Due to a number of complications in the preparation for filming our music video (such as the unavailability of actors etc.), our group has had more time to develop a much more detailed storyboard. Hopefully this will work in our favour in the long run, as this should in theory save us time when we actually get round to filming, in that we should know exactly what shots we want and how we want to shoot them.
We have spent a number of lessons drafting ideas in various formats, such as large brainstorms and sketches of ideas:
This is the final storyboard that we have come up with:
PITCH:
We have decided to go for a music video consisting primarily of narrative. After changing our song choice, we also changed our attitude to which we approached the songs - we didn't feel that entirely obeying the generic conventions and creating a stereotypical video would have been very effective. With this in mind, we tried to put a different spin on the typical theme of love and relationships which is so common throughout this genre.
We decided to approach the theme in a humorous light, as opposed to the conventional serious, deep and meaningful approach often associated with this kind of genre.
The main premise for our video is about a relationship gone wrong. It centres around a couple who are clearly unhappy with their relationship. As the artist is a female, the narrative focuses mainly on the females point of view in the relationship, thereby creating some form of cohesion between the lyrics and the visuals. We aim to make the majority of the video in some way illustrative of the lyrics, however these types of visuals can become boring very quickly, so it is not an approach we will use religiously throughout the whole video.
Our video will start with shots of the couple in the morning, both clearly unhappy with their relationship. It then follows them through a trip to the park - a place which it is implied holds a number of happy memories for them. Throughout the video, the female actor will have flashbacks to a happier time in the relationship - for example, spinning around in the park and playing on the swings. We aim to make these quite over-the-top and stereotypical, in order to create a humorous effect, whilst also playing on the conventional themes of youth and innocence in this genre. We hope to create a clear divide between the present day and the flashbacks,which is something we will convey through body language and facial expressions, as well as the use of framing, lighting and costume:
In the modern day, we will use framing to illustrate the divide between the two, keeping them as close to the opposite edges of the frame as possible, thereby implying a separation between them emotionally as well as physically. In the happier flashbacks, the characters will be closer together in the frame, portraying the closeness in the relationship. The frame will be much fuller, and there will be less gaping empty space.
Lighting in the happy flashbacks will be softer, and perhaps a little more romantic. We aim to utilise natural light as much as possible, playing on the stereotypical theme of a love for nature associated with the folk genre, whilst also using the common connotations of happiness and brightness associated with strong natural sunlight. The scenes from the modern day will be comparatively darker, thereby suggesting the darkness in the relationship.
We will need a minimum of two sets of costumes, playing on colour connotations to portray the mood - i.e. darker colours such as blacks and greys for the unhappy modern day, and brighter colours such as reds, oranges and yellows for the happier flashbacks. We will also use costume as another means to portray the genre, as we will decide outfits that would be easily recognisable as belonging to a particular fashion.
The video ends in the modern day, with the couple coming back together having been separated throughout the video, suggesting a reconciliation between them. This is also illustrative of the song's closing lines, "But I know even in darkness, we're more than friends" - we are translating 'darkness' to represent the unhappiness in their relationship, thereby suggesting that they are coming together again with the line 'more than friends'.
I watched you break yourself in two, And try to give me a half. I seem to wonder what it takes to, Work to make this last
Only two more days, To kill the mess we've made, And give the lions something to hunt for, 'Cause now the ace is played, The jester and the queen of spades, Theres nothing left for us to hope for.
And i'd run to the furthest place i need to, Just to hear you laugh. 'Cause I need to find out how it feels, To be broken in two halves.
And do you think i'd run out on you now? 'Cause we're still young if we pretend. Can we go back to when broken things only needed plasters to mend?
Lets stay awake for hours, Just like we did back then, When you drew pictures on my hands, In permanent marker pen. Watch the sun go down, Never fear the end, 'Cause I know even in darkness, We're more than friends.
As a group, we constructed a questionnaire to administer to our target audience, with the aim of deducing what they would both expect and what they would like to see in a video for a song of our chosen genre. This would then have an impact on our video, either made to canter to their expectations or preferences, or to provide us with a clear opportunity to take the visuals in a different direction than that which would be generically expected of such a song.
1. Age group:
- 12-15 - 16-19 - 20-25 - 26+
2. Gender:
- Female - Male
3. How often do you listen to acoustic / folk music?
- Frequently - Sometimes - Rarely - Never - Unsure
4. Do you watch music videos?
- Yes - No
5. If yes, in what format are you most likely to watch them?
- TV Music Channels - Other TV Sources - Youtube - Other Video Sites - iPod / iTunes - Other (Please State) ___________________________
6. Do you ever watch music videos for unsigned artists?
- Frequently - Sometimes - Rarely - Never - Unsure
7. How do you tend to first come across such artists?
- Social Networking Sites (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc.) - Music Sites (Last.fm, Spotify etc.) - Word Of Mouth - Flyer's / Posters - Through Other Artists - Live Music Scene
- Other (Please State) ___________________________
8. Which aspects would you expect to see in a low-key acoustic / folk video? Please select all that apply:
- Performance - Lip syncing - Illustrative Narrative (Matching The Lyrics) - Contrasting Narrative (Not Matching The Lyrics) - Animations - Special effects - Colourful - Other (Please State) ___________________________
9. Which aspects of a music video from this particular genre do you LIKE to see? Please select all that apply:
- Performance - Lip syncing - Illustrative Narrative (Matching The Lyrics) - Contrasting Narrative (Not Matching The Lyrics) - Animations - Special effects - Colourful - Other (Please State) ___________________________
10. Please listen to the song. What sort of narrative would you like or expect to accompany this track?
Indie folk music is a relatively recent sub-genre that is still evolving and emerging today, although it's roots can be traced back to the early 1990's, following the ride of the independent music scene, with singer / songwriters showing equal influence from the music of the indie rock genre and folk music scene of the late 50's to early 70's. Early artists of the scene include the likes of Jeff Buckley and Elliot Smith, and many indie folk artist cite their influences to be such artists as Bob Dylan and Radiohead. Indie folk bands have no standard musical set up, and can include a variety of instruments including brass, strings and percussion. The most popular and conventional format is that of the independent singer / songwriter, armed with only an acoustic guitar.
Gabrielle Aplin could be seen to be aligned to this genre of music, as influences from artists of a more alternative musical genre can clearly be heard in her work, and she cites many indie folk artists to be reflected in her sound. However, at the same time she very much fits into the typical conventional sound of the soft, melodic folk style.
In terms of representation, artists of the indie folk genre are very much marketed based on their music, and perhaps the message they are trying to convey with this. Female artists such as Gabrielle would be marketed in a much more respected manner that products belonging to the Pop genre may be. For example, in this genre, it would be highly unconventional to portray the female artist in light of the male gaze theory - creating a overtly sexualised image, concentrating on the female form as a marketing device. It would be more typical of the genre to either rely on the music to sell itself, or portray the female artist in a much more innocent and dignified way, often focusing more on the face or general identity as a whole.
