Sick of You - Cake

Sick of You – Cake

Sick of You by Cake is indeed an alternative rock piece – though, they’re not hugely famous or very well known, their ‘funky’ sort of style is utterly unique to this area of the genre market. I decided to have a look at them due to the slower nature of their songs and the distinct use of camerawork and editing. By far, Sick of You is the most unconventional example of an alternative rock music video and is worth in consideration when coming to plan our own what are the extents to unique, whilst still attempting to appeal to a supposed genre; from a camerawork and editing point of view, this piece is prime with some major examples of how iconography, motion and syncing can be managed and is therefore something worth to look at in a technical aspiration.

00:02

There are a lot of unconventional methods that’s conducted in this music video, though motion isn’t one of them. In fact, it’s possibly one of the videos strongest points from a camera view perspective; it doesn’t have to be ridiculous fast, nor rather speedy either as it is a rather mellow song, though most of the shots do have some sense of motion in it. Pre-soundtrack here, this rather fast close-up of a parking space quickly establishes the live performance scene, and creates the pre-motion to get into the song. All of this is conventional, and allows the transition to add the song in works effectively.

00:05

Once more, the motion is continued through this pan (left to right) of the parking space, fully establishing the scene for the live performance. From the mise-en-scene, one learns that the scene is abandoned, that there is genuinely empty space and that there are vast amounts of it – whilst motion is typically being created here to introduce the song, it is at the same time gearing up or establishing the live performance mise-en-scene and its symbolic in terms of the lyrics, particularly as it says ‘I need to hide away’ and ‘I’m sick of you’ suggests that the lyrics indicate wanting to be alone – which is exactly what the mise-en-scene does here. This is conventional and unconventional at the same time: from a conventional point of view, alternative rock music videos do relate the lyrics in terms of what’s seen on screen symbolically through mise-en-scene or the narrative, but because this isn’t the narrative and is rather the live performance, it is un-conventional for that means; nonetheless, it is still effective.

00:06

Going straight into live performance for the intro for the actual music to this music video, with the distinct and singular sound of the snare (drums), the video pans out from the snare drum as the drummer plays – the crash signifying the actual entrance point of the song as it is a further distinct sound and a good transition point, shows how the drums can be used to effectively sync the song to video and introduce elements together to work up to one thing. This shot is conventional as it examples the musical instrument that is being played, yet is again unconventional in the means that the drummer is established first – iconography in music videos often allows the lead singer to be established first, yet however with the zooming out of this shot, this convention makes up for what it does unusually.

00:07

This close up of the bassist is extremely conventional as it examples the instrument that is now creating the most distinct sound in the music video – by syncing the  video to the distinct sound also, it helps create the tempo that is created between the bass and the drums, and allows the shots to be held slightly longer. Again, whilst this close-up shot of the bass is conventional, it again has that unusual element of order or, the composition of the music video in effect, as the lead singer has not yet being established. However, it is arguable due to the fact that only the instruments have been held in shot, that no iconography has yet been established, and that the video has only introduced the elements of syncing, tempo and introduction to live performance that is conventionally needed to begin to build up the music video.

00:11

A few seconds later, the camerawork begins to make its rounds about the band – this time having a close up shot on the guitarist, this shot examples the stark contrast between the other instruments in its bold black; here, it is also particularly important to note the use of mise-en-scene through costume, as the guitar is black and red, so is the player who has a black suit on with red trim – this aids to create iconography, establishing a bold connection between the musician and the instrument as at this point the guitar becomes more dominate in the music video. This connection between the instrument and the musician helps to aid the sense of iconography that is beginning to be established, more so as this shot pans down from a mid shot of the musician down to the guitar; at the same time, this shot also holds that sense of motion that is clearly used in the music video, being slow reflects the tempo of the song (which is slow for an alternative rock music video, thereby removing the unusual pace of the video and allowing the shots to be held for a second or two longer) and creates the motion needed to cut to the next shot. Whilst the time-line of creating iconography is indeed backwards, nonetheless the camera work and the mise-en-scene used up until this point is very conventional for live performance. The only problem or unconventional note that can be dangerous about this music video is the unclear direction of the narrative between this shot and 00:07 as it already lacks a storyline and appears underdeveloped.

