Bastille – Send Them Off

Video Analysis

IntertextualityThe music video for Send Them Off by Bastille which was included in their 2016 album Wild Worlds features a lot of intertextuality. In the opening scenes you briefly see many links to their marketing campaign for Wild Worlds called WWCOMMS. This links into the marketing campaign which involved the fans on social media by leaving clues for them to discover the names of the new tracks pre-release. This continues the whole narrative though from the pre-release of the album through to the signal and eventually the release of the video. This keeps the audience dedicated and involved which creates a close connection to the artists which is a key part of Andrew Goodwin's theories.The ways in which this is linked in is through what is shown on screens around the streets. On screen you see the WWCOMMS logo which is very noticeable to any Bastille fan that follows them on social media. Another place that they make these links is through the WWCOMMS official that is speaking on the large screen above the characters head. He is a leading member in the organisation and features heavily in Bastilles music video Fake It. Fake it was released a month before Send Them Off so in this video we see how the video that was filmed in Fake It is being received by the character.

Links Between Lyrics and VisualsIn the chorus of Send Them Off it say “I’ve got demons running round in my head”. This is displayed thorough the visuals in the video in multiple different ways. The first way that it is shown is through the demon like shadow that follows the character around through out the whole video. This is a very obvious representation of the lyrics as he is literally being followed by a demon however there are other more subtle interpretations. Though out the whole video lots of very strange things take place which suggest that he is hallucinating which would link in with the demons running round in his head. In one shot you see a woman (who is not wearing much which conforms with Goodwin's theory of voyeurism) smoking and then breathing out flies. This is obviously not possible to supports the narrative of him hallucination and the demons in his mind playing tricks on him. This is also used in another shot where he enters a room which is on fire to find couples kissing seemingly un-aware of the danger. This juxtaposition of the love and the danger could suggest the reason for his demons and why everything he is seeing has been caused though a breakup or loneliness.

Close Ups of ArtistsAs Bastille aren’t the main characters in this this video you do not see them as much as you in some of their other videos. In Send Them Off they are shown as almost the people controlling all of these strange things which are happening to the character and therefore the demons. They are always shown in a passive way spectating what is going on. However, although the narrative is not focused on them you do still see some close up shots of them and especially of Dan which follows Goodwin's theory. This keep the connection between the artists and the audience even though they aren’t always on screen. By doing so it builds a relationship between them and will make the fans more loyal. In this video you see all member of the band where as in some of the other Bastille videos you only ever see Dan as he is the lead vocalist and the front man.

Technical AspectsSend Them Off features many technical aspects which help to make it a very high quality video. The video opens with a low angle shot of the main character which shows his surroundings towering above him representing how alone and vulnerable he is. Camera work like this continues though out the video and maintains the feeling of threat that the character is under. As well as camera work a lot of special effects are used in this video to show his hallucinations. This allowed the creators of the video to be much more creative and allowed them to put things into the video which are not physically possible. By using special effects it creates a much more interesting and intriguing video which allows for multiple different interpretations. An example is in the screenshot provided where all of the faces are disguised my a circular blur. This could be seen as a way of showing how our character is separated from society and isolated. Other ways that effects are used is to distort the image and change the colour of the shot which helps to show that he is hallucinating. It could also be seen as he is on drugs as it sometimes looks as though he is hallucinating due to drug use.

Technical AspectsSend Them Off has a continuously fast cutting rate which shows how frantic and panicked the character is about the threat he is under. The fast cutting rate syncs with the beat of the music and keeps the narrative flowing as fast as he in moving. There is also features used throughout the editing of the video which helps to add to the idea of hallucinating and the franticness of the character. Lots of small jump cuts are used in this video which give the video a glitchy look almost like his brain is unable to function. This fast cutting rate and glitchy editing with effects like distort on all help to build and add to the narrative and make it look as though his vision is being impaired and also that as spectators we are unable to see everything clearly.