Music Video Analysis‘My Immortal’ by Evanescence

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen‘Fix You’ by Coldplay

By Tom Crane

Andrew Goodwin’s 7 Features of Music Videos

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

‘My Immortal’ by Evanescence • ‘My Immortal’ is a song by an American band by the

name of Evanescence. The song came from their debut studio album called Fallen which was released March 4th 2003. The song was written by guitarist Ben Moody, lead singer Amy Lee and keyboardist David Hodges, and it was produced by Moody and Dave Fortman. In the recording procedure their were many versions of ‘My Immortal’ recorded as one of them was actually used for a demo album by the name of ‘Origin’ in 2000. Furthermore another recording was also released on the EP ‘Mystary’. The version of ‘My Immortal’ originally from the album ‘Original’ was later included on the album ‘Fallen’ featuring piano with backing strings. This version of the song is now known as ‘My Immortal- Band Version’ purely because of the complete bands performance of the bridge and the final chorus of the song. The song itself is very unusual in the rock genre as it is a alternative song within the genre, the song starts off with a very slow pace and it is also very gentle. Throughout the song the tempo begins to build gradually and as the audience we can start to hear the gradual increase because towards the end the song includes a lot of guitar playing and also drumming towards the end. Lyrically, it talks about "a spirit staying with you after its death and haunting you until you actually wish that the spirit were gone because it won't leave you alone."

‘’Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).’’

Throughout this music vide the colour scheme is black and white which is very popular in rock music videos, and ‘My Immortal’ follows this convention throughout the music video. The main artist Amy Lee also fits the genre characteristics of rock as she is wearing a dull white dress with bandages around her wrist and this is quite typical of the rock genre for the artist to wear dull clothing. The dull colour used throughout the music video reinforces the representations of depression, hurt and death. The style of Amy Lee also represents the rock genre, her hair is very messy and a deep black colour which is typical of the rock genre. The makeup that Amy Lee wears is also very dark and gloomy and this emphasises the deep depression that she is undergoing during this song. The setting which this video was filmed in is very gloomy and derelict which is typical of the rock genre Overall this Music Video demonstrates genre characteristics as we can see this through the singer Amy Lee, the setting of the video and also the lyrics and instruments used.

Andrew Goodwin’s theory clearly states that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, this means that each genre has specific characteristics that represents that genre. Evanescence ‘s ‘My Immortal’ is rock alternative genre and there are a number of significant factors that defines the genre of music during the song and video. The song shows many characteristics of the rock genre but on the other hand there are times during the song where it is alternative rock. The reason that the audience can see the change in genre is because the song starts off at a very slow place and very gentle which is not typical of the rock genre. The song gradually starts to build in tempo which allows the change in genre to purely rock music, the audience could see the typical conventions of the genre being used as guitars and drums were being used towards the end of the song. It is a key convention of the rock genre for the music to be loud through the use of instruments like guitar and drums. Due to the slow pace of the song at the start it creates a very depressing and sad mood for the audience, the lyrics also reinforce this mood as they are very depressing. The lyrics are about "a spirit staying with you after its death and haunting you until you actually wish that the spirit were gone because it won't leave you alone.“ This just shows that the song is really portraying the lyrics perfectly as the mood is like death. It is important that the song keeps the audience engaged at all the times and they do this by their showing their emotions which helps the audience relate to the song as they may have gone through similar problems during their life. Most rock songs have a story to tell and they are commonly very depressing songs which fits the genre characteristics of rock, this song does the very same thing as it represents feeling of death, hurt and depression throughout which are rock genre characteristics.

The image to the right shows Amy Lees hand with a bandage, this reinforces the representations of depression, pain and death. These representations are typical rock conventions.

This image on the left shows the depth of her makeup and hair, it is all very dark which represents depression. Amy's hair is very dark which may represent her life as very dark and gloomy.

This image to the left shows some of the instruments used during the video. As you can see the guitars and drums are being used which are typical instruments used in the rock genre.

‘’There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).’’

Evanescence's ‘ My Immortal’ is a narrative based, presenting the storyline described in lyrics. There is a huge relationship between the lyrics and visuals during the music video of ‘My Immortal’. The lyrics describe "a spirit staying with you after its death and haunting you until you actually wish that the spirit were gone because it won't leave you alone.“ The audience can quite clearly see from the visuals that the lyrics have a close relationship with the visuals, the song represents deep depression and we get this representation through the lyrics. Furthermore as an audience we can also see that the music vide represents deep depression through the visuals as Amy Lee is dressed in dull clothing and her makeup is very deep and dark. The lyrics are reflected within the images used during the music video , as the clip tells the story of how Amy Lee is being haunted by a ghost. The song is very open and the audience can make many interpretations of the song, the lyrics can be seen in many ways and each individual member of the audience will think differently. Due to the music video being like this it allows for the audience to gradually create their own understanding of the lyrics throughout the music video. The lyrics used in the music video determined the mood and atmosphere for the audience as the lyrics are very deep and depressing. The visuals reinforce the lyrics by creating the depressing mood and atmosphere through the stetting and the main singer Amy Lee. The audience will most definitely understand the music video due to a wide knowledge of emotions and knowing how someone feels by the way they act and portray their emotions. The lyrics most definitely have a strong relationship with the visuals in ‘My Immortal’ due to the high amplification of the music video. The audience can clearly see this through the variety of images used and also Amy Lee and Ben Moody that keep the audience engaged at all times.

In this clip shown to the left, Amy Lee sings the first line of the song which is ‘’I’m so tired of being here’’, straight away links with the visual that we can see because Amy Lee looks very depressed and down and she expresses them emotions with the lyrics.

