Analysis of Music Videos: Writings On The Wall - Plan B

The genre of this music video is a hybrid of the genres of soul and pop. This is because the song borrows influences from soul music, but it is still a song which has been marketed towards a mainstream, popular audience. This is demonstrated within the video through the juxtaposition of the nightclub with the soul music which is being played, as it is usually assumed that people would go to a nightclub in order to hear pop music. In addition to this, there is the underlying theme of love and betrayal, which connote a soul genre more than they do a pop genre. These two genres make up the main forte of the artist who recorded the song, Plan B. The narrative is fairly typical for a video which is mainly within the genre of pop music, because it shows a man betraying his wife for another woman, which is a fairly typical and generic narrative within a pop song, because the themes of the narrative are supposed to be easily relatable for the audience. In addition to this, just from the title of the song it is expected that there will be some sort of element of a love story, because it is clear the title is a reference to the fact their relationship has nearly run its course. There is a clear intertextual reference between this video and his other work on the Defamation of Strickland Banks album, because it tells the story of the night which sparked the false rape allegation towards the character - this is why the narrative of the music video cannot be completely appreciated alone.

The overall storyline within the video is that of a man leaving his wife at home and meeting another woman in a club before having a one night stand with her. The themes which run throughout the video are ones of betrayal and breakup, as well as of foreboding because the man in the video knows that their relationship is soon to be over. In terms of Todorov's narrative structure, there are three of the five recognisable stages. There is an equilibrium, a disruption and a recognition of the disruption, but there is no resolution of the disruption because the male character in the video has gone too far to the point where he can't find a resolution. The one recognisable character in the video is the character of Strickland Banks, because his character runs throughout all of Plan B's music in this era. The narrative between the lyrics and the video are similar, because the lyrics are referencing an impending breakup between a couple, which is what is demonstrated in the video. However, it could be argued that the lyrics are set from the perspective of a man singing before the events which are seen within the video.

The representation of gender within the clip shows the woman at home working hard, with the man out enjoying himself. This shows that within the world of the video, a patriarchal society is in place, which makes sense because the décor of the interior of the house shows that the video is set in the 60s and 70s. Whilst Plan B is playing a character in the video, the way this character has been constructed still connotes that he is the big star who is being marketed to the audience through the video. This is because he is wearing a suit and appears to be successful as he is playing in a nightclub to a large audience. Had he not been dressed up and not playing to an audience, then he wouldn't have appeared to be the star within the video which wouldn't have extended his marketing image.

The video is set in a nightclub and is then set at home, the contrast between the two locations connoting the difference between the man and the woman within the video. In terms of time settings, it is most likely set in a previous decade due to the décor of their house the soul music which he is performing in the club. The dominant colour which has been used in the video is blue and black, because these colours are usually associated with having connotations of sadness. However, all of these shots are in the nightclub, which connotes that whilst it may seem like the nightclub is a happy place to be, it is actually sadder than the house which is bright and colourful. This suggests that the director is trying to show that the star of the video hasn't realised where he is actually happiest, which is at home with his wife. The typography of  'Sold Out' outside of the nightclub connotes that he is popular so is powerful enough to do whatever he wants, such as cheating on his wife with a fan. In terms of notable shot compositions, the extreme-close-up of the woman at home connotes sadness, with the low angle on Strickland connoting power and the high angle on his wife back in the house connoting that she is vulnerable.

There are many interesting camera angles employed throughout the video, for example the repeated close up shot of the cooking pan - the sauce bubbling and rising from the pan connotes the way in which the anger and tension within the relationship is also rising. In addition to this, there is an extreme close-up on the pan burning the woman, which has been used in order to shown how she has become burnt out due to the relationship. The editing within the music video is discontinuous, because there is the frequent jump between the two locations. The choice to not use continuity editing could have been made by the director in order to demonstrate that the relationship has become uncomfortable, as this is the effect which is made by discontinuous editing between scenes which are vastly different.

In terms of audience, the target audience for this video is likely to be those who are in their teens or early twenties. This isn't necessarily because of the subject matter, which would probably be most relatable for a slightly older audience, but because of the mass-marketed style of music which is likely to appeal to them. In addition to this, the characters within the video appear to be fairly young themselves, which helps to attract a younger audience. Considering the demographic which the video is probably trying to appeal to, it is likely that the video will be appealing to the C2, D and E classes, because the nightclub which is shown is a working class club, which suggests that this means that people from this sort of demographic would be able to relate to it the easiest.

The record label plays a large part in the music video, mainly because the song was released jointly between independent 679 Records and huge conglomerate Warner Brothers Music. This means that the video can be funded by Warner Brothers to be hugely flashy and engage with a larger audience, but because Plan B is still signed to an independent label as well, this money isn't used to make a video which would go against the gritty themes which are contained within the lyrics. Plan B is promoted as being the star within the video, however he appears as a soul singer, which makes him seem like an "everyman" character. This means he can appeal to a much wider audience, especially when considering the demographics which I mentioned previously. The video serves to promote both his career, but also the fictional character of Banks who appears throughout the concept album which Plan B had just released at this point.