Foals – Inhaler Music Video Analysis

The video opens with shots of people swaying together on the floor taking deep breaths. The location is an abandoned building which is symbolic in the video

because in such a small space the building could represent the singer/songwriters life or current relationship situation. The song is about not

having enough space to breathe so this links in with the narrative in the video as this shot shows all the people grouped together in a wide amount of space. The lighting and colours in this part of the opening are interesting as they are quite

dull and unsaturated which ties in with the pessimistic tone of the song. This screen shot is an example of a close up, which makes the video more intimate; it

also shows the people deeply breathing which relates to the narrative of the video. Various shot types are used in this opening such as a wide shot to start

with showing the full location. The editing is quite jumpy and consists of a lot of jump cuts, which keeps up with the fast pace of the song. There is also a lot of

jump zooms and multi-takes of this scene; which adds to the artistic style of the video.

The next scene in the video shows the band playing in a graphitized skate-park. This shot is an example of a medium close up which shows the lead singer in

focus, and the rest of the band out of focus. This is important in the video as it

gives a personal touch and puts focus onto the singer. It shows the audience the band playing the song which is what they want in this genre and it is also

important because the record companies demand a lot of close ups and shots of the band which is essential for their star image. In this shot the main singer

(Yannis) is also centered in the frame and is wearing visually loud clothing. This relates to the style and genre of the video as his appearance is stereotypically

indie. The next series of shots are interesting and relate to the narrative in the video. It shows normal people in day to day activities such as skateboarding, and walking outside. This screen grab shows a man with ‘exhale’ spray painted on the back of

his jacket. It stands out as it is white and the jacket is black which catches the audience’s attention. The location appears to be a run down area, which has

connotations with the people in the video. The song is called ‘Inhaler’ and exhale is the opposite which links in with the meaning and reasons behind the video.

The song is about being suffocated and not having space to breathe so the word ‘exhale’ serves as a reminder in the video telling the singer/songwriter to

breathe. This high angle wide shot shows the full band all in focus in a graphitized skate

park. The environment is enclosed which I think is important to the narrative of the song as it is about not having enough space and then the band is playing in a

fenced location. I think the bands costume here is important as this is the first shot in the video where the audience can see all band members in focus. The clothes reflect the genre of the group being fairly indie, alternative clothing.

The video then flicks back to the narrative and meaning behind the song showing some hooded people on bikes. The editing and pace of editing is interesting at

this point in the video as first the audience sees one biker swaying and then the camera jump zooms out in time with the music showing three bikers. This

thought beat style editing all relates to the narrative as the video is showing people taking part in recreational activity. This is all linked to the idea of not having enough space and being submerged and hence doing something for

escapism. The mise-en-scene is interesting here as well as the colours of the background are fairly dull and unsaturated. This gives the music video a certain

artistic style, which reflects the genre of the video.

The idea behind the title of the song (Inhaler) comes back into play in this screen shot as it shows a girl getting lungs tattooed on her skin. The camera then

continues this medium shot for a duration where there are no lyrics in the song just music. The audience then sees this woman breathing deeply in time with the

song, which is symbolic to the meaning of the song – remembering to breathe. This mise-en-scene in this shot is interesting as the location is a gloomy tattoo parlor which dark colours and shadows. This makes the woman stand out, as

well as the fact she is centered in the frame and takes up about half of the frame. Her facial expression is also important here in regards to the meaning and

narrative as she has her eyes closed and appears to be thinking deeply, perhaps reminiscing something.

This extreme long shot shows a stranger in the video dancing and body popping whilst wearing headphones. It gives the idea that he is in his own world, the

location is pretty random off the street, which suggests he doesn’t care about where he is. This shot also ties in with the lyrics and narrative which suggests that he is getting distraction and escape by dancing and letting his body flow.

Again here the location is fairly gloomy and dark which fits in with the edginess in parts of the video. His costume is very individual and he has his own clothing

style in the video, which also ties in with the genre. A multitake is used here showing different shots and camera angles of him dancing where the editing is

quite fast paced. It fits in time with the beat of the music making the video overall dynamic and powerful.

This screen shot shows the moment at which the song breaks into chorus in the

music video. It shows the main singer in an extreme close up which I think is essential at the success of the video at this point. This is because it shows the

audience his performance and facial expression which all link in with the narrative and meaning behind the song. Here he is screaming the word “space” and the editing techniques are really interesting. The background shakes and blurs keeping the main singer in focus, which adds to the overall effect of the

song and meaning. The effort he is putting into his performance here is important in the video as it suggests that what he is singing is very personal and makes it more believable to the audience. When the background shakes it seems like it’s his anger and fury making it shake when he screams which adds to the

powerful effect. After the extreme close up of the

singer the editing is really fast fitting in time with the beats in the chorus

showing quick flashes of extreme close ups of the band playing instruments and extreme close ups of the other people in the video in skate parks and the man freestyle dancing. These relate to the narrative of the video as it reminds the

audience of everything already seen in the video showing what people are doing to find space and freedom.

The pace of editing slows down slightly here as it goes from all the fast cutaways back to the skate park showing a bike rider performing tricks on a bike. This shot

is really interesting as it is a high angle shot from a long distance all in focus showing the detail in the shot here. Again the colours are dull relating to the meaning and connotations with unsaturated colours in regards to emotion.