Gabrielle Aplin is an 18 year old self-taught acoustic/folk artist from Bath, England. She began her musical career uploading acoustic and piano song covers onto YouTube in early 2008 - perhaps one of her most popular covers being that of the You Me At Six song, 'The Liar And The Lighter' which has to date received over 360,000 views. In total, she has received over 3 million plays on YouTube, at an average of around 10,000 hits per day, and is currently the 16th most subscribed YouTube channel. In addition to this, she has over 1.2 million plays on MySpace, and previously held the number 1 spot on the MySpace unsigned artist chart. She recently released her debut offering, entitled 'Acoustic EP', which reached number 12 in the iTunes Pop chart, and number 26 in the overall Main chart. She has recently witnessed a growing amount of success, performing sold out gigs across the country, and being featured on the Radio 1 homepage as well as in the Sunday Mirror.
Her target audience is mainly focused around the teenage to young adult market, more inclined towards a female rather than male audience due to many of the lyrical themes throughout her songs. As she is a young female artist herself, her lyrics are mainly from a female perspective, and tend to cover topics such as family, friendships, relationships and growing up. Her image tends to be quite feminine and innocent, as is quite a typical feature of the folk genre, as opposed to perhaps the more glamorous and sexualised approach that would likely within the mainstream pop genre. Her influences include the likes of Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, The Fray, Matt Corby, Bob Dylan and Carole King.
There are a number of parallels between Gabrielle Aplin and more successful artists, such as Southampton singer / songwriter Joe Brooks for example.
Both artists gained initial success by uploading videos of them acoustically covering songs from their bedrooms onto YouTube. From this they began to garner public interest, with success rapidly soaring with more and more views. MySpace also played a key part in the development of both of the artists careers, as both constantly top the MySpace unsigned charts, and used it as a platform to showcase their music in a quick, easy and cost effective manner, as well as to communicate with fans. Both artists regularly perform sold out shows across the UK, with the heightened commercial success of Brooks now taking his career over to Los Angeles. Having received label interest from quite some time, he eventually chose to sign to Lave Records in the US, which is a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group. Were Gabrielle Aplin to achieve relative commercial success and sign to a major label, Lava may be a viable option.
We had originally decided on a song by a band called Brand New, but after emailing a number of labels and hearing no reply, we decided that it would be unwise to waste any more valuable time, and that it would be within our best interests to decide upon a different song.
This is the email we sent:
To whom it may concern,
I am an A Level Media student currently attending St Mary Redcliffe & Temple Sixth Form in Bristol, England. I would like to request permission to use the song ‘Mix Tape’ by Brand New who released this song under your label, for use in my A2 Media coursework which entails creating a music video for a selected song. I will be adhering to copyright laws, and should you decline, I will not use this song.
I would appreciate to hear back from you,
Yours Sincerely,
Victoria Carroll.
I had recently been to see an acoustic / folk artist called Gabrielle Aplin live, and suggested her as a potential alternative. Upon the consensus of the rest of my group, we contacted her through the social networking site 'Formspring.me', which is essentially a question and answer website. She was a little reluctant at first, as she was wary of what would be happening with the video after - due to her being a relatively small scale artist, she could not afford for her songs to be ripped from websites such as YouTube. However, after assuring her that we would not upload it to YouTube if she so preferred, she was happy to let us use one of her songs in our project.
Originally, the song we had planned to use was 'Reverse'. However, the song was quite slow paced, and we felt the ideas we were producing for the visuals were fairly uninteresting. We decided to choose a more upbeat song of hers, and settled on the song 'More Than Friends'.
Over the summer we were set the task of researching a number of music videos, CD covers and magazine adverts, in order to build a basic principal understanding of the products we were to create for the coursework , and giving us idea of how to go about creating them. To do this, I first watched a number of music television channels specialising in a variety of genres - including Kerrang!, Scuzz, 4Music and VIVA to ensure a selection of videos from a spectrum of different musical styles as well as to see if I could find any particularly interesting videos that felt gave me a lot to analyse and talk about in my research. Once I had selected the videos I intended to look at in more depth, I used YouTube to find the video in order to analyse it section by section in great detail, as well as to act as a point of reference when I put the research onto my blog. I then used Microsoft Word to type this up and retain this information in preparation for the beginning of the A2 course.
I took a similar approach to the analysis of the CD album artwork, using iTunes to find covers both from my extensive personal music library, and also the iTunes store to find interesting covers from alternative genres to my preferences. I used a variety of music magazines to source a range of music adverts, choosing a variety of formats and structures in order to aid the development of my understanding of both product and generic conventions.
We were recommended to the website mediaknowall.com, which is a research website for Media Studies students, in order to provide us with a basis for theories and ideas to include in our analysis, in order to strengthen the development of our understanding of product conventions and reception, and add depth to our analysis and comprehension of the effects we should aim to achieve with our own products.
One of the main media technologies I used during these preliminary stages was that of research websites such as Google and Wikipedia. I used these to provide me with facts and information in order to establish a basis for the research, and also to aid my knowledge in preparation for the production of our own media products.
Additionally, we set up a blog using this website, Blogger, to record the process of the coursework. As we had used this medium of documentation in our AS coursework last year, this was a fairly straightforwards process as we had grown to know the programme well, meaning the most taxing part of this was simply choosing a blog name.
This is a magazine advertisement for the debut full-length from Brighton Hardcore / Punk band Dead Swans. It appeared in August 2009's edition of Rocksound magazine, renowned for it's coverage of a wide variety of musical genres falling vaguely beneath the 'Rock' title.
It is worthwhile to not first that the advertisement appeared on a page funded by the label on which the band released the record, therefore appeared alongside a number of different advertisements for other records the label was releasing. This could potentially effect the way in which the advertisement is composed, and the effect is has in succeeding to stand out to the audience, however as they are a relatively small, underground band on the scene, any form of advertisement would be seen as incredibly beneficial for them. Their small scale status takes obvious effect of the construction of the advert, as they would not likely be able to afford a large, mass produced advertisement that a more mainstream band may, for example. For this reason, the advert itself only takes up just under half of the A4 page, which is fairly typical for a smaller band on a tight budget.
To make the most of the provided space, the majority of the advert is dominated by a large image of the album cover. This complies with the conventions of simplicity that the low-key bands of the hardcore genre usually adopt to market their music - in high contrast to the sound and atmosphere of the music they create.
The cover itself consists simply of a black and white image of a mid-shot of a man from behind, dressed in conventional clothing for this sort of genre that would strike a chord of familiarity in the intended 'alternative' styled target audience. The use of this image shows a link with the album title, perhaps suggesting that the man in the image of sleepwalking into the midst of the grey ahead of him. The fact that we cannot see his face, and therefore establish any form of connection with the character makes for a sort of enigma, adding mystery to the narrative behind the cover, making you wonder as to his significance and perhaps even his destination. This use of mystery is a fairly conventional feature though this genre, where the focus tends to revolve more around the music as opposed to the star image of the artist. This also relates to the intended target audience, as this genre of music is often received for the purpose of entertainment or escapism. It would perhaps also work to create a sense of identity and belonging for the recipient, as is often a common underlying theme for the more alternative genre.
The image itself only takes up a small amount of space, positioned in the centre of the advert towards the bottom half of the frame. The excessive space surrounding the image that consumes the rest of the frame serves to emphasise the image, and perhaps imply connotations of isolation and reclusion, both of which are fairly conventional topics within this kind of genre. The image is taken from a high angle, looking down upon the man, which creates the representation that he is perhaps slightly vulnerable and powerless.
