Analysis of the video ‘Our House’ by Madness:

0:30 – shot of train passing by, background fills with smoke. Sets the scene and time in which the video is set.

0:33 – zooms out to reveal the house, situated very near the railway. A terraced house.

0:34 – zooms into a window, as if you are spying, not supposed to be there. Curtain are closed which suggests privacy but the viewer is allowed inside the house.

0:37 – It’s darker inside the house than outside. Mysterious, man playing piano in shadows which implies loneliness.

0:40 – sudden change to shot of guitar being played in a much lighter setting. The swap from playing a piano in the dark to a much more modern instrument in the light could be a sign of times changing/have already changed.

0:45 – Medium shot of four boys all dressed almost identically, playing brass instruments, shows the era in which the video is set. Along with the wallpaper and general mis-en-scene.

1:31 – Shot of mother and boy in kitchen, dark. Shows a gloomy area for the mum to work in, could relate to the mothers personality. She is standing with her hands on her hips which suggest presence and defence.

1:34 – Zooms in to reveal the mother is in fact a man, admiring herself in a hand held mirror. This is mocking the mother and she is obviously seen in a comic way to the ‘children’ in the video.

1:52 – Shot of mother doing ironing, falling asleep. Suggests she either does too much, or is lazy.

1:55 – Father interrupts mother as she burns his shirt. He is wearing a vest while the mother wears a headscarf. Shows the difference in roles within the house. The fast forward shot shows the panic and annoyance of the father as he is ‘late for work.’

1:57 – Mother almost seen to be throwing the kids out of the house to get to school. She doesn’t take them/walk them there, or see them off. Shows she is slightly selfish? The lyrics contradicts the imagery as it says she ‘see’s them off with a small kiss’ when in fact they are messing around with her at this time and manage to sneak back into the house without her noticing.

2:02 – Shows the mother banging on the door for the children to open it to her. Shows how they could be seen as more in charge of the house than her, possibly influenced by the father seeing as all the kids are male. It shows the role reversal and adds comedy at the expense of the mother figure.

2:15+ - shows the kids playing their instruments individually, the shadows on the back walls is significant as it could be seen as a bigger version of hem playing live to thousands of people.

2:38 – a quick shot of a zoom out from the window of the house, almost the opposite of the shot at the beginning of the sequence. It explains the next part of the sequence as they are characters outside of their own house, in a building far bigger and more impressive.

2:58 – shows the father ‘wearing his Sunday best’ whilst drawing in pink on the mothers face. This shows a lack of respect and he is perhaps influenced by the children’s misbehaviour. The significance of the colour pink is prominent as it is seen to be a very feminine colour.

3:00 – The sliding of the salt down the long table, ending with the ‘dad’ supports my earlier point that he is the head of the household and even respected by the mischievous kids.  

3:10+ - The end shots seem to conclude that no matter what type of house you live in, you can have fun.