Julian Casablancas + The Voidz - Where No Eagles Fly Analysis

Camera, Editing, Mise-En-Scene
The video is mainly performance with a few concept shots of the city, as they start to sing the video cuts to the performance section of the video, showing them singing. The shot is then distorted and flickers glitchy images over the clip. This is to fit the genre and feel of the music video. By adding the flickers in editing makes the viewer realise the mood of the video. It also gives a feeling of that it not working properly symbolising and showing their personality and the genre of music. The video then cuts close ups of them playing instruments and then cutting to another scene where they are performing the song.

The next shot shows another concept shot in black and white. Using black and white signifies and shows that they want to make the video look old. Using the glitchy effects also help to make the video look older. These effects also help the video fit with the indie/alternative rock genre, which then fits with the genre of music. They have also added some grain to the shot in post production to add to the whole old retro feeling. The way the subject is dressed and car in the shot also fit with the old retro theme. The song was released in 2014 therefore 16:9 and digital cameras would usually have been used. The director obviously wanted an older look therefore using film with a 4:3 aspect ratio and black and white in some of the shots, gives the song and the video a much older and retro feel.


This next shot has a lot of lens flare and distortion. This fits with the whole old camera effect and therefore fitting with the genre of the music. Camera movement is quite significant and shakes the frame. This suggests the feel they want to give and that shaking the camera syncs with the point in the music. The colours in the shot are quite warm as the camera is shooting into the sun. The lens flare also shows this. As they are shooting into the sun, the colours are quite distorted and merged, therefore seeing difference in colour is quite difficult. This also makes it hard to see the people in the shot which gives the feel that they don't want to be seen. The shot then leads to a closeup of the lead guitarist and the shot flickers in the beat of the music. The use of blur also gives the feel that the director does not want us to see what is going on in the shot.

The mise-en-scene in this shot shows the band and the instruments, this tells the viewer the genre of music being played. Due to it being in black and white gives the video an old feel. As the video plays, the shot flickers and distorts, while they are playing. This makes the visuals fit with the music and apply to this old convention. The long shot contains the whole band as they play, the clothing and hair matches the stereotype of this type of artist, applying to mise-en-scene conventions of this genre. There is a lot of post production been done on this shot due to the effects and shake of the shot. The shake makes the visuals have a relation to the song but also connote the narrative and meaning behind the music at this point. By using a shake makes the viewer feel that something is wrong and the lyrics fit with this. The lighting on the shot is very minimal (low-key), suggests that the director does not want us to see the performers clearly. This is quite typical of this genre, and this therefore applies to this convention.

There are lots of close-ups of guitars to remind the viewer what type of music it is, with the visuals. This keeps the viewer locked to this idea and makes sure they understand the genre of music. By using an extreme close-up helps to give lots of detail of the subject in the shot. By showing the details in the shot (the notes being played on the guitar) and due to the lighting being high-key (spot light) makes everything in the shot visible, therefore the director wants us to see this clearly. The backdrop behind the guitar is not really visible, and dark making us focus on the instrument. This draws our eyes to the object so our mind doesn't wander as the director cannot afford us to get the wrong message from it.

Relationship between visuals and lyrics

Some of the lyrics are muffled throughout the song therefore the relationship between the lyrics and visuals are similar as a lot of the shots use grain, distortion and blur. Syncing the music with the visuals by making the subjects hard to see in the visuals links with the music therefore making it appropriate. The performance shots (lip-syncing, and instrumental shots) obviously link with the music. The concept shots just fill the space after the performance shots have been done. These shots make the viewer think about why they are there and help to give the video something extra than just a performance.