The bands name is printed in large white capital letters, in the top centre of the cover. One line per words accentuates the name, making it seem large and attention demanding. The white of the typeface contrasts from the blander grey tones of the background. The name of the album is written directly below in a conventional handwritten style. Many punk bands adopt this format for their text based products as it serves to fit their basic, raw, anarchist image and style in parallel to the sound that they create through their music. Additionally, by including a large image of the album artwork that contains this typographic information already means that there is no need to waste space by repeating it on the advert, meaning the remaining space can be put to more effective use.
In relation to institutional information, across the bottom of the album cover, a small grey strip has been added for the purpose of this advertisement, listing details and information concerning the release. This includes the formats in which it will be available - CD and LP, where - in stores, and the date of which it will become available - August 10th. This means that could the advert have succeded in the selling of the product, or even if it had just made a fan, already familiar with the band, aware of the impending release, they would know how and where to obtain is as they so desired.
To the right hand side for the album image, a smaller image of the band captured live is used, perhaps to promote them as more of an all round package - this image is a shot from a particularly highly energetic live performance, which may appeal to the audience who wold enjoy attending smaller, high energy punk and hardcore gigs. Additionally, this image is used as the cover of a 7" limited edition EP that the band were due to release shortly after this advertisement was published. This serves as a dual advertisement, making the audience aware of upcoming releases from the same artist, should they have succeeded in being interested by the initial product advertised.
Finally, the advert uses a review quote to support it's selling strategy. This is fairly conventional for any advertisement, as a good review from a trusted source, such as a music magazine the audience would respect the opinion of could only be beneficial in the marketing process of the product, as it encourages or intrigues the audience into giving it a listen, perhaps in order to deduce whether or not the high rating was deserved, or to experiment with new music, based on the highest reviewed and respected offerings.
'Hold Your Colour' is the 2005 debut album from the Australians drum and bass / electronic rock band, Pendulum. The artwork is highly conventional for the style of music it serves to promote.
One of the most notable ways in which this is achieved is through the much more advanced and complex levels of editing and graphic design involved in the artwork, in contrast to album covers of different genres - the more gritty and darker approach of the typical rock or metal album cover, for example. This is likely to be synonymous with the much smoother sound of the music of this sort of genre, with a multitude of overlapping sounds tending to blend into one another - as a general rule, music of this genre is far more reliant upon the mixing and mastering of the track to achieve its intended purpose than say a more raw, basic rock sound might be. The overall cover seems to have a fairly smooth, soft focus - the edges of the images are not particularly sharped, and everything seems to just flow in to each other, subtly reinforcing the link between the style of the music and the visuals.
Another convention of this sort of genre is the copious amounts of vivid colours used within the graphics, implying vibrancy and energy. This is combined with another typical generic feature of light - in this example, a trail of white dots and stripes highlight and accentuate the strands of colour - perhaps significant to the intended target audience in that it may be reminiscent of clubs or raves, where it is common for such a genre of music to be predominantly played. This could also be reflective of the idea of lightning and a storm, perhaps in parallel to the mass of different beats and pulses and likely implicative of the energy contained in the sound. Furthermore, this could be representative of the genre in that this type of music is often held within itself as 'different' or 'unconventional' of sorts - this cover could perhaps be in line with this idea of 'breaking the mould' that seems to be an underlying theme or value to this style of music. The vibrant usage of colour is also perhaps in reference to the title track of the album, manipulating it in such a way that satisfies the generic conventions and portrayals. The synergy between the title track and the artwork would be deciphered by the intended target audience, thereby creating some form of connection and cohesion between the band and artist.
The main focus of the artwork is a large eye, framed off-centre, to the right hand side of the cover. This could again relate back to the convention of the unconventional, in that it immediately draws the attention of the audience due to it's unusual layout and positioning within the overall image. The image links to the lyric "Twisted the knife and opened your eyes" from the album's title track - a line which is repeated multiple times throughout the song. This could link to the theory of audience gratification in that perhaps a fan may already be aware of it's significance, or after buying the album would then hopefully recognise the synergy between the two. This theory is further strengthened by the impression of eye contact, which places the artist and audience at a level stance, showing a reciprocated respect.
The eye could also be looked at in light of the 'storm'-like implications - representing the calm or the 'eye of the storm', whilst surrounded by a confusing abundance of swirls, possibly connoting destruction which would again imply the sound and impression that the band wish to make with their music. Another interpretation is that the eye represents power - perhaps omniscient, or 'all-seeing', it is the central point around which the rest of the cover revolves. Low-key lighting is used here to emphasise this ideology, which brightly lights the central section of the eye and surrounding areas, making sure it catches attention and can clearly be seen in great detail, whilst at the same time casting the corners and edges into shadow. This approach typically creates an air of mystery and illusion, and potentially even intimidation, as the audience become more concerned with what is being hidden rather than what is being shown. Furthermore, the eyes are often held in high regard as key to conveying emotion, whereas the specific selection of only the main part of the eye makes it difficult, or even impossible to gauge any emotion from it, as it perhaps comes across as blank or vacant. This perhaps serves to unsettle the audience, in parallel to the feeling or emotion that the band aim to achieve within their audience with their music. Additionally, the eye could be representative of the band themselves, and their levels of power and authority, along with the chaos and energy they aim to create within their audience.
An oppositional reading of this could be from a viewpoint in line with feminist theory. The eye comes across as quite feminine - widely opened and with long, thick eyelashes. Some may see they eye as being entrapped or imprisoned within the turmoil surrounding it, stuck in the darkness.
The swirls of colour seeping from the eye seem to resemble a strand or double helix of DNA, which could enforce the 'powerful' imagery, as some from of creator figure. This may also connote the connection between the band and their music, in that perhaps it means something to them on a more personal level, or even that their music is a part of them.
The text on the cover is minimalistic, and stands out from the rest of the cover. Due to the riot of colour and light in the background, it would probably not be clear to simply layer the name of the artist or album straight on the top. A black, rounded ended tab stretches out across the bottom left of the frame. Again, this could comply with the convention of the unconventional in that it is not necessarily the most typical cover placement, however it succeeds in drawing the audiences attention, attracting them to their name printed in large, bold letting - perhaps suggesting a desire to become a well known name (this only being the band's debut album, but a goal that they have since achieved), as well as again to establish a connection with the intended audience, who would recognise the name and immediately register interest.
The name of the album is positioned on a smaller, extended tab that seems to flow off the 'P' in 'Pendulum', creating some form of underline for emphasis, whilst also reinforcing the idea of a certain fluidity associated with the genre and style of music. This is further supported by the rounded, lowercase typeface and band logo, giving an impression of finesse and expertise that perhaps the band wish to define or categorize their working style as.
'Nightmare' is the fifth full-length album from the Californian Hard Rock/Metal band Avenged Sevenfold. As the style of music that they make is overall fairly conventional of its genre, as too is the artwork, which mirrors these conventions to create a fairly typical album cover.
