In doing this, I can use this as a comparison for when I have created my video and look at the similarities and differences.
It starts off with a young ethnic child wandering through a forest, however we don't know this straight away as the first shot is a birds eye view/tracking shot of a teddy bear being dragged on the ground by a chain, this gives us an incline that it could be a child, however we are not certain of this yet. 0.7 seconds into the song, an instrumental starts and there is an upwards tilt of the camera as it shows us the young child's identification.
The next shot is of the young girl stopping and waving at another young girl in a tree, the shot of this girl is a low angle tilt which makes her look empowering and in control.
Next there is an effective close-up of the ground as the same footage of the bear is being dragged along the ground, however the scene is interrupted when the girl from the tree jumps down, however we aren't aware of who this is yet as the camera angle is still on the ground and all we see is the young girls hands and feet as she falls down onto the floor. The next shot is a tracking shot of the two girls walking through the forest, this tracking shot is over the shoulder so not only does it make the audience able to see where they are heading but it also makes the audience feel more involved as it appears as though they are they right behind them. There is also a panning of the trees, this is used as it sets the scene, rather than an establishing shot.
The next scene is of a young boy banging a stick on the tree, this is effective as he bangs it in sync to the beat of the song, but it also represents his childlike innocence. The boy is wearing toy monkeys around his neck, this could be interpreted in two ways - These could either represent childhood or nature, hence being in a forest.
The use of the mixed gender could be used so that there is no discrimination against gender or stereotype, for example if it was only males used, females could argue that just because they come across as 'feminine' it doesn't mean they can't be getting their hands dirty in a forest.
All the children are wearing some sort of white material, for example the girl in the tree was wearing a cloth over her mouth, this reminds me of a mask that doctors/nurse's wear, and could therefore insinuate authority. Those that aren't wearing white clothing have white face paint, this once again represents the idea of childhood but also suggests they are forming a 'cult'.
The last child that they find is wearing hiking clothes and is holding a knife, this could be an connotation of a poacher in the jungle, especially as the shot of the last child is a high angle tilt, which shows him having higher authority, this could suggest that the rest of the children are animals and he is the poacher. However this use of ideology could be interpreted in lots of different ways.
As the beat picks up, the children begin to run faster. This makes the audience ask questions, why are they running? who are they running from? This makes the narrative more intense as it leaves the plot on a cliffhanger.
The children come out into a clearing, and there is an establishing shot of some cliffs surrounding them, all the children run out into the clearing holding a picture frame with themselves in, this could be suggesting that they want to be somewhere else? to escape? The picture frame could also be a insinuation for a doorway, which is relevant to the song title 'Doorways'.
The whole concept of the children running around the forest relates to the novel 'Lord of the flies' by William Golding. In this novel it is about a group of young British boys stuck on a deserted island, this is an example of synergy as the two relate to each other.
This book was published in 1954, and therefore the narrative of this video may interest an elder age range that have known the story for longer; However the genre of the music is alternative which is usually stereotyped with teenagers, therefore with the narrative and the song the two could appeal to a wide audience, including genders as this video does not specify to a specific gender.
Radical face are signed by an independent record label based in Germany called 'Morr Music'.
This specific label has signed band genre's such as electronica, plinkerpop (rock) and indie. Therefore Ben Cooper (uses Radical Face as a stage name) fits into these categories, and as this specific music label are already experienced in influencing and advertising this specific genre they have managed to create a successful music video which reflects this genre.
This is a music video by The Wombats called 'Perfect Disease'. I chose this specific video as I am interested in this band and this is a similar genre of music to the song in which I am creating my video to. It starts with a close-up of a life support machine with the heart rate at a steady pace, before the video has even started and the song has even been introduced we get a basic idea of what content the video will contain.
In the next scene, the music starts and the camera is using a close-up angle on the main singer, however a blur has been used here so the figures face and emotions aren't very clear at this point. However the blur fades, whilst the camera angle remains the same, and we have a clearer view of the performers and the aspect of performance in the video.
Scenes of the green light from the lift support machine interrupt the performance as they are placed in now and again, this could be a reminder to us that it's still there and just because it isn't visible it doesn't mean it isn't still happening.
The next scene after this is a mid shot of the band performing, here we can see in the chosen mise-en-scene they have been placed in a hospital/surgery room, this is effective as it relates to the song title 'Perfect Disease'.