00:13

This long establishing shot of the band (Cake) is extremely conventional as it shows the band in its entirety in live performance. The composition of the shot (mise-en-scene) allows the lead singer to be at the front and the focal point of the shot, finally creating that very conventional sense of iconography as the lead singer is often the image of the band – however, due to the nature of this music video it could be arguable that the whole band stands together to create its iconography and not just the lead singer, though he does have the largest role within it. Again, we return to the setting of the car park, still empty, creates that connection between the band/live performance and the intention of the lyrics. What are unusual yet not totally unconventional are the apparent narrative characters in the background, dancing. Whilst this does have elements of a live performance audiences, the cross over between narrative and live performance is almost completely blurred in the this music video – the whole thing almost appears as live performance, which is slightly unconventional (though not unusual) for an alternative rock music video as a ‘fantasy’/narrative is often created to link video and lyrics together in symbolisms.

00:14

This mid shot of the lead singer finally establishes that full conventional sense of iconography in Sick of You; more effectively yet unusual is the choice of point and shot in the music video – the lyrics have not yet begun, which is often the stage in which the lead singer often creates the icon of the band, yet instead this split second shot uses the lead singer to identify and ‘example’ a sound that is unconventionally used in alternative rock music; instead, this video begins to present a cross between alternative rock and a jazz like sense – allowing the music video to appear that slightly more unconventional.

00:19

Once more, that sense of iconography and motion is established in this shot as the video pans down over the guitar as the guitarist is playing, the shot is once more held for slightly longer to emphasise the guitars dominance in the song as well as reflect the slow tempo of the song itself; what is more effective here however, is the quick zoom in to the guitar to then jump cut to the narrative instead. This is an unconventional means of jumping between narrative and live performance, as often there is just as simple cut whereas the camera work is applied in the conventional methods of creating motion or emphasising particular instruments or the lead in the live performance.

00:22

This close up, overhead shot of the drums is extremely effective (still pre-lyrics) it actually introduces the name of the song through the use of playing in live performance; whilst the establishment is often carried out to found the band, this music video unconventionally does both as well as inaugurate the song and video in one. Whilst this is unconventional, it is nonetheless extremely effective and due to the unusual nature of the song itself in its genre, has the capabilities to do just so.

00:25

Now post lyrics, this establishing shot (a continued section from the previous long establishing shot of the band) has the lead singer in central frame whilst singing, this creates the sense of iconography as well as engagement, more so as the lead singer goes the extra mile to create his own sense of moment as he rocks forward and points to the camera – again, signifying ‘I’m sick of you’ effectively as though it were the audience. This is all conventional as well as effective as it allows the audience to relate further with the song as the lead singer engages in such a way to the point he surpasses iconography.

00:30

This shot shows the stage when the narrative applies rather effectively within the piece (the sense of costume – mise-en-scene- I can’t quiet explain to the relativity to the lyrics or the video itself, though I would suggest that it is to do with unconventional methods of the music video and the style of sound that Cake produce, allowing themselves to be fully aware that they are unusual) as one rabbit walks away from the other in a similar setting to that of the live performance. The composition in this extreme long shot is further more effective as it shows the distance between the two characters and the application of the lyrics of being ‘sick of someone’ and the emptiness of the rest of the shot. These links between the video and the lyrics creates a symbolic representation of the song, and although it is unusual, it is too conventional.

00:31 – 00:37

These range of shots explores the different nature of camerawork and mise-en-scene to combine live performance with the symbolisms of narrative – the change between costume every second or so as the camera pans up and down shows the different types of people that can become sick of one another, for example the patriotic symbolisms of America and ‘gun owners’ or even what appears on one of the caps at 00:37, different parties. What is most effective of this camerawork is the position of the lead singer – he never changes, and with only little parts of the mise-en-scene changing, it works perfectly together to create an effective editing sequence.

How this was done is rather simple: the song or sequences of the song were recorded as the lead singer mimed or actually sung them with one of the costumes on, and then would repeat the same process with a different costume on, until all of the required costumes had been shot without moving the camera or the background mise-en-scene. The pillar that the lead singer is up against also helps to ‘pin point’ the position he was previously in also. This is an effective method as it means that one shot of one sequence could be held longer than the other before moving to a different costume, and that the synchronised singing would continue on through the shifts of costume and camerawork.

These types of shots are conventional and more as effective as it ‘spices’ up the shots and the sequence altogether, whilst there is also movement in the piece to drive it along for a considerable length of time. Furthermore, the lead singer once again engages with the audience through the movement of his arms and often a little bob in his head whilst singing – it clearly indicates his engagement with the song, more so, being alone it again applies the lyrics and the tone of the song to the live performance (which is not totally unconventional, but rarely done). Moreover, the mid shot of the lead singer helps that sense of iconography once more – more so without the long establishing shot.