In this clip shown to the left, Amy Lee sings ‘’And it won't leave me alone’’ this shows that she is afraid and upset of what she is experiencing. The lyrics have a strong relationship with the visuals in this clip as she is laid down and she looks to have given up because it wont leave her alone.

In this clip shows to the left, Amy Lee sings ‘’these wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real’’ this reinforces the idea that she is depressed and hurt inside. As the audience we can also see that the image of Amy Lee also has a strong relationship with the lyrics because Amy Lee is laid out across a car as if she has given up.

Lyrics of ‘My Immortal’ by EvanescenceI'm so tired of being hereSuppressed by all my childish fearsAnd if you have to leaveI wish that you would just leave'Cause your presence still lingers hereAnd it won't leave me aloneThese wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too realThere's just too much that time cannot eraseWhen you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tearsWhen you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fearsAnd I held your hand through all of these yearsBut you still have all of meYou used to captivate me by your resonating lightNow, I'm bound by the life you left behindYour face it haunts my once pleasant dreamsYour voice it chased away all the sanity in meThese wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too realThere's just too much that time cannot eraseWhen you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tearsWhen you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fearsAnd I held your hand through all of these yearsBut you still have all of meI've tried so hard to tell myself that you're goneBut though you're still with me, I've been alone all alongWhen you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tearsWhen you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fearsAnd I held your hand through all of these yearsYou still have all of me, me, me

There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

During the song of ‘My Immortal’ it is quite evident that there is a strong relationship between the music and the visuals shown through the order and timing of cuts according the beat of the track. The song starts off really slow and we can see that the music video is edited in a very gentle way to portray a depressing atmosphere. The cuts are very smooth throughout the music video and there is no real significant cuts that are unnatural. Throughout the video we can quite clearly see that the tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. The majority of the song is very slow and depressing but at the end of the video the tone of the music picks up due to the introduction of the electric guitars and drums that are used, this meant that the editing changed and it was quite evident that fast paced editing had been used as we could see a lot more movement with the camera. When the music tone increases it helps to create a better atmosphere of the music video and the audience become more engaged with the song. Towards the end of the song the music video cuts to a performance of the band, when this cuts occurs it reinforces the strong relationship between the music and the visuals.

0:04 0:07 0:10 0:14 0:18 0:22 0:23 0:25 0:28 0:30

The times above show where the cuts occur in the first 30 seconds of the music video, it starts off with very similar timing in between each cut but then fast paced editing is used and the times in between each cut gets smaller. During the music video there is a range of close ups of Amy Lee singing the song, this is showing the relationship between the music and the visuals. This establishes Amy Lee as the artist but also establishes both her roles as the female lead and the ghost that is haunting her as we can tell this by her performance. This helps to portray Amy Lee in a much better way as she can sing and be an actress which shows that she’s very talented and the audience can quite clearly see that Amy Lee has a wide range of abilities.

The shots above are close ups of Amy Lee, the shots help the audience to relate between the music an the visuals. The close ups quite clearly help the audience to feel Amy Lee’s emotion and how she Is feeling through the expressions she is making on her face. The audience believe that Amy’s voice is so gentle and calming which help to show the strong relationship between the music and the visuals.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

In the music video ‘’My Immortal’’ by Evanescence there are many close-ups that are used of the artist performing the song throughout the music video, by using the close ups of Amy Lee it helps the audience relate to her emotions and the way she is feeling. It is really important that a range of close ups are used throughout the music video because it reflects the words of the song with the movement of the lips of Amy Lee as well as the emotion that she expresses. Due to the music video being a narrative, the close-ups help the audience to have a stronger relationship with the main artist and they personally reflect on their live comparing it to Amy Lee. When we see the close-ups of Amy Lee she emphasises the lyrics by using her emotions and using strong eye contact with the camera, this will allow the audience to have a stronger relationship with the lyrics and Amy as they will gather a greater understanding of the song. There are many reasons why the record label insists that the music video includes close-ups of the main artist in the song, firstly it promotes Amy Lee as an artist and the band of Evanescence. Another reason the record label demand close-ups because it brings the audience closer with the artist and this means there is a strong relationship between the artist and the audience. When Amy Lee sings it is quite obvious that she is a very gentle singer by the movement of her lips has there is very vivid movement from her lips, the majority of the time when we see a close-up or and extreme close-up she is always sat on something or standing on something which may show the audience that she is scared of what's haunting her and she feels more safe off the ground. In ‘’My Immortal’’ Amy Lee doesn't directly look into the lens either, possibly intending a natural look, which could be categorised as a visual style as well.

Here is a close up of Amy Lee and the audience can quite clearly see that she is looking away from the lens and this could be interpretive her as looking for the future and a way of getting out her depressing mood. The demands of the record label have been met by using lots of close ups of the artist.

Throughout the entire music video we do not see a close-up or extreme close-up of Ben Moody. The only shots that we see of Ben is mid shots and long shots. Evanescence develop many motifs across their work and it is quite apparent as we see Amy Lee continuously wearing deep and dark make up. Evanescence meet the demands of the record label due to the continuous close up shots across their music videos of Amy Lee.

The image on the left is Ben Moody and we can see a mid shot of him. On the right we can see a close up of Amy Lee expressing her emotions.