The main theme of this cover, and indeed the album’s contents stems from the death of the band’s drummer, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan who passed away in December of last year prior to the albums completion. Obviously, this loss greatly affected the band, who decided to continue and put album out in tribute to him. The most notable way in which this is reflected through the artwork is through the image of a simplistic gravestone in the centre of the cover, with a single word ‘foREVer’ etched upon it. The word itself pays touching tribute, insinuating that he remains in their memory. Additionally, the middle three letters of ‘REV’ are emphasised through capitalization in reference to him, as this was his nickname – this would be instantly recognisable to the band’s established fan base, and likely to be immediately understood, as they would be aware of the recent events surrounding the album’s recording process. This links to the theory of audience gratification, establishing a link and connection between the artist and the audience.
The album title ‘Nightmare’ may also be in relation to the incidents relating to the process of the creation of this album – the tragic loss of such a close friend would be a dark and distressing period for any person, and this title parallels it to a horrific and terrifying dream. Nevertheless, this is a highly conventional title for an album of this genre, as common generic themes tend to be focused around ideas such as darkness, terror and intimidation, for example in reflection of the musical style – whether particularly relevant as in this instance or otherwise.
Another key theme or aspect to this album cover is a multitude of references to particular ‘horror movie’ stereotypes. For instance, the lower half of the cover is mainly consumed by a large image of a young girl lying awake in bed. This image plays on the conventional gender stereotypes of the innocent and defenceless little girl – typically always the horror film victim. This is supported through the mise-en-scene, in the way that she is dressed in pink pyjamas and is clutching a white teddy bear. Overall, this helps to convey the idea of vulnerability and perhaps naivety – the colour connotations of the baby pink representing youthfulness and weakness combining with the connotations of innocence and purity associated with the colour white. The look on her face is one of sheer terror, further emphasising her defencelessness.
Above the girl is what appears to be some form of menacing, undead creature. This is perhaps synonymous with the name of the album – ‘Nightmare’, i.e. a horrendous dream in which ‘monsters’ are typically a prominent feature – particularly in childhood. The creature looms tall above the girl, her lesser status indicated by the fact that she consumes significantly less of the frame. The winged creature is a likely reference to the band’s logo, the ‘Deathbat’. This has featured on almost every cover, both singles and albums, that the band have put out, with perhaps the most notable being the cover for their 2007 self-titled album, the artwork for which was extremely minimal – it features only an image of a black winged skull upon a plain white background, or their second album, 2003’s ‘Waking The Fallen’ which is effectively the same but with the colours inverted. This image became almost iconic for the band, and ended up becoming their associated logo. This could again link back to the theory of audience gratification, in that fans who were aware of their previous albums, or who have seen this logo before would be able to immediately make the connection and recognise the artwork as associated with the band. To others viewing the artwork that perhaps had not been previously aware of the logo, it may simply come across as an intimidating demon-like creature, in parallel to the name of the album.
Furthermore, the fact that this version of the logo had been evolved, given more of a shape and physical embodiment than previously and has become more of a character within itself, could be representative of the evolution of the band with this album – both with their sound and as a group. Additionally, I think that this character is supposed to be made almost in likeness to The Rev, which is further supported by the almost angelic reading of this image – whilst on the surface it may merely appear to be a daunting figure, in contrast it could be seen as a form of angel, with the smoke and the low-angle lighting almost making it looks as if it is rising from the grave, whilst the cross atop the gravestone appears to be cracking. The theme of religion is a common convention of this sort of genre, and is usually used in an almost menacing or taunting way to connote imagery of evil and darkness for example.
The mise-en-scene of this cover plays on the conventional horror movie interlink with this genre, along with the album title. For example, the girl is lying on what seems to be a bed of bones, and is surrounded by a mass of branches covered in dead and shrivelled leaves – these all connote a typical horror movie creepiness, making the image almost unsettling or unnerving to the audience. The girl is in what appears to be a graveyard, under the open night sky, and a full moon can be seen in the upper left-hand corner, emphasising the horror stereotypes and thus the sinister feeling. Additionally, the remote location of the graveyard give the impression of isolation and loneliness – perhaps also reflective of the band’s state as well as reinforcing this idea. The cover sticks to convention by being created in an illustrated style – this is an approach found frequently within the metal genre, where the focus is often more upon the music, creating influence for the artwork as opposed to images of the band themselves, in the same self-promoting way as the pop genre may tend to, for example.
In fitting with the artwork style, along with generic conventions, a basic dark colour scheme is used, the most noteworthy being varying shades of blue/grey, along with the pink of the young girls costume which contrasts with its darker surroundings. The dark palette of colours again elevates the ominous feel, as well as perhaps drawing a correspondence to the music contained upon this album – when juxtaposed with the covers of it’s predecessors, which tend to make use of a much more vibrant colour scheme, it becomes clear that the theme of darkness is a much more prominent feature with this cover, perhaps subtly implying that this is their darkest work to date.
The text on this album cover is kept fairly limited and simplistic. The name of the band is emblazoned centrally across the upper half of the cover. In comparison to the rest of the artwork, it is fairly small which perhaps suggests that it is not the main focus of the cover. The name is entirely in capitals, written in a printed style which gives it a sharp and somewhat harsh appearance – fairly typical of this sort of genre and possibly synonymous with this type of sound. The text is white, contrastingly brazenly from the darker shades of the background therefore capturing the audiences attention and allowing for ease of reading.
The name of the album is positioned directly beneath, written in a similar style. It is coloured bright red, which could again link to the conventional horror theme due to the more negative connotations of the colour – such as blood and anger for example. Such predetermined associations in the minds of the audience serve to emphasise and strengthen the force behind the word ‘Nightmare’, giving it an increased effect than the basics of the word alone may have done.
The only other text on the album cover is the Parental Advisory sticker, displayed prominently in the bottom right-hand corner. The fact that it is presented so clearly, almost accentuated by its isolation could possibly imply that the band have nothing to hide, and are not holding back with this record.
'Constellation Me' is the debut album offering from British artist Joe Brooks. His style of music is mainly identified as belonging to the Indie/Pop genre, and reflects this through the utilisation of a variety of genre specific features.
For example, the main image and therefore focal point of the album cover is of the artist himself. This is a typical convention of the popular music genre, as style and image are a key part of the overall package the artists present. There is often a close focus on the artists themselves, making them easily and instantly recognisable to the audience - this is an approach that is often avoided, or is certainly used far less frequently in genres such as that of Rock or Metal for example, where often the focus is mainly intended to be upon on the music itself as opposed to its creators and their image.
These particular visuals are in a high contrast, black and white vintage style, standing out against the plain beige of the background and reflecting not only the artist’s music, but his personal style and image as well. For stylistic emphasis, certain parts of the image are coloured or highlighted, such as the lining of his jacket. This breaks the flat block of colour slightly, making the image overall more visually appealing and interesting. The bold block of black of the main image gives quite a strong and powerful impression, standing out dramatically from the rest of the artwork, and immediately catching the eye. This also links with the typical portrayal of the dominant, powerful male – a stereotype relied heavily upon in such a genre.
Another way in which this is portrayed is through the use of lighting – his face is brightly lit from a high angle, casting parts in shadow, giving a feeling of power and superiority. This is further emphasised by the central framing and the neutral expression, accompanied but a typical ‘cool and composed’ forward-staring gaze looking directly down the lens of the camera – another feature often seen throughout the pop music genre, due to the theory of audience gratification which aims to create a form of connection between the artist and the audience. The direct eye contact could possibly connote equality and familiarity, as eye contact is usually held as quite personal as well as a form of respect – for example, when engaged in conversation.