00:41 – 00:42

Cutting away between live performance and narrative (however underdeveloped in this piece) is not done in the normal and more easily effective standards of other alternative rock music videos. Between the zoom in / zoom out shots, there is also the use of composition between the band members and the characters. This example here shows the lead singer, fully engaging with the song to then cut away to a similar position of the character – this reposition helps ease the eye into the distinct change, without relatively detecting it. Again, the live performance creates a symbolic link between the lyrics as at this point ‘I want to fly away’ is demonstrated also in the narrative, it aids it to become slightly more conventional.

00:43

With a lot of emphasis on live performance in Sick of You, the camera work is really drawn out in different types of shots and methods to create syncing, iconography or emphasise on particularly elements of the song, such as dominant instruments or vocals. The variation in shots really creates a sense of diversity within the piece whilst it focuses on a large element rather than dividing it up into two sections, which allows it work effectively and better, this is slightly unconventional, yet is really controlled and tight enough that the style of music makes up for it. This extreme close up on the bassist playing and selecting chords, emphasis the bass, whilst the back-up vocals in the background further produces that element of delivering the sync and example of live performance and music together very well; although this shot should have a real sense of optical focus, without it, it works well as it is not held enough for a viewer to really realise the lack of such.

00:57

This shot in terms of syncing is really powerful and effective, as the bass slows right down and has a very distinct one note whilst the guitar roles off into a sort of mini solo between the bridge of the chorus and the verse – this is usual note for my own planning – and in terms of conventions is extremely powerful to create a real sense of connection between video and sound.

01:01

Again, the conventional method of creating emphasis between what’s on screen and what’s heard is once more used – this explosion is right on the crash between the pause on the bridge and into the verse. This really creates the sense of being ‘sick’ of something, and will somewhat engage with the audience in a symbolic sense of that feeling (creating atmosphere) of how one feels when they want to be alone or are relatively down in the dumps, as this song try’s to take an enlightening approach upon.

01:03

What this video does a lot of (and rather well) is the synchronisation between video and sound, particularly with instruments, to emphasise particular sounds or dominate aspects of the song – more so as it has that ‘funky’ / ‘jazz’ approach on this alternative rock, is allows its conventions to slightly bend further to really focus on the live performance rather than the narrative. This close-up shot of the electric retro styled keyboard is particularly effective as it introduces the new element of the song in link with the video – the mise-en-scene of the keyboard further, allows that ‘funky’ atmosphere of the song to be further applied effectively.

01:10 – 01:13

Once more, the piece returns to the segmented sequence where the lead singer would have sang on mimed the whole song in these different costumes – this examples how the editing can effectively be synced if it is not done in stages, but rather different camera angles and different shots to effectively create a whole song in different syncing points as it will all align. Once more, the lead singer really engages with the audience in this mid shot as he himself offers a lot of movement within the up and down pan of the sequence.

01:16 – 01:17

This editing / camera work here is extremely effective. As the camera pans from left to right, across the empty car park, it helps aid that establishment once more of the isolation that is of the setting of the live performance and right on the crash to the chorus once more, the band is edited straight in to really boost the chorus. This little section does a number of things to aid the music video; firstly, the motion of the pan helps the cut into the chorus, and the inter exchanging shots between the live performance; secondly, it offers a unique twist on the camerawork as well as editing as there is a lot of central focus on live performance it just further boosts what the audience is seeing and how it is delivered – almost as if it’s rare to see the same shot twice. Although this is unconventional at the same time, it’s extremely effective and demonstrates some really strong camerawork / editing.

01:20

It’s rare that this music video explore the narrative of Sick of You, so automatically the video creates a real sense of unconventional methods. However, when it does cut away to the narrative, on good occasions there are a lot of good, effect conventions that are carried through. Here for example, the mise-en-scene in relation to the lyrics and the tone of the song are really applied – more in symbolisms than any other. The two characters are going down an empty street, the empty house for sale just off the focus in the shot really brings home that idea of wanting to be alone, and of ‘wanting to fly away’, yet what is rather ironic about the mise-en-scene and the costume is the clear ability to focus on the costume of the rabbits: they are smiling. Whilst the lyrics of the song are pretty much down and focus on being sick of someone and wanting to leave, at the same time, the song itself is pretty up-beat, creating that ironic link between mise-en-scene, narrative and the sound to what’s on screen.

