Music Video Analysis: Indie Alternative: Hozier - Work Song



Performer and Record Label

Andrew Hozier-Byrne, known professionally by the mononym Hozier, is an Irish indie rock singer and songwriter from Bray, and he is signed to Island Records. Island Records is a major record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group

Narrative

The music video for 'Work Song' is focused around the romantic relations between people, and these relationships have been demonstrated through dance and movement. The song itself is about how sometimes people can be pulled away from the one they love, but in the end they will always try to find a way back to them. This is particularly demonstrated through the line:

'No grave, can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her'

The use of dance as opposed to a usual narrative I feel makes the narrative more open to interpretation. It could be seen that the pairs of dancers are dancing to symbolise the love between them, but it could also be seen as the break up of a relationship, and the male in the relationship attempting to 'crawl home' to the female: he is trying to win the female back.

Mise en scene
The entirety of the music video takes place inside a building, which looks like a barn. It has been set up to look like a live performance of a Hozier song, and the rest of the cast have been made to appear like audience members of the gig. The location for the music video could have been created in a studio, due to the fact it is only one location to create. Also, by creating the setting in a studio, you are able to control the lighting more easily. At one point in the music video, majority of the cast leave, leaving only the dancers in the room. Although the same location is used, this change in cast members make it appear at first to the audience as if the room has changed.

Costume, Make Up and Props
The costume of the cast seems to fit well with the location on the music video. With it being set within what appears to be a barn, the actors are wearing quite rural clothing: the women wearing shirt dress, and the men wearing quite loose fitting shirts. The make up of all of the cast is also very minimalist, which reinforces the rural location of the music video. Throughout the music video there aren't many major props, so it could be considered that the dancers themselves are the main props of the music video. They are helping drive the narrative, due to the fact that they are telling the audience a story of love through their movements.

Lighting and Colour
The lighting in this music is quite natural, and almost appears to be daylight. However it is clear that synthetic lighting has been used to achieve this, due to the fact you are unable to control daylight, so the levels of light could change throughout the day. Also, throughout the video, it appears like there are several small spotlights that are moving around the entirety of the location.
The video itself has quite a warm tone to it, mainly due to the browns of the location, accompanied by the colouring of the dancer's clothing. This warm tone matches well with the rawness of the artist Hozier's voice, so the visuals accompanied by the sound work very well together.

Camera and Editing
The editing throughout the music video is quite basic, in that time hasn't been shrunk or expanded, and there hasn't been any unusual transitions between shots used. The camera is very mobile throughout the whole music video, which allows us to see all of the dancing, accompanied by Hozier singing. The close ups in the music video tend to mainly be of Hozier, due to the fact that the dancers are constantly moving, so the use of a wide shot or a medium close up allows the audience to see all of their movements.