Similar Media Product Research #4

Mercury Summer - Fightstar





This music video circulates around Charlie Simpson, the band's lead singer and a female character, of whom he is in a relationship with or has been in the past. This is communicated through the close ups of the two at the start of the video. The fast pace transition between Charlie and the girl's face shows that they are in some way linked to one another. The facial expression of the girl is seductive, whilst Charlie's face is focused and stern as he focuses more on singing the lyrics in the song. This gives the impression that he is disconnected from the girl and perhaps the relationship.

This growing distance between the two is shown through the lack of colour saturation in the video footage. The desaturation shows a lack of spark in the relationship and a lack of passion betweeen the two. This is something I wish to achieve in my own music video, perhaps going even further and filming the whole video in black and white.

The mise-en-scene in this video also displays a dying relationship as the band are all dressed in black or dark grey suits as if they were going to a funeral. The dark room the band are playing in also empahsises this as there is a neat contrast, at one particular point in the video, between the girl's pale white skin and the dark room and the suit Charlie is wearing. (0:43)

The editing is something to be admired. Facial expression is a key part of this music video and it is conveyed through some skillful editing. To cite one time-frame in particular where this is most effective (0:48-1:10) - the girl looks like an innocent young lady; when her facial expression changes we see the effects the relationship has had on her. She suddenly becomes dispondent and
nothing like the innocent young girl we previously saw. The use of black and white footage furthers this change in character.

So far, this is the closest example I have found in relation to what I want to achieve. I won't be able to achieve the professional editing, but I believe I can create something that has the same effect on the audience as this music video, through the use of mise-en-scene and tecnhical elements such as close up shots and editing the music video into black and white.