An oppositional reading of this could be that this is yet another manner in which the stereotype of male dominance and superiority is being emphasised, almost as if the artist is looking down upon the audience and is regarded, in some ways, as above them. This could be further supported by the lack of expression in the artist’s face – potentially coming across as a cold and seemingly superior demeanour as opposed to friendly and welcoming. It seems to be a fairly straightforward and serious image, potentially reflecting the style of music that he creates.
The main image is duplicated and overlapped, perhaps reflecting the title of the album and the main theme – that this album constitutes a variety of factors that make up the artist as a person, much the same as a number of stars group to make a constellation – hence, ‘Constellation Me’. The duplications of the image could represent different parts of himself that merge together to create the overall picture. This is further supported in the way that the section where the two copied images overlap in the centre of the original image is coloured green – the combination of the two original colours of pale blue and yellow.
The use of colour in these images not only serves to make the cover more visually appealing, but could again be reflective of this idea, due to the connotations of the colours used, For example, bright yellow carries connotations of vibrancy, happiness and warmth, whereas pale blue could perhaps indicate coldness and sorrow. This could refer back to the idea that the album is supposed to build the picture of the artist as a person, and therefore the content would be likely to consist of both the brighter side and the sadder side of his life and experiences, which all build up to create the bigger picture. Additionally, the triple image could again be representative of the implication of power and status, almost in an egotistical way, very much emphasising the artist and his image and imposing the view upon the audience.
The artists name is drawn in a dot-to-dot style, perhaps reminiscent of the joining together of stars to create shapes – again in reference to the album name. There is also a child-like element to this style, as the dots are numbered as if in a children’s colouring book. This could represent a sense of youth and innocence that is an increasingly popular feature throughout this genre, perhaps indicating the intended target audience, as well as possibly reflecting the more innocent nature within the lyrical content of many of his songs. The font additionally makes the cover see more personal, as it looks as if it could have been handwritten by the artist himself, again perhaps implying a connection between artist and fan base.
The red of the connecting lines - which could again emphasis the idea of supremacy due to the connotations of power associated with the colour, contrasts highly with the plain background, standing out and emphasising the artist’s name. This could again be due to the idea that the image and identity of the individual is a key concept within the popular music genre. This is supported by the fact that the name of the artist is significantly larger than the name of the album, perhaps suggesting that this album is being marketed more towards the mainstream, relying heavily on the artists name and image for promotion.
The name of the album is relatively small and simplistic, written in a straightforward font. This perhaps indicated that it is held in lesser significance to the rest of the album artwork, its sharp plainness contrasting starkly against the other more detailed aspects of the cover. The words are stretched out across the centre of the cover in a typical generic indie fashion, using its isolation for emphatic purposes.
Genre: Alternative Hip Hop Director: HiroMuari Year: 2010
'Airplanes' is the second official single from American alternative hip hop artist, B.o.B, featuring a guest appearance from Hayley Williams of the American rock band Paramore. It is a highly conventional video for the mainstream hip hop genre, and utilises a vast number of generic features in order to create product familiarisation and mass audience appeal.
The video is mainly performance based, as it stereotypical of this genre of music. There are brief shots of a scene at a party in illustration of the lyrics "after all the partying", but this is kept fairly short and infrequent. This is perhaps to focus more emphasis on the artist himself as opposed to any narrative or concept. This is fairly typical of artists being marketed towards the mainstream in this manner, as it creates a sense of intimacy with the audience, and a feeling of engagement that could not be achieved in a live performance setting.
NARRATIVE:
For the most part the video could be seen as illustrative of the lyrics, as important sections are emphasised with physical enactments - for example, the line "That's just how the story unfolds" is accompanied by a clip of a girl taking a photograph on an instant camera. This could possibly suggest an idea of journalism, and perhaps imply that he is referring to his portrayal in the media, the photographer representing the idea of the paparazzi attempting to take him picture. This works as a marketing device for the artist in some way, as it adds a conventional sense of glamour to the video, making the artist seem popular enough that the media want to pursue him.
Another way in which the visuals illustrate the lyrical content of the song is through the use of projecting - the lyrics are actually physically projected onto the walls of the location, which perhaps serves to emphasise the meaning behind them to the audience, or more than likely serves to act as yet another promotional tool, giving the audience the means to learn the lyrics to the song, thereby increasing it's popularity and familiarisation with the audience, creating a mass appeal.
In the chorus the word "Airplanes" is sometimes illustrated with a dance movement, opening the arms wide and moving to convey the idea of a soaring aeroplane. Dance routines are highly conventional of the general hip hop and R'n'B genre, and although it is not a method utilised a great deal in this video, there is still some reference to dancing or gestures, particularly whilst the artist himself is rapping, thereby loosely adhering to the generic conventions, whilst perhaps trying to distance the portrayal of the artist from the stereotypical rapper by not including each convention in it's full recognised format.
At around 1:50, the artist is rapping on stage about the state of the music industry, and how he wishes he could go back to a time when he was creating music that he enjoyed, or his own terms, as opposed to the more forced approach that a mainstream label would bring. In illustration of this, the audience before which he was performing disappears in a flash of light, leaving the artist performing by himself, emphasised by the excessive isolation and space surrounding him in the frame.
MISE-EN-SCENE:
The location of the video is fairly typical for this sort of genre - it appears to be a large, spacious and vacant warehouse, creating familiarity within the genre by setting the video in a recognisably urban location. The attire of the artist is also fairly conventional for the mainstream hip hop artist image he is being marketed as - smart jeans, trainers and hoodie's etc. This shows a certain stylistic element to the artist whilst remaining very casual and relatable to the intended target audience.
CAMERA:
The use of camera is fairly basic in this video, with not a wide variety of shot types. The main type of shot used is that of the frequent close up to mid shots of the artist, and guest vocalist. These types of shot are used to enforce the image of the artist, and create a sense of familiarity and recognition with the audience. This relates to Richard Dyer's 1971 theory of star image, in that a "star is an image constructed from a range of materials", which can include their music, music videos and CD covers etc. This basically means that with this type of mainstream genre, the artist is very much marketed on a mass appeal basis as a whole package, including their style and image, not just dependant on the music alone. This is an approach that would tend to be avoided in say the rock genre, where the emphasis very much tends to be on the musical craft and skill as opposed to the image of the artists themselves.
The female vocalist is perhaps shown to be of a lesser significance through the use of camera. She tends never to be fully in the frame, drawing emphasis on parts of her body instead, and perhaps indicating a lower importance than the artist himself.
LIGHTING:
The excessive use and manipulation of lighting in different forms is one of the key conventions to a hip hop / R'n'B music video. The lighting is extremely low-key, creating a feeling of power and supremacy to the artist, perhaps implying that he is on a more authoritative level to the audience. The use of lighting in this video creates its key effect, projecting a range of bright colours and patterns across the screen. The female vocalist is often portrayed in an almost Voyeuristic style through the usage of light, in line with Goodwin’s theory - for most of the video, she is shown as a silhouette against a brightly lit background, emphasising and objectifies her body and figure, attracting focus for sexual pleasure. This also relates to the theory of the male gaze, which is a common convention throughout videos of this sort of genre, used as a method of appealing to fans - particularly males, and serving as an egotistical boost for the male artist, again implying a sense of coolness and popularity.