There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

Throughout the music video there is a continuous use of close ups and this creates the notion of looking in ‘My Immortal’, the audience are engaged within the music video due to the camera focusing on Amy Lee’s in depth make up and the eye contact that she is making within the music video. Throughout the video Amy Lee is mainly looking away from the camera which may be interpreted as Amy Lee looking away from the ghost that is haunting her, on the odd occasion the audience get to see Amy looking directly at the camera. Due to the notion of looking it allows the audience to feel engaged with the music video and also to feel the emotions of the main artist. The particular voyeuristic treatment of the female body in the music video ‘My Immortal’ is Amy Lee’s eyes as the audience to get to see her eyes many times during the music video through the use of close-ups. By using the close-ups to show the audience Amy’s eyes it refers to the notion of looking the music video. The notion of looking is very important to any music video as it allows the audience to feel engaged and connected to the song in their own way.

The two screen shots that I have grabbed shows the costume that Amy Lee is wearing and also the deep use of make up around Amy's eyes. There are many close ups throughout the music video that shows the Amy’s eye contact and the dark makeup that has been used.

The Mise en scene during the music video is very dark and depressing, the costume of Amy Lee is a white dress and it is very worn and ripped. This may show representations that Amy Lee is distraught and broken and she will always be hurt for life due to what has happened to he in previous life. Furthermore Amy Lee is also wearing bandages around her wrists which may give off representations that she is hurt and damaged mentally as well physically. Although the main artist has a costume which makes her look very hurt and depressed it also looks very elegant and we can see that she moves in a very gentle way so the dress may represent her insecurity.

The camerawork during the music video is voyeuristic on a high level, with the focal points of the close ups being Amy Lee’s lips and eyes, rather than her breasts, legs and bottom. This could be due to the tragic and emotional nature of the track and the music video needs to mirror that in its approach, and so despite Amy’s near-bare appearance, the filming technique and style creates an impression of elegance and attractive but not promiscuous. The music video is very clever because the use of the costume and camerawork helps to keep the audience engaged at all times and it helps to make the video more popular. The way that the music video helps to make it more popular is by the emotional attachment that the audience have with the artist due to her emotions and the costume that she is wearing. The artist is attractive and appealing which makes it easier for the audience to watch as they find it easier to listen like and follow the music video. The comments below show how much they appreciate the main artist Amy Lee:

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

The definition of a motif is a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work. The band Evanescence has many motifs throughout their work and you can see many strong recurrences through each song and music video that they produce. Furthermore iconography is a representation or a group of representations of a person, place, or thing, as a portrait or a collection of portraits. This is also evident in Evanescence's work as there are many representations of Amy Lee throughout their work. Iconography in Evanescence videos is clear that they focus on the main artist and make sure that their music can be fully understood by the audience at all times during the video. The main artist Amy Lee is always the main focus of every video that Evanescence make and this is important as Amy Lee is represented as a woman that’s depressed and hurt. Evanescence mainly keep to the rock genre characteristics and this is important as they have kept to the style and this is what they are known for. Evanescence stick to the same genre characteristics with performance and narration as their work is very similar. We can see that Evanescence use the same genre characteristics because of the heavy use of guitars and the drums and finally Amy Lees voice is very powerful and she shares many emotions with her audience in all of their work. One thing that the band has kept consistent throughout their videos is the Mise en scene as they are wearing very similar clothing and they look like they are part of the rock genre due to the consistency of costumes that they use. The band commonly wear black costumes throughout their music videos and this fits the conventions of the genre rock as it is quite common that they wear black. One of the motifs that Evanescence do is that they start off their songs at a very slow tempo and then the song gradually heightens in tone by the use of instruments and we can quite clearly see this in the music video ‘My Immortal’ and ‘Bring Me To Life’. Overall it is evident that Evanescence the band uses motifs and iconography in their work.

This is the band in ‘My Immortal’ as we can quite clearly see they are all wearing black which shows they are meeting a convention of the genre rock as many other rock bands/artists wear black in the majority of their videos.

This is the band in the music video of ‘Bring Me To Life’ and once again we can see that they are wearing black which meets the conventions of the rock genre.

There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

The song ‘My Immortal’ by the band Evanescence is a very deep song as it is about someone who is being haunted and they cannot escape the pain that is being caused by the ghost. The reason we understand the story of the song is through Amy Lee as she tells the story through the lyrics and the emotion that she portrays during the music video. We can quite clearly see in the music video that Amy Lee is being haunted by her past as she seems very depressed and hurt, we can see this through her emotions, body language and also her costume as she is wearing bandages. The song has many intertextual references as many experience these problems in life and they will also feel like they are in a similar position the artist Amy Lee. Furthermore there is also intertextual references to TV programmes and films because there are many programmes that are designed to show stories similar to Amy Lee in ‘My Immortal’. The song ‘My Immortal’ was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges and it was very close to their hearts as they all have emotional links to the song. Overall there are many intertextual links to ‘My Immortal’ as any people are in the situation like Amy Lee and there are also many TV programmes and films that are about being haunted.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. The song was written by one of the band members Freddie Mercury and the song was part of the 1975 album ‘A Night at the Opera’. The song is a more accessible take on the 1970s progressive rock genre. Apparently when the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was released it was the most expensive sing ever made although the exact cost was never discovered. The song was released on the 31st October 1975. When the song was released it became a sensational hit within days as the song was at the top of the UK singles chart for nine weeks and it sold more than a million copies by the end of January 1976. In 1991 the same song was released and it reached number one again for 5 weeks which is quite a phenomenal achievement. The song was such a big hit as it was number one in many other countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and The Netherlands. Bohemian Rhapsody remains one of Queen's most popular songs and is frequently placed on modern lists of the greatest songs of all time. Throughout the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ there is a roller coaster of emotions that the audience see through the lyrics of the song. First of all the lyrics portray a cold and depressing feeling as if life isn't real. Furthermore the lyrics then portray the guilt and dismay of killing which could be suicide that the character feel he has caused rather than a murder. Finally the song then finishes with his own suicide thoughts. Overall these meanings fit the genre of rock as many songs within the genre have a similar meaning as many are about depression and death. An interpretation of the ending is that he just sort of gives up. He does not go ahead with the suicide, but moves back to the depression stage at the beginning of the song. Nothing mattered now his love had gone. Overall this song is highly popular and many people do not see it as a depressing song due to the upbeat tone of the song.

