'Run Boy Run' Analysis

We wanted to look at the original 'Run Boy Run' to get an understanding of the creators interpretation and to see what aspects they used to produce a music video to the song we wish to do, which could help give us ideas for our own piece and provide inspiration. 

Again, black and white is used, like in 'Iron', which helps to create a very contrasting, eye-catching effect, that also gives the video a darker feeling to it. I feel this could be very useful in our own video as we wish to explore some very dark themes that could be enhanced with the use of black and white.
The whole music video has a very dark feel to it due to the lack of lighter colours, but as the video progresses, it becomes subtly lighter but still contrasts with the big white city, which is a reoccurring shot within the music video. The white city also shows flags holding the crossed keys, which Woodkid used to describe his path into adulthood.

The video depicts a young boy running from a building into 'the wild', the video has a very 2D feel to it, as the shots are predominantly shot from the same side and use the same angle. As the boy runs, we begin to see more foliage and soon he is joined by a flock of crows that fly along with him, many shots are shown using close ups of the birds and a great portion of this is using slow motion, showing the details of the wings and the gleam of their feathers and to enhance the desperate but joyful running of the boy, which is also expressed with occasional close ups of his face.
Soon we begin to see monsters rising out of the Earth and the boy falls down, left to the mercy of the beast, who picks him up and runs with him. Soon, the monster drops him and the horde run with him, creating a small twist, as they become his allies. They provide the boy with a small wooden sword, shield and helmet to help protect him. Suddenly, the weak boy becomes a powerful character, despite the childlike defenses.

 I feel that the video is trying to describe the boy running away from home, tears on his face, and growing up, and learning of the world. He has to learn to defend himself, and not everyone is as they seem. The changing of shots, show his destination- a large white city, perhaps this is where he believes he fill find his way in the adult life. It also shows the boy having fun, which is shown through his expression, and the shot where the boy flies up into the sky, showing that he feels powerful and thinks he can now do anything he sets his mind to. He is no longer affected by the monsters and runs with them with a smile on his face and begins to command them as he becomes braver and learns how to be a leader.
The monsters becoming increasingly larger and the horde builds up until there is even a boat of the monsters floating in the background, which represents his adventure and the distance he has traveled. The journey still has a rather child-like feel to it, as the boat represents a small pirate ship, as young boys often think of.
Finally, he reaches his destination and stares out at the large city with wonder, and raises his sword, victorious.
I like how they show the progression of his character using Mise-en-scene, both through his props, the helmet, sword and shield, but also through his face, as he becomes happier, though his face becomes dirtier, showing that he has suffered hardships but has persevered to reach his destination.

The shots are quite fast, cutting every 2 seconds to the beat at the beginning, which remains quite consistent despite the occasional extra shot or a slightly longer shot that could be 4 seconds long. This is to show his fear as he runs into the unknown and the sharp cuts show his hyper-awareness, as he looks behind him and is aware of his surroundings as one would be out alone in the dark.
The shots become quite a bit slower when they show the large city, as the camera movements are used to keep the audiences interest and long shots are used to enhance the longing for that place.
The shots slow down as he falls over and the monsters are introduced, despite the fast pace of the music, to make the scene last longer and to add tension to the scene as the boy is not getting up fast enough to run from the monsters. The shots become faster again as they all run together as everything was as it was before, but now the boy is stronger. Slower shots are used for the slow motion scenes to enhance what is being shown. Soon the speed begins to slow down, as the boy relaxes and more occurs within the shot as more monsters join him, he knows he is getting closer to his destination and the shots constantly change to the large city. Fast shots of each different characters are used before the long shot including the large boat create a contrast in speed and make the long shot more dramatic as it continues. I like how the shots remained about the same speed apart in time with the music except for the occasional longer or shorter shots, which seemed highlighted due to the change in speed.
This shows that despite the fast music, fast shots don't always have to be used to make the video effective. Long shots can also describe the story within the song and the beats of the song can help progress the story within the same shot.