EDITING:
The editing in this music video is quite slow paced and soft, which is quite unusual for this type of genre, where it would be expected to be of a faster pace in order to create excitement and possibly confusion, thereby demanding multiple replays of the video before fully understanding the whole picture. The relationship between the music and the visuals is quite strong however, with the pace of the editing matching the pace of the song. Continuity editing is common here in order to match the lip syncing of the performance with the lyrics to the song. The transitions between the shots are kept relatively simple and straightforward, thereby not removing any focus from the artist himself. A number of fades and flashes of light are used along with straight cuts to move from shot to shot, allowing for fluidity between shots, and causing no disruption to the visual flow of the video.
Genre: Punk Rock / Acoustic Director: Meriert Avis Year: 2009
'Hero Of War' is a song by the Chicago punk rock band, Rise Against, from their 2008 album 'Appeal To Reason'. The video was directed by Meriert Avis, who has directed a number of music videos for major artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and U2, and examines the brutally personal effects on a young American solider going to war.
The relationship between the lyrical content of the song and the visual content of the video is quite strong. As a typical conventional theme or value of punk rock is that of politics, particularly concerning war, this video could be seen as a fairly conventional theme for this genre. Additionally, the band members beside the vocalist only make brief, individual appearances in the entire video. This could be viewed as conventional, in that it is typical of the punk rock genre to want to draw more focus to the song itself, and the lyrical content and message behind it, as opposed to the image of the band themselves.
The whole point of the song and the video is to make a statement following the story of one soldier as he is sent into battle. While the title of the song gives the impression that this is a glorification of soldiers and their services, the actual lyrical content of the song explores a little deeper, brazenly referring instead to the mental and emotional effects the war has on soldiers, with the intention to "lift the stigma that surrounds everything from the skyrocketing suicide rate of troops, torture, internal sexual abuse, an under-funded VA, and the growing number of military personnel fighting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as they return home", as quoted in their video description from the band's blog.
NARRATIVE:
The majority of the video is narrative based, following the solider, and depicting graphic images of violence and war. The band particularly wanted to avoid glossing over the violence, instead aiming to portray a graphic and accurate depiction of scene that actually happen on a day to day basis in times of war, as they felt people have a right to know the actualities of the occurrences. The order of the narrative takes on a postmodernistic, disjointed structure, fluctuating from depictions of war - either in action, or it's effects, to following the soldiers journey. This means that the audience is aware that they will not be likely to receive traditional closure, in the form of a happy ending for example.
We are first introduced to the lead character of the soldier creeping through an abandoned warehouse, gun raised - the narrative launches straight into the brutality of the message the band is trying to convey, in fitting with the generic convention of political expression. The video then cuts to a night vision shot of a young man, evidently in distress. This idea is further emphasised by the use of night vision, as draws attention to the face and the expression, blacking out the background, thus creating a tense feeling in the audience, as they are not fully aware of the context of the shot giving that they cannot see anything but the face. Additionally, the lighting is particularly unflattering, highlighting the man's haggard and disheveled appearance. As the video progresses, we see similar night visions shots, evidently depicting the man growing increasingly distressed as time goes by.
We then see a close up, over the shoulder shot of the same man sitting with a female, which appears to be some kind of flashback. His expression here is much different, happily gazing at the girl, with a broad smile. The juxtaposition of these two shots has great effect on the audience, as they begin to wonder what has changed since then, and grow interested in his compelling story. Throughout the video, we see a number of flashbacks of the couple in what seems to be a happier time, including multiple shots of a battered picture of the two on what looks like their wedding day. The repetition of this type of shot throughout the video accentuates the dramatic divide between his state of mind then, and what his emotional state has become now, after participating in the war, highlighting the ideas of hopelessness and misery that is unfortunately a reality for many soldiers.
The narrative explores his journey up to that point, showing him pledging his allegiance, shaving his head and even engaged in torture methods. We are also shown shots of the man at what appears to be a family party, evidently after he has served in the army for some time, as connoted by the uniform he wears. These shots of his return to normality conflict dramatically with the flashback shots of him and his wife, and the audience can clearly see an effect on his mental state, as emphasised by the unsteady zoom on his face, to reveal his vacant and apathetic expression. This is symbolic of the post traumatic stress disorder many soldiers suffer from after returning home to war - an tentative issue which is often skirted over in society, that the band wanted to clearly convey.
We see a number of shots of children throughout the video, perhaps to make a statement about the affect of war and violence on the younger generation. We see a young child, crying, with bandages wrapped around their face, highlighting the impact violence has on the innocent in places of poverty. There is also a shot of a number of children playing with weapons and machine guns, jumping around a massive bonfire. This could perhaps be symbolic of the corruption of the innocent, in that these children are growing up treating guns as toys, and the disheartening reality that these young children are unlikely to have known anything other than violence throughout their lives.
There is also an element of performance to the video, revolving around the lead singer sat on a plastic chair in an abandoned children's playground, playing guitar. The significance of this location promotes the idea of innocence and youth, contrasting highly with the graphic depictions of war scenes and fighting. The abandonment of the location is highlighted, possibly in reflection of the idea of the corruption of innocence and the tainting of youth - perhaps hinting that they would rather play with guns that in a child's playground. The isolation of the location is emphasised through the use of framing - multiple long shots of the singer are used, sitting off centre in the lower right hand section of the frame, therefore highlighting the cavernous space and seclusion that surrounds him.
At the beginning of the video, the swings behind him are stationary, however as the video progresses, one by one they begin to move in different directions. By the end of the video, they are all swaying together in the same direction. I believe that this could again be symbolic of the idea of a gradual corruption, perhaps serving as a political statement about the American forces themselves in terms of forcing people into a particular mindset or mentality.
The video ends with a shot of the man walking topless through the streets back home - as conveyed through the modernistic setting with cars, electrical posts etc. His face and neck are painted entirely white, possibly indicating surrender, as is often associated with the idea of war.
MISE-EN-SCENE:
The mise-en-scene is a key factor in conveying the message that the band want to put out with this song, about the harsh brutality of war. To achieve this, an overall sense of realism is desirable in order to emphasise the effect that this is based around a number of real life situations and actually happens around the world.
The idea of realism is a crucial part of this video, as it is supposed to be representative of the truth behind real life situations that are often ignored in the modern media. Many props relating to the army are used in order to make it seem as real as possible, including uniforms, helmets and weaponry.
The idea of American pride and fighting for your country is explored throughout the video, with the bearing of the American flag being prudent throughout, illustrative of the lyrics towards the end of the chorus: "I'll carry this flag / To the grave if I must / It's a flag that I love / And a flag that I trust". The flag is often displayed focally in the frame, from the the large patches on the arms of the soldiers uniform, to hanging from the walls in the interior locations. Towards the middle of the song, we see a low angle shot of a soldier loading his gun with his face painted with the American flag. The use of camera angles here accentuates a feeling of power and perhaps dominance and assumed authority that comes hand in hand with fighting for your county. Alternatively, the flag is used to represent the idea of distress and anguish - in the night shot scenes of the solider, the American flag can be seen hanging upside down on the wall in the background. This is a military recognised signal for distress - the law states: "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life", which is highly expressive of the idea and message that the band wish to convey through this video.
