6th Music video: Rammstein (amerika)

My 6th music video research is of yet another Rammstein video, which is the song, 'Amerika'.

Both the song and the video are both actually quite politically driven, as the song is all about the influence of american or western brands, spreading into other parts of the world, which is shown in the video, through images of monks eating Mcdonalds, TV sets in african tribes, and of course, the band itself on the moon, which turns out to be fake at the end of the video.

Rammstein are known for their themed videos, and their other videos such as 'Du Hast' and 'Ich Will' all have strong themes about them, which is what a Rammstein video great, as they almost tell a story.

In this particular video, this a massive emphasis of props and costume, for example, the band are all dressed in Apollo 13 gear, with NASA themed instruments, with a backdrop of earth and space. This gives the video a comedic value, and yet still helps to project the image of the spread of Western branding and culture.

The song also perfectly matches the scenes from the video, and its like the song was written with the music video in mind, which can be seen in the imagery of the video. like the dancing tribesman holding the pizza, or simply the band playing on the moon, it all fits in.

Some may criticise the song due to it being in german, but if anything, i believe this makes the message more prominent, as if they were american, it would be another Green Day like band, moaning about their own country, where as the fact that Rammstein are from east germany means they know much better the spread of american influence on the world, plus just because its not in english doesnt make it a bad song, you just have to look deeper into it

There are some noticeable Juex-apposes in this video, which highlight further the theme of the video, an example of this would be the traditionally dressed monks, eating a McDonalds burger. First, this is a complete Juex-appose to the the monks, as they are traditional asian Monks, in the orange robes, coming out of a temple, eating an american, capitalist food, which adds to the idea of the spread of the corporate state.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxroiTRg7Tg

5th Music Video: Rammstein (Mein land)

This music video is one of my favourites, and so is the song. This beach-themed video is by an east German industrial metal band, Rammstein - Mein Land.

Firstly, the video itself is, as i said before, a beach party themed video, with like a 1960s feel to it. The theme massively juex-apposes the style of music that is playing over it, but weirdly suits the video. The video itself is hardcore German metal, yet the video has a kind of friendly, playful narrative, at least up until the end chorus. The video is almost deliberately cheesy, and Rammstein are known to do this with their videos, as its taking a stab at American culture, like the ideal beach, and the american flag at the start of the video, so it has an underlying political theme as well.

Shots wise, the video has some great shots, especially close ups, for example, when it gets to the chorus, there is a wide shot, which changes into a medium close up of the singer, and the shots change quickly, to go with the chorus. Theres also some great shots which involve a green screen of the band members, cheesly ridding a surfboard, in a very stereotypical, idilic way, which adds to the 'not taking it seriously' theme to the video. The close up at the very end of the video, of the lead singer with his makeup on, and fire in the background is an excellent shot, and the fact that its only shown for maybe 2 seconds, makes it a really noticeable shot.

The colours in the video are bright, almost over exposed, which, again adds to the theme of idilic, 1960s american beach parties, for example, if you look at the colour of the water, its a bright blue, that almost pops out of the screen, and the sand is almost a perfect yellow, stereotypical beach. Its directly mocking old beach boys videos, with the idilic setting and the cheesy pop up font on some of the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNNR8UX7oKk

4th Music Video: Danny Macaskill's Imaginate.

This isnt necessarily a music video, however it is a video making masterpiece of video making.

Danny Macaskill is a professional trials biker, and has become something of a internet celebrity, due to his unbelievable skill on his bike, and this is his latest video titled "Danny Macaskill's Imaginate".

Firstly, the music fits perfectly with the video, and some real thought has gone into the perfect song, to fit the theme, which is Macaskills imagination, in fact the video is sub titled, "see into Dannys mind". The use of props and scenery adds to this theme of 'imagination', as the props are giant building blocks, playing cards, toy soldiers etc, which gives the video a really dynamic feel to it, and is really fun to watch. The very start is a young boy playing with his toy bike, which then translates into the real thing, which instead of the toy, its Danny.

The camera work in this video is amazing. For example, at the start of the video, the close up shots of Danny's shoe and pedal, and the close ups of his face, are both eye catching and dynamic, and work really well with the music. The shots during the tricks are also perfectly placed, like the loop at the end of the video, the camera is on a crane, following Danny, and helps the shot to flow perfectly.

