1. EmilyJohnson
Media
Productresearch
RadioHead – KnivesOut
This musicvideocouldfitintothe indie genre as
it displays multiple elements that could be
considered codes and convention of the genre.
The main feature is the fact that the narrative is
not a clearlinernarrative. In the video there is a
number of things happening at one so the
audience are free to apply their own
interpretation. This may vary depending on
factors such: as gender, age, social class. The
videoisfilledwithmetaphors,thisiseffective as
it draws the audience in and keeps them
engaged in the narrative. There are two main
characters with in the video and they play an
importantpart inmakingthe videoeffective.The
protagonist (the artists) and his love interest a
female. The female character falls out of love
withhimbecause of the things that he has done
inthe past.Howeverhe triesto win her back but
he is notsuccessful soeventuallyhe letshergo. One of the main techniques that that is used is the
television;itshowsthe twocharacterson a train.Thiscouldsignifythe emotional journey they have
travelledwithduringthe course of theirrelationshipfurthermore,the female characterisseenon an
operationtable anddoctorsare tryingto bringherback to life. As the video is at a fast pace and the
fact that it is a continues panoramic view of the
events in one room, this could suggest that the
relationshipwasmoving to fast. Additionally there
is a performance element for the audiences
benefit; this is an anticipated convention of the
genre as it creates more of an atmosphere for the
target audience asitfeelsmore intimate. However
there isa skeletonsingingwithaguitar,thiscreates
a conceptual theme and encourages the target
audience to apply a narrative enigma.
There isa predominate use of iconographytocreate meaningconsistentlythroughoutthe video. The
mostobviousexample is the human heart. The common connotation t that of the heart is love and
passion this could mirror the love and passion between characters. However, the fact that it is a
human heart introduces a more mature meaning. This identifies the target audience as typically
beingmenformthe agesof 18 to 40. Furthermore,the male characterisseen putting his feet into a
heater.Thiscouldsuggestthathe is getting‘coldfeet’ about the relationship and the fact that he is
warming them up introduces a comedy element.
The usesof mise enscene were importantinmaking
sure the overall video had a professional feel. For
example: the lighting was consistently high key to

2. EmilyJohnson
Media
Productresearch
create a pleasantatmosphere.Thisintroducesacontract fromthe narrative as itmainlyaboutlosing
someone you love. This is an expected convention of the Indy/pop genre. The editing was on
continual camerashotaround the roomthat illustratedeveryelementof the charactersrelationship.
There was no diegetic sound only the non-diegetic music this adds to the conceptual style.
Furthermore some of the elements of the video were portrayed as childlike, for example; the
operationtable was intertextuality with a well-known bored game named operation. Additionally
the style of the video was almost like video game quality. This could suggest that the protagonist
character has an immature attitude to the relationship.