Analysis Of Music Videos- No. 2

Overview
Linkin Park are an American Rock, Metal and Rap band formed in 1996. They have 4 studio albums, and are best known for adapting and reinventing the nu and alternative rock and metal genres. Their most recent album A Thousand Suns (released in 2009) has sold over 50 million copies, and they are the sixth most popular band in the world.

This song New Divide was created and released as a single for the film Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (2009) and serves as the film’s soundtrack and theme throughout. The film’s director Michael Bay says that he used Linkin Park because another on of their songs (What I’ve Done) was used in the previous film, to great effect. This song is a great example of media convergence, because fans of the film will listen to this and might want to listen to more of Linkin Park. On the other side, fans of Linkin Park will hear this song and see the video, and then want to go see the film because of the amazing graphics and visuals.

Genre
The song’s genre is alternative/industrial rock because of the use of the heavy electric guitars, drum and bass along with electronic noise creators such as synthesizers. I also know this because it is based upon the Transformers films which are about robots and heavy machinery; so the song is keeping to the genre of the film. The music video itself is also keeping to this genre because they repeatedly use thermal imaging cameras, computer graphics and elaborate shots to create this very modern but industry-looking video. Using the Mise-en-scene we can also establish the genre of this video: the live action was shot in one of the film’s sets, with these giant robots silhouetted in darkness and towering over the humans, along with these bright blue lights shining through their skeletons onto each musician. This demonic set can relate back to the genres of stereotype rock and metal, so without sound you can still clearly see what type of genre the song and video are.

Another feature of the video which represents the rock genre is the camera shots and focus used on each band member. Whenever an instrument begins playing or has a solo,the camera pays significant attention on them until their part is finished. Every member has about equal screen time (except the lead singer who has more) and so the audience can see the best parts of the song played out as well as heard, a stereotype theme used with Rock and Metal music videos.

Music Video

This Music Video is a combined Performance/Narrative video. It is a performance instrumental video because the band is in a controlled environment, playing their instruments and singing the song. However, it is also a Narrative because between the shots of the band, there are lots of visuals of the film- not in correct order but nevertheless they still display a general narrative of the Transformers film, and give you some related images to go with the lyrics. It features the genre conventions of Rock and Nu Metal (a mixed genre of Metal, Rock and Rap) because many Rock videos tend to show a Narrative romance between a guy and a girl, which this video does with the clips from the film between the leading actor and actress. Their costumes display the Nu Metal appearance because of the casual clothes- Lead singer Chester is in a hooded top, jeans and has jewellery round his neck much like a Rapper’s appearance- relating back to their varied music styles.

Audience

The target audience for Linkin Park would be teenagers and young adults aged 14-30 because they employ a very new style of music called Alternative or Nu Metal, a combined genre of rock, metal and rap. Their first 3 albums were incredibly popular because of this music style, since a couple of the songs were Rap and the rest being Alternative Rock. Also, songs such as Numb, What I’ve Done and New Divide feature the verse-chorus-verse structure with heavy guitar, good vocals and the use of synthesizers making them exceedingly popular as well.
The target audience for this specific song and music video are children, teenagers and adults aged between 12-25. This is because the song was created for the Transformers sequel, a 12 age rated film based on a toy brand, so young children have to be taken into consideration. This is why the song doesn’t contain any bad language or swearing (unlike some of their rap songs), but keeps to themes such as heroic deeds, defeating evil and accomplishing great things.

However, it also targets older male teenagers and adults, because throughout the video there is a woman shown in the thermal-imaging camera, singing, dancing along and showing her curves to the screen. This can link to Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ Theory where this video has specifically put the viewer as a male man, showing a gender imbalance between the sexes (men are the viewers, women are the viewed).

Another feature of the video which defines the audience is the use of so much technology like the computer graphics and elaborate editing sequences. The Transformers films are all about technology and military, and the video displays lots of it’s themes by using thermal-imaging and blurred motion effects. Therefore, fans of the films are going to enjoy this video because Linkin Park associate themselves with all that, meaning the target audience for Transformers are the target audience for the band as well.