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ the song by Queen demonstrates many genre characteristics and within rock there are many characteristics that represents the genre of rock. Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a rock genre and there are a number of significant factors that defines the genre of music during the music video. As the video starts we can straight away see that the music video demonstrates genre characteristics as all the band members are wearing black clothing which is very common with in the rock genre. The song starts off at a very slow pace and the tempo of the song is slow at the start of the music video which is not your typical rock song as you expect to hear fast paced singing along with heavy use of instruments. Although we do not see this in the opening moments of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ we eventually get to see the heavy use of guitar and rums later on in the video which demonstrates genre characteristics of rock as the majority of rock songs will have heavy use of instruments at some point during their music. Once the instruments are introduced in the music video it then means that the song is purely of the rock genre. The audience could see the typical conventions of the genre being used as guitars and drums were being used during the music video. Furthermore due to the slow pace of the song at the start, it creates a very depressing mood for the audience and this is reinforced by the lyrics as they represent a very cold and depressing life. The lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways but the first line of the song was ‘Is this the real life?’ this just shows to the audience straight away that the mood is very depressing as he doesn’t know whether he is dreaming or it is his real life situation. It is important that the song starts off like this because it allows for the audience to engage within the story from the start of the song, this also fits the genre characteristics of rock as most songs within the genre are telling a story.

The image to the left shows the heavy use of guitars which fits the genre characteristics of rock as many rock music videos make strong use of instruments.

The image on the left shows Queen, as we can see they are all in black which meets the genre characteristics of rock.

Throughout this music video the colour scheme is mainly black with a hint of colour in places, this is very common in rock music videos, and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ follows this convention throughout the music video. The band members of Queen by the name Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon are all wearing black in the majority of the music video and this demonstrates genre characteristics of the genre rock. The black clothing represents depression and death which is typical within the rock genre. The dull colour used throughout the music video reinforces the representations of depression, hurt and death. The style of the Band Queen also represents the rock genre as there hair is very messy and dark which is typical of artists within the rock genre. The setting in the music video is very gloomy and at times there isn’t a background as we can see in the image above. Overall this music video demonstrates genre characteristics and we can see this through the band of Queen, and also the setting of the video and lyrics along with the heavy use of instruments.

This is a gloomy setting in the music video which is typical of the genre characteristics in rock.

Lyrics of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen

Gallileo, Gallileo,Gallileo, Gallileo,Gallileo Figaro - magnificoBut I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves meHe's just a poor boy from a poor familySpare him his life from this monstrosityEasy come easy go will you let me goBismillah! No we will not let you go - let him goBismillah! We will not let you go - let him goBismillah! We will not let you go let me goWill not let you go let me go (never)Never let you go let me goNever let me go oooNo, no, no, no, no, no, noOh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me goBeelzebub has a devil put aside for meFor meFor meSo you think you can stop me and spit in my eyeSo you think you can love me and leave me to dieOh baby can't do this to me babyJust gotta get out just gotta get right outta hereOoh yeah, ooh yeahNothing really mattersAnyone can seeNothing really matters nothing really matters to meAnyway the wind blows

Is this the real life?Is this just fantasy?Caught in a landslideNo escape from realityOpen your eyesLook up to the skies and seeI'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathyBecause I'm easy come, easy goA little high, little lowAnyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to meMama, just killed a manPut a gun against his headPulled my trigger, now he's deadMama, life had just begunBut now I've gone and thrown it all awayMama, oooDidn't mean to make you cryIf I'm not back again this time tomorrowCarry on, carry on, as if nothing really mattersToo late, my time has comeSends shivers down my spineBody's aching all the timeGoodbye everybody I've got to goGotta leave you all behind and face the truthMama, ooo (anyway the wind blows)I don't want to dieI sometimes wish I'd never been born at allI see a little silhouetto of a manScaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandangoThunderbolt and lightning very very frightening me

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has a really strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals and it is evident through many different techniques during the music video. The lyrics portray a cold and depressing feeling as if life isn't real. The audience can quite clearly see from the visuals that the lyrics have a strong relationship with the visuals, the song represents depression and death and we get this representation through the lyrics. Furthermore as an audience we can see the music video represents deep depression through the use of the lyrics and also the dark clothing that Queen wear in the music video of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The first line of the song is ‘Is this the real life?’ this represents that he doesn’t know whether he is living or if he is just in deep depression and doesn’t actually know what is going on in the world. The visuals also show this as the band start off in a very dark and gloomy setting which may represent the deep depression that he is experiencing. At times the music video feels very disorientated and this may represent the depression that Freddie Mercury is experiencing. The song is very open and the audience can make many interpretations of the song, the lyrics can be seen in many ways and each individual member of the audience will think differently. Although the music starts off very slow the song still has an upbeat tone and many people who listen to the song will not realise how depressing the lyrics are, although he audience do not really see the music video in this way the visuals help to create the depressing atmosphere as the setting starts off very dark and gloomy. The audience don’t really get to see the emotions being portrayed through the band because we do not see there faces that much during the video but this may represent that they are trapped and depressed as we don’t get to see how they are feeling. Overall the lyrics most definitely have a strong relationship with the visuals in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ due to the high amplification of the music video.

