Music Video research | Rock

Artist: The Fray
Song: How to safe a life

Visual style/Mise en scene
The start of the video uses an unfocused shot of the artist playing a piano close ups of the man are used when the artist starts to sing. The word listen is written which draws in the audiences attention as it presents that something important is about to be said. A close up shot of a mouth is used to represent shouting. Also close ups are used on various actors they show there emotions by crying shouting or looking defeated. As this is a rock video we see guitars, drums etc. Which is expected. Flashbacks are used in the video, we know they are flashbacks as the light becomes a lot brighter and the lines become softer. Near the ending of the video they tone changes so we see more happy facial expressions.

Narrative including techniques
The story is presented through the emotions of the actors the narrative of the video matches well with the visual aspects. The video uses the theme of loss to show the sadness of the lyrics and the pain they are going through. We see them with a crying or screaming expression on there face and text shows names of loved ones which reinforces the theme of loss. We see a butterfly used a few times in the music video they are seen as deep and powerful so using these in the video represents what the lyrics mean. When it says "Had id known how to save a life" shows the deepness of the video and how helping someone can really make a difference. The narrative at the end is a different tone to the start as it signifies what would have happened if you helped that person before it was too late.

Conventional/Unconventional
I would say this music video is quite different to other music videos because as an audience we see sadness and emotion the "typical" music videos are normally upbeat and uplifting but this one presents a message in a strong emotional well. However, the generic features used in the video like performance to the camera are seen in most videos.

What works/What doesn't?
The concept of the video works well as it presents emotion throughout. The use of the actors make the video very realistic and we are made to believe these people are actually hurt which reinforces the messages of the video.