Below you can see some work I did before we started working on the music video. This was when I was asked to research into three different music videos which used a music video to tell a story with a clear narrative. You can read it below.
Green Day: “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” – [Official Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soa3gO7tL-c
The song was written by Tré Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt. It was performed by the band Green Day. I only noticed one form of band promotion in the video. It in the scene where the band was playing their music: there was a drum kit with the ‘Green Day’ logo on it which is a clear way of promoting the band.
The song seems to be about a man that is completely alone in the world. He mentions how his shadow is the only one who walks besides him. One of the lyrics has him saying, “Sometimes I wish someone would come and find me, but till then I walk alone”. I think this does give the impression that he wishes he wasn’t so lonely but does still accept the reality.
There are also several different camera shots throughout the video. We get close ups of his face with a very neutral expression which doesn’t show a great deal of emotion one way or another, which also fits with feeling of emptiness that the artist is trying to portray. It’s also clear that the choice of locations used throughout the video all look quite deserted. The video has also been digitally edited to make it look like it has film damage, which is also meant to make us believe it’s filmed with a very old camera so maybe the song’s protagonist is quite poor and can’t afford anything more.
The Christmas Shoes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpkI7GW2V34
This is a song written by Eddie Carswell and performed by the band New Song. The video has a few credits at the end of the as well as in the description which aim to make everyone aware of the artist and songwriter.
This music video is shown from the perspective of a shop customer behind a boy who desired to buy some shoes for his mother who was dying of a serious illness. He wanted to give them to her as a gift in the very little amount of time that she had.
This video is so effective because it shows the story through the use of video footage and the lyrics guide the audience as to what’s going on. The story is also very easy to follow and the tune is so emotional I literally can’t watch it without getting goosebumps.
It uses various different shots and camera angles throughout the film which are used to help the audience empathise with the characters and help us to feel like we’re there. It uses certain shots to help enhance our emotions. For example: when the boy is telling the shop owner to hurry because his mother doesn’t have long left, we can see the emotion and panic on his face. This along with the music really helps us to feel strong sympathy for the boy and really want him to be able to get the shoes. You can see a shot of the scene below. You can just see the emotion and passion in the boys face.
Let It Go/Let Her Go (Frozen/Passenger MASHUP) – Sam Tsui
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBELyv9cgk
This music video is made by the fairly famous YouTuber, Sam Tsui. It’s a cover of Let it Go from Frozen mashed up with Let her Go by Passenger. The way the artist combines both songs makes it unique and stand out from others.
There are a few methods used to promote the artist. One example there is a link on the video all the way through it that links to his Channel. It has his logo available to click. At the end of the video, the artist asks everyone to subscribe to his Channel and lets them know about his upcoming video. He also gives his twitter account a mention.
He uses different shots throughout the video. He uses close up shots, mid shots and other shots that switch from himself to the piano. There are even some hints of shaky cam. This helps keeps the audience interested and makes the video more interesting to watch. The song isn’t as emotional and full of feels as the previous music video but they do still feature close up shots of the singer, which helps show his passion with what he sings.
The Film Student Diary 