The image to the left shows the very dreary and dark setting which has a strong relationship with the lyrics as they sing ‘Is this the real life?’ the audience may think the setting represents the life they are living which is dark and depressing.

The picture to the left shows them singing ‘Because I'm easy come, easy go’ this may show that they are worthless and it links to the visual as they are in a dreary place that has no meaning.

The picture to left shows a very odd image where they have been mirrored ad this technique helps the audience to understand the lyrics as it’s as if they are dreaming.

There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

During the song of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ it is quite evident that there is a strong relationship between the music and the visuals which is shown through the order and timing of cuts according to the beat of the track. The song starts off very slow which is common for rock songs and we as an audience can see that the music video has been edited in a very gentle way by the use of fades and cuts. The use of these editing techniques helps to portray the gloomy and dreary setting and also the depressing atmosphere even though the song is very upbeat. In the opening 20 seconds the fades are very smooth and there are no real significant cuts that makes the music video look unnatural. Furthermore there is one part in the video which is very unusual as a picture is mirrored and it makes the audience feel disorientated. Throughout the video we can quite clearly see that the tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. The start of the song and music video starts off very slow and depressing but it then starts to pick up in the middle of the music video as the tone heightens and the introduction of guitars and drums allows for fast paced editing and a higher tone of music. When the music tone increases it helps to create a better atmosphere of the music video and the audience become more engaged with the song. Towards the end of the song it starts to slow down again and we then begin to see that the life of the artist never changes and he is always depressed and this is reinforced by using the same image at the stat and end of the video.

0.19 First Fade 0.30 Second Fade 0.37 Third FadeThe times above show where the fades occur in the opening first 40 seconds of the song, as we can see it starts off very slow with slow paced editing due to there being such a huge gap in between each fade. During the music video there are many occurrences where we as the audience get to see close ups of the bands faces, this is showing us the relationship between the music and the visuals.

The three images above all show close ups of Freddie Mercury and it is important that rock music videos use close ups because it allows the audience to understand the music through the visuals. Freddie Mercury was clearly very passionate when singing this song and we can see that by the emotions. The audience will feel by seeing close ups it will allow them to develop a greater understanding of the song due to the expressions and emotion that he is portraying during the music video.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

One of Andrew Goodwin's theory is that the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work and this is evident in the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen. In the music video ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ it is quite evident that there are many close-ups that are used of the artist performing the song throughout the music video, by using the close-ups of Freddie Mercury it helps the audience relate to his emotions ad the way he is feeling while expressing the lyrics. It is most definitely important that a range of close-ups are used throughout the music video because it helps the audience to develop a greater understanding of the lyrics through the lips of Freddie Mercury as well as the expression in his face and the emotion that he portrays. When we see the close-ups of Freddie Mercury he sings the song with so much passion and this allows for the audience to feel his emotion and we as the audience also develop a greater understanding of the lyrics as we can see the lip movement of Freddie Mercury. There are many reasons why the record label insists that the music video includes close-ups of the main artist in the song, firstly it promotes Queen as a band within the rock genre and also the members within the band like Freddie Mercury. Furthermore another reason the record label demands close-ups is that it brings the artist closer to the audience and this means that a relationship is developed between the artist and the audience . A relationship is important because it allows for the audience to feel more engaged within the song.

These three images are close-up shots of Freddie Mercury, by using these close ups ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ meets the demands of the record label. The close-ups allow for the audience to feel the artists emotions and it also helps to develop a better understanding of the lyrics. Furthermore Freddie Mercury hardly even looks into the camera as you can see from the images above this may represent him being depressed as he doesn’t want to look at what is facing him and he clearly doesn’t want to be here in life as he may be thinking about suicide.

There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

Throughout the music video ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ there is a regular occurrence of close ups and this creates the notion of looking in the music video, the audience will always be engaged within the music video due to the close ups that are used as the camera focuses on Freddie Mercury’s deep brown eye brows and his hair is also very dark and this allows for the audience to be engaged even though he does not make much eye contact with the camera. Throughout the video it is quite evident that Freddie Mercury is mainly looking away from the camera and may will have their own interpretation of this as he may be looking away because he cant face life as he is majorly depressed. On the odd occasion Freddie looks directly at the camera but then moves away this may show that he is scared of life and wants to stay out of it. Due to the notion of looking it allows the audience to feel engaged with the music video and also to feel the emotions of the main artist. The use of close ups in this music video allows us to see Freddie Mercury and the use of make up and the darkness of his hair refers to the notion of looking in the music video. The notion of looking is very important to any music video as it allows the audience to feel engaged and connected to the song in their own way. Overall there has been an effective use of the notion of looking during the music video of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

The Mise en scene during the music video is very dark and depressing although at times there are a few flashing lights which creates a better mood during the music video. The costumes that the band is wearing is very dark clothing which may represent the deep dark depression that the artists are suffering from, black has connotations of death and this may be a representation of the clothing they are wearing. Furthermore their hair is very long and dark which is very typical in the rock genre as many people seem to have this characteristic. It is very typical of a rock band to wear black and Queen follow this convention. There is barely any movement in the opening 30 seconds and in fact they are just stood there this may show that they down want to move in life and they have suicide thoughts. The music video is very clever because the use of the costume and camerawork helps to keep the audience engaged at all times and it helps to make the video more popular.

These two images show the dark black costumes that may have connotations of death. Furthermore we see Freddie Mercury's messy dark hair which is typical of a rock artist.

