MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS

Types of music videos

1. narrative based video. 2. performance based video. 3.Concept based video. 4.Mixture 5. Cameo

Narrative based video

This is a video which consists of a story line relating to lyrics and genre of song. This is a good technique to engage audience.

This can be linked to Todorov’s narrative theory which suggests that a movie/video starts with a stable equilibrium and ends with a stable equilibrium or with an effort to resolve the problem.

Performance based video

These videos feature the band/artist performing either to the camera or an audience. This is a very popular technique used in rock band videos as they have high energy so the audience enjoy watching the band perform as well as listen to the song.

mixture

A mixture is a combination of both performance based as well as narrative based video.it makes a music video more interesting.

cameo This is when the actor is present in the video but does not

perform.

Genre

The genre I chose is alternative rock and im going to compare 3 videos of same genre. The videos are:

1. castle of glass-linkin park. 2. fix you- coldplay Nirvana-Smells like teen spirit.

Castle of glassconcept

"Castle of Glass" is a song written by American rock band Linkin Park for their fifth studio album, Living Things. The song was produced by co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin. The song was released as a promotional single for Danger Close Games's 2012 release, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, as with Linkin Park's previous contribution to the Medal of Honor series, "The Catalyst".

 The music video shows a young boy being told that his father has been killed in action. He and his mother mourn the death as the fallen SEALs teammates and their families try to comfort them. The band is shown playing in a storm where shattered pieces of glass circle the band. Towards the end the boy goes through his father's possessions, fast forwarding to him becoming a SEAL, like his father before him. At the end of the video we see the man telling a girl the heartbreaking news of her family member, as she too cries. Castle of Glass highlights the emotional realities soldiers and their families face far from the battlefield. The video ends with a quote from Winston Churchill, shown in all-caps:

Camera shots/angles:The video opens with a zoom in towards a red door. Red color is usually a signal of “danger” or “love” but in this video it goes with danger or fear because after opening this door the boy is informed about his father’s death.

Close up:This video has no dialogue but the expressions are a powerful source of conveying the situation.. Closeups andOver the shoulder shots are used to show the expressions of the people in video and to whom they are talking.-in this scene the child is told that his dad died and this is shown by expressions.

LIGHTING:The color blue plays an important role in this entire video. Except the end, the entire video has a blue effect. The walls of the kids rooms are also blue then when he pushed the glass vase,blue beads fall from it. The shirt of that kid is also blue.In the band’s part of the video the environment which is created, where they are standing is also blue, it shows heavy storm, snow , cloudes lightning , thunder, all of this gives a look that it is difficult time.

Color blue signifies Depression, sadness, fear and all this environment including lightning and thunderstorms adds more point to the fact that a difficult time is shown in this part of the video which changes in the end. The audience is positioned by the environment and they start feeling the same way, the producers want them to.

The lightning changes in the end of the video as it goes to orange and yellow from blue and black which shows hope.A sunrise background is used in the end which depicts a new day which means a new beginning and that everything will be okay. The storms will pass one day and you will have a clear beautiful day.

PROPS: As it is a performance based video,

guitars, drums can be seen. The vase is also a prop which the kid

pushes in anger.

The letter and the soldier badge were also used as props for the video.

Continuity and Sound Bridge:The cap is used as a prop. Its is shown that the kid is wearing a cap and in next second the same kid (grown up) is shown in same position holding the same cap.

A music is being played when the kid is wearing the cap then the music continues and gets louder as the man appears with the cap. A timelapse is shown with these shots and the music was acting as a sound bridge to establish continuity of the scene.

SPECIAL EFFECTS:The band part of the video was entirely shot infront of green screens.  Its post-production relied heavily on CGI animation and After-effects. Special effects have a prominent use in this music video, and also continues the motif of a world falling apart, as with the previous Living Things videos. One of these is an opening shot of Mike Shinoda, beginning with a shot under, moving progressively upwards until the walls around him start to crumble. 

-The band performed infront of green screens and the effets and lights are added afterwards through editing

The special effects can be seen here as the snow is added after the background was changed:

Some images of making of the video:

Lyrics and visuals

'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass”

“Wash the sorrow from off my skinAnd show me how to be whole again”

These lines tell us about the starting of a new beginning and also this video ends with a quotes of Winston Churchill, hope is also mentioned there so the scenery, the background goes well with the quote.

