Textual analysis (Kate Nash)

I asked an ex-media student for a detailed response to Kate Nash's 'Foundations' music video. the reason for doing this is to explore personal opinion and what potentially works well..and not so well within a video! This can then help us when storyboarding our ideas because we will have first hand examples of themes that the audience like/dislike.

Here is the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhC4E055OsY

Ok, so the first question I asked was 'Which do you find the most memorable part of the video?' in response I found that the sequence of Kate eating the lemons with the lyrics, "You said I must eat so many lemons, cause I am so bitter" really stuck out to the ex-media student because of the direct link between lyrics and visuals (below)

They then went on to say that the recurring theme of animating simple objects such as the toy dinosaurs was memorable to them, once again linking lyrics with image, "Everyone we're with will be embarrased" even though they are inanimate objects, the childish twist of having toys rather than real people creates a more conceptual feeling to the video


I then asked 'Do you like the video, and why?' The reply I got was positive, they thought it was a fun video by the way that some of the lyrics matched the visuals in a conceptual and playful way. Another favourite part of the video for them was the shot where the lyrics are "..and humiliate me, infront of our friends" followed by Kate looking over at the fish bowl implying once again that the goldfish substitute real people.


Next, I asked if 'Overall do you think the video sells the song, or does it clash?' the reply i got was again positive due to the underlying narrative structure within the video, they then went on to say that the kitsch references throughout compliment the artist and their independant style.

'Likes and dislikes within the video?' Likes; the animation of objects, giving them a sense of life! and also the high angle shot of Kate on the stairs looking up towards the camera as she sings directly into it. They then went onto say they liked the compostition and framing, as it's not central.

Dislikes; singing into the camera too often.



Finally I asked 'What do you think of the locations?' to this they replied that the house offers a location we can often associate with due to it being very realistic and naturally lit, especially as the song targets relationships/friendships therefore can easily be related to our own everyday lives. They also liked the use of the different rooms throughout the song.