Narrative Music Videos

As I said previously, I have been really inspired by the use of a "Mini-film" style music video. The best two examples I can think of are Artic Monkeys and Arcade Fire. A Mini-film is shot in the form of a film, but only for the duration of the song. There is no lip syncing, or use of the artist themselves in the shot.

An example of a mini-film that is directly connected to the theme and lyrics of the song is "When the sun goes down" by The arctic Monkeys. These are a band that i listed sound like my chosen band so are very relevant to my research. The song highlights the problem of prostitution and what it is like for a young girl in England to be going through this. The message is conveyed very powerfully.



I feel that the video is edited exactly to the pace and tempo of the music, and still creates a visual connection for the audience. The camera angles look far more professional and the close ups create a more emotive feeling. This is because the band want the audience to feel emotional to the young girls despair. This will be very difficult to recreate and capture the mood exactly right, however it is strikingly effective to me as a viewer and I will definitely be looking to incorporate certainly an aspect of this style.



The second video is a condensed version of the short film "Scenes From The Suburbs" - made after the song was created. Spike Jonze, the respected film director made the film. The video condensing it down really is a teaser or trailer for the main film, however shot beautifully and really makes the audience make up their own mind to what is happening. The lyrics aren't associated to the issue being explored which is the effects subjecting teenagers to violence and war as their everyday life. This is not usual a scene from suburban America but more a comment on war torn countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan - countries America and UK are at war with.

Making a comment on relevant issues of today's world is a really powerful tool in the media and entertainment business. However, on this scale too difficult to reenact myself, however i can see it working in more of a personal/domestic level i.e. relationships.