Textual Analysis: Hinder- Better than me

The opening shot shows the band with low-lighting creating a silhouette effect and lots of shadows, showing already this is a dark and depressing scene. The camera pans into forwards and they come closer into our view, it then fades to a then show a close-up of one of the band member strumming the guitar. It then fades again to a scene with a boy getting something out of the boot of his car but as a point of view shot as the camera is looking through a window, this implies someone is watching him. The fades that are being used are helping to allow similar shots to flow together and for it to go from a different time phase smoothly.
Next we are introduced to a female character as the male enters a house, and the camera zooms in to a close up of photographs of these two characters which she is holding over a box, it seems as though they are just moving in together, which implies they are a couple, and from the close-up of her face we can see she is happy. Mid-shots of these characters together confirm that they are a couple, as we see them kissing and being happy together. “I really miss your hair in my face” is sung during a close up of the woman’s hands on the male’s face, but he looks troubled, this helps to explain to us that maybe everything isn’t what meets the eye, and there may be a problem or a secret he is keeping from her.
This video definitely uses typical codes and conventions from the rock genre as there are a lot of close ups of the band and the actors, which allows audience to relate to the narrative and it also allows the audience to see more detail so they feel more involved. The band’s faces are not always lit, and the shadows surrounding them reinforce the idea of darkness and unhappiness which fits the song’s lyrics.
“you deserve much better than me” is sung when a close-up of the males face is shown on screen, and then cuts to looking outside a window and a man is stood as though he is waiting for something, this implies to us that the male in the relationship is definitely in trouble or keeping something from his girlfriend, and due to the darkness on stage this could end in disaster.
A little further into the video we see a close up of drugs being given to the male, which cuts to the female putting a picture of them both in a frame on the mantelpiece, showing that she is happy but her world may be about to fall apart due to the man’s actions and the fact he is keeping it from her.
We see the male is reflecting on what he is about to do when we see him enter the kitchen and through as mid-shot we see him put the drugs on the side, and he picks up photographs of him and his girlfriend, and a close up of these provokes emotion in the audience as we feel worried and anxious about what he’s going to do and the music’s pace picks up a little bit. A close-up of hid face shows he is confused, possibly about what he is going to do and he is reflecting on what he should do, knowing his relationship may be at cost if he does the drugs and is found out.
His reflecting on his relationship ends, and his addiction to drugs takes over. We see from a close-up of him smashing a light-bulb, in order to put drugs on there and turn the cooker on so he can inhale them. From mid-shots we see him starting shaking and leaning against anything as though he has no control; we also notice from a quick close-up that he is holding a picture of him and his girlfriend, which is really emotive for the audience. The rock genre is dramatic and just from this narrative we can see how depressing and dramatic the story is.
The pace suddenly speeds up from a mid-shot of the girlfriend opening the front door with a burst of light entering as she does, a quick cut to the band also shows sudden lights going on, to another quick cut of the male as he stumbles around, and we can see the drugs arE having a bad effect on him from a point of view shot where everything is blurry, and we see him grab hold of his own arm tightly as though he is losing grip of his world.
A sudden shot of an extreme close up of the male’s face in pain is shown and is zoomed out as he girlfriend comes to hold onto him, and a sudden burst of light on stage and quick shots follow the dramatics of the song as the pace is now at its quickest and the drums at their loudest. The cuts go from the singer to the male’s face, to the male going crazy and throwing everything around, to the singer, to the girlfriend on the floor from where she was pushed.  This shots are in time with the beat of the drum and the action is synchronous with the sound and pace of the music.
To keep with placing emotion into the audience during this dramatic sound of music after the quick cuts we are shown many close ups after each other, one of the woman’s face with a black scarf over her head and tears falling down her face, to the man lying still and pale in a coffin. Showing that the original thoughts from the shots the camera displayed was true, the male was going to do something to destroy his relationship with her. More close-ups of her crying are shown and then a mid-shot of her running to the coffin, to a close-up of her hand against his face, which reminds us of the time when they were happy when this same shot was played when he was alive and they were happy. We also notice from the mis-en-scene she is wearing black and no other colour which represents the sadness she is expressing and the depressed state she feels.
This explains how she did “deserve much better” than him and how it was although he was pre-warning her.

