Music video analysis

I have decided to analyse one more video from the genre that our project is focusing on, so that I can get a different idea of the ways in which this music genre is portrayed in videos.

Band - Linkin Park
Song - Shadow of the day





Camera work

Zooms in on a man lying on a bed, then an extreme close up on the man's eyes, showing intensity and drama.

Close up on a picture of a man holding a heavy weight and struggling, makes suggestive link to how the man we are viewing is feeling

Medium to close up on man's face as he watches the news, seems unfazed, like he is viewing something that he's seen before

Medium shots of police and fires outside in the streets, heightens fear and impact of the video and song

All shots are eye level shots, as if we are viewing everything from a human perspective, makes it more personal

Lots of zooms are used, often fast to draw attention to something very quickly, makes it shocking

Jagged movement when showing men fighting, as if the viewer is in the fight too

Constant movement once outside in the street, contrasts with the movement inside the house, links to a change in atmosphere, being outside puts you on edge and so the camera is jumpy as opposed to feeling safe in your own home, and therefore slower camerawork

Dolly shot, moves along as the man walks and the police march, gets the audience involved


Editing

Lots of jump cuts/shots to increase discomfort and tension and to emphasize what is happening, for example the fights breaking out in the streets

Continuity editing to show that all of this action is happening continuously. Shows a progression of events and creates the impression of a build up of tension to a dramatic point in the narrative.

Expansion of time when the man is getting ready, creates a build up of expectation, waiting for something to happen, also makes it seem normal and everyday

Mise en scene

No bright colours, mainly black used i.e. what the people are wearing, and the dullness of the sky, black guns and bullets. Makes the colour of the fire stand out more, it seems powerful and bold

Urban setting, out in the streets, loud - shouting, cars, shops, police.

Alarm clock - 11:55 almost midnight links to the countdown at new year, something will happen in 5 minutes, invokes tension and drama

Props included like guns - iconography, police carrying guns, batons and shields, creates realism and it seems gritty and urban

The facial expression of the protagonist is neutral, not shocked by any of the action he views, this makes the video more frightening that this kind of behaviour is expected and not suprising. The viewer is forced to think about the serious messages being portrayed


Sound

Diagetic sound and ambient sound can be heard as well as the music, for example shouting, gunshots and explosions, makes the video seem realistic, like the viewer is actually there.

Synchronous sounds - the man sings in time with the music in parts, and other diagetic sound is synchronous with the action.

This particular video, although within the same genre as our music video, did not heavily influence our video in any way as it is much more serious and has a clear moral message to put across. Whereas our video focuses on the humour that can be found in another person/characters life, but this video has a strong message and is meant to be taken seriously and to heart. We tried to make our video lighter, than this one, so it does not bear a lot of influence in terms of the making of our video, however by analysing it, it shows how other songs and music videos of this same genre can be portrayed in different ways.