"Writings on the Wall" By Plan B

Textual Analysis "Writings on the Wall" By Plan B

Genre;

What is the Genre of the video?	Pop
What is the genre of the artist?	Pop/Rap/Soul
Is there a typical narrative?	Guy and Girl live together. Guy goes out and cheats on her.
What is expected in the video?	Performance Shots.
What is unexpected in the video?	The affair within the video.
Intertextual references?	Stevie Wonder lyrics- “there is superstitions, writing on the wall”.

Narrative;

What is the storyline of the video?	Man Has an Affair.
Is there a theme?	Strickland Banks & Love/Trust
Is there a recognisable structure (TODOROV- Equilibrium 5 stages)?	Equilibrium- Man & Wife Disruption- Meeting one-night stand Recognition- Women putting phone down
Are there recognisable characters?	Male Artist, female protagonist- one-night stand.
How does the video reflect the lyrics?	Yes, it reflects the lyrics that the man and wife relationship is over.

Visual Codes;

Where is the video set? Connotations of this setting?	Nightclub- Mo town 1970-80, traditional silver microphone, Dark Clothing = Sinister
Dominant colour used ion the video? Why? What is the effect?	Black/Darkness in nightclub Colourful in house= Happiness/contentment
Written Iconographic? Typography? Why?	Strickland Banks written on venue header- Sold out Performance.
Shot compositions that stand out?	ECU- Wife/girlfriend at home Faces ECU- At the meal- the importance of the meal.

Representation;

What issues of representations are evident?	Women- Domestic in the kitchen making the dinner for the two Male- Worker/Celebrity = More Power
How have these been represented? Stereotypes?	Girlfriend/ Wife in the Kitchen = Stereotypical.
Look at the artist as a star- how have they been constructed?	Plan B- Strickland Banks, Successful & popular. Potentially being held back by the girlfriend/ wife?
Do they have an anonymous role in the video or are they there as celebrity?	Male is the fictional Celebrity- seen as a big star in the night club that he is performing at.

Technical Codes;

Camera angles? Interesting ones? What effect is created?	Extreme Close Up of the guitarist Close up - sauce bubbling and rising connotations of love building and rising. Long shot of the pan- the pan burns her which could have connotations of being burnt in her own relationship. Tech
Does the way the camera moves help to tell the story?	POV shot- showing Banks moving around- gives the perspective and allows the audience to see his performance.
What is the editing like? Type of cuts etc.?	Lots of fast cuts during the video to different shot types, keeping up with the pace of the video.

Audience;

Who is the target audience for the video? How does the video target this specific audience?	Teens to early twenties Young characters are used within the video- audience can link and relate themselves to the characters within the piece, as clubs are associated with the younger generation.
Demographics?	Social Classes E & D

Institution;

What role does the record company play in the music video?	679 Warner Bros music group- Record company for Strickland banks.
What is the brand image of the star is sold? How is the star marketed and promoted?	Fictional Character is promoted as the celebrity, getting everything he wants e.g. selling out of his nightclub performance.

How will this help me when making my own music video?

When it comes to making my own, this analysis will help me as I can see the elements that are included within this music video "writings on the wall" and what makes it successful. from this it could potentially help me come up with some good and effective ideas to use within my music video, overall making it a better music video.