Analyis Of Music Videos #1

The first video I will be analysing is Bullet For My Valentine's "The Last Fight" as it fits in with the Hard Rock genre. I am analysing this video because it is in the Hard Rock genre and that is the genre of the song i have chosen to do for my video. To analyse the video I will be using CMINTS which stands for:
C - Costume
M - Mise-en-scene
I - Iconography
N - Narrative
T - Themes
S - Sound

Costume

The costume in this video is seen as part of the Hard Rock genre as all members are wearing skinny jeans, black shirts, and 2 of the members have long "moshy" hair, whereas the other two members have shorter hair. The black clothing represents the genre in a dark way as the majority of bands within the genre wear dark clothing.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene includes all parts of CLAMPS which stands for; Character, Lighting, Actors, Make-up, Props and Setting.

The characters in this video are the band itself and one other man, who plays both parts of the fighters, one dressed in a black mask, the other in without a mask, to represent good and evil. However, both the good and evil character is played by the same person, so this means that his good and bad side are clashing over a decision. The costume has been picked because the majority of Hard Rock bands wear black jeans and black shirts so it will create a darker atmosphere that fits in with the genre.

The lighting in the video is low key so it will fit in with the genre. The Natural light that is coming through the roof of where they are filming the video is quite dull to create a sort of fight club setting for the fight that is going on to the side of the band. This lighting has been used to create a low tone so that it fits the conventions of Hard Rock by using a warehouse for their set.

In the video, there is only one actor, but the audience will think that there is two actors as there are two people fighting but they find out that they are the same person fighting the good and bad side of himself. The band itself do not act in the video, they concentrate on the performance like most bands in the genre do so that it is easier to promote themsleves. The actor's body language suggests that he is poised for a fight with someone and his shoulders are dropped, his arms are loose, his lower body positioning is that of a boxer so he can be agile on his feet. This also goes for the drug addicted side of him.

In this video, there is no make-up used as the band is aiming to be as natural as possible. This helps the audience to notice that they aren't trying to be theatrical in any way or form so they will be more likely to like the band for the music rather than the performances and videos with the amout of make-up that is used with some bands.

The props used in this video are the bands actual instruments and PA systems, this is to show that they aren't faking what they can play live. The props are; two electric guitars, a bass guitar, a drum kit with a double bass pedal, and a microphone.

The setting in the video is in a warehouse where there is a fight going on to the side of the band. The location for the video is a good location as it is a poorly lit room and that fits the convention of lighting for the genre. It has a large amount of space for both the band to perform and the two people (same actor) to fight at the same time.

Iconography

The iconography in this video is a strange one in the sense that the lyrics of the song especially, "Cold Sweats, Hallucinations, I Don't Wanna Scream To Show The Hell I'm Going Through", are references to drugs, so the band is trying to give the sign that people can win the fight against drugs if they try hard enough, hence why the song is called "The Last Fight".

Narrative

The narrative in "The Last Fight" is basically a fight with yourself against drug abuse which is what the song is about. In the video, there is a masked man and an unmasked man of equal build who are fighting, this fighting goes on throughout the whole song and then the audience find out that they are the same person, one is the drugged up side of him, the other is the side that wants to stop all that.

Themes

The theme of the song and the video is a fight against the right and wrong path, the wrong path being drugs, the right path being able to fight the urge and get clean off the drugs. This fits in with the genre because the majority of bands within the genre put a message in their songs to try get their audience back on track, e.g. drugs or if the audience have been bullied, the song will reflect on the fact that everything will be okay.

Sound

The sound of the video is fast and rhythmic. The way that this song/video fits in with the genre is the way that the pace of the song matches the pace of the video. It is a pumping song which gets straight into the fast palm-muting of the intro which later leads into the shredding solo that Michael 'Padge' Paget perfectly times in with the track which is laid over the top of the video.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this video meets the conventions of hard rock which are; low lighting, fast paced editing, the theme helps people through rough times, the costume which is skinny jeans and black shirts, the props are dark coloured to match the genre as well. The fast paced editing makes this video effective as it matched the pace of the intruments with few shots that are held for more than two seconds. The editing techniques used are straight cuts which cut from one shot to another, this is to show the sequence of events in chronological order so the audience know what is going on and they dont get confused with the storyline.