Finally, we can also identify audiences for this song and video from the Uses and Gratifications Theory. The video displays the lead actor doing heroic deeds to stop evil, with Linkin Park’s lyrics saying how fate will find you, you need to reach the truth and you’ll regret your misdeeds if nothing is done. Audiences who have a desire or fantasy to be heroic or have an adventure thrust upon them (like the lead actor in the film) might want to watch this, and imagine putting themselves in his position. The song and lyrics are very good at touching on this idea, so these types of audiences are drawn to listening to the song and watching the associated video.

The popularity of this song is important and can show that I am correct in stating the target audiences. These charts, shown on the song’s YouTube video, display that the video is most popular with males aged 13-24 and females aged 13-17 with most of the views from the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil. It has over 60 million views (and counting) and has been liked 191,320 times, so therefore I can say that the song has been extremely successful and has correctly targeted its audiences.

Lyrics

Verse
I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me
I remembered each flash as time began to blur
Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve
Chorus
So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide
Verse II
There was nothing in sight but memories left abandoned
There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow
And the ground caved in between where we were standing
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve
Chorus
So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes across this new divide
Break- instrumental

Verse
In every loss, in every lie, in every truth that you'd deny
And each regret and each goodbye was a mistake too great to hide
And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve
Chorus

So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes
Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between
Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide
Across this new divide, across this new divide

The lyrics of this song relate closely to the themes and style of the Transformers sequel they represent. The words ‘new divide’ are a meaning from the film, the divide between good and evil i.e. Autobots and Decepticons.
The first line “I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me” is connected to the part of the film where all hope is seemed to be lost as Optimus Prime is killed, with the enemy now surrounding and outnumbering the good guys. Then the rest of the verse after that is talking about the lead actor, saying how fate had chosen him to do what is necessary. The chorus afterwards is about the leading actor and actress, about how he has to show or prove something to her “Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes”. We can identify a love interest as well because of the next verse saying “And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve”, he hears her voice as the world crumbles around them, and as the leading actor dies close to the end to prove himself worthy.

The video fits with the lyrics and music of the song because the camera shots, edits and cut transactions are in-pace with the music. This is clearly seen at 0:19 when the music ‘erupts’ as the drummer, bass and guitar players start- meanwhile you visually see a robot explode from the screen which then quickly blurs and merges the shot into another robot transforming into a car towards the camera. This fast and successive editing relate back to the metal music genre of ‘explosive music’ and style of the actual film, because Michael Bay is known for his elaborate and detailed action shots. This ‘erupting’ editing style is shown once again at 1:07; where then after the pace of the music is in-synch with the amount of camera cuts.

When the lyrics start at 0:37 with the words “I remember black skies”, the singer Chester is surrounded in darkness with only this blue flame effect to show his presence, linking the visuals to the lyrics. This texture-map style of editing is effective and gradually progresses to see his face clearly, and remains as a theme throughout the entire video. It is like he is the flame which is reborn to show new hope, a theme of the movie it represents.

The music video is closely related the lyrics of the song because basically, you can see the lead singer miming the words. He puts a lot of emotion into each line such as closing his eyes and reaching up into the sky on the line- “that fate had finally found me”, then afterwards putting his fist onto his heart- displaying to the audience how he really feels for this song and the hero’s struggle, and that they should too- because he is pointing towards the audience themselves- like the song is addressing them almost.

Representation

In this video, there are four clear groups which are represented. The first two are human groups, being male and female. Linkin Park is an all male band, so they are representing themselves and their gender with appearance. The band members are dressed very casually; t-shirts, jeans, earrings, jewellery, and a hoodie for Chester (the lead singer) display them as Alternative Rock artists and Rappers. Rock bands tend to go over-the-top with appearance such as wild hairstyles, ripped clothing or not much at all, but these have created their own casual street look in association with Rappers and Rap clothing. Therefore they are displayed as the dominant group and are portraying men as heavy-metal rappers.

