Music Video Deconstruction 1, When the Sun Goes Down, Arctic Monkeys.

On the 16th November 2005, the Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, realised When the Sun Goes Down.
The basis of the video, is a prostitute Lauren Socha & Stephen Graham as the "Scummy Man". 
The "scummy man" who has been hanging around the neighbourhood, has been known to be a client for the prostitutes or a "Pimp".  The last line "I hope you're not involved at all,"can be seen as the narrator expressing his disappointment that the girl has turned to prostitution.
The Music Video used footage from a longer film Scummy Man which used the same actors who appeared in the music video. The emphasis is on the narrative of a young girl, only ever referred to as ‘that girl there’, as we watch her story of living life as a prostitute unfold.
The Arctic Monkeys use a very iconic line in the song, "and he told Roxanne to put on her red light", which is a reference to The Police's song Roxanne, which is a song about a man who falls in love with a prostitute. Arctic Monkeys have used intertextuality within their song,  Arctic Monkeys often use intertexual references in their song to other media; mostly songs or films.






Camera shots in ‘When the sun goes down’ focus on the women and man and their relationship. Close-ups are used of both of these individuals throughout, which emphasize the varying emotions felt. One particular shot that stands out is an extreme close-up of ‘that girl there’ at 03.08. This shot is quite powerful as it makes us as viewers wonder as to what she is going through and how she is feeling by focusing in on her eyes, which are flickering down.
At the very start of the Video we get a shot of a young girl, mid-close up, with a snowy background.
All the costumes, props and lighting develop their character’s stories. In ‘When the sun goes down’ the young girl is dressed in a tracksuit, ‘hoodie’ and trainers signifying to us as viewers that she is perhaps homeless, which provides an explanation to why she is making a living as a prostitute.
‘When the sun goes down’. The majority of Arctic Monkey’s videos are a performance videos, like, ‘Crying Lightning’ and ‘Don’t sit down ‘cos I’ve moved your chair’, so ‘When the sun goes down’ differs to way in which Arctic Monkeys usually create their videos.
The music also relates with the visuals as well in ‘When the sun goes down’. When the drums begin to pick up the pace of the song, we see footage from inside the front of a car, fast-forwarded, as it drives through an urban area at night-time. This creates the notion of looking from the perspective of the person inside the car, and builds up anticipation and excitement as to what is to follow. It gives us an insight into the person in the car, which could be interpreted as either the female, however it is unlikely she would own a car, or it could be from the male’s perspective as he’s travelling round at night looking for ‘girls of the night’ (a line within the song). 
Throughout the video, the shots are edited to be fast, exciting, and build tension up with the beat of the music, the faster the music, the more action is shown in video. There is a point in the video where a magician is shown, helping the girl, but she is over reacting and throwing clothes everywhere. Her costume changes and she is seen wearing a pink, sparkly dress,  this represents the typical feminine stereotype, pink and sprakly, she seems un sure and weary or possibly uncomfortable being in this situation, as it is out of her norm, so she over reacts and throws a "tantrum". The Scummy Man, causes tension throughout the video, increasing the build up to what the audience will expect. This is what is so different to any other Arctic Monkey's video, they expect and want the viewer to feel like this.