Music Video Analysis - James Blake - Retrograde

Genre Characteristics: 'Retrograde' by James Blake is a narrative based music video, with some performance from James Blake of lip-syncing. This is usually

very typical for a music video of this genre of Synth Pop. The footage that is captured is very slow paced, some of which is probably done on a computer in order to create a sense of uneasiness and time for us to process what events are happening in the music video. I have noticed that a few other artists like to use slow motion in their music videos, such as in HAIM's 'Falling' video. This eery music video is a mixture of performance (lip syncing) and narrative, which has been filmed from a hand held camera giving a rawer feel to the video, which comes across as quite shifty. The camera has a soft focus which makes it feel quite dream-like and hazy.

Relationship between visuals and vocals: I found it quite difficult to analyse the relationship between the visuals and the vocals, as the video focuses on a mystery female who appears to be on a motorbike, around the countryside. The camera captures an abandoned house which features James Blake in very sparse lighting, in which only his face is alight. James doesn't appear to be within the narrative, only in the performance sector, however the motorcyclist appears in the room, where time has stood still. The other characters within the video are frozen and still, whilst the motorcyclist evaluates what is happening. James Blake’s voice is very angelic, and his timid voice really relates to this music video, and implies that he is quite isolated from everyone else, the panning adds to the emotion of the song by making the audience feeling uneasy. The lyrics 'and your friends are gone, and your friends won't come', implying that she is alone. James also says 'so show me here you fit', meaning that she is no longer like her other friends, and doesn't fit in with them any longer. 

Relationship between visuals and music: There are multiple different shaky shots presenting the locations of the music video. The shaky and unnatural shots occur when the music changes to a more synth tone. I do like the fact that the camera shots are shaky as it is quite natural, and this is what we want to happen in our music video, as it is also easier to film, as well as looking quite arty and put together. At 2:10 the music changes slightly to what sound like a horn, after this happens the shots change at a quicker pace. However I would have thought the shots would change with the beat of the music, instead it changed at randoms times during the video, adding to the uneasiness of the narrative and visuals. 

Are there any close up of the star motifs? As I have previously mentioned, a few shots of James Blake have been presented in an eery way. The camera has been at a slight slant when he he shown, however it is an extreme close up of his face, with the camera panning around slightly. He is only shown four times throughout the music video though, each in the same setting and camera position. 

What has been learnt? I have learnt how to mix the narrative and the performance aspects together, to create a unique approach to a music video. I really like the way this video has been filmed, and really would like to take some techniques away from this and emulate it into our own music video. 

Why did you choose the text you are analysing? I feel that this has a similar genre to the one we are planning to do in our group music video, as James Blake sounds quite angelic and has a very soft voice.

In what context did you encounter it? I encountered this song on YouTube, however I didn’t really stop to specifically watch the video, I only really encountered the video when I came to analyse it.

What sort of audience did you feel the video was aimed at? This video is aimed at teenagers and adults, as I said in my previous analysis they are at the age where they can appreciate the art that has gone into the music video, but to also really understand the emotion and the true meaning of the lyrics.

What conventions of the genre do you recognise in the text?
Jump cuts
Unique angle shots
Hand held camera
Low lighting

To what extent does this stretch to the conventions of the genre? The video is quite predictable for the type of genre that this song is, especially with the lighting and the way it has been filmed with the slow, and steady panning and zooming on the location and artists face.

What sort of response does the video seem to expect from you?
Quite sad, emotional, sympathetic towards the artist.

How typical do you think this video is from other music videos?
I wasn’t shocked to see that the music video would be set out in this way, as it has followed the stereotypical conventions of a usual indie song. However it is quite distinctive, as the storyline is quite confusing, I had to watch it a couple of times in order to fully understand it. “It’s a fine blend of the croony piano James and the funky, synthy one.”