In order to get the desired concept style right on my video, I believe that it would certainly be worth while analysing a video in the respective genre closer to the themes I am trying to reflect. I believe that the music video for 'Savin me' by Nickelback is quite similar to what I am trying to achieve and so I have decided to break down the video into what it does well and explore possible concepts to include in my piece. The full video can be seen below with analysis following...
00:00 - 00:25 : I'm incredibly fond of the ambient opening this piece has, it quite slow yet dramatic and it gives the piece a cinematic feel which is very enjoyable
(Point of Notice: I have noticed immediately that there is a slightly dull colouring presented in the piece, it seems like the footage has been dulled and darkened slightly with colour editing to set the tone and I must say its incredibly effective in representing a dingy and lifeless city.)
00:30 - 00:35 : Aside from the brief moment of action, I've noticed that the camera is shaking slightly, it appears loose and seems to be handheld or edited somehow, the effect this gives is interesting as it connotes a shaky disposition in the original character we first see, then being passed onto the new character. In a narrative sense this would appear to be the main character inheriting a sense of unease and a troubled mind.
00:36: The band is first shown, not too much time is spent in waiting to show the band which when put immediately after the first shots seems to be indicating to the audience that the band members are trying to connote some sense of sadness of their own. A feat which could make the audience empathetic and emotionally invested, which is helped by the depressed stances in the dark building shown by the band. The shaky camera is also maintained from the previous shots which connects the band and the main character from the narrative and keeps the theme flowing.
00:50 - 1;10 - The shaky camera work here is incredibly prominent, more so than before, it really grounds in the confusion of the main character.
1:12 - A strain on the main character is evident and his clear stress is carried through well.
1;24 - First use of the timer effect, its interesting to say the least and quite a powerful concept but I'm not entirely sure how I would work any truly powerful special effect like this into my piece.
1:25 - 1:35 - The stronger lines of the chorus have a real urgency here that the band be seen singing them, they usually tend to pick up on the end of a line or the beginning of one and never seem to stick around for more than an average of 5 seconds.
1:35 - 2:00 From here we see a continuation of the main character walking around, he seems more panicked than before and his acting comes across well in presenting his panic.
2:00 - 2:05 This is a very powerful shot in my opinion, the sheer shake of the camera and the way in which the main character bolts is very powerful in showing him peak in worry.
2:14 This section features an incredibly powerful POV shot, giving the audience an intimate view of the characters panic through the rapid movement of his head.
2:19 The angle in which the camera shakes tilts is powerful and accompanies the tempo brilliantly. it really assists the strong guitar sound and powerful drum beat of the song.
(I've started to notice that this piece is dominated by the narrative more than the band, even the band doesn't have instruments, which is interesting but the piece just gets away with doing this because of the strong camera work and special effects telling an engaging and gripping story.)
2:37 about 5/8's into the song is when we really start to see the tragedy peak, from here the tone is about to change to one of acceptance and is powerful and intriguing.
2:50 - 2;54 When the old woman dies in the ambulance I've noticed that the guitar riff is perfectly in sync with her death, it stands as a marker of the tragedy and sorrow felt by the main character having witnessed that and the sharpness of the note can be said to be representative of the characters emotions reaching a 'breaking point'.
3:10 - 3:15 The smile on the characters face is the first indication of his redemption and it really brightens the mood in connection to the song changing its tone slightly to one of recovery.
3:55 - 4:06 The slow fade of the song and the switch back to the ambiance is quite powerful in explaining the characters unburdening and his return to normality. its also interesting in replicating the opening of the video as well, giving the story an ongoing approach and showing the audience that this gift keeps going from one to another.
Conclusion
What I like about this video is that there's a really strong narrative focus, its an interesting story and it has interesting twists and turns which keep it engaging. The filtering of the colours is powerful and it gives the city setting that much more of an edge in creating a dark soulless environment which represents the characters inner strife.
The camera work is superb in replicating the emotion of the character, his feelings and physical strife is reflected in the use of POV shots and shaky camera workings, where I'm questionable on this video however is in the band, between the main character and them, the band just seems too out of place, it isn't clear exactly what their purpose is and if they are a higher representation of power in the story it doesn't come across well. They work well as a simple connector for scenes but they lack any real part in the story and as a result they break up the sequencing while giving nothing to the overall story.
What I am going to take from this is the effective use of certain camera angles and filters and the general means to making a powerful and engaging story, I'm sure another video can do the band segment more engaging. all in all I think the video is still quite enjoyable and its no wonder the song is one of the bands highest grossing.
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