Whilst looking at Woodkid's work we instantly made a discovery that all his music videos are in black and white. I think that the use of black and white is very effective as it automatically creates quite a dramatic look which is gripping as the audience is drawn into the fantastic cinematography used through out the music video. It is quite unclear on whether or not there is a narrative in the music video, however it is clear that there is some form of 'battle' commencing as there is powerful shots of various people looking rather menacing. This menacing appearance which makes the audience feel almost threatened by the characters in the video is created through the clever use of mine-en-scene. For example, costume is effectively used as the characters are dressed in clothing that's almost of a 'medieval' style with hardy costumes that involve lots of leather, buckles and ripped material that all create the typical villain appearance that you see a lot of in historical/ fiction dramas or films which feature viking/ bandit type characters. Another way mise-en-scene has been used to make the characters dominating, and also sets up the general atmosphere and theme of the song, is from the actual positioning of the characters and the shots used to show them. For example, one of the first characters we meet in the music video is through a close up/ mid shot of the back of a tattooed man, this creates an enigma and also builds up tension as we are 'teased' as we don't know who this man is and what role he plays in the narrative of the music video, the appearance of the man also makes him mysterious adding to the dramatics of the music video. There, are many 'rough' looking characters used in the video that are introduced using long/mid shots, which doesn't show much of their appearance but lets the audience take in the costume and the dramatics of the shots as these shots are quite long in terms of pace and cut into each other but in a fairly slow and calm way, which in tern creates a powerful presence to the music video. Another aspect of mine-en-scene that has been used very effectively to create this rather intense music video is lighting. The use of rather minimal lighting in different positions is effective as it creates a sharp contrast with the harsh shadows that build upon the eerie atmosphere and power of the characters.
An aspect of the music video for 'Iron' which we found particularly interesting is that within the music video they used three different animals, a dog, a owl and also a horse. When we watched this music video we made the direct link back to the A level music video for the song 'Run Boy Run', which we got our initial inspiration to do the song from. An aspect that we liked about the student video was the fact they included scene of dogs running and a variety of shots of a horse, so it is clear that this group of students got there inspiration to include these from 'Iron' rather then 'Run Boy Run'. The use of the animals in the official music video for 'Iron' is successful in creating the powerful and dramatic appearance that makes this music so effective, as it fits with the beat and unusual genre of the song and artist. This is because the horse rearing and cantering in slow motion is quite dramatic looking in it self, also the close-up slow motion shot of the dog growling and drawling is also a powerful statement and one that may even scare some audiences, also the choice of the owl is effective as it is a bird of pry so the scene with the owl flying above the running dogs and horse is so dramatic looking as it fly's away form the chaos the audience are fully focused and involved in the music and are left in ore of the shot. We like the whole concept of the dogs and horses, so it is something that we could actually use in our music video as we have easy access to these animals which would be an effective addition that we could evolve in our narrative.
The editing involved in the music video has been done in a way that not only goes to the beat of the music but also a way that draws in the audience so that they become tuned into the music. The shots in terms of editing and cinematography intensifies at the same time as the beat of the music, which helps to create that powerful atmosphere and also to help the audience to be focused on the narrative of the music video but also the music itself, which is important as if the music video is big, bold and dramatic audiences or potential ones will remember it which will then make them remember the song and hopefully make them want to buy the song or make them become interested in the artist, as the main aim of the music video is for promotional purposes. I think that this whole concept is very important to artists such as Woodkid as the genre of his music is neofolk which is a very small genre which means the audience will be quite niche, so it is important to make music videos that are big and rememberable. The imagery used of the flag with the key symbol, the large palace type place the young boy and man reading from a book almost creates a hidden narrative as these seem to be some form of hidden meaning that is unknown to none fans of Woodkid's music as it seems to be quite a detailed narrative with imagery that if you were someone watching you would not understand the actual hidden meaning behind the narrative, also these images are also a common theme used through out Woodkid's music videos.
Overal looking at this music video has helped to understand the genre more and what sort of themes and narratives are used in neofolk music videos, and what makes a successful music video. It has also given us some inspiration with the overall theme of our music video and given us some ideas of actual individual shots that we could possibly use.
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