Kate Nash - Foundations music video analysis

I chose to analyse this video not because of the genre it falls into but because of the style in which it was shot inspired me immensely, I especially liked the way the objects were personified and the people were objectified; I plan to make my video similar in this way. The video is set in a very regular, homely environment. Which as first could suggest a sense of normality between the couple; however this is soon contradicted. 

The video opens with close-ups and mid-shots of regular, everyday items; many being personified to represent the relationship between the couple. The toothbrushes, watches and socks are all seen in pairs, they are constantly being drawn to and away from each other, much like the couple in the video, and these items are shot in quick, clean cut shots to keep up a fast but consistent pace to the video. Other objects were used in a similar way throughout the video, such as the board game and playing cards are used to imply the mental game the couple  are playing with each other. The couple playing the board games are shot with close-ups, a typical convention of the pop genre, showing a direct mode of address and focusing on their clear facial expressions facial expressions which as quite unresponsive suggesting they are too used to these problems happening that it has become an everyday occurrence for them. 

Kate Nash, who plays the female protagonist in the video, kicks a ball into a group of heels, this could signify a rejection of femininity, which contradicts the fact that her toothbrush in the video is pink, a typical colour for the female gender. A similar rejection is shown when a low angle shot of the couple’s feet under the dinner table shows Kate move her feet away from her boyfriends as he tries to bring his closer, showing a lack of affection between them both.

There are both underlying narrative and visual links between the lyrics and music video; underlying narrative such as when Kate looks to the goldfish when singing ‘humiliate us in front our friends’ this discrete visual is seen as humorous and sarcastic. 

However then Kate eats the lemons to demonstrate her smugness when she sings ‘you say I must eat so many lemons, because i am so bitter’. Then her desire for conflict shines through with ‘it gives me thrills to wind you up’, where she winds a baby toy up, objectifying her boyfriend as a toy in which she controls presenting her as the dominant one in the relation, again rejecting her femininity as males are normally seen as the powerful party within a relationship. 

The animation of dinosaurs spinning suggests their relationship is spinning round in circles because nothing ever changes with them, as well as primarily adding to the childish lexis of the video.  the childish theme carries on when the couple are shot in bed together with the teddy bear which is placed in-between them, suggesting distance between them. The couple originally sleep fairly close together then end up completely apart, and even when one moves closer unknowingly in their sleep the other still rolls over to keep a fair distance between them. This scene is shot from overhead to allow the audience to feel omniscient and have a further insight into the couples relationship,in addition the high angled shot ultimately makes them look vulnerable.

Juxtaposition is used with the flowers placed inside a beer bottle, using a birds-eye view shot, showing the connection between typical male and female items; this is repeated with male and female socks entwining together and then separating (similarly to how the couple sleep). 

Kate is seen alone mostly for the rest of the video, and the love turns into aggression with the hands fighting and clear gender clashes and differences; the high angle tilted view shows Kate Nash making a cake, and the male interfering, resulting in her slapping his hand. With the watches moulding together shows she wants to hold on to the time they have left with each other, suggesting she knows their relationship will be ending soon (linking to her being alone for the rest of the video) because of the constant up-happiness they are both feeling; the faces she creates with her dinner back up her sadness through objectification.

Eventually all of the objects are separated or destroyed such as the toothbrushes, the watches, socks, the picture of them placed face down, the dinner thrown in the bin and her suitcase packed. When Kate Nash walks out it ends dramatically with the door poster saying ‘don’t fall for this’ which creates a sense of irony.