The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather Analysis

In this post I analyse the music video for 'Sweater Weather' by The Neighbourhood

In terms of editing, in this music video I was particularly drawn to the titles used. The video opens with a white background with 'The Neighbourhood' written in black text. This sets up the use of colour throughout the video, as many shots are edited to be black and white, possibly to insinuate flashbacks/changes in timeline. Parrallel to this, the title of the song is written in white on a black background.  The majority of transitions used throughout the video are either fade effects; alternatively quick cut editing is used to create a montage of shots. Many shots blur into focus, supporting the surreal, dream-like feel of the video. Shot-reverse-shot is used to show the relationships between characters. Later on in the video, shots are flipped upside down and layered, further emphasising the hypnagognic mood created in the video.

 
The camerawork used in the video uses an extensive amount of techniques to create the dream like atmosphere and aesthetic. We see the use of pan down shots, and extreme close ups throughout the video; the extreme close ups often featuring book pages turning or vinyls playing. I particularly took notice of the extreme close up shot of someone flicking through vinyls in a vinyl store as part of the montage of quick cut edited shots, and this is something we would possibly like the recreate in our own music video. The video features a two shot filmed from the backseat of a car, showing the driver and passenger talking, and soon after we see a birds eye shot of the protagonist descending down a flight of stairs. Tracking shots are used of cars and people to create a fast paced and movement oriented feel to the video.

After exploring the technical codes of the music video, I went on to identify symbolic conventions and aesthetics and imagery. We see in the music video a selection of symbolic conventions of rebllious, alternative youth, such as tattooed characters, smoking and drinking alcohol and shadows. The use of sunlight and blurred image connotes the use of drugs and alcohol, while setting up a waterfront location, supported by images of palm trees. Alongside the use of black and white colour editing, shadows are frequented in the video, and a large portion of the video focuses on the friendship group riding in cars.