Grouplove Tongue Tied

Grouplove are an American indie rock band, made up of five members who were first discovered in
2009. They have previously toured with the likes of Florence + the machine and The Joy Formidable,
with the release of their debut album Never trust a happy song in 2013. Their single Tongue tied
featured on an IPod touch commercial, causing a rise in popularity that led to it being #1 in the
Modern rock radio chart in 2012. It was later used in Mays episode of Glee.

According to Joan Lynch (1984) Tongue Tied features under the category of a performance
narrative. The video follows the day in the life of a man in his twenties whos woken up after a party.
You see it start with him in the middle of a park, face down in a small paddling pool and you wonder
how he got there. The video then retraces his tracks through the use of reverse film, taking him back
to the party he ran away from. There are numerous people dressed in suits and wrestling masks that
keep making an appearance, which is evident from the use of effects and backwards linear that they
are his hallucinations from taking space cakes. We also see his interaction with another girl at the
party and being thrown around in the crowd. The performance element comes into this through
Grouplove being the artist playing at the party.
This video has been set up with a number of elements to make it engaging to its audiences.
Cinematography is one of these elements that contribute towards the perceptions of the video.
Camera angles especially add to the confusion of the plot, with frequent use of low angled shots
when the main characters see the masked men in suits. It would appear that because of the low
angle, the main character has the power in the situation, yet he still seems terrified. However later
we find out these men are just hallucinations from taking space cakes, therefore he does have the
upper hand in the situation as they are all figures of his mind. There are also contributing high
angled shots looking down on him, both when he is being carried above everyone in the party and at
the beginning of the video with his face in the paddling pool, that conveys his lack of control in both
situations.

Tracking shots become frequently used within the video, firstly with a medium shot of the main
character being chased by the masked men in suits. This smooth movement contrasts with the
erratic running of the man so his actions seem more elaborate. Tracking shots are also seen around
the party, with him meeting a girl and kissing her, as well as following him once hes just eaten a
space cake. At this point we also experience cantered framing that reinforces the idea of the drugs
disrupting the focus of the mind. Following his movement so much places the audience as if youre
following him around this party. We lose this however when a tracking shot is used for a
performance shot of the main female singer, her drawing us into the party whilst singing to the
camera. Close ups are then frequently used on the rest of the band members, that not only convey
the performance element of the video, but links with Goodwins theories of the need of close ups of
the artists to promote the track successfully. Moreover, the audiences general positioning through
the long shot framings of the party make us feel as if we are present at the party, with numerous
over the shoulder shots within a long shot to appear as if we are in the crowd.

Mise en scene also contributes to the party atmosphere of the video. The main location is mainly in
a small flat that not only intensifies the craziness of the party, but also exaggerates the intense
feeling when the guy takes drugs. The choice of yellowy lighting within the flat makes it seem quite
homely and inviting, which with the tracking camera movements draws you comfortably in. The
location chosen also acts as a stereotypical location in which the audience can identify in when
having parties of their own. This then contrasts with the open space of the park at the beginning of
the video, with the additional use of bright glary lighting and high pitch bird song, demonstrating the
exciting and enjoyable experience whilst taking drugs but the painful morning after consequences.
Props also act as an important role to the videos narrative, with blow up palm trees and balloons
acting as stereotypical scenery around a party. Also a continued focus on the brownies act as a very
important part of the narrative, with this being the soul reason the main characters have these
hallucinations. This increased focus on them shows a more edgy indie side to the bands iconography,
showing they go to parties and taking drugs, perhaps following the rock n roll image of being very
outgoing and up for anything.
Costume also fits in with the indie rock genre of the band, all of them seen wearing dark clothes with
unique twists to them showing their individual styles. The main male vocalist also wears heavy
eyeliner on one eye, creating an iconography of the band that is brought into other music videos,
fitting with Goodwins conventions of star iconography.
In terms of sound there is a diegetic sequence before the music starts, that includes the main male
character running in a park and falling flat faced into a mini paddling pool. This then continues with a
time laps to the next morning with a child and its parents just standing and facing the guy on the
floor. Sounds mainly include him screaming when running and typical park sounds including the
wind in the trees and a bird song in the background. It is from this point the soundtrack kicks in and
so all diegetic sounds are removed. However you could almost class the lip synch of the main
vocalist being diegetic as they are meant to appear to be playing live at the party.
Editing is by far the most important feature of the video, providing the most entertaining values to
the video. Although shot normally to start with, the video ends up playing in reverse throughout the
rest of the narrative that lets the audience piece together who this man is, what he is running from
and why these masked men keep appearing. With this, they have also used slow motion to elongate
the actions too, creating more anticipation and suspense especially when running. Another feature
of editing is every time the main character sees one of the men in masks and suits; the edges of him
are pulled apart and appear as if 3D lenses are disrupting the film. This is deliberately done to
reinforce the idea of the effect the drugs are having on his mind, and showing the audience these
men are just illusions. Moreover the edits in footage between narrative and performance also work
to the beat of the track, therefore following the typical conventions Goodwin mentions of there
being a relationship between visuals and music. At the faster tempo bits we also see more dance
scenes that relay to the audience the need to get up and dance to this track.
We can generalise this video to fall under Jon Gows category of the enhanced performance,
providing us with a range of performance shots, cleverly thought up narrative and an interesting use
of editing to convey the crazy effects drugs have on the mind. This representation goes further than
conveying the ideal party from a teenagers perspective, but displays the side effects of drug taking
at party that comes across as quite humorous. It doesnt particularly cast a negative view on drug
taking and partying, but gives an absurd idea as to what may happen to you in your mind when you
take them.
In my opinion the target audience this video is aimed for is teenagers to late twenty year olds. The
casting of the background people all tend to be in the age group of early twentys that show the
conventional age people still attend house parties. For teenagers this video will also act as a desired
experience that they wish to attend in the future, especially with elements that appear innocent but
have lasting effects and provide and overall entertaining experience.