Even though this is not an establishing shot, we still see that there are large surgery lights surrounding the band, not only does this create an effective scene but it also provides lighting for the performance. These lights flash in sync to the beat, this is similar to the previous video in which I analysed with the young boy banging the branch in sync with the beat of the song. We also see a range of scans all over the wall, these could either be suggesting that they are scans of the band, or could just be there for mise-en-scene.
After this there is a birds eye view of one of the band members on the keyboard, here we see close up of his fingers playing, the use of these angle shots and the location in which this is shot is similar to those in documentaries when they are filming surgery; this is effective as it relates to the whole idea of the hospital, therefore the director of this video is taking ideas from other concepts of Media and using it in this work.
These shots also switch to over the shoulder shot of playing the keyboard, this is another suggestion that us (the camera) are observing the surgery and makes us feel as though we are actually there.
Throughout there are changes to some of the footage which is being shown through the green lighting used on the screen of the life support machine, this shows consistency throughout but it also implies that the band are the life support machine, and therefore their music is the only thing keeping whoever is hooked to the life support machine alive. This is clever as it is another form of promotion as it suggests that you can't live without their music.
At 3:21 there is a soft harmony in which all the ligths light up all at once and illuminates the room, this could be a play on the saying 'The light at the end of the tunnel', this suggests that the 'patient' is awakening, however the video ends with the life support machine cutting out, this suggests that the patient has died, however this also suggests it is an end to the video.
The Wombats are an indie rock band signed by 14th floor records which have also signed popular artists such as Biffy Clyro and Joshua Radin. Joshua radin's is an alternative singer songwriter who's sound is very similar to my first chosen artist Radical Face, which links in with the same genre.
This video is a narrative video to a song called Holocene by Bon Iver.
Bon Iver is an Indie/Folk artist who is signed by the label Jagjagauar. This minor record label has signed small independent artists in which aren't very well known.
The first shot in this video starts with a mid shot showing an old room in what appears to be a cottage. This room has low lighting which suggests the time of the day, but also contains old wooden furniture and a candle light rather than a lamp, this suggests that is an old fashioned room.
This shot then goes to a close-up of a boy sleeping, the use of editing here in that this specific shot was shown right after the shot of the room suggests that the young boy lives here. There is a mid-shot of the boy climbing out of bed and a variety of shots and close-ups as he is putting his clothes on. This suggests that the clothes are significant in that they need to be noticed.
The jumper he wears is a very odd and unique style, this suggests the 'Indie' genre, but it is also a good contrast against the snow when the boy gets outside and there is an establishing shot of him walking through the valleys.
The use of reflections is used when there is a close-up of the young boy looking out the window. The close-up is shot through the window in which the boy is looking through. In the reflection we can see a large bird fly past, at this moment we see the young boys eyes follow it, this is effective as we see what the boy is seeing, whilst watching him see it.
After this shot there is a tracking shot of the boy picking up a stick from inside the house, this represents childhood similar to the previous video I analysed by Radical Face.
Throughout the video there is a variety of shots as the boy is watching the bird, the fact that the bird keeps appearing makes the audience question is, Is this bird symbolic? Why does he keep watching this bird? Is he fascinated by this bird because it seems to be the only living thing in sight besides himself?
Throughout the video there are close-ups of the young boys feet as he is walking, this is a clever technique and it puts the audience in the boys eyes as though he is looking down to see where he is going, this technique inspired me and I shall try to use it in my own music video.
As the young boy is throwing rocks into the lake, this once again represents childhood but the chosen camera angles also make the audience question it. For example, as the boy throws the rock the camera pans towards it as the boy walks out of the camera frame, this means we are watching the rock across the water rather than the boy, (The main character), this makes us wonder, Is this rock significant? And if so, why?
A tilt is used from behind the boys shoulder as he is looking up at the waterfall. This makes the water look empowering in contrast to the little boy, and suggests that the boy feels small in the big world.
This is also suggested with the different shots of different locations as it implies that the boy likes to explore, but also that the world is so big compared to him. This suggests naivety, which also plays on the idea of childhood.
When looking at the comments which were left on this video, someone had left the comment 'This makes me want to be young again. Childhood is magical.' This intrigued me as it showed that other people interpreted the childhood innocence in the video aswell.
Even though a child is used throughout as the actor, the music in specific is not usually associated with this age group, as it is too slow and the depth and meaning of the lyrics would not be understood. Therefore this music and the video would be aimed at teenagers up through to middle aged people, also in specific artistic people as the video has a hidden depth in which needs to be understood.
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