Storyboards

Click on each of these images to view them larger.
They have been displayed in chronological order.

Textual Analysis: Three Doors Down - ''Here Without You''

Through use of camera the director of the ‘here without you’ music promo has created a production of simple yet effective shots to portray the narrative of the three doors down single. For the opening couple of shots, together with the editing what was probably just a blink when filmed, the slowing down of the over-the-shoulder shot with wind blowing across the girl’s hair, makes the expression on Brad Arnold’s face appear to portray despair. This reflects the narrative. However, as is typical of a music promo, the use of montage editing leads the audience to deduce the story, along with the lyrics, not in the usual continuity style of a feature film. This is also the case with this particular music video and a code and convention which we shall be employing with our own production.

      Throughout the film there is the consistent use of alternate angles and shots of the same scene such as the flicking of the coin outside the coach, to make it appear surreal and through the mind of the lead singer. We shall be adopting this theme in our music video, as the use of several angles of the same scenes involves the audience and create the sense of being in the music video.

     The reflections of the mirror are associated with reflecting on the past, or an alternate angle on the situation, which, in itself has connotations. Alternate angles denote physical other sides to a physical scene, which is shown in this music video, however holds connotations of the different points of view; such as the camera shot of the couple at the beginning of the video from the reflection in the wall mirror. This could be something to potentially incorporate into our own music video during the flashbacks.

     The reverse zoom or tracking back on the collage of photographs, a further reflection on the past, is jerky in the sense that there is a smooth reverse zoom cut to a shot slightly further back (of the same thing) continuing to track back at the same pace. This leads the audience to deduce that the past, although presented as happy from photos such as the children and a marriage day, may not have been as ‘smooth’ as it appears. This is also relevant to the deduction of the narrative through montage editing. In our music video we shall be using montage editing switching from ‘the present’ to flashback clips to portray the general storyline. The storyline can generally be worked out from the lyrics, as the majority of shots in the music video are of the band inside the studio and only reflect the lyrics by the pace of editing and other media devices.

      The camera cuts back to show the whole wall to be covered in a collage of photos suggesting at obsession or the attempt at making this ‘missing person’ more prominent in the room despite their absence. Further shots which hold similar connotations of obsessions are those where Ben Arnold is sitting in a corner chair, again in dim light, surrounded by walls of pages of music. The tone of the song suggests that without the person he is singing about, he has been unable to write music or lyrics. This fits with the tone of the music. In these shots he also is wearing a hat which shields the light from his eyes.

      These shadows are a continuous theme throughout the video however, are more prominent in the first half. This is previous to the combination of shots where a light bulb illuminates, followed immediately by the whole of the studio. Following this the studio remains lit and a series of fast paced editing adds to the dramatic effect which is synchronous with the accelerated pace of the chorus. The effect of the drastic lighting difference in one moment and a couple of shots creates a dramatic and smooth transition with the sudden change in pace and rhythm of the track. This is an effect we would like to adopt and incorporate into our music video. This could be done during the bridge from the first verse to the course as the pace of the song increases and use this effect with the more brightly lit aspects for the faster parts of the track, going back to flashbacks and more low lighting for the slower paced second verse. As with the three doors down video, this would create a more dramatic visual transition from the verse to the chorus.

