NWA CD analysis

Phil Collins CD analysis

The Offspring CD analysis

Mindmap of Ideas

Music Video Analysis - Green Day, Basket Case

Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’ is a song from their album ‘Dookie’ released in 1994. It is a performance based music video where it mainly consists of Green Day performing their song.

It is set in an insane asylum and the first shot we see is a mid-shot showing a man dressed in white opening steel doors, obviously the figure of authority in this scene. It also shows another man dressed in hospital clothes trying to escape, this establishes the idea that it is set an asylum. This video was originally filmed in black and white and in post-production it was colourised, this makes the colours really vibrant and creates an obscure setting that makes the audience slightly uncomfortable to watch. The first shot we see of the lead Billy Joe Armstrong is him on his own in front of the microphone looking very confused and out of place, this creates the feeling that the character he is trying to portray isn’t quite there. The camera stays stationary as other nurses and doctors wheel in the rest of the band members, it is clear that these are all inmates from their awkward behaviour and the way Armstrong’s eyes dart around the room as he sings, which is reflective of the lyrics. The colours used here are extremely overwhelming and juxtapose each other to create a very vibrant and abnormal scene, furthermore, quick jump cuts and odd angles that range from high to low, portraits and close-ups add to the uneasy tone of the video.

The next scene shows Armstrong in an over-exposed white room from a high angled shot which makes him seem inferior, but with his black outfit it contrasts and makes him stand out more. It jumps back to the band playing again in the colourful room, it’s interesting to see as when there are random jump cuts to them individually away from the group, they each seem bored or uncomfortable and when it jump cuts back to the main location they are in their element and presents completely different behaviour.

There are random people dressed in white with masks on covering their faces. These are supposed to portray the inmates of the asylum and they complement the madness of the video because they all remain colourless except for their masks which are bright and vibrant. Their additions to the music video could remain unnoticed but in the background they are just wandering around and playing with large exercise balls. There doesn’t seem any reasons for these actions but they definitely add to the weird video, it also portrays that people don’t take mental health as seriously as they should as it shows the amount of people suffering from it. The masks could present the idea that their illness has changed them, and they’re not who they used to be.

As the video begins the ending, it gets weirder and weirder. There are random jump cuts which show a close up shot of band members heads with hallucinations around them. Armstrong’s close up shows him with images of fish and eyes floating around his head. These hallucinations could be made by the drugs he was given earlier or it could show how crazy he is. This makes the music video a lot more difficult to understand and gives the audience a lot to think about whilst simultaneously entertaining them.

The final shot shows the metal door closing in front of the camera and we can see Green Day behind the door, presenting that they’re staying inside for the foreseeable future.

Music Video Analysis - My Chemical Romance, Welcome to the Black Parade

Welcome to the Black Parade is a song by My Chemical Romance, the biggest single on their last album before splitting up. This song from 2006 was directed by Samuel Bayer and has been awarded some titles; it was named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and has been recognised by MTV and labelled as MTV’s Greatest Music of the Century in 2017.

This song and video ranges over many genres, but it mainly consists of alternative metal punk. It can be compared to Green Days earlier music but injected with a lot more ‘emo’ feel. The main premise of the music video is of a man who is called ‘The Patient’ in a cancer ward and as he is dying he is transported back to a memory of going to a parade with his dad, which is clearly stated with the first lines, ‘’When I was a young boy My father took me into the city To see a marching band’’. This emo punk genre is clearly indisputable through the colour scheme Bayer used throughout the whole video. The whole video is shown in black and white with the only splash of colour evident is the red flowers decorating the parade float that the band is playing on. The director uses a black and white colour scheme to show that this is a memory for The Patient and he has been transported back in time. The black and white theme could also portray binary opposition between life and death, and the red that is vibrant and a contrast to the black and white filter could suggest the pain and anguish The Patient has suffered through with his illness. The genre is also clearly portrayed through the way the band present themselves through extreme close ups of the lead singer Gerard Way black eyeliner and dark clothing of marching band uniforms are apparent which solidifies the punk/emo/metal genre of the song.

