This music video, from alternative rock band Arcade Fire, is unique in that it is a video for two songs: 'The Lightning I' and 'The Lightning II'. Consequently, the video also has two parts as well.
The video opens with an intro consisting of a short jingle and the branding for the album the song belongs to. This helps reinforce the current image and brand of the band and promotes the album to anyone who has discovered the song through other means - especially since this was the first single from the album to be released prior to the full album release.
The first half of the video consists of the band members performing the song 'The Lightning I' on stage in a street. There are various shots of the band members performing, including wide shots of the whole band on stage as well as close-up shots of their instruments. These shots focus the most on Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, likely because they are the band's vocalists and founding members. 'The Lightning I' is much more relaxed and lower tempo than II and this is reflected in the corresponding part of the video as there are fewer cuts in favour of longer lasting shots where the camera pans between band members and moves around the stage.
The second half of the video, marked by a tempo change and a seamless transition to 'The Lightning II', is very different from the first part. While there is continuity between the two sections, the video shifts from a performance type music video to one with a narrative. The fourth wall is broken, almost literally, as a storm blows in and a powerful gust of destroys the stage set up and whips up debris causing members of the production crew to come on stage and direct the band away from danger. The camera operator also seems to become caught up in the action as the camera tilts up at the sky, revealing more debris and parts of the stage in the air. Eventually the camera tilts to the sky again and ends up on the ground, up side down - presumably so the operator can flee as well. This section of the video relates more to the lyrics of the song because the chaos begins just after the line 'when the lightning comes' signalling the beginning of the storm. There is also a clear link between the video and the lyric 'I hear the thunder on a blue sky perfect day' because up until the storm, the stage performance appears to take place on a bright, sunny day.
In the rest of the second half, Win continues to sing the lyrics while struggling to walk against the wind. The video cuts between different shots of this, many with computer generated backgrounds containing dark clouds and tornadoes, which again relates to the storm theme of the song.
The visuals also relate to the song through the pace of the video. Just as the first half featured lower tempo music alongside slower action and cuts, the second half matches the tempo of the music by being action packed and including quick cutaways to flashes of light, lightning bolts, and tornadoes despite maintaining longer duration shots of Win singing and walking. Also, some moments in the second half that would otherwise be too sow are made to match the pace of the music by speeding up parts of the footage, for example when Win is walking towards a house and his steps are sped up using this technique.
One more subtle technique that is used to differentiate between the two halves of the video is a change in the film used. In the Youtube description of the video, it is stated that the video is shot on Kodak film (rather than a digital camera) and this is not immediately obvious in the first half as the picture is clear and modern looking. However after the storm comes in and the song changes, the use of a grainy film becomes obvious due to the film grain visible in the video. This may be a small difference on the surface, but in combination with the other changes implemented for the 'Lightning II' section of the video the use of different film helps to differentiate the two parts and contributes significantly to the change in tone. In fact, the different type of film turns the viewing experience on its head, making it gritty and intense rather than the easy-viewing provided by a digital camera. Furthermore, this effect on the viewing experience, compliments the action in the video; going from a passive role of watching a rehearsed stage performance, to the camera following the front man through the storm as debris flies towards him.
No comments:
Post a Comment