Mumford and Sons are a British folk rock band that was formed in 2007. The name originated from the face that Marcus Mumford was the front-man of the band, organising everything. They claimed it was also supposed to invoke a sense of an "antiquated family business name". This goes well with the look/ style of the band as they have a vintage look about them, in both their clothing style and other things, such as location choices for filming.
Music Video
The first thing that really stands out is that the whole video is absent of colour, this is noticeable form the first shot which is of a very ornate looking door.From there, the camera pans around, setting up what it will be doing for the rest of the video. The camera tilts slightly to show the lead singer sitting on some grand steps, playing the first few notes of the song. As it pans around more, the camera reveals more of the band playing their instruments. Whilst not obvious at first, all of the band keeps re-appearing in the continuous pan, in different positions, there are often shots with two or three different versions of the same person in it. The shots are of the band playing different instruments and occasionally just sitting/ standing there.
This is such a unique way of recording the video, it manages to capture your attention without any (additional) visual effects and without dancers etc.
The camera itself continuously pans round at a medium speed and gradually zooms in and out throughout the video, until the actual end where it stops panning and slowly zooms out to show a large part of the building and the band leaving the room, in a manner similar to the 'Abbey Road crossing' of The Beatles. Whether this was intentional or not, it gives a classic feel to the video.
The costumes of the group are fairly casual outfits, representing the individual styles of each of the band members. they fit well with the folk song as they have a more rugged, outdoors-y look. As for the instruments, most of them look like regular ones you may use, however the piano they brought in looked well used and has an almost beaten up look. This fits in well with the surroundings are the room has the same feel, a grand room that's become run down and not cared for.
The area they used for the video is a very grand room, that must have been gorgeous and very expensive in the day, with intricate detailing on the walls and a marble floor. However, it has become run down and uncared for, with graffiti all over the walls. The set reflects the mood of the song 'For the walls of my tower they come crumbling down' Although the video doesn't directly illustrate the lyrics, it helps to amplify the atmosphere of the song. This is what Steve Archer calls 'amplification', helping to present the mood of the song without directly illustrating it.
Magazine Advert
The magazine advert I chose is advertising the bands album 'Sigh no More'. The first thing that stands out of the advert are the pictures, this is because they take up almost all of the space on the advert and they also stand out against the dark background. Although the pictures are fairly simple ones of the band members, the what they have been edited is interesting and eye-catching, making you want to look closer to see what they've added. There is a selection of images overlaid, including a photo of the whole band together, on the bottom right picture and simpler things, such as an accordion in the bottom left picture.
It appears that they have overlaid images over the original pictures. Additionally they appear to have added a filter to the image, to give it a more washed out, Polaroid camera look. This fits with the theme of the band as they wear more casual vintage styled clothes. They have also added black corners onto the photos. This, along with the wonky placement of the photos, give it the appearance of a photo album/ collage. This is a fairly unique style and fits in well with the band's theme.
The font used is a classic yet easy to read font. The curly '&' in particular gives it a vintage look. once again fitting in with the theme. The use of all caps in a block font makes it very easy to read, this is helped by the use of white text on a solid black background. The use of a quote by NME is good as people may not know the band but by seeing a good, quick review, they may check them out.
Underneath that, they have shot three of the singles the album features. This may encourage people to buy the album, if they have heard one of the songs. It also looks nice as it is boxed off, giving it a clean finish.
The advert itself if very simple, with little text and not too much going on. This gives it a clean look and makes it easy to read and find the information you want. It also makes it eye-catching as each detail stands out, instead of getting lost in crowds of other items.
Digipak
This digipak is for the album 'Sigh No More'. At first glance, the digipak appears more basic and plain compared to some others. The inside is very basic, with one almost completely empty side, and a plain cover behind the CD. This would not enable an A grade at A-level, however the other panels are still useful to analyse.
The front cover of the album shows a shop window, with the band standing in a mannequins. The look of the shop/ the band gives a vintage feel to the photo, as well as the washed out look of the picture itself (which makes it look like it was takes many years ago).
The name of the album and the band's name are also on the front cover. They too fit with the vintage style of the photo/ band.
The back cover shows one of the shops windows, slightly opened with the track list underneath. The tracklist is not doe in the usual way of being listed down the side, instead it's listen in four rows with | in between each of the track titles. This is a neater way of displaying the titles and enables thee to be space for the picture, without the writing going over it. This makes the digipak look more professional and clean.
The inside panel shows the same shop, with each of the band members sitting in a window, each in a different way. this ties in with the vintage theme of the digipak.