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

The definition of a motif is a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work. The band Queen has many motifs throughout their work and you can see many strong recurrences through each song and music video that they produce. Furthermore iconography is a representation or a group of representations of a person, place, or thing, as a portrait or a collection of portraits. This is also evident in Queen’s work as there are many representations of Freddie Mercury throughout their work. A motif of Queen is that they are most definitely in the majority of their videos wearing black. Furthermore another motif that occurs across Queens work is that they have a strong use of close-ups in almost every one of their music videos and they may do this to emphasise the emotions of their artists and also to make the audience feel closer to the artist and develop a relationship. Furthermore another motif that occurs across Queens work is the use of a dark setting with hardly any background. The setting will always be very simple but effective as the audience just gets to see the artists singing and also the heavy use of instruments without a distraction. Queen always feature instruments within their music video and this fits the conventions of rock as most music videos within the genre will have heavy use of instruments like drums and guitars. Furthermore another motif of Queens work is that they start off there songs really slowly and I can see this across there work as they also do this in ‘Don’t stop me now’. There work is very similar and most of the songs have a very similar sequence, they start off slow and then pick up the tempo and the introduction of instruments always heightens the song. There are many songs that are similar in Queen’s work including ‘We will rock you’, ‘Don’t stop me now’ and also ‘We are the champions’.

This is the video ‘We will rock you’ by Queen. As you can see the artist had wavy hair and also is showing a lot of emotion while singing the song. This shows that they have motifs in there work.

This is a screen grab from the music video ‘Don’t Stop me now’ by Queen, as we can see there is a heavy use of instruments in the music video which reoccurs across their work.

There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

There is often intertextual references to music videos through TV programmes, films and even other music videos. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ will have many intertextual references that will relate closely to films and TV programmes. The song is very deep as it links to depression and suicide and they cannot escape the life that they are living. The reason we get these representations is through the lyrics as they portray depression and also the emotion from Freddie Mercury. We can quite clearly see in the music video that Freddie Mercury is in deep depression and also has suicide thoughts as we can see this through his emotions, body language and also the lyrics give off these representations as well. The song has many intertextual references as many experience these problems in life and they will also feel in a similar position to Freddie Mercury. It is a very difficult situation to be in but the song allows the audience to relate to their real life problems and it will help to understand that they are not alone at any point in life. Furthermore there is also intertextual references to TV programmes because there are many programmes that relate to problems in life like the song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Overall there are many intertextual links to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as many people are in the situation like Freddie Mercury and there are also many TV programmes and films that are about depression and suicide.

‘Fix You’ by Coldplay‘Fix You’ is a song written by a British alternative rock band by the name of Coldplay. The song was written by all four members of the band, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. The song was written for their third studio album called X&Y and it was released in 2005. The track is built around an organ accompanied by slow tempo drums and vocals. The exact release date for the song was on the 5th September 2005 and the song reached number four on the UK singles chart. Furthermore the song was also a hit in other countries as it reached number 18 in the US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. The song closely relates to the leading artist of the band Chris Martin. Blythe Danner, the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow and former mother-in-law of Chris Martin, stated in an interview in May 2012 that Martin 'wrote the song for Gwyneth when her father died and I weep every time I hear it'. This just shows that the song was close to the heart of Chris Martin and he felt very passionate about the experiences Gwyneth had gone through. The song was nominate for multiple awards in categories of Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Anthem of the Summer. The music video was garnered as a tribute to the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The lyrics of the song lie very closely to the band member Chris Martin and we can see this through the lyrics and the use of emotions. First of all the lyrics portray death and how sad it is for close relatives and there is no way of getting your loved ones back. The music video for "Fix You" was directed by Sophie Muller, who had previously worked with the band for their 2002 video "In My Place". Overall the meanings of the song fits the genre of rock as many songs within the genre are also very sad and also relate to death. The song was written in remembrance of Gwyneth Paltrow's father who sadly passed away, at the time Chris Martin and Gwyneth were married but since they have divorced. . Overall this song is highly popular and many people do see this an emotional song which is important because the audience may be able to relate closely with the lyrics as they have lost loved ones.

The image on the left is Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow before they divorced, Chris clearly felt it was important for him to show his appreciation to her farther who sadly passed away and also the rest of Gwyneth's family.

This is the album X&Y that Coldplay released on September 5th 2005. The album consists of many songs but ‘Fix You’ is one of the songs that was included within the album.

The album cover is an unusual design and this may be because they are an alternative rock band so they like to do things differently.

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).

‘Fix You’ is a song by the British alternative rock band Coldplay. The song demonstrates many genre characteristics and within the rock genre there are many characteristics that are definitive within rock. During the music video there are many significant characteristics that are specific to the rock genre. At the start of the music video I can straight away see that the band member Chris Martin is wearing black clothing which fits the genre characteristics of rock as many rock artists and bands wear black clothing. Furthermore the song starts off at a very slow pace which is very similar to the other two songs ‘My Immortal’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. This shows that Coldplay demonstrates genre characteristics by starting off the song at a slow pace. As the audience we also get to see the heavy use of instruments throughout the song, this is very typical of the rock genre for a lot of instruments to be used. It meets the genre characteristics by the heavy use of guitars and drums and also a piano. ‘Fix You’ demonstrates many genre characteristics as it is a typical rock song. Once the instruments are introduced in the music video it then means that the song is purely of the rock genre. The music video is very unique as we actually get to see Coldplay live at a concert which is incredible as it really highlights the heavy use of the instruments. The lyrics portray a very sad mood as the song is sung for someone that has died and Is dearly missed. We get this representation of the song through the lyrics ‘When you lose something you can't replace’. The audience will be engaged with the song due to the narrative story of losing someone and how distraught it can be to lose someone close. This also fits the genre characteristics of rock as most songs within the genre are telling a story.

