Alfie Arcuri - If They Only Knew Analysis

The music video for "If They Only Knew" by Alfie Arcuri is themed around LGBT awareness and an individual discovering their sexuality and identity. The theme of friendship is also prevelent throughout the video and that is something we wish to incorperate in our music video. For these reasons, this music video inspires me and my group, so i'm going to analyse it to gain ideas.

Mise-en-scene
Throughout the video, the dark and alternative clothing that the characters wear creates the aesthetic that we want for our video, in order to appeal to our target audience of young people. This clothing style is also common with the demographic of people who listen to the alternative style of music. Throughout the video we also see the friendship group smoking and drinking, a common theme in terms of alternative music videos. I was particularly interested in the theme of a love triangle within a friendhship group as a narrative.

Camera
In terms of camera, we see an establishing two shot of the two male friends that progresses into a slow motion montage of clips emphasising their friendship and their closeness. We see many close up shots of the couple holding hands to clearly establiash the romantic relationship between them. Similaraly, a range of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist shows the longing and emotion he feels towards his friend. I was particularly interested by the mirror shot in the of the protagonist glancing at the couple, as it really emphasised the fact that he is struggling with his emotions and identity.

Sound
I found the music cutting out to diegetic sound and dialogue at a crucial part in the narrative very interesting and hope to incorperate that into our own music video.

Editing
The repeated use of slow motion throughout the video adds dramatic tension and focus on specific parts of the video, key features such as the friendships and relationships between the characters.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3etRNavQVM