Music Video Analysis: Flyte - 'Cathy Come Home'

Flyte - Cathy Come Home

Genre: Indie Rock

Origin: London, UK

Instantly from the start of the video, we see Andrew Goodwin's theory of the convention of there being a relationship between the visuals and the music; we see several shots edited together to the opening beat of the music, before cutting to two title cards. This instantly creates a link between the song, and, combined with the cold-yet-bold pastel colour scheme and film-stock visual style, matches the common genre convention of indie rock music videos being aesthetically pleasing. The use of editing to create a link between the video and the music itself is also used in several other sections of the video, as shown in the second row of screenshots above; whilst the angle and shot type stay the same, editing-to-the-beat is used to cut several times to an almost-identical shot with the lead singer in a different chair. The effect created by this is a foregrounding of the music, as well as the 'quirky' style often found in music videos from the genre.

 At 00:09, we cut to a tracking shot on what appears to be an outdoor velodrome, with the band members sitting/standing/laying in the foregroung. This shows initial signs of another Andrew Goodwin music video convention, with the video showcasing the artist themselves through a large number of shots of them. This also shows Lynch's theory of there being three main music video categories (performance, narrative, concept), with this sequence establishing the performance element.

This sequence also shows a representation of the male gender, with all of the men being dressed in retro, pastel-coloured clothing, and their body language creating a sense of boyish charm. This, combined with the male-gaze elements which appear later in the video (discussed further below), creates an ideology which is also typical from music videos of this genre.

 The next sequence introduces a new technique by cross-cutting between different camera styles; the first is a naturalistic widescreen film-stock zoom-in of a statue, which is then contrasted by a side-angle shot using a low-quality digital camcorder. This, combined with a pair of hands caressing the statue, links with Andrew Goodwin's theory of voyeurism being a key convention of music videos, through the idea of foregrounding the fact that the video has been constructed, contrasting against the previous naturalistic aesthetic. The use of an outdoor location in this segment (and across much of the rest of the video) also matches another convention of alternative or acoustic music videos, depicting the artist in a natural & aesthetically pleasing location; in this case, an outdoor monument is used alongside camera angles which often create a symmetrical effect.

Multiple times throughout the remaining duration of the video, we cut to several shots in a 4:3 ratio, which are either shot on film, or edited to look as if they are; this creates a retro aesthetic, and when combined with the other widescreen shots, create a timeless quality for the video. These shots are seemingly completely separate from each other, relying only on connotations and symbolism for any meaning to be found; this links with Roland Barthes' theory of some music videos producing meanings through signs and codes, which then allows audiences to decode them to create their own interpretation. An effect of intrigue and interactivity of created through this for audiences, and this also introduces another of Joan Lynch's music video genres - concept.

As briefly mentioned previously, this video features several examples of Andrew Goodwin's theory of voyeurism being a common characteristic of music videos. Whilst this is created through the use of foregrounded camera elements (such as low-quality digital camcorder footage), it is also achieved through the use of the male gaze. Several of the fragmented concept shots (mentioned in the previous paragraph) show several nude women, often in a way which creates sexual connotations; these shots often show close-ups of body parts and/or movement which, when compared to the "boyish" representation of the men in this video, creates this effect.