Band: Celldweller
Album: Switchback (single)
Photography: Within the music video the main images feature the band playing the sound soundtrack, but also a young girl side story. This type of photography creates a narrative which is very common with music videos as the band is the main focus point while a side story relative or not flows along side. The way the band members are standing is a stance that has been taken up by the metal media as they stand together or in a line, in this case behind a transparent sheet. Also the lead singer is singled out and is the main character to be viewed as he is selling the band. This way or organizing the band image is easily recognized by the target audience so they realize it’s a band of a certain genre without giving much thought.
Colour scheme: The colour scheme for these music video variants throughout. At the very beginning the images are black and white. This is easily recognized in a metal genre as this technique has been seen many times before. But within the video the colours are mainly dark when the story line is flowing as it matches the metal side of the genre. As the dark music style should reflect the colours to show a clear link between the two. But at the same time bright flashes of blue light show when the band is playing this fits well with the electro aspect of this genre of music. This style would attract the target audience because this colour scheme is what they are expecting and look forward to viewing in this type of genre.
Fonts: The only fonts on the video is short flashing screen images which look like or some type of coding that suits the style of the song there is little to say about this area. In some areas of the music video the black is broken as white clashes against if for the text, this colour choice is enable the viewer to notice this appearing and recognize what is going on within the frame.
Layout: When looking into the video itself I found out that Celldweller himself didn’t personally like the video, and hasn’t produced another since. But he did consider a lot of stereotypes that are found within an electro metal music video. The positioning of the band is very metal as the singer is the closest to the viewer bending and churning as he sings to give of a specific type of vide. Also the positioning of the band is similar to many I have seen before in my research. The band are positioned further back behind screen that match the dark story line that is playing alongside. But as the story develops, and pace quickens the band members become clear and fast to match the speed of editing from the side story. This technique inflicts an emotive response to the viewer as the fast music matches the faster cutting image thus creating excitement and thrill when listening and watching the music video.
Post –Production: When looking at the post production to the video I broke it up into these categories:
Editing video footage: The editing within this music video is very common in metal genre music videos. I noticed that the pace of editing quickens much like the style that you would see in an electro band. But there are also other techniques of editing that match that of a metal genre music video. I noticed the slow pace followed by fast cutting matches that of a metal genre.
Editing the soundtrack, adding sound effects: Throughout the music video I noticed the sound effects in the background sound electronic almost alien. This robotic sound matches the genre of the band and gives of a specific message when viewing the music video in a sense that you can instantly recognize what type of genre the video is aimed at.
Adding titles and graphics: During the music video I noticed a lot of references to the electro genre.
Adding special effects: As the band is playing there is a screen that displays images that follow the genre of music such as sound waves which suit the electro aspect of this genre. As I mentioned before that the genre has links with robotic sounds, these images back up that comment as they compliment these sounds and further make the genre of the music clearer. Also I noticed during the music video there was a moment when the lead singers face was covered with a box. This blurred his identity for a second. This looked strange and un-human which matches my comment about the robotic aspect of this music video.
Mise en scene:
Costumes: The costumes within the clip are consistent throughout the hole of the clip. All band members were a certain type of clothing which shows a certain type of dress sense in this case a type of black robe you would see in metal songs. Also a bit more obvious is the colour of the costumes are dark can suit the type of genre of music.
Lighting: The lighting is a mixture of dull light shining through cracks in the walls. To bright flashing blue lighting when the back is playing. This area of the mise-en-scene sparks a certain type of emotion on the viewer. As the song gets more upbeat the editing gets faster so the lighting has to match that of the editing so I also gets brighter and quickens.
Setting: When looking at the settings, the environment they are standing in are dark and run down run which makes the overall look more gothic and serious. The target audience would like to see this type of layout in a magazine as the sinister environment matches the genre of music they are into. Because this type of music is a mixture of two genres so the music video needs to represent both equally. This music video has the best of both the dark slow pace of a metal band, with a run down environment as the setting, which is a gothic strange style. But also the bright and fast editing of an electro band which has flashing imagery and multicoloured lighting.
Props: When it comes to props there is not much i can evaluate. There is a use of rope to tie the women’s arms behind her back during the video. The meaning to this isn’t clear but the reaction to having this prop produces a reaction which is commonly seen in metal music videos, as she starts slamming into walls and braking objects which is a clear link to that of a metal genre.
Characters: The characters are the stereotype metal band members to certain extent as they are anti fashion as they are wearing all black clothing that many people would consider to be strange and different. This matches the metal characters look as they are rebellious and dark but. When it comes to the hair it is not long like other metal bands it is short and colourful like someone out of an electronic band. So this is a clear link of a mixture of genres. As well as a rebellious look with characters there is a sexual references as the women is dressed with the purpose of looking attractive and appealing. This sexual intake in metal music videos is very common.
Overall look: The overall look would attract the target audience because of areas such as the images being dark and alluring to the metal side of the viewers, but at the same time attractive the audience that enjoy listening to electronic music with the bright and fast paced images and editing. These codes and conventions are clearly noticeable by fans of this type of music which watch and listen to hear this type of style. The gothic dark look would attract the target audience as they would find this look interesting and attractive, with images you can easily pull the viewers attention to the music video. To conclude I feel this video has ticked many boxes that clearly show the genre of the magazine but I can see many areas which can be improved and changed.
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