Standing Next to me was the second single released by the Last shadow puppets it reached number 30 in the UK charts in 2008. The video was directed by Richard Ayoade and was shot in London, the video is pretty simple and involves two of the band members performing with a shadowy backdrop along with a troop of dancers.
The image we first see is of Miles Kane playing the guitar, a medium shot is used to establish the scene, the camera zooms out to allow us to see another member of the band, Alex Turner playing the tambourine. Both men are wearing smart clothing, suggesting sophistication and wealth. The colours of black and grey reinforce this, they are also positioned in the center of the frame, highlighting they're importance.Further on in the video we see a troop of female dancers all dressed in black and white but wearing different leggings. The Different leggings connote individuality however the same dress reinforces they're together as a group. We don't see the dance group in any close up, suggesting they're less important then the band members, and also showing that they are all equal with each other.
You can partly apply Todrov's narrative theory to this video. The equilibrium is set when the two band members are stood next to each other shown by use of a medium shot of the two of them. The disruption comes when the dancers come, causing the two males too separate. The equilibrium is attempted to be reset when the two men are seen through a television screen and later standing apart from each other. An equilibrium is set again at the end of the video when we see the two band members with the dancers in front of them.
There is very little editing in the video between shots. When there is, it is a straight cut allowing it to move from scene to scene quickly. The fact there is little editing and instead lots of camera movement allows the video to run constantly and smoothly at the same time. This causes the audience to keep watching it as they're following the camera instead of flicking from scene to scene.
The elements of the genre are communicated in the video through various ways, firstly the hair cut of the two band members is a recognisable image of the indie genre, as it is common for male band members to have longer hair. Secondly we see the guitar, which is a key ingredient to the genre as it is played in all songs in the genre. The dress sense of the female dancers also puts across the genre as they all have individual leggings connoting they're individuality.
The target audience is vast and made open to many. Firstly the song is about love or the loss of love, making it relatable for many people however the music and tone of the song shifts it more towards the teenage audience. This is reinforced by the two band members being at the center of the video for the majority, for teenage boys these are two musicians who inspire many and for teenage girls they may be an image to look for in a boy meaning they're attracted to the music because of the bands appearance.
The tone and mood of the video is put through mainly by the colours as well as the song. the colours around the people are mainly dull and dark making it mysterious and depressive. This is reinforced by the band members clothes which are also dull. However when the Female Dancers appear they seem to brighten up and bring an exciting element to the video, this is because of they're multicoloured leggings, the tone is kept dull by the black on their tops and also the white and black stripes they're dancing on.
The representation of men and woman is clear in this video, The men seem dull as they are just standing around. However dull they seem they are shown to be talented, through the use of props such as the guitar and tambourine. The females in this video are represented as bubbly and energetic, we know this because of they're costume and gestures through dancing. No ethnicity is represented in this extract, reinforcing the idea from the previous video that the genre is not common among people with an ethnic background.
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