Death Cab For Cutie - Cath

The video for Death Cab for Cutie's Cath depicts a woman getting married in a church, surrounded by friends and family. There is a past lover there, who seemingly has turned up late for the ceremony, in a last-minute attempt to get her back. The outfits worn in the video are typical for a wedding, helping to set the idea of a traditional, small scale wedding. The emptiness in the church is almost striking; it is a large venue but there are maybe only 30 people there. This suggests almost that people disapprove of the wedding or that it is between people in society who are not well adored. 
The way that the man sits at the back of the church on his own suggests that he may even be part of the problem, as he has purposefully avoided sitting with Cath's friends and family. 
The setting also emphasises the seriousness of the situation that Cath is in. The lyrics of the song reinforce that she has had to make a difficult decision, "'Cos your heart was dying fast/and you didn't know what to do". This is further supported later on in the video.

Before this, however, there are some parts of the video that further aid telling the story. Right at the beginning of the video we see the man running towards something, although at this point we are unaware as to what exactly it is. The close up tracking of his feet helps to show the urgency of the action, through the shakiness of the camera and in the way that there is almost not enough time for transitions and additional shots. It seems quite a childish shot, almost replicating the way we sometimes see children run in video. This could be seen as greatly contrasting Cath's two choices of men; the one she is about to marry and the one who has came to claim her back. 
As he enters the church, the band enters the room into which they are headed in their own journey. As he does this, grass grows in the room and this seems to suggest that he is offering Cath a new lease of life; grass grows in the spring time and the spring time is associated with rebirth and new beginnings. Notably, when he leaves the church later on, the grass disappears. This can be taken to signify the opportunity leaving her; as she has decided to marry the "well intentioned man" instead of the other man vying for her affection. 
Alternatively, his exit from the church can be seen as him leaving her life. Her entire family and friends are there, presumably (from the way they look at her); she also made her critical decision there, and her husband is now there. It is as though he has left her life permanently through his departure.
The music and the visuals are synchronised nicely together, especially upon the man entering the church. The music is not exactly slow, but calmer with only two noticeable instruments being played. However, as he enters the church we hear more instruments being added, and upon the vocals being included, we see far more of the scenario. When the music is played at the beginning, we see only feet and either very close up or far away shots. When there are more instruments and more depth to the tune, we see faces and locations more clearly.
The moment at which Cath and the man kiss is emphasised as being important through the way it is portrayed from several different angles. This is reminiscient of wedding videos in the two upper stills, but also replicates a technique used in performing arts called an essence machine, which is where the same moment is repeated multiple times but with different emphases each time to help make a point about the moment being important by reinforcing it. It seems to help to reinforce how potentially life changing the moment is for Cath, and makes it seem all the more sad when she opts to marry the other man instead, as it looks almost triumphant when they kiss. 
The quick cuts suggest that the video happens in real time, which makes it seem more tense as Cath has the duration of the track to choose what to do.
In terms of editing used in the video, it corresponds with the lyrics. "It seemed that you live in someone else's dream" is met with Cath's face, with faces of the artists over the top, which creates a slightly dreamlike, soft, sleepy look.  She also looks tired, which suggests that she has had a lot of emotional toil inflicted upon her as a result of having to make the decision whether or not to go through with her marriage.

A common feature, or even a convention in music videos is the "notion of looking". This is done quite often throughout the video. For instance, at the point in the image shown. It looks almost voyeuristic, with the viewer looking at Cath in a candid manner. It seems as though the cameraman is filming Cath without her consent, especially since it's done through a balcony and Cath is looking away. The same can be said for the next one; which is filmed through an old style looking lens. It replicates the idea of the wedding being filmed and adds a further level to the idea of Cath being surrounded by her family and friends. The way she isn't looking into the camera suggests that she is unaware she is being filmed, or uncomfortable with it, which adds to the lyrics, such as "whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pew", as it infers how uncomfortable she is in getting married.
There is also a part of the video where her friends and family, the priest and the groom are all frozen in time. This is the point where Cath and the other man kiss. This can be seen to suggest that the views of the wedding guests are also frozen in time, traditional and resistant to change. They are encouraging her to marry the "well intentioned man" rather than the scruffy one who turned up late to the ceremony.

Cath..
She stands with a well intentioned man
But she can't relax with his hand on the small of her back
As the flashbulbs burst she holds a smile
Like someone would hold a crying child
Soon everybody will ask what became of you
'Cos your heart was dying fast
And you didn't know what to do
Cath...
It seemed that you live in someone elses' dream
In a hand-me-down wedding dress
With the things that could have been are repressed
but you said your vows and you closed the door
On so many men who would've loved you more
Soon everybody will ask what became of you
'Cos your heart was dying fast
And you didn't know what to do
The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews
And if their hearts were dying that fast
They would have done the same as you
And I would have done the same as you