     Despite the more brightly lit second half of the three doors down video, there are still shadows as a key theme within the background and less important or dominant aspects of the shots, such as within the room of the studio with the light and sound desks, behind the screen.
     At one minute 26seconds, as you hear the sound of the drummer hitting a symbol the camera shows this for a second too. Therefore, despite the mellow pace of the song, this adds significance to the slight transition in pace as the song from the chorus to the next verse. The close ups of the drum kit are used again further on into the music video when the drummer deviates slightly from the continuius same drum beat, and the use of the symbols. When different instruments become more significant in the 'instrumental'.
We shall be using this style of shot, with the close up of the symbol being hit, in our music video. 
The final shot of the three doors down music video is of a long shot of a campervan pulling away creating dust in a desolate landscape, besides some bushes and telephone lines (There is also some little form of extraction pump in the background). This reflects the theme of isolation. The pace is also slowed down to reinforce the distortion of time.    

Textual Analysis: Nickelback - ''Photograph''

This music video starts off with a mid-shot of the lead singer lip synching holding up a picture frame of a photo showing himself looking happy with another person, it comes into shot from a fade in, using handheld camera as it moves across to the picture which comes into more focus, but we can notice the camera shaking. The next shot is off the lead singer having his back to us, but he turns around, and this is a long shot and he is in the middle of the screen, down a long road with his guitar on his back. This is typical of a rock genre video as musical instruments are displayed as much as possible, as we have noticed from looking at other videos and analysing them.  This shot is then followed by a mid - shot of him walking down this road; of course using ambient lighting. Close up of a letter box outside someone’s house, with the lead singer out of focus, but we know it’s him there due to the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing in the previous shots. Point of view shot from someone looking out the window of the house, and the leas singer then becomes focused.  Mid – shot off centre of the lead singer, showing it is him that was being watched. Camera pans across screen so the lead singer is now even further off the screen, and  this shot is replaced by the close up of the letter box followed by another quick shot of point of view looking through the window, to see the lead singer walking past. Mid shot of the lead singer shows him walking down the road again, and a close up shows his feet, walking down the road, with shadows being created as he walks.  Next shows a close up of a car bonnet in the lower part of the screen, with what looks to be the band walking away from the car with their backs to us. We are shown a close up of a sign of a school, and this opens up the assumption to maybe this is the location they are going to use to play their music at? This would be typical of this genre as rock videos always show the band playing at a particular location. Mid shot, of legs walking, creating shadows, and from this detailed shot it shows them carrying guitar cases, further enforcing that they are about to play, this shot cuts to a mid-shot, and we see the whole back of the four band members walking towards the building of the school .
The next shot shows that they are in a school gym, by the use of basketball nets, chairs and the shiny floor of a typical American school gym. They have all their equipment set up and from this long shot we can see the lead singer lip synching and playing in tune to the rest of the members, on the drums and guitars. The camera pans around so we can intake this detail from a different angle. The camera then cuts to one of the guitarists to a close up of his face, as he too is singing, it then pans around him so we get many angels of him. The camera cuts to the other guitarists and pans around him, showing in him off centre, but his hands are more key to look at as he strums the guitar. The camera then cuts to the lead singer, showing him singing, and shows the lights in the background. The gym is well lit, and no shadows here are shown, which is unusual for this genre, but it still shows that lighting is important in this genre and is well lit to the extreme.  Also from all the shots of the band members it concentrates on showing us their equipment, showing it is important. As the music and pace pick up so do the shots, which are quicker cut, it goes from the close up of the lead singer, to a close up of the drummer with the drums being more in the screen than he is, to a long shot showing the whole band. As the chorus starts, with the dramatic emphasis from the drums, very quick cuts happen, showing all the band members involved in this song, the drummers hits the symbol, to the lead singer singing his heart out, to showing the guitarist’s movement as he plays, then to a quick long shot showing all the band in action. This pattern is shown in all rock videos, but this is the part where the stage normally lights up as well as quick but detailed action. Throughout the chorus this pattern is repeated, but from different angles to keep it interesting. As the pace slows down a bit, it cuts to a mid shot of two trucks coming down a road to a quick cut of these two trucks pulling into a drive way on what seems to be a farm house, as there is nothing surrounding it. It then cuts back to the band in the school gym, and shows a mid-shot of the lead singer, singing and strumming his guitar, with a quick cut to one of the guitarists. We are shown that there are a lot of people arriving at this farmhouse as lots of people get out of the trucks shown from a long shot, and that they are all young and happy, it then cuts backs to the gym and shows the same pattern of all the band members and close ups. It then cuts back to the young people, and it seems as though these are flashbacks as they are in slow motion, and the pace of the music is now slower. It then cuts to a mid-shot of a girl running between cars, and a guy chasing after her, who catches her and embraces her, they are never in the centre of the screen, and it seems like the lead singer is reminiscing on past memories and that this is a distant memory, as he sings “I was so nervous that I nearly missed”. As the pace picks up again a hand held camera effect is used as it cuts from one band member to the other, as it is wobbly and quick, but is synchronous with the music and fits together well. Another flashback is shown by a mid-shot showing two hands joined together, and from these shots we can tell that they are definitely flashbacks and that it is off his past relationship from high school. “I miss that town, I miss the faces”, it cuts from his face as he sings to places from the town to two twin women, showing that the video shots are relevant to the lyrics of the song. From these flash backs a white light shines as these shots come onto the screen, giving the definite effect that they are memories.  After each flash back it normally goes to a quick cut of the lead singer, with him at a low angel with the camera above him, emphasising how strong that these memories are and that they are occupying his mind completely. “Goodbye goodbye” shows a mid-shot of him from the beginning but turning around to go back from the way he came. This ends the song nicely and makes us realise he was singing about his past, and they are singing in the location where he went to school, and they are in the town he used to live, and he went back to “relive those days”. It ends with a flashback of him and his friends driving off into the darkness and it ends with a fade.

