The original video for "Crystalised" centres around the band and their instruments. I think this is because "The xx" are an indie band and their music is largely based around their instruments. It could also be because they want to show they are a credible band and are not a manufactured pop band which are very common in the charts at the moment.
There are long shots of the band throughout the video where they are standing in front of a white background with videos of clouds and different elements being projected onto them. This as well as the variety of camera shots (which are synced to the beat of the music) such as , close-up shots on instruments and band members when they are singing makes the video really interesting and nice to watch.
The use of instruments in music videos is not just solely done by "The xx" in fact, it is typical to the Indie pop* genre.
* Indie Pop
"Indie pop (also known as twee pop or twee music in the United States) is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcards Record label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid eighties,The Smiths. Unlike Indie rock, Indie pop is more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free."
Some Examples:
The Smiths- This Charming Man
Aztec Camera- Somewhere in my Heart
and more modern music videos such as;
The Temper Trap- Fader
The Fratellis- Chelsea Dagger
A convention of most Indie pop bands and definitely all of the videos above is that the videos are centred around the bands playing their instruments. However the video for "Crystalised" is a lot simpler than these examples. For instance, in all of the videos there are far more varied camera shots and all of them show the bands playing their instruments with a lot of lighting effects and Mise en Scene whereas, "The xx" are just shown against a wall with a projection on them. Also in the "Chelsea Dagger" video there is a brief story line which connects to the lyrics of the song.
I like the simpleness of the original "Crystalised" video however, when my group start creating our new video we plan to make it slightly more detailed as a contrast.
Some other videos by "The xx" are more detailed such as,
The xx- Islands
This video still focuses on the band but has the added Mise en Scene of the dancers and their trademark X.
There are long shots of the band throughout the video where they are standing in front of a white background with videos of clouds and different elements being projected onto them. This as well as the variety of camera shots (which are synced to the beat of the music) such as , close-up shots on instruments and band members when they are singing makes the video really interesting and nice to watch.
The use of instruments in music videos is not just solely done by "The xx" in fact, it is typical to the Indie pop* genre.
* Indie Pop
"Indie pop (also known as twee pop or twee music in the United States) is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcards Record label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid eighties,The Smiths. Unlike Indie rock, Indie pop is more melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free."
Some Examples:
The Smiths- This Charming Man
and more modern music videos such as;
The Temper Trap- Fader
The Fratellis- Chelsea Dagger
A convention of most Indie pop bands and definitely all of the videos above is that the videos are centred around the bands playing their instruments. However the video for "Crystalised" is a lot simpler than these examples. For instance, in all of the videos there are far more varied camera shots and all of them show the bands playing their instruments with a lot of lighting effects and Mise en Scene whereas, "The xx" are just shown against a wall with a projection on them. Also in the "Chelsea Dagger" video there is a brief story line which connects to the lyrics of the song.
I like the simpleness of the original "Crystalised" video however, when my group start creating our new video we plan to make it slightly more detailed as a contrast.
Some other videos by "The xx" are more detailed such as,
The xx- Islands
This video still focuses on the band but has the added Mise en Scene of the dancers and their trademark X.
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