Textual analysis of my own work
The video opens with no moving image and a dialogue between the two main characters, the audience hears a heated confrontation between a couple, which is evident by the line 'What ever happened to us? We used to be so good, but now you seem to make it your ultimate goal to make me miserable'. This immediately tells the audience that the couple have issues and suggests that it is the male in the relationship who is causing the problems. The lack of moving image adds mystery to the context and encourages the audience to carry on watching the music video since they would want to see the action happen. This opening dialogue within the diegetic sound challenges the conventions of a pop punk or metalcore music video as it is rare for there to be a spoken dialogue between the characters in a music video of this genre. This perhaps develops the conventions of the genre since it has rarely been done, but the unusual spoken element is perhaps something which wouldn't be found in mainstream videos. However, Green Day's 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' (a punk rock band) opens with a spoken dialogue but with moving image to accompany it. The song also pauses halfway through this music video to show another dialogue between a couple which helps reinforce and advance the narrative, a couple who is torn apart by the male being called away to war in Afghanistan.
.
The fast paced editing in the opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the pop punk/metalcore genre, it builds up to the drop in the music and shows that the tempo of the song is going to be quick throughout. When the music finally drops, the reduction of speed of the two shot of the couple arguing suggests that something shocking might happen, she slaps him which shows that she is trying to stick up for herself in an intimidating situation. The mise-en-scene in the medium shot of the hospital suggests that something is wrong since the colour of the sign matches the colours of the NHS, in particular the word 'Oncology' tells the audience that she might have a serious illness. The close up on the letter that she is holding reinforces this idea since it shows that she is receiving some bad news, especially by the use of the ghosting blur on this shot which has connotations of the ill feeling which an individual might experience when receiving some bad news.
Throughout there are some elements of performance just like in Green Day's video for Wake Me Up When September Ends. The video uses jump cuts from the story-line to the performance at important moments which reinforces the narrative whilst also conforming to the conventions of the alternative rock genre. However, the video challenges the conventions owing to the reduction in opacity of the mid shots of Jordan performing the song. This unique editing shows that it belongs to an alternative genre and isn't seen in mainstream music videos, for example in Rihanna or Lady Gaga's music videos. The aggressive performance of the song by Jordan also conforms to the conventions of the genre, since in many pop punk and metalcore videos this is how the songs are performed by the entire band or single lead singer. For example, in A Day To Remember's video 'I'm Made of Wax Larry What Are You Made Of?' (0.11).
The use of the cross dissolve between the colour and grayscale shots safely shows the difference between the past and the present. The use of the grayscale in the flashback shots conforms to the conventions of the genre as the black and white effect is often seen in pop punk or metalcore videos. For example, Trivium's,'Strife' (1.37), which I previously included in my genre research.
This black and white effect also has connotations of sadness since the colour is dull and represents the past, the colour perhaps links to old photographs and could suggest how the memories are precious to the male character.
The actual track is quite heavy throughout, especially at 2.43 where the guitar beats become much stronger and the drum beats become much heavier. This fast tempo and heavy aggressive beat is a common convention of songs within the pop punk and metalcore genre, however, as A Day To Remember uses both pop punk and metalcore features in their songs this perhaps suggests that they are developing a new genre - a mix of the existing pop punk and metalcore genre. Furthermore, as I have developed and challenged conventions of the genre by adding features which are not often used (for example, the opening dialogue) it could be argued that it conforms to the conventions of this new genre.
The performance at 2.44 within the narrative reinforces the aggression since the action of punching the punch bag is quite aggressive and shows that he is angry and frustrated. The frequent match on action cuts between the mid close up of Jordan punching and close ups of the hand punching the bag shows the force of his punch and reinforces the emotion that he might be feeling at this point. The jump cuts between the boxing scene and the bedroom scene where Jordan is seen to be holding Leah's hand suggests that he is perhaps thinking about how helpless he was when she was physically slipping away and how he didn't want to lose her.
The narrative is quite a sensitive topic, it shows how a young couple were quickly torn apart by a common illness which affects many people. However, it seems more tragic since they obviously had a bad relationship in the beginning which is evident by the opening dialogue and scenes where the couple are having an argument. The Uses and Gratifications theory could explain why the members of my target audience might want to watch this video as we have different needs. For example, surveillance, the audience may be curious as to how terminal illnesses affect people and the destruction that it might bring, to relationships and to individual people. The audience may also watch the video in order to use the particular media within their personal relationships. For example, they may share the same like of the pseudonym band 'The Arrows' with their friends, therefore by viewing a music video for their new single they can share their opinion about the single and the music video amongst themselves. The audience may also watch this video as they can relate to the personal experiences of the characters since they may have experienced the issues themselves which is portrayed with the story line.
Conventions analysis of ancillary texts
No comments:
Post a Comment