Bloc Party - Helicopter
I chose to analyse Helicopter by Bloc Party as it fits the genre I am looking at and is a good example of editing techniques and mise en scene that could prove to be useful in the formation of ideas when creating our music video. Bloc Party are quite a diverse band with simple yet - at the same time - obscure videos, which is frequent within the rock genre.
The video begins by zooming in on what appears to be a small building. The entire video is in black and white, giving it a more quirky feel and allowing the audience to focus on everything in the video rather than getting distracted by bright colours. The lack of colour also gives the video quite a minimalistic feel and allows the audience to focus more on the music and the editing. The music at the start of the video is quite quick and consists only of guitars until a fairly fast paced drum beat also kicks in. There is some use of 'Thought Beats' throughout the video, matching the drums, bass and sometimes guitars although this is not always consistent - though the lack of consistency adds to the fragmented feel of the overall music video.
The editing itself is very quick and there are a lot of shot changes. This, compared with the choppy editing effects and the grainy overlay in some scenes give the video a very distorted and confusing feel, matching the odd lyrics of the song. The effects used also give the video a very gritty effect and the fast paced editing confuses the audience and makes them question the video and the song. Some of the effects make it seem as if the audience are watching the band through a television with bad reception and some of the white edits make the band appear ghostlike, which gives the video quite a unique but disturbing effect.
The video consists almost completely of shots of the setting and the band members. Their clothes are casual and fit their overall style; they are mostly wearing dark colours with occasional logos (Batman) or personal changes (the sleeves are torn off of the drummer's shirt). This shows a sense of normality in the strange world that we are shown but also incorporates the band's personal style. All of the band members have medium length to long hair which is a common style within the rock genre. The video takes place entirely in one building - much like the Maximo Park video from my Shot Count - although this time the camera follows the band throughout the location, rather than just staying within one room of the building. The editing and camera movements help to add a creepy atmosphere to the setting and enhance the strangeness and obscurity of the setting.
Instruments also play a big part in the video as they are present in almost every shot within the video. One of the first shots in the video (0:03) shows a close up of a guitar and from there the video focuses on the rest of the instruments and the band members playing them. The use of instruments within the video adds to it's overall imagery and ties in with it's genre, as rock, indie and alternative videos often include images of instruments (particularly guitars).
The video doesn't seem to contain a narrative as there is no story to be found throughout the video. It is mainly compiled of dark imagery and shots of the band performing. Occasionally it will show all of the band together or a few band members together but the majority of the video focuses on each individual member, particularly the lead singer.
The band are continuously present throughout the majority of the video, meaning that a star image is presented to the audience. This is important as it introduces us to the band and allows us to look at the people behind the music. Bloc Party are an established band and are quite well known to the public so they will recognise the band members from previous videos and live performances. Showing the band will also help people to establish who they are - Bloc Party's songs are very diverse and versatile and none sound the same so it is important for the audience to establish who they are listening to.
The video begins by zooming in on what appears to be a small building. The entire video is in black and white, giving it a more quirky feel and allowing the audience to focus on everything in the video rather than getting distracted by bright colours. The lack of colour also gives the video quite a minimalistic feel and allows the audience to focus more on the music and the editing. The music at the start of the video is quite quick and consists only of guitars until a fairly fast paced drum beat also kicks in. There is some use of 'Thought Beats' throughout the video, matching the drums, bass and sometimes guitars although this is not always consistent - though the lack of consistency adds to the fragmented feel of the overall music video.
The editing itself is very quick and there are a lot of shot changes. This, compared with the choppy editing effects and the grainy overlay in some scenes give the video a very distorted and confusing feel, matching the odd lyrics of the song. The effects used also give the video a very gritty effect and the fast paced editing confuses the audience and makes them question the video and the song. Some of the effects make it seem as if the audience are watching the band through a television with bad reception and some of the white edits make the band appear ghostlike, which gives the video quite a unique but disturbing effect.
The video consists almost completely of shots of the setting and the band members. Their clothes are casual and fit their overall style; they are mostly wearing dark colours with occasional logos (Batman) or personal changes (the sleeves are torn off of the drummer's shirt). This shows a sense of normality in the strange world that we are shown but also incorporates the band's personal style. All of the band members have medium length to long hair which is a common style within the rock genre. The video takes place entirely in one building - much like the Maximo Park video from my Shot Count - although this time the camera follows the band throughout the location, rather than just staying within one room of the building. The editing and camera movements help to add a creepy atmosphere to the setting and enhance the strangeness and obscurity of the setting.
Instruments also play a big part in the video as they are present in almost every shot within the video. One of the first shots in the video (0:03) shows a close up of a guitar and from there the video focuses on the rest of the instruments and the band members playing them. The use of instruments within the video adds to it's overall imagery and ties in with it's genre, as rock, indie and alternative videos often include images of instruments (particularly guitars).
The video doesn't seem to contain a narrative as there is no story to be found throughout the video. It is mainly compiled of dark imagery and shots of the band performing. Occasionally it will show all of the band together or a few band members together but the majority of the video focuses on each individual member, particularly the lead singer.
The band are continuously present throughout the majority of the video, meaning that a star image is presented to the audience. This is important as it introduces us to the band and allows us to look at the people behind the music. Bloc Party are an established band and are quite well known to the public so they will recognise the band members from previous videos and live performances. Showing the band will also help people to establish who they are - Bloc Party's songs are very diverse and versatile and none sound the same so it is important for the audience to establish who they are listening to.
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