This video would fit under the ‘mixture’ category on identifying music videos, this is because there is a live performance element, but also a narrative storyline throughout the video. This could be also seen as an abstract piece of work as it has artistic details that helps to develop the mood and tone that they want to portray. They want to show the memory of going to a parade that The Patient is having, but because he is dying it is showing it in a much more depressing and creepy way. The whole video is black and white with little to no colour, there are close ups of people in very eerie costumes of gas masks, which could be the dream sequence of the original parade The Patient remembers with colourful costumes and masks, but because this is his dream and memory of it, they have morphed into death and decay. There are a lot of cut-away’s to the band and of the lead singer Gerard Way, which constitutes it as a performance piece, it’s short and snappy and on the beat of the song which makes it interesting and a lot more satisfying to watch than the jump cuts being out of control.

Music Video Codes and Conventions

Performance

A performance music video is when the video consists of the artist performing their song with little narrative and a no story. An example of this is ‘McBusted - Air Guitar’ where the video is different shots and angles of the band playing the song. This type of video isn’t very common as it’s quite unpopular as it doesn’t engage with the target audience as it becomes quite boring as there is little going on. This type of music video allows the artists to use costumes and lighting to present themselves in a creative way to make it a more interesting watch.

 

Narrative

A narrative music video is when the video shows a story all the way through the song. It could include the artist acting in it. There are two types of narrative music videos, linear narrative whereby the story goes from beginning, middle to end, and then fragmented narrative where it mixes the chronology up. An example of a narrative music video is 'Elbow - Magnificent'. This type of video allows the artist to really portray how they want their song to be perceived by the audience, and if the song does tell a story it's a great way to visually represent it.

Mixture

A mixture music video groups together the performance type and the narrative. This is the most common music video as it is difficult to have a full video of just performance or just narrative, it also makes it a lot more interesting for the audience as there are cutaways to the artist performing and then brings them back to the story. A good example of this is 'Billy Joel - Uptown Girl'. 

Concept

A concept video is usually a video based around a single idea or concept that is very abstract and surreal to watch for the audience. The unique content attracts the audience and keeps them entertained to carry on watching the video unfold. An example of an obscure concept video is 'Laurie Anderson - O Superman'

Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin wrote a book called Dancing in the Distraction Factory in 1992. In this book he writes codes and conventions that every music video should include:


1)Music video should convey genre characteristics
2)There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
3)There is a relationship between music and visuals
4)Demands from the record label will need lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop a motif that will be repeated across their work
5)There is often intertextual references to films, tv shows and other music videos.

Narrative Theories

Aristotle was one of the Greek poets and created the idea that a story has a 3 act structure which consisted of a beginning, middle and end. They are also labelled as: the setup, confrontation and the resolution.

 Act 1 (the setup) is where all the major characters of the story are introduced, the environment and world the story will be set in. The first act lets the writer explore and create any environment and situations that they want. The first act also defines the genre, if it’s a Film Noir the setting would be darker with little light, there would be a moody detective and a case that would be introduced. If the story was a western then it’d be in a desert environment, with cowboys as the characters. The first act also includes a ‘hook’, John Yorke theorised that act 1 should have a strong hook which is an exciting incident that grabs the audience attention and keeps them watching. Part of the hook is the inciting incident that takes place in act 1, the incident often changes in the protagonists’ way of life which stimulates the story and plot line.

Act 2 (confrontation) this is where the characters try and solve the ‘problem’ that the incident caused. In the second act, all the stakes heighten and if the protagonist is ‘on the fence’ about what they should do in their certain situation, by the midpoint they would have made their decision. This decision will push the story into the third act. The choice that they make will affect the protagonist as it changes the direction of the story. In my music video, the midpoint will be the mark where the protagonist transports into the dream state.

Act 3 (resolution) this is where the final confrontation occurs which is then followed by the denouement. This act is usually the shortest because it generically includes the protagonist being face to face with the antagonist, the final encounter ensures and the film ties all loose ends. My music video will end with the protagonist being in their dream state as it is their happiest and it will conclude them being the binary opposite mood than they were at the beginning of the video.

Todorov describes a five-stage structure instead of three. Stage one shows an equilibrium where everything is calm and normal, stage two shows a disruption in this equilibrium, and will project the characters into a situation where they haven’t been before. Stage three portrays a quest to restore the equilibrium, or it could also be the recognition of the situation. Stage four describes the climax and eventually stage five where the problem is resolved.

Christopher Booker theorised that there are seven basic plots and any creative media texts will be able to fit into a category. The basic plots include: overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, comedy, tragedy, re-birth, and finally, voyage and return. My music video would possibly fit into the ‘re-birth’ category because one of the themes portrayed is coming of age and it shows a re-birth of character because the protagonist is finally escaping where they hate.