I have chosen to research the song 'The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows' by Brand New as it is a song that has a similar sound and stylistic features to ‘Pain’ by Jimmy Eat World, the music video also contains elements of both a fragmented narrative and band shots; both of which will be used in our music video. The band also has a similar target audience in that it is aimed at mainly teenage, emotionally driven people.
Stylistically the video is very dark, thus in keeping with the ‘emocore’ genre and features. Furthermore the video features an event as its narrative [the car crash and subsequent hospitalization] that in real life can be both a very traumatic and emotional experience. This also keeps with the genre features of ‘emocore’ music. As well as this the showing of mild blood and bruises also fits stylistically with the ‘emo’ genre.
The music video itself is based around a traffic incident involving a car containing two characters (the male being the band’s singer) who we assume are in a relationship. We do not see until the end, as he appears throughout, although he does fade or flicker from time to time which gives the audience a clue as to his fate that the male character dies in the car. The female is then rushed off to hospital for her injuries.
The band shots within this video are mainly very short clips that are cut together to emphasise the pace and intensity of the chorus of the song, which is when most of the band shots are shown. They are also intermingled with narrative shots when climatic events in the video are happening. These events usually coincide with the start of one of the more intense parts of the song, which allows for added dramatic effect. For the most part the band shots are also moving, either panning or just moving slightly as they are mostly handheld, adding to the grit and realism of the band’s performance, and giving it a sense of authenticity. One of my favourite parts about this movement is the way the camera seems to bounce between both singers in the chorus. The band shots also include many close ups of the various members of the band (mainly the singer) which is most likely due to the influence of the record label, who see bands for the media products they produce, and thus try to give the band a stylistic image or persona that will make fans want to go and see them on a live tour or buy their albums, both of which will make money for the record company the band is signed to.
The singer also appears prominently in the narrative, which is fragmented, as is the case with most music videos, with in this case, the audience finding more as the video goes on. The first narrative shots fit nicely with the soft intro, before the song kicks in and it becomes very fragmented, and is intermingled with band shots, giving the strong impression that something dramatic has happened. The narrative has been kept simple but effective, with a car crash, the ride to hospital, and then what happens once in hospital, this has allowed for the director and his team to add to this massively in a stylistic sense without overcomplicating the video. The camera shots are designed to allow the audience into only a little information at a time, such as in the ambulance when only one side of the singer’s face can be seen, which appears to be fine until it cuts to a shot of him head on and we see that the other side of his face is bruised and cut. An editing effect used is him gradually fading away, which is present a couple of times in the video, and gives the sense that perhaps he isn’t really there, and is a spirit or ghost. This idea is further shown by the fact that none of the characters apart from the girl seem to notice him; leaving him in the ambulance and not tending to his injuries. This gives the idea that maybe he only there in her head. Such as when she is being pushed along the corridor in the hospital bed and the camera cuts between shots of just the ceiling, him leaning over her, singing the lyrics, the doctor leaning over her and speaking and shots of her face. The other band members also make a brief appearance in the narrative, in the waiting room, which may be another subtle way of the record label trying to sell them as much as their trying to sell their products.
The music video plays highly on the sound of the song at it’s different points, with longer shots during the slower parts, such as the shots of the singer presumably praying in front of candles during the bridge before the last, dramatic part of the song that begins with the girl’s life monitor showing she has stopped breathing. Equally the chorus’ are played alongside lots of fast paced editing between band shots and narrative that show the emotion created by the situation as well as the energy of the band’s performance.
A member of the band described the meaning of the song as "A little bit about regret. How there can be problems in a relationship and they get ignored. And how that often ends up as a broken home or some kind of bad situation down the road. It's kind of something that if it wasn't overlooked in the first place, you can kind of get through it." I think this is somewhat portrayed in the video as the couple in the narrative do not have a chance to overlook any problems between them as everything ends so suddenly and unexpectedly for them. It may also be building further on this point by imploring viewers not to take their relationship for granted and try everything they can to make it work, as it may soon be gone.
Things I would take from this video and incorporate into ours would be the good mix between narrative and band shots, and also the fact that the singer is not recognised by the other characters except one, as this is similar to an idea we have been thinking about using for our narrative, and the psychological and imaginitive factors that can be explored through that.
No comments:
Post a Comment