Foo Fighters- The Pretender
Link to the video is here: http://myplay.com/videos/foo-fighters/the-pretender
• The music video starts off black and as soon as the music kicks in, lights begin to turn on, suggesting the start of the music video. The lights turn on to the beat of the song, going along with the tempo which is quite fast clearly from the pace that the lights turn on.
• At this point of the music video editing is being done on the beat and off the beat, alternating between the two, but when the lyrics start the editing is now done by the lyrics sung.
• The song really begins to kick in after about 33 seconds and the tempo quickens and becomes a lot faster paced with the lead guitar playing the same repetitive beat.
• The main focus of the music video is the band members in the big open room, and the camera jumps from one band member to another in quick succession.
• There are different varieties of shots during the verse, mainly consisting of long shots, zooms and pans.
• There doesn’t seem to be a narrative to the music video yet, but it is only the start of the verse so we are not sure yet but as the song progresses we find that the narrative is mixed in with the performance on stage with the band members.
• The lyrics for this song could suggest different things and from what I could interpret I think that the lead singer is talking about himself and the authorities, saying he won’t back down to them and pretend to be someone who he is not just to satisfy them. He questions their authority for his rights of freedom perhaps, and rebels against them?
• At the end of the first verse, just before the chorus starts, this is where I think the narrative begins and a single police man dressed in a riot outfit stands at the opposite side of the room, maybe attempting to stop the band from what their doing.
• When the Chorus kicks in, the music becomes a lot louder and the lead singer sounds more aggressive in the way that he’s singing and the camera shots reflect this as they are short and snappy.
• The verse then comes back in after the chorus has finished and we go back to the camera focusing on the different band members and the same repetitive beat is being played again
• The verse comes to a close again and jus before the chorus sets in, the policeman starts screaming in anger and a line of policemen in riot outfits appear and they all stand in formation across the room from the band members.
• We see the lead singer facing the line of policemen and it is clear to see that he is outnumbered.
• When the chorus ends the bridge begins and the camera shots become a little slower compared to the chorus and the bridge is seen to be building up to something. As it is building up, the camera swaps between the policemen and then the band members, the policemen put down their visors on their helmets and preparing to attack.
• After bridge finishes and it climaxes, there is a major anticlimax as we are taken back to the start of the song and the intro is being played. The policemen now are beginning to run at the band members in slow motion, representative to the tempo of the song now which is quite calm and slow.
• The intro is cut shorter than before and as if we weren’t expecting it, the chorus abruptly starts again and the red screen behind the band explodes and red liquid is seen flying out towards the policemen.
• This comes as a surprise because the audience watching the music video does not expect this to happen.
• The red liquid continues to spray across the room, and the camera shows the two different groups. The policemen are all falling to the floor and the band members don’t seem to be affected and continue to play the song.
• At the end of the song there is a lot of repetition of the same three words, and the camera shots become a lot shorter than what they were, reflecting the pace of the song, only lasting a split second.
• We know the music video has finished when we see the lead singer throw his guitar to the floor and then falls to the floor himself, perhaps in an act of victory.
Camera shots and editing
• Establishing shot of big empty room, we see band member walk on, low angle shot.
• High angle shot of band member a contrast between the last shot and this one, the first shot the band member looked insignificant and in the next shot looked important and powerful
• Medium shot/Close up of lead singer wrapping a bandage around his hand, reason unknown.
• High angle shot of lead singer again.
• Long shot of across the room, we see what seem to be amps maybe?
• Zoom in on face of lead singer, lip syncing into the microphone, we see band member on left of shot walking in, in the background, rule of thirds.
• Medium shot. We see drummer walking over to his drum kit and sit down behind them
• Low angle shot, we see lead guitarist walking over to his guitar lying on the floor.
• High angled shot of guitar, only last for a brief second.
• High angle shot of guitarist picking up guitar and then cut to the bass guitarist and then he puts bass over his shoulder
• All editing up to this point has been edited on the lyrics.
• High angle shot again, obviously showing band members importance. The drummer begins to hit the snare drum to begin the verse of the song
• Shots at this point of the song become a lot faster and they continue throughout the music video.
Andrew Goodwin’s Theory:
In the video The Pretender, the tempo varies throughout the song. It is structured quite clearly into four stages, the introduction, the verse, the chorus and the bridge. In the intro the tempo is steady; it’s nice and calm and is building up to the verse. When the verse starts the tempo speeds up rapidly and this is reflected by the camera shots. The chorus then kicks in and again the tempo speeds up to the pace of the chorus again represented by the shortness of the camera shots but when the bridge starts the tempo slows down a bit and camera shots become a little slower. Andrew Goodwin says that the tempo of popular music is very clearly and directly represented in music video clips. We can see this by the use of the camera shots used in the music video, that vary when the tempo changes. Andrew Goodwin says that another thing that is important is the vocal. In the pretender the music video is revolved around the lyrics that are sung. Throughout the video we are focused on the lead singer lip syncing his views, and we know how he feels about it by the tone of his voice which becomes aggressive after the intro.
No comments:
Post a Comment