01:22

This shot is rather interesting due to the canted nature of it – however, this type of shot where it looks from the bottom of the guitar / bass and onto the strings / fret board, is extremely conventional for these types of music videos, alternative rock, rock, punk or metal the like; more so, it is seen in live performance concerts moreover, such as live gigs and stage shows where the whole video lacks narrative (a lot like most of AC/DC’s music videos). What’s sort of strange upon that note is the unconventional lacking of a narrative and a focusing heavily on live performance. Again, the piece emphasis on the very strict sound of the bass over the music.

01:31

The zoom in camerawork is once more used, to introduce the long shot of the band once more – however this time there are some different elements of it. The motion is firstly created as the lead singer retracts away from the mic, yet it sort of signifying’s the difference between the full live performance of Cake and the now brought in characters from the narrative. This isn’t all that unconventional, it’s been done before as I examined in other examples, but at the same time it is slightly unusual. Whilst it doesn’t fully work, it does in the conventions of the sound that Cake produce as it is unique and unusual.

01:35

This extreme close up of the lead singer (with the rest of the band lined up behind him) is the first really strong sense of iconography that Sick of You examples; the audience are directly engaged with the lead singer, as well as the four other members of the band, but at the same time are disengaged by the costume of them all wearing sunglasses. It feels as though the band are looking head on at the audience, where in reality it creates a break a though to link later on; what’s more, it sort of reflects the tone that the music video produces at the same time, the idea of being ‘fed up’ is sort of masked.

01:37

Nearing the climax of the song, the live performance enters a stage where it becomes wrapped up with the narrative characters; this shot is extremely unconventional as the narrative characters play the instruments for a second which is never really done in alternative rock music videos. At the same time however, it adds that ‘fun’ tone that the up-beat song produces.

01:48 – 01:58

Once again, camerawork and editing are pulled into play to offer a lot more than what really is in the live performance. The variation is direly needed in Sick of You due to the heavy focus on the band (again, always creating a sense of iconography) and with the same continued shot as before, this section does something pretty remarkable, interesting and unique with the ‘hey’ break down of the song. Whenever the band behind say ‘hey’ a shot is placed without the lead singer, then back again, going back and forth with the tempo of the song (this uses the same filming methods as the costume change section in the song also). What’s rather cleaver about it at the same time is due to the lead singers motion and direction of movement with the viewer, whilst the band members are stood in the background doing nothing, they could be fooled into thinking a lot is actually happening. It is this sort of variation in camerawork and editing which makes this music video rather unique and effective, more so as it binds live performance and narrative together, but only really focusing on one particular element; more so, due to the unconventional nature of the song compared to the genre, conventionality sort of goes out of the window to begin with, making this piece something worth to look at for ‘dos’ and ‘donts’ effectively, whilst offering a medley of interesting camerawork and editing.

02:05

This particular mid shot of the lead singer really establishes a great sense of iconography and engagement with the viewer, its greatest example in the music video in total. Without the sun-glasses and the direct contact into the camera, it really brings home that idea that he’s really trying to connect with his audience, and toning down on his body language, uses his facial features to imply the words further such as ‘all the music that you own, won’t change the fact your all alone’ really connects with the audience immensely. More so, at this stage where the music is pretty calm, with this connection continuing, it really creates the sense further and engages with the atmosphere at the same time. This is extremely conventional, and has been noticed in some example analyses so far.

02:31

This tracking shot of the lead singer as he walks away, really creates that emphasis of connection between live performance and the lyrics meaning, ‘I’m sick of you’, ‘I want to fly away’ really evokes the atmosphere that the lead singer himself is fed up, and walking away with his mic creates that link between the live performance and lyrics enough so that it carry’s it out well; the motion in this shot allows the piece to continue as well as begin to enter the finish. Once more, the linking between live performance and lyrics/tone is rather unconventional.

02:51

Coming to finish up as a lot of the shots return and repeat, this shot examples a great sense of editing within the piece; the three segments would have been cropped and placed within the frame on screen, each all synced up to the same spot, shows the previous example of how these were shot, where the lead singer would have sung the whole song. The editing adds that extra sense of diversity that is needed so that the music video can round up and finish, as well as show comparison between the different conventions and the different attitudes of the signer at those points; if you notice, they are all different when taken individually of different moods they could represent by the gesture of his head or his body language motion. This sort of editing is unconventional, yet very effective at the same time.