The image to the left identifies Chris Martin in black clothing which fits the genre characteristics of rock.

The image to the left shows one of the band member playing the guitar, this is a strong indication to the heavy use of instruments used during the music video and it meets the genre characteristics of rock.

Throughout the music video the colour scheme is mainly dull colours like the street lamps and dull walls in the top image. When the music video cuts to the concert then bright colours are introduced and this creates a brighter atmosphere and mood. The band members of Coldplay by the name Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and John Will Champion are all wearing black in the majority of the music video and this demonstrates genre characteristics of the genre rock. The black clothing may represent death which closely relates to the song as it is about losing a loved one through death. Overall this music video demonstrates genre characteristics and we can see this through the band of Coldplay, and also lyrics along with the heavy use of instruments.

Lyrics of ‘Fix You’ by ColdplayWhen you try your best, but you don't succeedWhen you get what you want, but not what you needWhen you feel so tired, but you can't sleepStuck in reverseAnd the tears come streaming down your faceWhen you lose something you can't replaceWhen you love someone, but it goes to wasteCould it be worse?

Lights will guide you homeAnd ignite your bonesAnd I will try to fix you

And high up above or down belowWhen you're too in love to let it goBut if you never try you'll never knowJust what you're worth

Lights will guide you homeAnd ignite your bonesAnd I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your faceWhen you lose something you cannot replaceTears stream down your face and ITears stream down your faceI promise you I will learn from my mistakesTears stream down your face and I

Lights will guide you homeAnd ignite your bonesAnd I will try to fix you

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

Throughout the music video of ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay we as the audience can see a close relationship between the visuals and the lyrics. The lyrics are sung with passion and we can see this through the emotion of the lead artist Chris Martin. The lyrics portray someone who has lost a love one and they are in despair and they do not know what to do with themselves. The audience will most definitely be able to identify the strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals because Chris Martin the main artist looks empty and distraught as he has lost a loved one. The lyrics represent death and also the emotional rollercoaster that people have to go through when losing a loved one. Furthermore as the audience we can see the representation of death through the dark black clothing that Coldplay wear during the music video. The first line of the song ‘Fix You’ is ‘when you try your best, but you don't succeed’ this portrays that they are blaming themselves for the death of their loved one and they could be suffering from depression. The visuals also shows this as Chris Martin is under a bridge at night which may represent his emptiness and loss of the loved one. We can see Chris Martin and he looks very disorientated and doesn’t really know what's gone on although he knows he has lost a loved one. The audience will make many different interpretations of the song, as the lyrics can be portrayed in many different ways. For example the line ‘when you lose something you can't replace’ this can be interpreted in many different ways as some people may have lost something else that meant a lot to them and I’m positive that all the audience will be able to relate to this line of the song. There is a point during the music video where Chris Martin sings ‘lights will guide you home’, this relates strongly to the visuals as there are many lights used in the setting of the music video. Although we get too see Chris Martin a lot during the music video he doesn't show many emotions as his face is very blank and I feel as if he doesn’t quite know that he has lost a loved one. Overall the lyrics most definitely have a strong relationship with the visuals in ‘Fix You’.

The image to the left shows a clip from the music video and Chris Martin sings ‘lights will guide you home’, as the audience we can quite clearly see the lyrics have a strong relationship with the visuals due to the strong use of lighting.

The image to the left shows Chris Martin in dark black clothing this may be a representation of death and pain. The lyrics portray the death of a loved one so this may show the strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.

The image to the left shows the dark setting which may represent hurt and pain

There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

Throughout the song ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay I can quite clearly see that there is a strong relationship between the music and the visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. The relationship is shown through the editing of the music video, this is mainly through the timing of cuts according to the beat of the track. The song starts off at a very slow pace which is typical within the rock genre and we can see this through the use of slow motion and also the cuts between each scene is very slow at the start of the music video. The use of these techniques helps to give the audience time to understand the story and also to represent the setting as it is under a bridge which is stereotypically known as a dark and gloomy place. In the opening 40 seconds of the music video there are no cuts and the only use of editing is slow motion as we see Chris Martin rise from sitting down on the ground at a very slow pace. Throughout the video we can quite clearly see that the tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. Although the song starts off very slow we as the audience can see the relationship between the music and the visuals because of the slow motion that is used. Furthermore midway through the song the music starts heighten and is much louder which is typical of the rock genre, the music still has a strong relationship with the visuals because the heavy use of instruments is used as the audience get to see the guitar, drums and piano being played. The tone heightens and the introduction of guitars, drums and piano allows for fast paced editing and a higher tone of music. When the music heightens it creates a much better mood, its as if Chris Martin is letting all of his emotion out and singing his heart out.

Around the 41 second mark we see the first cut of the music video, although up until this point we see the use of slow motion throughout. The next cut is then at the 1 minute mark this just shows that the start of the music video is at a very slow pace. Due to the slow paced editing it relates strongly with the music and the visuals at the start of the music video as Chris Martin is in slow motion and also song is very slow.

The two images above show close ups of Chris Martin and it is important that rock music videos use close ups because it allows the audience to understand the music through the visuals. Due to the song being written by Chris Martin it shows that the song and lyrics are very close to his heart, this allows for the audience to see the emotion he puts into his performance. The audience will feel by seeing close ups it will allow them to develop a greater understanding of the song due to the expressions and emotion that he is portraying during the music video. Overall there is clearly a strong relationship between the music and the visuals as we can see this throughout the music video.

