Closer by Scottish folk band Travis was promoted by a music video that showed the band members as Clerks in a supermarket with Ben Stiller playing cameo as their boss.
Watch the video on YouTube
Watch the video on YouTube
0:05
The establishing shot shows a supermarket with only a few customers in; this establishes the mise-en-scene immediately with high-key lighting and the various products and tills as the props in this store. The supermarket store is a typical North American convenience store. The mise-en-scene presents a view of a typical supermarket. As part of the editing, the video is shown in slow motion to emphasize the slow boring nature of the supermarket.
The establishing shot shows a supermarket with only a few customers in; this establishes the mise-en-scene immediately with high-key lighting and the various products and tills as the props in this store. The supermarket store is a typical North American convenience store. The mise-en-scene presents a view of a typical supermarket. As part of the editing, the video is shown in slow motion to emphasize the slow boring nature of the supermarket.
The mise-en-scene helps to portray the performance of four supermarket clerks who seem to be sick of their mundane jobs; three band members are shown in the opening scene dancing with a price-gun, throwing a customer’s shopping and trying to stack a high pile of cans. In addition to the three clerks already shown there is a clerk wearing a mascot suit.
1:11
In this frame we’re shown a close up of the lead singer just after having taken off the mascots head. Immediately after taking off the costume head the singer begins signing to the chorus of the song. The lead singer, Fran Healey, is the star image of the band and is portrayed throughout the video as the leader of the store clerks. From the outside of the store the audience has a clear view of the inside of the store with its high-key lighting. The mascot even wears a vest, part of the costume as store clerks, which the other band members are seen wearing.
1:37
This frame is just after Healey walks into the store. The character is shown taking his mascot suit off and spreading the parts down the isle. The low shot shows the character walking along the isle; throwing his suit away helping to express the characters despondent attitude to his job as part of the narrative. The pieces shown here being "left behind".
1:50
After the lead singer enters the store and grabs the microphone for the store intercom, a brief bit of diegetic feedback sound is heard which grabs the attention of clerks and customers alike. This frame shows the drummer of the band next to a lady with a puzzled face looking around in response to Healey’s singer.
2:00
The two women in this frame look at each other with rather apathetic looks, their body language suggests that they are not comfortable with one another. The close up camera frame helps to amplify the mood of the characters.
2:21
This frame presents the audience with a close up of two people holding hands. These are the clerk and the old lady from 1:50 which can be told by the clothing as well as the skin. The joining of hands helps to illustrate the meaning of the song, the holding of hands is a typical convention used to show people coming together.
2:38
This cut away shows three customers dancing with their trolleys amplifying the happy mood of the song. The swinging of trolleys is synchronised with the instrumental, which helps provide a sense of synaesthesia for the track.
3:07
As the store manager, played by well known actor Ben Stiller, bursts through the back doors into the main area of the store; the music stops except for the melody of the song which is played in beeps as sounds which sound as though they’re being played through the intercom. The narrative of the piece is furthered as the boss, perceived as a bit of a loner, seems to take issue with the music being played. The camera shows a frame of a speaker giving the impression that the melody is diegetic. A close up of the managers face peering over the store portrays the character’s paranoid state of mind followed by an over the shoulder shot showing the side of his face.
4:15
At the end of the video, we see the four band members exiting the store. The music fades off as they walk into the dark neighbourhood away from the brightly lit store.
