are tracking shots following the band through the majority of the video. There video also includes shaky and unfocused close ups of the instruments and the singers face which is not in the band reinforcing the fact it is a performance video.

Costumes and Props- The band have worn white suits in this video which doesnt fit in with riding bikes but it does fit in with the genre of the band and the stereotypical indie image as its unusual and creative. They have used instruments in the video along with the stereotypical and conventional band outfit that is usually seen in American Films.

Locations- The video is set in one location which is in India. This links to the indie genre of the band as indie stands of independent films, and most indie music videos that we have analyzed are set in 1 or 2 locations.

Lighting-
The lighting throughout the video is ambient and warm due to the tropical location. There are also various shots of the light dazzling the camera shot, as it would naturally do so if they where filming outside.

Editing- The editing on the video depends quite a lot on the beat. As stated before the editing builds up when its leading towards the chorus. It also cuts to shots of the instruments when there is a strong instrumental part such as a loud guitar. There is also a strong vocal in the chorus when it cuts to the actual band members on the bikes and then back to the main protagonist.