Young Guns: Bones

Music video analysis

The music video starts off with different close-up shots of the singer. The close –up shot of his face is used to illustrate that he is the lead singer and main performer in the video. Which also meets the demands of the record label. The video starts of with performance which is a generic convention for alternative/rock music genre.

Mise-en-scene:

Low key lighting is used to set the mood of the music video with just instrumental music playing

Editing:

Short takes are used which cut to the beat of the music, which is another stereotypical feature of the genre of this music video.

The music properly kicks in at 0:14 seconds where a long shot it used to show all of the band members. So far the video is basic with only using a desaturated effect to create black and white colours.

The mise-en-scene is kept consistent with the use of lighting, again the short cuts are used to cut to the beat amplifying the music. All of the band members are wearing simplistic dark clothing, conforming to generic conventions.

Close-ups and extreme close-ups of instruments are used whilst showing the performance to amplify the music and connote a rock genre, this is a generic convention for this type of music genre.

At 0:28 seconds the first verse begins as he sings “Down under the night sky I lay and wait” . A close-up is used when the lead singer starts to sing which connotes his importance and status in the band.

So far the music video is performance based, until 0:33 seconds when a close-up shot of a girl is shown, signifying the begging of the narrative. The use of a close-up also signifies that she will be the performer in the narrative.

Lyrics: “ been crushed by it’s weight” , synaethesia (part of Andrew Goodwin’s theory) is used by the actress/performer in the narrative to illustrate and amplify the music.

Mise-en-scene: She is wearing simplistic hairstyle, make-up and clothing t-shirt/vest, leather jacket and jeans showing no voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

During the chorus again a close-up shot is used along with the jumpy camera movements when the music speeds up to illustrate the beat.

Lyrics: chorus “I feel it in my bones” the girl is shown throwing what looks like an old windowpane which amplifies and illustrates the lyrics.

During the instrumental parts of the song when the girl is shown dancing, very short cuts are used as well as some fast panning movements from left to right to amplify the beat of the music .

The mise-en-scene is kept consistent throughout the video with the simplistic clothing, desaturated/black and white effect and lighting.

During the last chorus “I feel it in my bones” a shot of the girl jumping in slow motion is used to illustrate the lyrics and to possibly connote freedom. The use of a rooftop is a generic convention of the alternative/rock genre as most videos are set in an urban environment or stage/studio during the performance in the music video. At the end of the music video the lead singer is shown to be in a similar position as the actress further illustrating the lyrics (“I feel it in my bones”).