Narrative
The narrative of this music video begins with a child in a small house. It is night, and it appears as if he is supposed to be asleep in his bedroom. His father is in the living room watching late night television, and therefore is oblivious to what his son is doing.
The son begins to apply make up to his face, resembling a clown. This gives the impression that he is trying to hide his identity, and remain anonymous for whatever is going to occur throughout the video. He then sneaks out of the house past his dad, and meets his two friends who are also wearing clown make up. This also reinforces the idea that they are about to engage in an activity that would require their anonymity to be paramount, likely to be something illegal or frowned upon.
We seem them walking through the estate, and encounter a gang. They start arguing with the gang, and are then chased. They approach a bus, and get on it to get to their destination.
Their destination is a club, and they do their best to sneak past security to get in. Once they are in, there are dance battles occurring, with people wearing similar face paint, suggesting it is some sort of cult or gang event.
They then begin participating in the dance battle. As it proceeds, the security guards notice the 3 underage boys, and throw them out. As the video ends, we see a shot of the 3 boys driving away in the back of a police car.
Settings
The settings used in this video firstly begin with is the home of one of the boys. It is a dark, small and almost uncomfortable setting. This suggests that the boy is uneasy, and doesn't want to be there. We then see him leave this setting and go outside, into the surrounding estate. This is where he meets his friends. This setting is where they encounter the gang, and are then chased to a different setting; the bus. Here we see other citizens on the bus, who seem to be intimidated by the boys, likely to be due to their youth nature, or their clown face paint. Once they are off the bus, they are outside of the club. This then leads to the interior of the club, which is a decadent, cramped and lively setting. This is where the intense dance battles occur. Once the boys are kicked out, we are again transported outside of the club to where they are arrested and put inside the police car.
Shots usedThere were a variety of different shots used in this video. There are several close ups, especially of the young boys, as well as medium shots and long shots. The most effective shot used in this text, however, is the POV shot. This gives a sense of the audience being included within the dance battle, as well as trying to convey the intensity of the situation for the individuals who are actually participating within the dance-off.
Transitions
The transitions in this video are predominantly simple cuts. This is to show the fast paced nature within the video, and to convey the hectic and decadent activities these children are engaging in. If a dissolve or fade was used at any other point in the video other than the beginning or end, it would show a slow paced happening, which is the opposite of what is trying to be portrayed here.
Representation
This video represents the lifestyles of youths in a lower class upbringing, and showing their habits which are frowned upon. This is enforced by the idea of the boys wearing the clown face paint to increase their anonymity. Additionally, the portrayal of the contents of the club being mostly youths suggests that this setting is no place for adults, and that modern day youths are being encouraged to join and participate in cult or gang activity, be it illegal or not.
Conclusion
To summarize, this video for 'Galvanize' is targeted at a youthful audience, similar to the music itself. It includes the activities in which teens and young adults would engage in, as well as including the hint of criminal or anti-social behaviour - which is stereotypical of youths - therefore representing them in a negative light.
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