This analysis has helped me to understand how I can use editing to describe the story within the music video and how different shot speeds and help to convey a feeling to the audience. I have also learnt the importance of Mise-en-scene though costume, expression and use of light and dark to help the audience interpret the music video.

Woodkid's 'Hidden Meanings'

Through out all of Woodkid's music videos there are lots of different imagery and symbols used which can be slightly confusing to those who are not fans and don't follow the artist. Therefore, I decided to do a little research and actually find out why these images are used and if there is a 'hidden meaning' to them which would give the music videos depth. 

After some research I found a music blog which had an interview with Woodkid himself, which he was asked questions about his music and music videos. One of the first symbols used in the music video for 'Iron' is a set of crossed keys that feature through put the video, e.g. on a flag. This is because this symbol is something that actually has a link to the artist himself. This is the question Woodkid was asked and his response:

I notice a lot of keys represented in your videos and promotional material. What’s the significance of that imagery?

I have two key tattoos on my arms that I got in 2007 when I moved to New York. It was just a way for me to express my identity as an adult and the act of making them into two and having my own set of keys, which to me represents my home both to and away from my parents. I decided to use crossed keys because they’re a symbol of religion — the symbol of the Papal keys and the Vatican. There are a lot of religious inserts in my project because, of course, religion is very important to my music. I have used a lot of organs and chords that belong to classical religious music, so having these keys definitely makes a lot of sense. But it also represents me and the kid that thirsts to become an adult and collide with a lot of themes surrounding religion and war.

It is clear from Woodkid's response that his music videos do have a lot of symbolism and use of hidden meanings, which makes his music videos very interesting and adds depth to them as only true fans of Woodkid will understand the meanings behind the imagery used, which reflects the niche audience for this genre.

Here is some more sections from the interview which explains the artist himself and the a little about the concept of his music:

So then where does the name “Woodkid” come into play?

There’s another dimension to my work, like the way I would like to make metaphors and symbolism around the textures or materials and the story that I am trying to create. “Woodkid” is the story of a kid that grows up, and after time turns into stone and marble, representing the city and the concrete that makes it up. It’s a very hard material that turns humans into very hard sounds. That’s the idea of the whole project. I would say that “Woodkid” is the boy in “Run Boy Run” — he’s the one that comes from underneath and from the very emotional material. In the album I explain at the beginning he’s made of wood — he bends in the wind because he is very supple and tender, but the more he grows up, the more he turns into this marble and he has to break it.

So then when you’re presented with a song or an idea, what are you looking out for or what inspires you to bring it into a visual realm?

I have an artistic statement, which is what I call “translations.” It’s whatever I do, I try to translate things from one language to another. In this case, it would be the language of image to the language of sound. For example, in “Iron,” I looked for this very epic sound that was half synthetic, half real, half orchestra and half sampled. I mixed it to have this very epic sound, and then once I had this texture, I thought of what would be the cinematic equivalent. So I worked with how to make the look of environments with the same toxicity that the sound implies. I basically get inspiration from my work by just finding sounds and then translating them into images or finding images and translating them into sound. It goes back and forth, vice versa. It’s like a very powerful circle where I just feel that universe — that unique voice in sound and image.

Woodkid 'The Golden Age'

'The Golden Age' was Woodkid's debut album which featured both 'Iron' and 'Run Boy Run'. It was released on the 18th March, 2013 through an independent label known as Green United Music. 

Three of the albums songs were released as singles, which were:

- 'Iron'- released on the 28th March 2011

- 'Run Boy Run'- released on the 21st May 2012

- 'I love You'- released in February 

The music video for the song 'Run Boy Run' was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The music video was directed by Lemoine (Woodkid) himself as he is not only a singer-song writer but also a director as well. 'Run Boy Run' was also used in several adverts for O2 and in many more adverts and trailers. 

'Iron' was Woodkid's debut single and gained popularity as it was used in a trailer for Assassin's Creed: Revelations. 

'Iron' Analysis

'Iron' is another song from Woodkid, who is the same artist who made the song 'Run Boy Run' which is our chosen song for out music video. We decided to look at more music videos from Woodkid so that we can understand the general conventions of the neofolk genre. 