There is also an emphasis on poverty, symbolic of the effect war has on the innocent civilians of the countries in which it takes place. These civilians are shown dressed in basic, simple and inexpensive clothing to effectively communicate this idea.
LIGHTING:
For the most part, the lighting in the video is kept relatively low key, in order to promote the feeling of realism the band hope to convey with this video. This means that there is often a reliance on natural lighting to create the desired effect in the shot - for example, towards the beginning of the video, the natural sunlight is used in the warehouse to silhouette the soldiers and create a more striking and powerful impression. The use of the night shot brightly lighting the face contrasts with the majority of the footage through the rest of the video, as it is one of the few times where you can see the solders whole face clearly, and it creates a highly unflattering and unkempt impression.
Additionally, lighting can be used to reflect the emotional state of the solider - at the end of the video, we see him sat on the chair directly after getting his hair shaved off, as it still covers his shoulders. His face is lit from the side, causing half of it to be fully visible in the light, whilst the other half is cast into darkness and shadow. This is perhaps representative of the soldiers emotional state at this time, as the content and happy man he once was begins to transform into the war-hardened veteran, his mental state permanently changed by the traumatic climate of the war zone.
CAMERA:
Again, the idea of realism is enforced through the use of the camera. Many of the narrative scenes are often filmed with a handheld camera, using the shakiness and instability to accentuate the idea of authenticity and verisimilitude that the band wish to portray.
The use of camera angles is also crucial in the portrayal of the soldiers themselves. Often, unconventional angles are used, in order to cut sections of the soldier out of the frame. They are rarely centrally positioned, and are usually to one side of the frame, using the empty space to emphasise their isolation both physically and mentally, as well as possibly to connote their treatment - perhaps suggesting that they are considered to be just another number, and undermining the importance of the individual.
Angles are also used to portray a sense of power, which is the overall underlying theme of war in itself. Low angles are often used on the soldiers to highlight their dominant authoritative stance, indicating a sense of supremacy. The civilians are often viewed through a high angle shot, perhaps reflecting their lesser power, and their subservience and inability to cease the destruction going on around them.
EDITING:
For the majority of the video, the editing is fairly slow paced, in parallel to the pace of the track. Towards the end of the song, where the speed and depth of the track increases, as does the speed of the editing, creating a montage of images from scenes depicting the war, to flashback scenes of the solider at a happier time in his life. These work together in quick succession to heighten the feeling of desperation and anguish that these soldiers suffer, further enforcing the realism behind the idea, and serving to emphasise the bands message to the audience.
'Inside Of You' is the first single from American alternative rock band The Maine's 2010 album, 'Black & White'. The video was written by Ian Michael Kintzle and directed by Cage Free, and is supposedly a conceptual video about the entire album rather than specific to the actual song, however there are many links to the songs lyrical values. The video is mostly in black and white, inter cut with some parts of colours, and eventually bleeding fully into colour at the end.
The video is equal parts narrative and performance based. This is quite a conventional, modern approach to music videos, particularly in the rock genre, as it allows the band or artist more creative freedom in the narrative aspect of the video rather than simply performance footage which would not distinguish them from the rest of the market, and set them apart from the crowd. This is additionally a popular approach as it allows the artists to convey a different side of the song, or imply a preferred reading and meaning to the track that perhaps would not have been picked up on by the audience otherwise.
NARRATIVE:
The main premise of the narrative is about a young boy at the wake of his grandfather's funeral. The grandfather appears in the video himself on multiple occasions, but only the little boy can see him. He gives the boy a kaleidoscope, which allows him to look 'inside' of people, and see into a different, more vibrant and colourful world. He sees his grandfather in the world of the kaleidoscope, dressed as a clown, and grows frustrated when he removes it to see that he is not actually there. He then smashes the telescope on the floor, in parallel to the band smashing up their instruments as the song ends. The colour begins to seep from the kaleidoscope to fill the frame, as the young girl from the wake enters holding out the red clown nose that the grandfather was wearing. Whilst on the surface, this could be translated as a a fun and nonsensical video, a deeper reading of this could be the portrayal of the 'light at the end of the tunnel' theme that is fairly common throughout this type of genre. By the grandfather giving the boy the kaleidoscope, it could be representative of the idea that even in times of gloom and darkness, such as the death of a loved one, there is always a bright side to look forward to, and that the world is vibrant and effervescent even when all seems bleak.
The relationship between the lyrics and visuals is quite a complicated one. Whilst in part, the video can be seen as loosely illustrative of the lyrics - referring to the idea of looking 'inside of you', as is illustrated with the kaleidoscope, upon closer listen you can hear that the lyrical content is of a highly different topic altogether, being based around a relationship between the singer and a female. This could therefore possibly be seen to be a slightly conflicting relationship in that the intended subject of the lyrics does not match the subject of the visuals. It could also be seen as conflicting in that one of the main lyrics from which the idea is derived is the line "I'm never gonna see inside of you" - a notion contrasts by the depiction of the boy physically seeing 'inside' of people via the kaleidoscope. This could alternatively be viewed as an amplifying relationship, as the boy, albeit loosely, is in some way physically enacting what is being said. This could be viewed as unconventional, as it is more typical for the more mainstream rock genre with which The Maine can be associated to create videos of a more illustrative style, in order to emphasise the meaning and impact behind the lyrics, which are conventionally of a more personal value than say the Pop genre may be.
EDITING:
The majority of the video is in black and white - this is most likely to be in reference to the album name, 'Black & White' above all, but also serves to intensify the gloomy and dreary atmosphere created by the content of the narrative, i.e. the grandfathers funeral. Colour shots are used to distinguish between the view of the 'real world' and the world through the kaleidoscope. The use of vivid colouring here serves the amplify the feeling of happiness and contentment the world he is seeing is supposed to portray, thereby further separating the young boy from it, and creating a bigger divide between the two. At the end of the video as the boy smashes the kaleidoscope on the ground in frustration, the colour bleeds into the frame, suggesting that perhaps the division between the two worlds were not as solid as imagined, and suggesting that the dismal world that they lived in has now been overtaken by the fun and happiness they desired. This idea is further supported by the young girl entering the room holding the grandfather's clown nose, indicating that perhaps the world was not all a figment of imagination.
Most of the cuts used in the editing are that of straight cuts, to transition directly between the performance and the narrative. This is a convention of most music videos, allowing for fluidity between shots without making the visuals appear too abrupt. It also allows for continuity in performance, matching the lyrics of the song to the lip syncing of the recorded footage. If the two are out of time or not quite right, it creates an undesirable feeling of unease in the viewer and can be uncomfortable to watch.
Particularly towards the beginning of the video (e.g. 0:04, 0:14), a number of jump cuts are used in sync with the music. This allows for the video to be in time with the track, whilst also making for a more interesting visual. The video begins with a rapid fade in from black, to an extreme long shot over houses - this is perhaps to immediately establish the urban location, as well as to create the initial impression of dreariness that becomes a theme for the rest of the video. A jump cut is used here in time to the beginning of the track. The effect of this is perhaps to reduce the length of the clip, and make it more visually interesting than simply a lengthy shot of houses would be. It also perhaps gives the impression of surveillance, particularly when combined with the non-diagetic sound of beeping, making it look as if it is being watched over and perhaps one particular location is being highlighted. Jump cuts are fairly common throughout the narrative scenes, speeding up the narrative in order to match the track, as well as serving to emphasise the section that is being approached. This is quite a conventional approach to narrative in music videos, as the abrupt visual style that this creates adds more dramatic effects to the content of the scene, coupled with the fact that one long flowing segment of narrative is deemed uninteresting and overall unnecessary, as it could have a detrimental effect when combined with the pace and beat of the track it accompanies.