The next verse of the song starts showing the band slowing down in the skate park and more recreational activity. This wide, extreme long shot shows a group

of fairly young people free running across this location. Associations with free running include escapism and distraction; which ties in with the meaning of the video – feeling too submerged and suffocated and trying to escape from it. Free

running, as well as skate boarding and biking in parks all have this idea behind it which makes the recreational activities in the video important as it links in with

the meaning and makes the video successful.

The word ‘exhale’ comes up again in the video here. The camera shows a man with a tape cassette saying ‘inhale’ on one side and ‘exhale’ on the other. This again serves as a reminder to exhale when feeling trapped and having lack of

space. It all relates back to the idea of breathing and the connotations behind that which all link in with the meaning and narrative in the video. This focus in this

shot is interesting as it is shallow focus showing the mans hands out of focus and

only the tape cassette in focus. This results in the audiences attention being diverted to this primarily, making it stand out.

The scene then changes to a new location the audience hasn’t seen before. An extreme long shot shows another man dancing, this time on a rooftop building

however. The location here is important in regards to mise-en-scene as the idea of height relates to power and again escapism, tieing in with the meaning behind the video. The pace of editing slows down again here as the lyrics have stopped

and the music is just the band playing. This shot lasts for a duration of a few seconds with multitakes showing the man from different shot lengths and angles.

The lead up to the chorus stars again here and shows a quick flash of difference scenes and locations. This close up shows the keyboard players hands playing in

time with the music. A graphic match is then used back to the location at the start of the video of the abandoned building with the group of people dancing and

swaying.

This medium shot shows hands in shallow focus moving and scrunching to the time and beat of the music. It appears that the people are reaching out to each

other in need of help. This shows the meaning behind the video – needing space to breathe and inhale in which the people are relying on each other for this. The

lyrics here also link with the narrative in the video, saying “So can you not go away, just for one day”. This suggests the people are reaching out to each other

as they do not want each other to go away and they are needing comfort and support form each other.

An eyeline match is used here to show the audience what the characters in the car are looking at. An establishing shot shows people playing with fireworks and sparklers, which also relates to escapism. The lyrics relate to the narrative here

as they go “How do you now runaway, war sounds in you, don’t throw your fortune away”. Being stereotypical from the characters clothing and facial expressions, they appear to be youths that hang around on streets and are

possibly wasting parts of their life. The lyrics tell the story of them being trapped in this type of environment and lifestyle, telling them to find their own way to

escape from it.

The next few scenes show these youths driving round a skate park hanging out the sun roof staring into the distance and at more people paying with this

coloured fire. The fireworks are perhaps the most colour that’s been in the video so far and at the lead up to the chorus which suggests changing the style in the

video as if progress with the characters is being made.

The chorus then starts with the same distortion of the background that happened before with the main singer. This time it shows the main that was dancing on the rooftop building earlier but he has joined the location of the

deserted building along with the other random people there. This is questionable in the video as the audience wonders why he is now there. The background

shakes and he appears to start screaming when the scream of “space” starts. This suggests he is feeling enclosed and cannot now escape – as he has gone from

being in an escapism environment to this run down location, which is enclosed. This location juxtaposes the other outdoor one as it has the opposite

connotations relating to it. In this screen shot shallow focus is used so that the audiences attention is purely on this mans face for added effect in the video.

This screen shot shows an extreme long shot of the bikers again in the skate park. This time the fireworks and fire are inside here and it’s a highlight in the

video as it’s the part where the scene has been the most lit up. This relates to the song as it is the part where the music is heavier and the singer is screaming the word ‘space’. Here in the video the editing switches to very fast pace again and

there is a number of quick flashes to other characters in the video.

This medium shot shows a person with the word ‘inhale’ sprayed on his leg. This suggests changing in the video as at first we saw the word ‘exhale’ then both ‘inhale and exhale’ and now only ‘inhale’. It suggests that the video is flipping

between the two linking in with the idea of breathing and lungs and the meaning behind the video.

This point in the video is were the song peaks and the chorus is extended and the editing is as its most fastest. There are quick fire shots of characters screaming and destruction by the youths in the video throwing their bikes is starting fires. It is an important part in the video as it suggests that the people cant take the idea of being enclosed and it all becomes to much and they scream to let it out

and find some relief. All the screaming shots are close ups which shows the audience their facial expressions clearly, emphasizing the idea behind it in the

video.

As the video starts the end the pace slows down again and the location changes back to the abandoned building from the start. This time there is a lot more

people in the building, still strangely dancing and breathing deeply. This ties in

with the narrative as we see characters that have been in other locations now in this room, which juxtaposes the idea of finding escapism and breathing space –

they are now in a closed environment.

This is the album art for the Foals album Holy Fire. Inhaler was the first song released from the album when it was released. It is interesting because the band is not on the cover, the image is quite uncanny as it poses questions to the genre as the image does not give much away. The image is quite grainy giving it a film style appearance, also the colours include a lot of warm tones, which contribute

to the final look. The typography is interesting as the word Foals is written in the usual style that it is on all other Foals albums. This makes it eye-catching to the audience as it is easily recognizable from the bold, black capital letters. Also the

black stands out on the yellow background making it more noticeable to the audience. Also, the title of the album ‘Holy Fire’ is also in this font matching the

band name.

This is a promotion poster for the single ‘Inhaler’ from ‘Holy Fire’. The poster uses the same background image as the album cover, which makes it

recognizable to the target audience. The text is all bold which makes it striking and stand out. Also the colours used are interesting as there is only black and

white font used. This contributes to the overall colour palette of the promotion poster.