Hard-Fi - ‘Hard To Beat’
Technical Analysis
Hard to Beat is an uptempo, dance-influenced, rock track that conforms to the typical structure of a music video in this genre. It tells the story of the song as it’s being sung by the band.
The video begins with an establishing shot of one of the key locations of the video, a downtrodden local pub. Hard-Fi’s primary demographic are young suburban adults and therefore a pub is the ideal location to set the video. It is instantly recognisable and many of the demographic would be familiar with the typical happenings at such a place. An iconic presence within any town centre pub is a fruit machine and there is a close-up of one during the opening sequence to reinforce what should be expected as the video progresses (right).
Following on from this is a succession of close-ups of musical instruments such as drums (left) and a guitar. The band are then introduced one by one and are set up as if they were playing a gig within an empty pub. This is made apparent with the inclusion of a long shot of the band singing the opening lines of the song (below right).
In keeping with the desire to keep it relatable to the majority of their fans, the band are dressed in the typical male combination of shirt + jeans or jacket + jeans. This does not set them out to look above them and implies that they share an equality with those who will be watching. The lighting in this particular shot, as well as the positioning of the camera, makes frontman Richard Archer the centre of focus. A studio light appears above his head as the natural light that would be there from the back windows would not be sufficient to showcase the band.
The story then begins to unravel in time with the lyrics of the song. This parallelism continues throughout the duration of the video. 3 different guys, who epitomise the stereotype of a young British male living in a contemporary city like London, are then seen leaving their respective homes. In this series of long shots the lyrics ‘girl you’ve got something I like’ are non-diegetically dubbed on top. This narration of the story clearly suggests that the main theme will surround the trials and tribulations of potential relationships between the men and 3 girls.
The guy in the above shot then enters a pub (perhaps the same one as the band are singing in) and begins to play pool with a friend. A close-up of him then shows him looking up to his right. The next shot then reveals he was looking at a girl who also happened to be looking at him. The video contains intermittent clips of Archer singing the song and he appears with the lyrics; ‘I walked right over, said ‘hi how ya doin’?’’ (right). This is reflected in the story as the man then walks up to the girl and starts a conversation with her. 
The same thing happens with the two other men as they are then presented in greater detail to the audience. One works within a clothing store and the other appears as a mechanic in a garage. The jobs are insignificant but help to illuminate the fact that these people are regular working men that are unlikely to be earning excessive amounts of money - much like the majority of the audience. There is a fast edit in a sequence where the camera focuses on the same shot; a high-angled look at a floor where customers of this particular clothing shop are trying on different pairs of shoes (left). This is a clear motif that the band have selected to use in order to represent the ever-changing perspective in most people’s lives on the subject of love.
The two remaining guys are then joined by their prospective dates in the next shots and are seen in a range of close-ups and mid-shots to be extremely pleased with the prospect of meeting them again. Archer then appears on screen in a close-up where he is wearing a bright red shirt that is highlighted further due to the fact the background is pitch black (right). He then sings at the camera in the final section of the song and says ‘No I’ve never known a night like this’ - alongside this are intermittent shots of the three men appearing in different locations (a bar, a car and a club) waiting for their dates to arrive.
Strobe, disco-like lighting effects then appear on screen in the handheld close-ups of Archer and it is evident that he is in a nightclub (left). The 3 guys then reappear with their dates joining them and they go off to enjoy their evenings. The establishing shots of their locations show that their relationships are blossoming.
The nightclub where Archer is singing is then shown to be packed full of party-goers with him situated in amongst them all (right). Blue and red flashing lights continue to occur when he is on screen.
There are then mid-shots of the guys and their dates kissing to signify the full-circle they have gone in the process of the video, going from meeting a girl, arranging to meet up with her and then sealing their relationship with a kiss. To exaggerate mise-en-scene at the conclusion of the video, Archer is seen to be sweating in an extreme close-up (below). Such considerations are important and emphasises the importance of make up in a video to keep it realistic. The video then fades to black as the disco lights darken to conclude the story. This is done during post-production editing to dramatise the ending - as all good videos do.
I feel the combination of intimate camera shots and the song’s accompanying storyline make this a successful attempt at creating a sympathetic video about adult life. Structurally it provides everything that an audience would expect from a 21st century music video - vicariously living through the characters - but it certainly adopts its own unique style. Hard-Fi’s grasp of suburban life is transmitted through the video in a way that will appeal to its demographic, retaining their inimitable relationship between band and audience.
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