In this essay i am going to compare two music videos “one (your name)” by Swedish House Mafia which falls into the ‘electro house’ genre; this genre is shown throughout the video due to the use of strobe lighting and the white midi controller that is commonly used when making music videos of the house genre. In comparison to this the second song i have chosen is “seize the day” by Avenged Sevenfold directed by Wayne Isham, of the ‘hard rock, alternative metal’ genre; this genre is shown throughout the music video as you see the band frequently playing instruments such as guitars and drums, also iconography is used as the band members are all wearing dark clothing which is sometimes related to the metal genre.
“One (your name)” i believe this to be dominated as a concept video because there is no storyline behind the video and no real idea behind the video, there are many small aspects making the video such as fire breathers, bodybuilders and people wearing masks; however there is a hint of a performance video as there are dancers throughout as well as them singing along to the song. In comparison to “seize the day” which is a narrative music video; telling the story of a man robbing a shop and ending up in prison. His pregnant girlfriend visits him there, she then leaves after an argument and gets hit by a van, being killed. Finally they attend her funeral and the main singer (M Shadows) looks back over the good memories he shared with her, walking away holding his son. This video also is partly performance as the band is playing the instruments, M Shadows is singing constantly throughout, and there is a guitar solo played on top of the women’s coffin at the funeral enhancing the bands guitarist (Synyster Gates).
Throughout my first chosen song by Swedish House Mafia the lyrics are emphasised greatly. Within many sections of the video the lyrics are shown, for example the lyrics are placed on the iris of an eye, therefore amplifying the lyrics. One of the dancers in the video write the main words of the chorus “Your Name” on a piece of paper that is placed on the white midi controller; again showing the connection to the lyrics and visuals. On the other hand the Avenged Sevenfold song has many links between the lyrics and the visuals, there is contradiction of the lyrics and visuals “i don’t want to leave you” as he is walking out of the door to do the robbery. However when M Shadows sings about memories, it straight cuts to memories that he shared with his girlfriend that were recorded on the video camera, and finally his last lyrics is “no chance of one more day” when he and his son are looking at the grave stone, emphasising the loss of the women.
“One (Your Name)” also has links between the music and the visuals due to the use of the white midi controller that is being played throughout the whole song, therefore you are able to see what instrument is being used to play the music, also just before the singing starts you see someone reach across the table and pick up a red microphone therefore signifying another musical device that is going to be played and the singing begins. Another factor linking the music and the visuals is the actors involved clap to the beat of the music when necessary linking the two together. In the beginning of this video the beat is fairly slow and as it picks up the dancers get faster, making the video busier as there is alot happening throughout the video; as soon as the song finishes the main women collapses and everything stops instantly. In repeated sections of this video there is a close up of the speakers and you can see the sound that is being produced to the beat of the song due to the vibrations produced from the speakers. In comparison to “Seize the day” although it is a narrative video telling a story throughout you are able to see the band playing their instruments in sections, for example a close up of an acoustic guitar; also Synyster Gates playing a guitar solo during the women’s funeral emphasising the guitar being used. There is a very dramatic section in the middle of this video as the music stops for a few seconds and the main women gets hit by a van adding dramatic effect and the music starts again creating emphasis to the visuals and music.
During “One (Your Name)” i believe there is a scene of exhibitionism as a lady is dancing in the spotlight, which gives the idea of the audience watching her, the costume used also attracts men to watch the music video. Throughout the video there is a sense of someone watching from bird’s eye view as many of the shots are done from above, and one of the actors look up into the camera, as if they know that someone is there watching. Another notion of looking that has been used is a extreme close up of an eye where pictures are being displayed within the iris, as if that is what they can see through their eyes. Whereas during “Seize the day” a video camera is being used by M Shadows and his girlfriend recording each other and you can see the actors through the camera. When the band are robbing the shop we are able to see what is happening through the CCTV camera within the shop, and finally a television is used when the girlfriend is watching M Shadows being arrested on the news. I believe that all of these have been used to add effect to the style of music video as it is a narrative and makes it look more realistic, and you can see what is happening from many different angles.
Throughout Swedish House Mafia music video the camera movement changes rapidly however at the beginning it is mainly from a bird’s eye view of the white midi controller emphasising that as the main prop being used in the video, straight cuts are used to change scene to the extreme close up of the eye and the speakers, but repeatedly going back to the white midi controller. The footage almost seems as if it is moving to the beat of the song in places. The lyrics that have been edited in add effect, and draw the audience’s attention; also the artists that have been edited to negative colours add the concept video idea. The pace of the video gets faster towards the end and the shots get quicker finally finishing on a bird’s eye view of the girl collapsing on the table ending the song. Therefore many different shots have been used adding to the style and genre of the music video. However the Avenged Sevenfold music video is of a much slower pace and many close ups are used of the main actors and of M Shadows in prison. The camera is always moving when they are robbing the shop to show the adrenaline and them running to get away, a close up of the women is shown when he is arrested to show her emotions which is very effective to the storyline. Tracking is used when walking through the prison, showing him walking along to the prison cell, and him talking to the girlfriend. A close up is used of the women’s face while driving when you see the van coming towards the car through the window before she gets hit. A bird’s eye view has been used at the funeral to show the guests and add emphasis on the guitar solo on top of the coffin. A shot of the band walking towards the camera through the graveyard emphasises the band as a whole all dressed in black showing the audience the genre of the music. Finally we see a medium close up of M Shadows and his son looking at the grave stone showing she is gone.
Throughout the music video of “one (your name)” there are not many close ups of the artists as they are only shown for a short amount of time towards the end of the video, there is a close up of each of the artists that are fast straight cuts and they are all shown in negative colours therefore making it hard to recognise them as the artists if they are not well known. In many of their music videos women are used as exhibitionists so that they are able to get a larger male audience watch the video, therefore the record company doesn’t believe they need to use the artist to sell the song, as they are not present for a large amount of time. In comparison to “seize the day” there are many close ups of the band as they are the main actors present in the storyline being shown for the majority. This shows that the record company believes the band is a main aspect to selling the song. There are many close ups of the main singer M Shadows throughout when he is performing and of the individual band members when playing their instruments as well as the other actors such as the girlfriend. During this music video there are many star image motifs that have been used for example the bands logo of their “death bat” which is tattooed on M Shadows’ chest which is shown when he is lying on his prison bed, also the lead guitarist Synyster Gates plays his guitar solo on top of the coffin, this is a star image motif as the guitar he used he is well known by, therefore by using this again he can be recognised by the audience through this.
Swedish House Mafia music video relates back to other music videos made by them as they all start with them declaring themselves as the artist as well as the name of the song so that it is very clear to the audience who they are, as well as relating to other music videos due to the style as it is from the “house” genre. On the other hand Avenged sevenfold are mainly recognised by their audience through all of the extreme tattoos and piercings that they have making the overall look of the band easily recognizable. This video is different to many other of their other videos as it is narrative and based around a storyline.
Overall “One (your name)” is a concept video and has no real storyline behind it with many links between the music, lyrics and visuals all making this a very effective music video, also attracting the male audience through the male gaze theory of women being used as exhibitionists. In comparison to “seize the day” which is a narrative video, telling a story, this also has many links between the music, lyrics and visual making it effective but in different ways. Through the use of the dramatic pause half way through the video when the lady gets hit by the van it adds emphasis to the lyrics and the visuals making this an effective music video.