At around 0:09, an overlaying shot is used in the performance footage, in time to the pace of the song. When the drums kick in at the beginning of the track, the visuals cut to footage of the band entering the performance area and setting up to play. A flickering, overlaying visual effect is used here in time to the drum fill, creating an almost ghost like impression of the band, perhaps linking in with the theme of the video and suggesting that they are not really there.
The majority of the editing is fast-paced, in order to match the speed of the track. The video often uses a number of different styles to transition between footage of the performance and the narrative - for example at 0:26, a short succession of extremely fast straight cuts are used to create a 'flickering' impression between the performance and the narrative - again illustrative of the drum fill in the track. This serves to emphasis the relationship between the track and the visuals, allowing a comfortable transition into the next section of the song, which increases in depth with the increase in layers of instruments.
Fades are a common feature throughout this video, again often used in the slower, softer parts of the song. The effect of this method is to heighten the impression of gloom and sadness that the boy is quite clearly experiencing, as transitional fades are often interpreted to signify or create a melancholy atmosphere. A vintage, flickering film effect is used for the black and white narrative shots, clearly distinguishing them from the performance footage, as well as creating an aged feel. It suggests an element of surrealism to the world in which they are currently living, giving the impression that the bleak and grey scale world is only imagined, and that the dynamic and colourful world is reality. This also perhaps insinuates or makes reference to a 'Film Noir' approach to the narrative - a film genre popular throughout the 1940's to 1950's, characterised by the use of low-key lighting, black and white editing, bleak urban settings and a dark or depressing subject matter. All of these conventions are present throughout the video, so this is likely to be a postmodernistic element, creating hybridity and transversing across mediums and genres.
A kaleidoscope effect is used in the 'alternative' world shots, emphasising the vivid patterns and colours, thereby creating obvious contrast with the rest of the video, whilst adding to the dynamic of eccentricity the world is supposed to represent.
CAMERA:
The use of camera in the video is highly important in the impressions of the band and the music that they want to convey to the audience. A number of close ups and mid shots are used of the band, particularly of the singer, as is conventional of any music video. This aims to create an impression of the band and communicates their image, making them recognisable and familiarising them with the audience. Multiple focus shifts are used during the performance footage, which makes for an alternative from straight cuts, and allowing emphasis on different band members at any one time in one section of footage. Long shots are used to view the band performing together as a whole, which is highly conventional or rock videos, where the bands live performance is a crucial part in their marketing and distribution. At the more angsty parts of the song when the singer tends to shout rather than scream, a shaking effect is used on the camera to heighten the impression of roughness and rawness that is commonly associated with the alternative rock genre.
The camera is rarely still, and there is an emphasis on camera movement through techniques such as swoops and pans to create fluidity between shots. This makes the visuals appear more interesting and less static, as well as linking to the pace and speed of the track.
The camera is used in different ways from alternative angles in order to portray different representations. At around 1:24 when the young boy enters the room full of people, who we are to assume are family and friends in attendance at the wake, there is very much an emphasis on the representation of youth and innocence. The young boy is often shot from a high angle, looking down upon him, giving him the impression of youth and perhaps a lesser importance in the grand scheme of things. It makes him seem inferior and powerless, belittling him in a way. This is emphasised by the use of low angle shots of his family, supposedly from his perspective. This portrays him as looking up at them towering above him, as the belittle him by fussing over him, stroking his face as is a common convention of adult superiority over children.
LIGHTING:
During the black and white 'reality' scenes, the lighting is fairly dim and low-key. This adds to the atmosphere of gloominess and depression that accompanies the context of the visuals. In contrast, the performance footage of the band uses high-key lighting, making it bright and clear, standing out brazenly from the narrative aspect. This also emphasises the focus on the artists image, making them clearly visible to the audience and imposing their faces and appearance on them in order to establish familiarity and appeal. During the surrealist shots of the world through the kaleidoscope, the lighting is much more naturalistic, which further supports the idea that they are trying to make the impression that the lively, nonsensical world where anything goes is more of a reality than the bleak world in which the boy is living.
MISE-EN-SCENE:
The mise-en-scene of this video is highly important in conveying the ideology of the two worlds, as well as establishing location and effectively communicating the narrative. We are never actually clearly shown that this is a wake, but we can work it out due to the formal costumes - black and grey suits and dresses for example, the connotations of which suggest misery and sorrow. Additionally, the boy looks longingly at a framed photograph of an elderly man, whom we then go on to assume has passed away, therefore deciphering the context of the video ourselves. This could link to the audience reception theory, as based on Stuart Hall's model of the encoding and decoding between the piece of media and the audience - i.e. the text is encoded by the producer, and individually decoded by the recipient, which can lead to a number of different readings of any given situation. However, the use of recognised codes and conventions - in this situation the formal attire and props such as the photograph for example, the producers can position the audience, thereby creating a certain level of agreement as to the reception of the media and it's meaning.
The youthful innocence of the children in the video is emphasised by their costumes. Whilst the adults tend to be dressed in black, the boy wears pale grey suit, and the young girl wear a light pink dress. This immediately contrasts them from the darker attire of the adults, the brighter colours connoting warmth and a certain amount of contentment, and also perhaps subtly implying that their youthful optimism has not yet been corrupted by the despondent world by which they are surrounded.
The synergy between the album name and the theme of the video is enforced through the attire of the band, and the mise-en-scene of the performance location. They are in an entirely plain white room, apart from the black stripes across the floor which make the area for the performance. They are each dressed in black formal attire, such as shirts and jackets. They each wear an single white item on their person to continue the 'black & white' theme, including a tie, a badge, an armband, braces and a ribbon. I don't feel that these items particularly hold any significant within themselves other than to continue along the lines of this theme. The singer, of which there are typically copious amounts of close up shots of the face, is made to look disheveled through the use of make-up such as eyeliner. This promotes the relationship between the visuals, relating their performance to the narrative, in that they look as if they could be in attendance at the funeral.
The mise-en-scene of the initial narrative in the 'real' world is created to promote realism, and look as would be expected to in the real world - to achieve this, it obeys many conversions of the typical house, with props such as decorative ornaments, tables and chairs etc. The 'surreal' world viewed through the kaleidoscope uses a number of seemingly random props to achieve the effect of 'anything goes'. The main premise seems to be brightness, vibrancy and eccentricity, which is conveyed in a number of ways. One of the key methods is again through the use of costume - the young girl is seemingly dressed in a bright pink pig costume, directing an orchestra of witches playing the violin. This could represent the puerile, charismatic nature of the young girl, who entertains the adults with her charm - the adults are portrayed as typically evil or unpleasant characters in the form of witches, insinuating a corruption or emotional hardening due to the grey world in which they live. The band can also be seen in this world, dressed in almost circus-like attire with masks and excessive make-up, thus reinforcing idea of the bizarre and the absurd.
