The opening scene of this music video is a building. It is lit up within the night sky. By doing some research I found out that viewers who watched this video knew where the video was set due to the buildings that they are shown. This video is set within Chicago, and from the first shot, some people could tell you this. I don't believe this is significant in any way but the music video seems to be structured around a performance of the singer, and the narrative to do with this building. I did some other research to try and see if the link was that this is where the Band are from; but this is not the case. The first shot is a pan around the empire state, then a straight cut to the singer performing the song in the back of a car. This shot of the man is not in focused, which could then be matched to the lyrics of ''First and Amistad'' as 'First and Amistad' is in Mexico, and this is a cross road. Cross roads normally symbolise confusion, and people trying to find their way in life. However the shot of the singer is faded into focus, and when he begins to sing his face and the shot become focused. This could be foreshadowing as the current state the artist is in is that he seems to be confused about God, and how he has not shown him any sign that he exists. However, when the shot focuses this could foreshadow that God has finally given him the sign he needed, and is no longer confused about what is happening to him, and he can understand this. We the audience are shown significant places throughout the music video which seem to be large points in Chicago, again getting across where the band is, and where the music video is set. We are then shown the band on a bridge alone, with their instruments just stood still. They are all dressed in either suits, or are wearing long coats which are smart. This is very typically conventional of the genre they belong to, agreeing with their stereotypes(Tessa Perkins). When we are shown the band for the first time, a track shot is used, so we can see the entire band within one continuous shot. This could symbolise that they are a group, and are united. However, afterwards we are then shown close-ups of the individuals faces, which could symbolise even though they are a band, they each have their own role within. Later on in the music video we are shown the band to be playing on a bridge, This too I believe has no significance, it just seems to be conventional of this genre to be seen playing their song at some point within the video, being the performance element of the music video which is conventional of this genre. ''Lost and insecure, You found me, you found me Lyin' on the floor, Surrounded, surrounded. Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you? Just a little late'' When these lyrics are being played we are then shown shots of a girl lying on the floor, surrounded by ambulance men, trying to make sure she is okay. In the distance we can see the singer sat on an ambulance, almost as if he was the person to be there when it happened. I believe it is at this point when the narrative begins to kick in, and fit with the lyrics.The cinematography within this music video seems to be the same as the video I previously analysed, just with more pans. The shots used within are as follows: Medium shot, close up, long shot, extreme long shot, pans & some tracking. In this video, the director has used not so many still shots, and a lot of pan shots. This could be representative of the music, because it is meant to be seen as a moving song, so the constant moving of the camera could back this up within the audiences mind. In this video, there are a lot of fading shots. To me, this seems to be because the narrative is about a girl, who has just been in an accident, and cannot speak. So her world would just be a faded mess, and constantly be coming in and out of focus. This editing could back up this fact, but could also mean something to somebody else. Music videos that have no exact meaning are good, because the ideology will change depending on what the audience is, and what they have been through in their lifetime, and their personal experiences will change this.
This video does not contain much verisimilitude, this is due to the fact that within the video we are shown the band members to be stood at the top of buildings, all on different levels which could conote that they are all at different points in their lives. However, they seem to be watching what is going on below them; this would clearly never happen in real life. There are also points within the music video where the band is seen to be playing instruments on a bridge; this too would never happen, or if it did; very very rarely. I can then try to conclude that this video is probably watched so much and is so popular because the audience is moved by the narrative of the girl which is showed and the fact that the band does things that we do not see every day within our lives.
The theorists that I can link this to are Tessa Perkins - Stereotypes, because Tessa Perkins says that everyone has a stereotype within them, due to their appearance, their nationality, and in music videos, their genre. The genre of the fray is Indie rock, so they dress like their genre. They wear leather coats, black skinny jeans, denim jackets, smart shirts. So because this links with their stereotype, her theory is correct. Another theorist this video can be linked to is Richard Dyers theory of Representation. His theory says that the artist chooses what they want to be represented as, and how this will attract their audience. In this case, the genre of The Fray is Indie rock, so if they dress accordingly, they will attract an audience that wears similar clothes, so they can be 'style icons' and it will also attract an audience that has a similar taste to what genre they are as a band.
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