Hewitson River -

Unoriginal? Or just a How Mumford

copy? & Sons can
claim that
Hewitson has
By Lily Jones infact copied
them bewilders
Hewitson River has been accused of copyright me? I mean,
infringement because his video is a copy of are Mumford &
Mumford & Sons – Winter Winds video. This is Sons the first
because of the use of performance in the band to wear
countryside, but how can Mumford & Sons waistcoats and portray a vintage style? No.
claim rights to rural location? They also claim Florence & The Machine have a very
that Hewitson has “copied” their dated style, glamorous vintage style, but have they been
and ‘party style’ shots, god forbid a party style accused? No. Not only do Florence & the
gathering in a music video Mumford & Sons! machine incorporate the vintage style, they
also incorporate the tea party idea. If
I admit, Bigmouth Strikes Again has used lots anything Mumford & Son’s, Hewitson
of common conventions, however they also River was more likely to copy
bring in unconventional features making it Florence with her tea party, than your
interesting, and reliant upon audience beer fest. But is Florence going to
interpretation. The video uses both narrative sue? No! Florence herself was likely
and abstract features in order to allow the to “copy” Lewis Caroll, the writer of
audience to gain their own perspective upon Alice in Wonderland, who did after
the message that the video is portraying. The all, create the mad hatters tea party
opening of the story at the tea party creates an which clearly influenced her video.
introduction to Hewitson’s behaviour however
is it happening in the present or the past? This As for the performance aspects of the video,
is for the yes some of the performance is set outside.
audience to And similar to Mumford & Sons it is in the
interpret. picturesque English countryside, but it has
been done many times before. Foals set their
Events video for Olympic Airways in the coutryside,
happening after using only the use of a rural landscape.
the teaparty,
e.g. walking to
the graveyard
and activity in
the graveyard,
make connotations to death and regret, I think
that having the option to interpret the story in
either way allows the
video to have a more
personal effect upon the
viewer. The performance
elements are very
common and are in
almost every music
video. The duplication of
Hewitson has been done
before, however I think
our spin on it is more So have Mumford & Sons “copied” Foals?
unusual, as we have used Afterall Dave Ma directed their
one figure to create the music video in 2008, which is
whole band, this makes long before Mumford and Sons
connotations to the released there first album in
arrogance and selfishness of 2009. Nothing is original. I think
Hewitson, as the video is all it is the selection and
about him. I don’t see this arrangement of the unoriginal
technique used in winter features that makes a video
winds? A graveyard’s rather unique and different from the
dark in comparison to their rest. The graveyard scene could
folk style, and not to mention be seen as similar to Crystal
the irony created in Hewitson’s video. Castles – Celestica. Although they both use the
graveyard as a feature, Crystal Castles create Sorted. Let me guess Mumford and Sons, they
something copied you?
more gothic
and dreamy. As for the magazine advertisement. It
Although the was predictable. Polaroid frame? Rural
effects are background? In this industry, everything’s
quite similar, been done. We know what
Hewitson to expect. And we like that.
River’s follow It allows us to like the artist
the unclear before we even listen to
narrative, them. From the
allowing the Promotional advertising,
audience to have their input. The colours are a we need to be able to
lot more vibrant in crystal castles creating irony, make judgments. Hewitson
the irony in the Hewitson river video is created River has used the appropriate
by the fast pace of the performance, and when conventions, allowing the
Hewitson skips between the gravestones, this audience to make these
is less subtle than Crystal Castles approach. connotations, e.g. typewriter
style type face, this makes
Another unoriginal feature the video connotations to the vintage
incorporates is the rotoscoping, not so popular style. The Polaroid also makes
nowadays, but extremely popular around the these connotations. The print
1980’s. Hewitson River has brought uses common conventions,
rotoscoping back to featuring a website, the album
life, making it an cover and where to buy the
interesting album from.
feature as it is
not seen much So, on behalf of
today. A-ha’s Hewitson River, I would
‘Take on Me’ like to send my sincere
video, is apologies to Florence &
probably the The Machine, Mumford
most famous & Sons, Foals and
video for Crystal Castles, for
rotoscoping, so I’m sorry to break it to you ‘‘copying’’ their music
A-ha but Hewitson River stole your videos.
‘original’ idea, only removing the 1980’s
tackiness.

As for Hewitson River’s promotional

Package (containing a digipak &
advertisement), it has to be one of the
most conventional prints in the
industry. It’s been done a thousand
times before from artists such as
Arctic Monkeys. The layout on the
cover is
extremely
common –
artist at the
top and
Album name
at the
bottom.