Costumes & Makeup: There are no unique costumes. The kid is wearing normal clothes

in the video. But the band members are all wearing jackets and jeans. The colors are blue and black which go with the environment.

Soldiers are wearing army clothes

He is wearing an armycostume.

COLDPLAY-FIX YOU:Concept

 It was written by all four members of the band for their third album,X&Y. The track is built around an organ accompanied by slow tempo drums and vocals. It was released on 5 September 2005 as the second single from X&Y and has reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. In the first half of the video the band's lead singer, Chris Martin, wanders the streets of London starting at Tooley Street under London Bridge Station.

The tunnels that Martin is seen wandering within are located both in and around London St Pancras and King's Cross railway stations, and the filming for the video took place during the time of the redevelopment and expansion of London St Pancras International. Martin is then seen walking across Waterloo Bridge, which crosses the River Thames, connecting the Southbank with The Strand. As soon as the electric guitar kicks in, Martin's walk turns into a run as he darts through streets until finally reaching the Reebok Stadium, where he joins the rest of the band for the song's finale. Here the audience can be clearly heard singing along, and at the end of the video Martin thanks them for their support and wishes them goodnight.

Camera Angles/Shots: The video starts with a wide shot which kind of establishes the

location which is inside a tunnel.

This is an eye level shot. It can be seen that the lead singer is making an eye contact with the viewers. In this way the audience feel like they are involved and starts enjoying the video.

Dolly in movement is used. The person is moving towards the camera. This is a Mid shot.

Closeup shots are seen in most of the video.

TILT Cam movement

This is a PAN movement. A pan shot is

shownOf the place where the concert is.

LIGHTING:The lightning is very dull throughout the video. There is a source of light in almost every shot. The black and yellow lightning when compared to lyrics of the song, give a sad and lonely feeling. The lyrics go pretty well with the music video.

As the lights play an important role in music video a lot of lights are shown including cars, buildings, streets, bulbs etc.

As the lead singer of the band runs from streets and goes to the stage where he joins his other band members, the lighting changes. Now its all redish and black.

It is a performance based video which includes the members of the band.

In the end the audience can be seen enjoying and taking part in the song.

Costumes & makeupEvery one is wearing black in this video. As the backgroundis also black with some yellow lights, black costumes looks fineon the band members. Wearing something colorful will make them look weird and odd.

Lyrics & visuals:

“lights will guide you home” As they are talking about lights , they have used every kind of

light source in the video including car lights, building lights and bulbs.

Smells like Teen SpiritConcept:

The video was based on the concept of a school concert which ends in anarchy and riot. Inspiration was taken from Jonathan Kaplan's 1979 movie Over the Edge, as well as the Ramones' film Rock 'n' Roll High School. Filmed on a soundstage in Culver City, the video featured the band playing at a pep rally in a high school gym to an audience of apathetic students on bleachers, and cheerleaders wearing black dresses with the Circle-A anarchist symbol. Occasionally, the scene would cut to a janitor (played by Tony De La Rosa) wearing a navy blue jumpsuit and dancing with a push broom handle. The video ends with the assembled students destroying the set and the band's gear. The demolition of the set captured in the video's conclusion was the result of genuine discontent.

Camera Shots/AnglesThis is a wide long shot because the person is shown from head toToe also some space is left under him. The cheer leaders onThe right side can be seen.

Midshot is mostly used in this video there is hardly any closeup.

This is a pan movement which cannot be noticed in this picturebut the audience is shown through a smooth pan movement.

This is a high angle shot. The camera quality is very poor and the lighting is very dull because of which the picture is not clear. But the singer is holding a guitar in this screenshot.

A lot of eye level shots can be seen as the main singer is making an eye contact with the viewers of the video.

LIGHTING:The lighting is very very dark and dull. Only yellow lights can be seen other than darkness. The light covers the singers face as well because of which his expressions cannot be seen properly.- This song is very wild and because its genre is a type of rock, the singer is very much involved in the lyrics and the performance that he is jumping with his guitar and screaming while singing. The other instruments like drums etc are also being played very loudly. There is smoke every where.This kind of performance goes well with the lyrics and the mood of the song.

A sweeper is shown who is enjoying the performanceand is dancing with his broom. He ten at the end again starts cleaning the floor.