The idea of the oversized toys also allows the video to be interpreted in different ways, as these toys can mean different things to different people, which then helps the video to address a much larger audience, the young generation for the riding and bright, vibrant colours, and the creativity and the memories of childhood for others.

3rd music video; My Chemical Romance

This third Music video is by a more rock based band called My Chemical Romance, and the the song is The Ghost of You.

The video itself has a strong mix of both themed performance and a narrative plot to it. At first, the video is presented at the start as a performance, only the band are dressed as American soldiers in their off duty clothing. There are also more soldiers in the hall, and also an equal number of women to the soldiers, which later leads to a dance in the hall, as seen in one of the screen shots.

However, the video changes when it reaches the chorus to show scenes that re create the D-Day landings of World War 2. this is where the narrative comes in to play, and all the band members are present in these scenes also, which would explain the soldiers outfit before, and the dance was sort of the last time they see their wives etc, before the landings.

The song suits this theme perfectly, and its almost like the song was written with the video in mind, as the way the scenes transition from the performance scenes in the hall to the gritty D-Day scenes, and the video is in some ways telling a story.

There is some great camera work in this video, and one of the best examples of this is a 1:30, when the hall transitions into the beach, with the sea rushing into the hall, and the soldiers running in, and its all done from a birds eye view, and is an excellent shot, which works perfectly.

The change in colours is also effective, as in the hall, it is bright, vibrant colours, with a kind of orange light, to add to the vibrant feel of the scene, but then changes when its the beach scenes to a dark, dull, gritty colour, which looks washed out, and adds to the depressing, scary vibe to the scenes, and takes a lot from films like Saving Private Ryan.

2nd Music video; While She Sleeps

This music video is your more traditional 'performance' video, which are becoming more popular for bigger bands, as they are a simple format, and will always work with the song.

This particular video is by one of my favourite bands, While She Sleeps - dead behind the eyes, and is amongst the metal core genre, which is (obviously) a sub genre of heavy metal, and has similar elements of other sub genres such as Death core and Trance core.

Firstly, this music video is all about the energy of the band and the crowd. What makes these kinds of videos successful is the feel of the video, and how the crowd and the band are reacting to the song, the flashing strobe lights at particular parts of the song, the frantic movements of the band, these all contribute to the theme of the performance and genre of the song, high energy, heavy music.

The lead singer is also projected as the front man, due to the close, low angle shot, which contributes to the idea of a strong presence, which is what you would expect from a vocalist of this genre. At 3:56, there is an amazing shot, showing the vocalist with his arms stretched out at the very front of the stage, which gives him an almost god-like look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkyVFcWfiWI

1st music video; Magnetic Man

For my A2 media course, i have opted to research and create a music video.
This first music video i have looked at is Magnetic Man - Getting Nowhere.

I chose this particular video, as it has been one of my favourite videos for a long time, due to its originality, and the way it flows with the song, which is a sub genre of dubstep, known as Glitchstep.

In greater detail, its original, as firstly, it features the 4 horseman of the apocalypse as bmxers, with their hoods up, and no face, just a black hole. I personally have never seen a concept such as this, used in this kind of genre, or any genre. There is an excellent shot at 2:59, in which as the rider in the red hood rides past the glass, his reflection is of him on a large black horse. I myself am a bmxer, so this kind of video really appeals to me.

The overall concept is simple, if you discount some of the effects, as its essentially some carefully placed tracking shots of the 4 riders, going through the streets, and a few static shots of other people, so its a simple concept, that has been taken and expanded upon effectively. Also, a notable point is the blacked out faces of the riders, with their hoods pulled up. This gives the riders that kind of creepy, anonymous look about them, which adds to the horseman of the apocalypse theme of the video.

The video is meant to be a serious setting, and pulls this off effectively, as it addresses some more mature themes, and the section at 2:39, in which the male in the cafe's food has turned to bugs, has the undertone of a decaying society, as do the idea of the 4 horsemen, which once again is a really original idea.

There is also a great shot of the 4 riders stood in a line beside each other, looking out on the city, which its only main light is from the massive high-rise buildings. Its almost like their looking on the city, before they descend on the city, which in a later scene they jump down out of frame, which would add to this point.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRnDIXsGIyc (i was unable to embed it)