Our original photos for ancillary texts

Here are the photos we used for our ancillary texts.

As roses and the petals of them are a theme throughout our coursework we have included them in our ancillary texts as well as our main film. The development process of how the images have been edited and put together using photoshop is shown in the powerpoint presentation entitled 'development of ancillary texts'.





Textual Analysis: Seether featuring Amy Lee- Broken

The scene opens up from a fade to a deserted sandy ground to a shot of an old American car, with smoke coming from the ground in the distance. Following this there are several shots of the location which pan across, reinforcing how empty and deserted the area is. In each shot there is always a figure in the background, unfocused and they are always just a black figure, we never see any detail.
There is then a shot that pans across to a mid-shot of a man (the singer) sitting in a car, playing the guitar. We are then introduced to a female, who is wearing black wings, which could represent her as rebellious or depressed for this rock genre. (These characters sing the song.)
As the song hits the first chorus we are shown a mid-shot of both singers, the female is leaning on the male – is this song about the breakdown and how they are now feeling “broken”?
From close ups and mid shots of the singers, whether they are shown together of separately, are never in the centre of the screen: Connating the fact that they are not in a happy place and want to reinforce this to the audience.
There’s an upside down reflection of the male singer in water, representing the fact he may be reflecting upon ideas and thoughts of the past and maybe about the girl also starring in the video. “I don’t feel right when you’re gone” is what he sings when he is reflecting.
Further panning shots of the area show several trees without leaves, and just branches, which represent the narrative and song title – “broken”.
As with all other rock videos the band is always shown playing their instruments and from this video we see them via individual shots through mid-shots. Through the panning shots we always catch glimpses of smoke which is always fully black; representing the mood of the depressing narrative as well as the empty location.
When the pace of music increases the speed of the tracking and panning shots across the singers or other band members and location increases: This creates a dramatic scene. This may be in place of a “light up” scene which is shown in other rock videos, as this uses ambient lighting due to it being filmed in an outside location.
The final scene shows the band walking together with their backs to us into the light from the darkness they were currently in.  However, each figure is a black figure. This may be showing that they are entering a happier place but sadness may still be lingering upon them.
The majority of shots were kinetic; panning and tracking, which is unusual for this genre as the main emphasis is on close ups to provoke emotion in the audience. This shows they have challenged the normal codes and conventions of this genre.