The 1975 - Chocolate (Music Video Analysis)

As The 1975 are the band whose song we have chosen to create our own music video I thought it would be important to analysis one of their previous music videos to see what themes, camera angles and ideas they use, which we could take for our own.

The song "Chocolate"  was originally recorded by the band for their second extended play, Music for Cars, where it appears as the second track, and later appeared as the third track on their debut studio album, The 1975. The single peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, and the Music Video which has 2 million + views on YouTube was released on the 20th February 2013. In an interview, Matty the lead singer of the band says this song is about "me and my mates knocking around in my hometown. It is a kind of love letter to the kind of relationships we had with authority figures, be it our parents or the police. its kind of a story about small town boredom."

The first thing we need to consider when analyzing music videos is that everything that is going on in the video has been planned and is there for a reason, and by analyzing we can interpenetrate our own opinion on what the director has intended.

The very first shot in the music video is of the bands lead singer in the underground piped room. The camera is panning in on the main character as he is lighting a cigarette surrounded by smoke, it is notable that the camera is panning in slow motion which could be representing the slow death in which smoking could cause.
The music video is in black and white, and there are many reasons why this could be. After watching the entire video I believe that the director has shot the video in black and white to create an atmosphere and a era of mystery. The colour black  also represents death, which could be referring to the lyrics in which they are saying they are never going to quit it - that if they don't quit it it will ultimately lead to death. I believe the thing that is ultimately going to kill them if they don't stop it will be smoking, and I am led to believe this due to the continuous onscreen smoking - matching the lyrics.
The frequent cuts on the interment couple underground could be trying to portray that it is a dream, a thought or memory, and the reality is that the girl is now dead and all the male has left is his thought's. I got this impression by the location in which the video is shot, in an underground room with brick and pipes - it isn't the stereotypical place for a couple to be getting interment. There is also smoke surrounded the couple, again it could be possibly portraying the smoking or it could potentially be representing clouds if the girl is in heaven.
The video itself is take up with the 4 band members driving in a car. These shots could be a crucial in helping the viewer interpenetrate what the meaning behind the music video is - that the car is always moving and so is life, that regardless what happens, such as someone dying that life won't stop for anyone.
Something which I have also noticed about the chocolate video is that the cuts are irregular and are never in time with the beat. The director could have chosen this to compliment the black and white and the era of mystery in which that simple effect creates.