Music Video Research of The 1975's - Settle Down

The 1975 are an English indie rock band from Manchester. The Music Video for "Settle Down" was published on January the 29th, 2014.

The video seems to hold a number of different messages, it is another that allows the audience to either interpret the video in their own way, or be left in confusion. The video is very basic from the start, the use of black and white through the whole video seems to hide the actual meaning of the song, as it is very difficult for the audience to distinctly figure out what is going on. To watch the music video, click the link below:

The 1975 - Settle Down

The 1975 have a very unique look and style to go with their music. This is something we could come to think about as a group when creating our band personality and video, to make everything as realistic as possible. Through the use of stylish cinematography "Settle Down" is another beautifully shot video to add to The 1975's collection. Lead singer, Matt Healey revealed the idea of the video to help answer questions for their audience, however the explanation still leaves people unsure of what it is really about. The video is based on Matt's reoccurring dream he used to have as a child. The location in the video is what he dreams of every time, and is similar to where his parents grew up; a small area in northern England, to reflect back to the history of his childhood and family. With the song "Settle Down", the band wanted to make an extension on his dream, a video that explores love and is consuming and interesting to watch.

The beauty of the narrative is people not being able to figure out the story. It's something they do very cleverly, as the song has a significant meaning, but the music video does not match. Another element that seems very odd is the camera movement. When listening to this song you would expect a fast moving video with lots going on, however they do the complete opposite. This is something I think we should avoid when creating our video. Another element we shouldn't take from this is the lack of performance. The video features lead singer, Matt Healey, in the narrative but there is no band performance or change in the narrative. This seems to happen in a few of their past music videos, which is what makes The 1975 so different and unique.

Mise-en-scene doesn't seem to play a huge part in the video when first watching it. Everything such as costume, locations and lighting is pretty much the same from start to finish. However, the dark clothing and the monochrome theme reflects this strange narrative that cannot be unravelled. The black and white is almost acting as a shield, hiding the story away from the audience. After a bit of analysis, the mise-en-scene is actually quite affective. This is something we could perhaps use in our video, for example using very small elements to refer back to the meaning of our song, almost tricking the audience.

The lighting changes only at the very end of the song, where there is a peculiar change in the narrative. The lighting is extremely dull throughout the video, this is because it is a visual image of his reoccurring dream. When the light brightens at the very end, I believe this is because he is awakening from his dream and being pulled back into reality. The image of the whirlwind in the sky at the end could suggest his mind spinning in confusion as he awakes from his strange dream.

One key editing technique that I feel is extremely important in the music video is the slow moving takes which are used in nearly all of the video. I think the slow motion is used to help the audience really connect with him and his dream. The slow movement on a whole is used to refer back to the dreamy, sleepy daze he is in. The long take of the clouds spinning in the final frame of the video suggests the on-going reoccurrence, showing that the dream will never go away and he will be trapped inside this environment every time he falls asleep.