The two images to the left and right are close-ups of the main singer within Coldplay by the name of Chris Martin.

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

One of Andrew Goodwin's theory is that the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may also develop motifs which reoccur across their work. As the audience we can see in the music video ‘Fix you 'by Coldplay that there are many close-ups used to portray the main artist Chris Martin and also there are many motifs which reoccur across their work. Throughout the music video ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay there are many instances where we see a close up of Chris Martin, this is a motif that reoccurs across their work as we see many close ups throughout their music videos. The reason Coldplay will always use close ups of the leading artist Chris Martin is because they want to help the audience to relate to the song though his emotions and also the way he sings the lyrics. It is most definitely important that a range of close-ups are used throughout the music video because it helps the audience to develop a greater understanding of the lyrics through the lips of Chris Martin as well as the expression in his face and the emotion that he portrays. Due to Chris Martin writing the song it clearly shows that it meant a lot to him and the audience will be able to see this through his emotions while singing the song. This is a motif that occurs across Coldplay's work as they always put so much passion into every song they produce and this evident through the use of close ups. There are many reasons why the record label insists that the music video includes close-ups of the main artist in the song, firstly it promotes Coldplay as a band within the rock genre and also the members within the band like Chris Martin. Overall the music video has met the demands of the record label due to lots of close ups and we can see this in the images below.

There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

There is frequently reference to notion of looking throughout the music video of ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay, we as the audience see this through the frequent use of close ups during the music video. The reason close ups are used in music videos is to keep the audience engaged at all time during the video, the camera focuses on Chris Martin and he focuses on the camera this creates eye contact between Chris and the audience. Throughout the music video it is quire evident that Chris Martin is mainly looking towards the camera and this may be because he wants the audience to feel eye contact so that they are more engaged during the music video. Many people will have their own interpretation of Chris Martin as some may think that he's looking at the person that he has lost. The notion of looking is very important within a music video because it allows the audience to feel engaged with the video and also feel the emotions of Chris Martin as they can see the passion that he puts into the song. The notion of looking is very important to any music video as it allows the audience to feel engaged and connected to the song in their own way. Overall there has been an effective use of the notion of looking during the music video of ‘Fix You’ and I feel it has been effective through the use of close ups.

The mise en scene during the this music video is mainly very dark and the settings are stereotypically unusual places to visit, for example there is a scene under a bridge and also a scene where the setting looks very derelict. There is a use of lighting during the video which will help to create a better atmosphere as it isn't always dark and depressing. The costumes that the band are wearing is very dark clothing which is black, this is very typical of the rock genre for a band to wear black clothing. The black clothing may represent death which would suit the story of the song as it is about losing a loved one. In the opening 30 seconds of the song it is quite evident that Chris Martin is still coming to terms with losing a loved one. The music video is very clever because the use of the costume and camerawork helps to keep the audience engaged at all times and it helps to make the video more popular.

The two images show Chris Martin, the lead artist of Coldplay. He is wearing black clothing which may show he is mourning over his lost loved one.

The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)

Through Coldplay's music video it is quite evident that they have developed motifs or iconography that recur across their work. There are many strong recurrences through each of their song and music videos that are produced. Furthermore iconography is a representation or a group of representations of a person, place, or thing, as a portrait or a collection of portraits. I can quite clearly see this across Coldplay work as they are very passionate with every song that they sing, we can see this through the use of close ups. A motif that occurs throughout their work is that the majority of the time they are wearing black and this meets the genre convention of rock as most artists/bands wear black. Something that I have also noticed which is a reoccurring theme is that there is a strong use of close ups throughput all their music videos. The reason that Coldplay will choose to do this is to show the passion and emotions of the main artist Chris Martin. Furthermore close ups allow the audience to feel closer with the artist and they may be able to relate to the song through the use of close ups. Coldplay use a variety of different settings throughout their music videos and they are mainly quite unusual. The setting in most of their videos link to the song, for example in ‘Fix You’ they are all very sad as they have lost a loved one and they go to typical places where they can clear there head. Coldplay always feature instruments within their music video and this fits the conventions of rock as most music videos within the genre will have heavy use of instruments like drums and guitars and piano in Coldplay's instance. Another motif that occurs across their work is that they always start off their music very slowly and this is important in the build up to every song as it helps set the story. An example of this is ‘The Scientist’ as this starts off very slowly and then picks up the pace throughout the music video. There work is very similar and most of the songs have a very similar sequence, they start off slow and then pick up the tempo and the introduction of instruments always heightens the song.

This is a image from one of Coldplay's songs ‘The Scientist’ it shows Chris Martin in a very unusual setting and this is typical across their work. Chris Martin is also wearing dark black trousers which is also a motif across their work.

There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

Another theory of Andrew Goodwin's is that he believes there is often intertextual reference to films, TV programmes and other music videos. ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay has many intertextual references which relates closely to films and TV programmes. The song is about losing a loved one and Chris Martin wrote the lyrics so it’s a song that is very close to his heart. The reason we get these representations is through the lyrics as they portray the death of a loved one and we see this through the passion of Chris Martin. The song has many intertextual references as many experience these problems in life and they will also feel in a similar position to Chris Martin. Unfortunately in this day and age many people lose their loved ones and they may be able to relate to this song which is important as they can think about the person that they have lost. Although it is very hard to cope after losing a loved one which is understandable, the song allows people in the same position to relate to the lyrics. Furthermore there will also be TV programmes that represent the death of a loved one which relates closely to ‘Fix You’. Overall there are many intertextual links to ‘Fix You’ as many people will be in the same position where they have lost a loved one and there are also may TV programmes and films that relate to this situation.