Song: Youth
Album: GloriousGenre: Indie Pop
Director: N/A
Year: 2013
Audience: 17+
Country of Origin: UK
The beginning of the video is set in an office, with Foxes and an office worker being the focus of attention. Wide shots are used to include the mise-en-scene: a photocopier, water cooler, chair and waste paper basket. The use of these few items immediately alerts the audience to the atmosphere of the scene, while retaining a minimalist style. This dismal setting is used to contrast the content of the song. It shows the dullness, and transcendental nature of mundane life- one moment one is alive, the next dead (second image) without any real change, notice the time on the clock does not change between the man living and 'expiring'. The corresponding lyric to this being "We live in circles/And it's so hard to breathe". Choosing a black and white tone emphasises the absence of joy and vitality in this setting, making it especially depressing, thus making the viewer want to see something more.
As a fire burns a whole in the wall ("Don't bring me down with you"), a new, youthful, exciting world is discovered through series of mid-shots and close-ups to highlight the drastic change in scenery. A range of gaudy colours are used to represent 'youth' and 'childhood', especially present in the costumes. Pink, yellow, blue and white are frequently recurring colours, most of which bear connotations of innocence and juvenility. However, in different types of light they can have different meanings- the first image appears happy, while the second appears more depressing and distorted in terms of innocence. Foxes' costume (first image) is almost ironic in its aspiration to be 'grown up'; it creates a nostalgia for childhood, "with a thousand dreams I'm holding heavy"). The monster costume creates a darker, somehow sadder view of youth- like the costume it used to consume us, later we leave it behind to become adults, "Don't tell us our youth is running out/ It's only just begun". It is used to convey the message that youth is not something that leaves us, but rather something that is always with us. Fire and its light are used throughout the video to create 'natural' light, while also suggesting borderline danger and carefree attitudes towards life.
This close-up details a male youth smashing a glass bottle against a ceiling support. The action is committed right before the chorus, the breaking of the bottle being in synch with the music starting and emphasising the lyrics: "Don't bring me down with you", suggesting that they are enjoying themselves and do not want to be 'normal.' The shot is shown from two different perspectives, and breaking the 180 degree rule. It is first shown in purple tinted, bad- camera footage style, and then from the other side in typical colouring, seen in the second shot. Here, two young women are jumping, like children, on an old mattress in a warehouse, the same location where the bottle smashing took place. One can see that the shoes are Dr. Martens, a brand commonly associated with the non-mainstream music genres such as grunge and punk rock.
Director: N/A
Year: 2013
Audience: 17+
Country of Origin: UK
The beginning of the video is set in an office, with Foxes and an office worker being the focus of attention. Wide shots are used to include the mise-en-scene: a photocopier, water cooler, chair and waste paper basket. The use of these few items immediately alerts the audience to the atmosphere of the scene, while retaining a minimalist style. This dismal setting is used to contrast the content of the song. It shows the dullness, and transcendental nature of mundane life- one moment one is alive, the next dead (second image) without any real change, notice the time on the clock does not change between the man living and 'expiring'. The corresponding lyric to this being "We live in circles/And it's so hard to breathe". Choosing a black and white tone emphasises the absence of joy and vitality in this setting, making it especially depressing, thus making the viewer want to see something more. As a fire burns a whole in the wall ("Don't bring me down with you"), a new, youthful, exciting world is discovered through series of mid-shots and close-ups to highlight the drastic change in scenery. A range of gaudy colours are used to represent 'youth' and 'childhood', especially present in the costumes. Pink, yellow, blue and white are frequently recurring colours, most of which bear connotations of innocence and juvenility. However, in different types of light they can have different meanings- the first image appears happy, while the second appears more depressing and distorted in terms of innocence. Foxes' costume (first image) is almost ironic in its aspiration to be 'grown up'; it creates a nostalgia for childhood, "with a thousand dreams I'm holding heavy"). The monster costume creates a darker, somehow sadder view of youth- like the costume it used to consume us, later we leave it behind to become adults, "Don't tell us our youth is running out/ It's only just begun". It is used to convey the message that youth is not something that leaves us, but rather something that is always with us. Fire and its light are used throughout the video to create 'natural' light, while also suggesting borderline danger and carefree attitudes towards life. This close-up details a male youth smashing a glass bottle against a ceiling support. The action is committed right before the chorus, the breaking of the bottle being in synch with the music starting and emphasising the lyrics: "Don't bring me down with you", suggesting that they are enjoying themselves and do not want to be 'normal.' The shot is shown from two different perspectives, and breaking the 180 degree rule. It is first shown in purple tinted, bad- camera footage style, and then from the other side in typical colouring, seen in the second shot. Here, two young women are jumping, like children, on an old mattress in a warehouse, the same location where the bottle smashing took place. One can see that the shoes are Dr. Martens, a brand commonly associated with the non-mainstream music genres such as grunge and punk rock. 
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