Music Video Analysis

Johnny Cash - Hurt




This video uses a number of different techniques in order to achieve it's purpose effectively. It incorporates an even mix of both performance and narrative, making the artist the focus as well as telling a story around him. Multiple shots of the artist singing and playing the piano are used, intercut with images from his life and images that help reflect the song lyrics (eg. at one point a shot of Jesus Christ on the cross is used, something which the song refers back to at multiple points "I wear this crown of thorns").

The video is mostly quite slow paced to reflect the melancholy nature of the song, only picking up speed as the song builds up to it's ending crescendo. The movements and body language also seem to be quite sad sorrowful in order to reflect this further. The numerous shots used of points in the artist's life also reflect what is said in the song lyrics to some extent, focusing around Johnny's time with his late wife.

Among other things, the lighting used in the performance sections of the video is very mellow and dark, further enhancing the video's sense of melancholy and mood. The performance parts of the video also help to reflect the feelings of loneliness and isolation apparent in the lyrics. The video seems to be organic, having been made for the love of music rather than for commercial gain, as the video reflects a number of themes that seem to be important to the artist.

Mastadon - Obvlivion




Like the Johnny Cash video, this video is a mix of both performance and narrative aspects. The outer-space exploration narrative fits in with the lyrics of the song and the general themes of oblivion and loneliness. For instance, the video reflects the lyrics "Lost, love bright fading faster than stars falling. How can I tell you that I failed? Tell you I failed" in it's ending, as the crew fade away with the remaining pilot being unable and "failing" to save them. The performance aspects also bleed into the narrative somewhat, as the band members are the crew members in the narrative and the drummer (also being the member who is seen dead at the start of and throughout the narrative) can be seen on various computer monitors singing, often appearing distorted to further reflect the central theme.

In the performance sequences the band appear to be playing in the broken husk of an abandoned city, further reflecting the them of loneliness the song and video create. The video seems to share this central theme with the Johnny Cash video too.

The video seems to be organic as opposed to synthetic, as a lot of effort appears to have gone into the making of it and it goes a long way towards reflecting the lyrics and central themes of the song, maybe even adding towards the band's artistic vision.

Directors Research Task

Patric Ullaeus:

• Is the founder of the Revolver film company, which is based in Sweden and specialises in the production of music videos, promotional pictures and concert films.
• He has won numerous domestic and international awards for his work. These include Advertising Effectiveness Awards, Grammy, Clip, US Film Festival, among others.
• He has been critically acclaimed due to his cinematic style and his vivid imagination, which has taken him all around the world to collaborate with numerous talented artists, advertising agencies and record companies.
• He mainly seems to collaborate with rock/metal bands for his music videos.

Artists he has worked with include:

In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, Europe, Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil, Children Of Bodom, Kamelot, Dream Evil, Firewind, Sirenia, Evergrey, Enslaved, Within Temptation and Sonic Syndicate.

Notable vidoes he has directed:

• Heaven's A Lie - Lacuna Coil
• March Of Mephisto - Kamelot
• Come Clarity - In Flames
• Book Of Heavy Metal - Dream Evil
• The Serptentine Offering - Dimmu Borgir

One thing I like about his directing style is that he has a very cinematic approach and uses a distinct artistic style. He uses a number of tracking shots and pans in order to keep the action moving and uses a number of low angle shots in order to make the band seem larger than life. He uses a large variety of distinct and exotic locations as the backdrops for his videos like a desert in Come Clarity and an abandoned church in Heaven's A Lie.

His videos often use a number of different editing techniques to increase their glossy image and cinematic scope. They are often heavily saturated, giving the video an increased sense of atmosphere and mood, like the harsh greys and browns used in The Serpentine Offering and the bright yellows and oranges used in Come Clarity.

Robert Schober:

Notable videos:

Mastodon - Divinations
Mastodon - Oblivion
Metallica - All Nightmare Long

His videos are often very surreal and often use a wide range of editing effects and computer generated imagery. Both of the Mastodon videos use the band members themselves as characters in the video's narrative, thus helping to blend the story and performance elements together. They also seem to concentrate more on telling a story more than showcasing the band's performance, keeping the viewer immersed in what's happening while still making it recognisable as a product of that particular artist. His videos are often very slick and of a high quality visually. Often when CGI is used in music videos it looks cheap and out of place, but that often isn't the case with his work.