The Mod subculture originally started in London, England in the 1950's. The most iconic elements of this subculture was their fashion and music choice (Jamacian Ska and British Beat Music)
Dick Hebdige claimed that he thought mods "appear to have been a group of working class dandies, possibly descended from the devotees of the Italianite [fashion] style". Hebdige is a theorist who focuses upon the modern approach to identity.
The original style for Mods was a slim-fitting dark suit, combined with a lighter coloured shirt, a plain simple dark tie, and to match dark shoes. As the popularity of this subculture grew, their fashion style developed into a more casual approach. In the 60's it was known to wear levi jeans (turned up at the bottom), a fred perry top (commonly known to make an appearence in This Is England) and desert boots.
The Who was the prime example of a mod group, their music mostly listened to by this subculture.
After spending a few weeks editing my music video, and playing around with its order; I got opinions of classmates and my teacher and decided that it is too complicated to have 2 plotlines within the video, thus I am now focusing soley on the dramatic story line of the nightmare between the boy and the girl. I think this is a much more interesting approach as it will allow me to concentrate much more on the tension that builds and create a atmosphere within the music video that will interest the audience more than a perfomance from the band.
I plan to do more shooting as I have cut the perfomance out of my music video completely and shoot the girl (Jess) inside the house, which is where we first saw the boy, adding a element of confusion for the audience, to question whether this nightmare is true or not? I will shoot close up shots of her to add dramatic effect and highlight the emotions in play.
I thought of an idea that consists of shooting with the girl upclose at the start of the music video and as it progresses, her background widens and you get a whole picture at the end. This would be vice versa for the boy, beginning with midlength shots of him and at the end you would see his face close up which would allow the audience to identify his feelings. I think this would be a good idea as it has to the mystery of the music video. It would also symbolise that the boy is being trapped by the girl, an idea that she is "closing in on him"
Young Guns are a British rock band who forms in 2008. They are from Buckinghamshire and London.eo is o their ong Bones. I picked this music video to analyse as it has some link to the band I have chosen and also they have in cooperated both performance and also a plot line to the video.
This first shot I have chosen shows the band performing. I think the shot is rather good because they are a heavier band and the lighting creates shadows on the band members which could show darkness within the video. The fact that the lead singer is reaching out into an open space with the position of the bright light just above his hand could symbolise reaching out to a more bright future. It could signify that he is stuck in a dark hole and is trying to escape. The isolation of him at the front of the band represents that he is alone and an outcast.
Also including the band playing goes along with the generic aspects of this genre. Most rock/punk bands have a lot of footage of them performing.
The fast editing throughout the video could reflect the chaos. It also highlights the emotions in the video, the idea that the girl who we see a few seconds into the video shows heartbreak and loss. Therefore the sharp editing and quick cuts could reflect that her thoughts are muddled and she has lost herself.
Throughout the music video there is a sense of masculinity in the actions; due to the band being an all male cast.
This is the first time we see the girl. (0.36s) the mise en scene of this shot shows the corruption which could link to the breaking of her mind. The fact that again there is minimal gloomy lighting also shows that she is stuck in a dark place. This could be linked with the main singer reaching out which would refer to her reaching out for help. The lyrics also reflect this idea: “Praying to whoever would listen to me.” I researched into depression and one classic symptom of the illness is isolation. This shot reinforces her isolation as its wide shot showing the empty space around her, and although she is in a building it is in ruins.
The solo within the song compliments the action on screen, as the music beat increases the action on screen also gets faster and the cuts between the two get quicker.
This shot also reinforces her isolation from society.
The editing also co-insides with the music. The fact that at the start of the music video everything was fast and quick but as the music calmed so did the editing. For example at 1.19s the pace of the track has relaxed and the movement of the girl is also slower. The level that the girl is on is also important. It shows that although she is on top of a big building she is still small in the shot. Again it is a wide shot of her and it belittles her in a sense that the rest of the background is so vast. Throughout the music video the girl is dancing, the type of dance she is performing is ballet. This could link with the idea that through dance she feels a sense of release from her pain and freedom. Its like shes letting herself go.
The action that is shot on screen contradicts the music genre of the video. The rough edge song combined with the slow ballet movements contrasts eachother.
The last movement by the girl is of her jumping from the top building. Her shape is much like a bird with its wing spread which again could signify her freedom. That she is finally escaping the city below her. The lyrics "We're all architects of our own private hell" could symbolise that below her feet is her hell. (New York etc) By jumping she is disconnecting herself from it.
