Green day- “21 Guns” Analysis

Camerawork

Close Up – Singers Blank Expression Master-shot of the band playing

Canted angle conveying the chaos Panning show the singer at all angles, this shows his importance and authority

The camerawork used in the music video is symbolic to the style of the music and the mood of the song. Close-up shots are used to show the lead singer singing the song showing the importance of him and

demonstrating his blank facial expressions. A master shot is used to show the entire band in position playing the song, this is after each band member is show with their instrument in an individual shot. The effect this

gives is that the band is consisted of the individual members and the all come together portrayed by the master shot. When the climax of the song is building and there is destruction within the setting a hand held

camera is used to emphasise the chaos by canted angles and shaking of the camera. When the spotlight is on the lead singer of the band when the room is dark the camera pans in a revolving motion around him, which

suggests his authority as if everything revolves around him, he is the main person. A sharp zoom is used at the start of the video focusing in on the drummer of the band. It zooms into his face very quickly to portray his

saddened look on his face, which relates to the sad slow music being played by the indie/rock band.

Close-Up of the Instrument to give the effect he is playing the song that has be added in post-production.

Editing

The editing, like in most videos, is used to relate to the speech/pace of the music. If the music being played in the video is a sad song, the editing will be generally slow pace and flowing. However, in music videos with songs that are fast and upbeat means the editing is usually fast paced and fairly chaotic. In this music video the editing, mainly the cutting between the band and the couple seems to be fairly slow as it cuts between the different scenes. There is also fewer shot reverse shots within the scenes as the band play at the beginning. As the music reaches a climax extremely fast paced cutting occurs to show all of the objects smashing which gives great effect on the destruction of the scene. Towards the end of the song the lead singer is seen in a close up shot, which shows half of his face and the writing on the wall. A fade and re focus is used to switch between focusing on the lead singer and the writing on the wall which suggests that the lead singer and the writing on the wall, which is the lyrics, relates to each other. The sound of the Music that is being played throughout the video works with the pace of camerawork and editing. When the music comes to a climax, the editing and camerawork tends to be very fast paced. However, when the music slows and enters the verse or the anti-climax if the song the editing and camerawork becomes more subtle. The instruments that are used to create the sound in the video are associated with Indie/Rock for example guitars, drums and amps.

Cutting Between the two similar shot types to show the contrast between the actors and lead singer.

Shot Reverse shot to show the lead singer in different camera shots. The first a close up and the second a side shot.

The sound, which is created, is slightly distorted which also shows that the genre edges to rock. The Sound throughout the scenes in which the band is playing the song is diegetic sound as they can hear it as well as the people watch the video. However in the scenes where the couple is together the sound is non-diegetic, they can’t hear the sound but the song is like one big motif as it relates to the things going on in the scene. The Mise-en-scene of a music video is one of the most important things in establishing a good music video. In this music video there are many examples of props, lighting, settings, make-up and costume.

The costumes used throughout the music video are related to one particular theme of dark clothing for example the black shirt the lead singer is wearing and the leather jackets the couples are wearing. These portray the genre of music and contribute to the theme. The

setting is a cream colour which is used to contrast with the dark colours that are used in the scene. The setting also looks quite messy and untidy which also adds to the theme of the rock music as the music played is quite untidy and a bit all over the place. Low-key lighting is used at the climax of the song to show the light piercing through the bullet holes in the wall; this creates a romantic atmosphere in the video as the couples kiss. The props, which are used,

contrast with each other like the bullets and the feathers which symbolize the couples love for each other that even though bullets are flying into the room there love is more powerful than

it.

Make-up – Eye liner which is a rock/gothic convention

Low key lighting to portray the supressed atmosphere

Props: -Guitar, amps, microphone. All conventional to indie-rock.

Black messy hairstyle