Women are also displayed as a group in this video, but are shown as sexual objects that support the men. Only two women are seen, one being the film’s leading actress Megan Fox, and the other being an unknown women only seen through a thermal heat vision camera. While Megan is seen in her film role, alongside Shia LaBeouf fleeing from the enemy (1:22), the other woman is dancing to the song and showing her curves to the screen. This display represents women as sexual objects, linking with Laura Mulvey’s Theory that women are to be viewed by the men, who conform to this view and don’t have their own say in the matter.
The other two stereotype groups are Heroes and Villains, portrayed as Autobots and Decepticons. The film clips display lots of fighting between the two sides; with Decepticons destroying buildings and firing explosions, while the Autobots are seen as more caring and emotional heroes- so as to show the divide between good and evil. This can be clearly seen at 2:30, where a black, spiky red-eyed Decepticon reaches towards the screen- in contrast with 0:40, where the close-up of a yellow Autobot shows him looking worried and caring. This Good vs. Evil view is a common Transformers theme and clearly represents the stereotype hero versus villain storyline.

Institution

Linkin Park is part of Warner Bros. Records, their Record Label owned by Time Warner. Other artists for Warner Bros. include Lily Allen, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Enter Shikari, Green Day, Jason Derulo, Metallica, Kylie Minogue, Muse, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and R.E.M. Many of the artists are similar in genre to Linkin Park (Green Day, Metallica) but many aren’t because Warner Bros. want to own as many different types as possible, to spread their influence and make more money. Time Warner is the world’s largest Media Conglomerate, with revenue of £40 Billion a year which owns over 50 media companies, meaning it’s the biggest Corporate ever in history.

This song ties in with Hasbro, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures because it is the soundtrack of the Transformers sequel, and so has links with the world’s most profitable media corporations. This affects the look of the video because it features short clips of the film, merged together with the shots of the band- basically, this music video is an advertisement for the film, because if people watch this then there is a likely chance that they will then go see the film- because of the amazing visual graphics and awesome song. I believe that the record label influence what the band produce to some extent, because many of their songs keep to the same recipe of genre, lyrics and themes showing us how the Record Label want them to keep producing the music which sells. However, they don’t fully control Linkin Park because their most recent album A Thousand Suns changes genre so the band could experiment with new styles, something which wasn’t popular with a lot of fans.

Camera shot, Editing and Lighting
At 0:4, you can see these ‘sound waves’ which are in line with the synchronizer, expanding and contracting to the music’s loudness and beat. The Edit then merges with the sound waves ‘transforming’ into a mid shot of Chester. All this then rotates around with more waves peaking with the synchronizer, establishing the music video and showing the style of editing and shots to come.

From 0:22 to 0:26, the build-up of the music pace is accompanied with mid shots of each band member. They use smoke, bright lights and blurred rotating effects to increase the action and link it back to the genre of the film or fast-paced action sequences.

Between 0:26 and 0:32, the visual transitions are made up of blending and merging between film clips and the band playing, with this blurred effect being left behind as ‘visual residue’. This is intertextual theme with the Transformers movies, as technology is ‘revolting’ against humans.

The video heavily uses thermal imaging cameras, with the colour in either red or blue at certain moments. The camera shots and angles during these moments are extreme close-ups, so you can see them singing, and it puts more emphasis on the band because they stand out from the darkness behind. This is also intertextual to the first film because one of the robots views everything through a thermal-image screen, and so these shots are like the Transformer watching the band playing- because you can see them in background of the set.

Finally at the end of the video, the last shot we see of Chester is him with his arms reaching up into the air, which then cuts to a flying shot of a Transformer doing exactly the same thing. His image matches with the robots' and drawing that comparison that these two species aren't really that different from each other, as proven in the film.