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. 

Neofolk Genre

Neofolk is the genre of our chosen song, 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid.
Neofolk is a form of folk music inspired experimental music and can either be mostly acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instruments aided by other instruments such as piano, strings and elements or industrial and experimental music. The term 'Neofolk' originates from music circles who started using the term in the late 20th Century to describe music influenced by musicians such as Douglas Pearce (Death in June), Tony Wakeford (Sol Invictus) and David Tibet (Current 93).

Our Song

After considering several different songs of all different genres, we decided upon 'Run Boy Run' by Woodkid. We found it whilst looking at past students work and discovered that we both rather liked the song due to it's catchy beat and open-to-interpretation lyrics. This enables us to make the video on whatever we wish as the lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways. We liked the idea of making our music video about war and peace and this song allows us to achieve this.

This song has a good pace that allows us to use both long and short shots and has a very dramatic feel to it, which would fit to the build up of our theme. The mood within the song changes as the pace within changes, which allows us to tell different parts of the story and convey different ideas. The lack of lyrics allows the audience to focus on the narrative of the music video as they are not as easily distracted by lyrics. Also, due to this we don't feel the need to include aspects of performance within the video, which suits us as we feel that lip-synching is overused and takes away from the drama of the story.

Amateur Vs Professional 2

Amateur Music Video

We decided to do some comparisons between amateur and professional films, as this will give us a form of guidance in what makes an effective music video.

For the amateur film I looked at a past students work for the song 'Just Give Me A Reason'. The overall narrative behind the music video did match that of the song itself, as the theme used was love. However, this theme seems to be over used and the students could have explored with their ideas and perhaps used a more creative idea. The song is by Pink and therefore the music video should comply with the pop genre. As the genre is pop the music video needs to be appealing and standout to attract the young target audience. As this music video is a amateur music video and was made by students the overall quality is quite bad as professionals have access to better filming equipment. This is the obvious biggest difference between amateur and professional music videos, and due to this the students music video does not have the same bright and attractive look to it which is expected for pop music videos as the lighting is quite dull as they have relied upon natural lighting. To improve this they could have chosen to film on a more brighter or sunnier day to give them a much more 'pleasing' look in their music video which would give them the more typical upbeat atmosphere usually portrayed in pop music videos. 

Another aspect that makes it clear that this video is an amateur music video would be due to the actual camera shots. This is because the shots are very basic as they mainly use mid to long shots of the two characters who are standing there miming to the song for the majority of the music video. The scenes of the performers lip syncing are very basic as the two characters are just standing their and also lower the overall effect and quality of the music video as it has been done in such a way that makes the music video look quite 'cheap' and 'cheese' and has taken the audience attentions from the good aspects of the music video. 

Some good points about this music video would be, in terms of mine-en-scene, the choice of locations is very effective. This is because they have used a variety of different locations that are interesting and help to tell the story and also keep the audience attention engaged in the narrative of the music video. For example, they have used shots inside a library type place and also have scenes inside a cafe. These locations are simple, but are ones thats people can relate to and help to tell the typical love tale that these students were trying to portray in their music videos. Another good aspect of this music video would be that they have used an effective balance of both narrative and performance which keeps the audience engaged in the music video so that they can understand the story that is being told with the use of acting, which is also quite effective.

Another area in which these students could have improved in would be editing. This is because editing is very basic as they only use simple cuts from scene to scene, that do not follow a particular beat, with no use of any effects such as transitions like fades. 

Professional Music Video

When looking at the official music video for 'Just Give Me A Reason' by Pink is very clear to see what video is the amateur and what is the professional. Straight away the music video gains the viewers attention as the use of a set and lighting creates a dramatic scene that proves the music video with quite interesting and dramatic shots that draw in the audience attention. The music video starts of with a tilt up which is quite suspense full and makes the audience wait for the performer (Pink) to be shown which really captures the audiences full attention and makes them involved in the narrative form the very start, which the amateur video failed to do.