The 1975 - Music Video Deconstruction

THE 1975

The 1975 are an English indie rock band originating from Manchester. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew "Matty" Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer George Daniel. They have released 4 EPs and 2 albums, the most recent being 'I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware on it'. They are signed to Dirty Hit and Polydor.

LYRICS

MISE EN SCENE

The video opens in black and white, and the band members are wearing all black to keep with the monochromatic theme. The drummer is sitting inside a rectangle, which is the same as the neon rectangle on all the band artwork. 

The actual video is in colour, but still with a minimalistic style using white and block colours. A cutaway of the singer lip syncing is on a bright yellow background, and other conceptual cutaways, such as a poolside, are all brightly coloured sets created in a studio. This gives them a cartoonish style. 

The clips featuring the band performing are recreated by female versions of the band members, where they stand in the same places and are also wearing all black, albeit more revealing versions. The women also imitate the band members, notably the singer's facial expressions. 

Another used in the video is a minimal street set, with one of the girls driving a car. Continuing the cartoon style, a *crash* title is used to show a car crash. This could represent the death of their relationship.

Neon lights are used at the end, and these are commonly seen across The 1975's work. Their 2 albums have featured their logo and the rectangle in neon lights, with different colour schemes.

SYNOPSIS

The video is a concept/performance video that is all filmed inside a studio. It mostly features the band playing, cut together with shots of a female version of the band imitating them. There are 2 main cutaways to different sets; a poolside and a street. These represent different things in the message of the song. There is no overruling narrative, however the car crash in the street scenes could be a metaphor for something.

KEY MOMENTS

0:00-0:12 - A pre-video scene, where the band are talking before they begin filming. It is in black and white to differentiate it from the main music video. This also features a wide/establishing shot of the band with their instruments, to introduce them to viewers. As the singer is the one talking, it is clear he is in charge of the band and will have a leading role in the video.

0:16-0:32 - The introduction to the song is made up of guitar riffs. The video highlights this part of the music by having mid shots of only the guitars being played. There are 3 separate guitars (rhythm, lead and bass) so there is a shot of each of them playing their respective parts. This happens 4 times, and the sections in between feature cutaways to other shots of the band.

0:32-0:37 - A mid shot of he lead singer against a yellow background. He has a sad expression and the music at this point is slower, indicating a lower mood. However, the yellow background contrasts this, as the colour can represent happiness.

0:42-0:46 - The cuts at this point are in time with the bass guitar. A wide/establishing shot shows the empty performance space the band were previously in, and a group of women walking in and taking their places. The women are dressed similarly to the band in black and leather, but being female, their outfits are a lot more revealing. This relates to Andrew Goodwin's music video theory, where 'there are frequent references to the notion of looking and the voyeuristic treatment of the female body'. The women are dressed this way to objectify them and emphasise their bodies.

0:51-0:58 - The beat of the music picks up here, and the cuts are faster. It cuts quickly between the male and female versions of the band but doesn't show them together, emphasising the division between the genders. It also cuts between wide shots showing the whole band, and mid shots of the lead singers. This could be to emphasise the female's imitation of the male's face when singing, which could be considered a comedic element.

0:59-1:03 - Fast cuts between mid shots of different band members. The female and male versions are both shown in the same position.

1:11-1:14 - Wide and mid shots of the band and the actresses at a pool party. Primary colours and awkward positioning draws attention to the age difference and unorthodox relationship described in the song. 

1:19-1:22 - A wide shot showing 3 of the girls holding instruments and dancing to the music. The singer walks across the scene out of focus, and subtitles show him saying 'this is wonderful'. This breaks the fourth wall as he seems to be talking about the video itself to people offscreen.

1:28-1:34 - Two scenes show the girls doing a typical 'girly' thing, sunbathing. However, they are inside and the studio lights are made obvious, showing it is fake. Another girl is cooking in these scene, another typical 'girl' thing.

2:02-2:03 - The girl is pretending to drive a static car, another aspect of the video that is fake. Pretending to drive highlights her immaturity, as it is a childish thing to do.

2:19-2:23 - The french phrase 'Regardez vous' appears on screen as the girl is driving, which directly translates to 'look at you'. However, as a car crash follows this, it could mean 'look out' or 'watch yourself'. The car crash is shown with a cartoon style title saying 'crash'.

2:43-2:45 - The singer and his female counterpart have a conversation in the location of a previous set, breaking the fourth wall again. 

2:48-2:53 -  The girl who crashed her car is trying to drag away the unconscious girl in the back of the car. She is finding it difficult, perhaps reflecting the difficulty of their relationship. The lead singer is in the foreground of the shot and out of focus. He rolls his eyes, emphasising his exasperation with her. It could be seen he feels she is childish and he is too old for her. The other members of the band stand together, laughing, to further emphasise the separation between the girls and boys.

3:12-3:15 - Neon lights featuring the words 'girls girls girls' are used in the back of the set. This adds interest to the shot, and keeps continuity with the band's image, as they use neon lights on their album covers.