Influential media texts

Here are a few examples of music video that are part of my chosen genre that will influence me through the making of my video.

Megadeth - Public Enemy No. 1

What stylistics does this video contain?
The video complements the song, which makes several references to gun violence in its lyrics. It is written about 1920s gangster Al Capone, and its mise-en-scene with its colour scheme, as well as the colour scheme seen in the costumes, and location (Valencia, California) captures that era well, as well as inducing humour through the use of live animals. It also has footage of the band, so the music video mixes performance with narrative.

How will I use ideas from the video in my own work?
There is an element of crime in this video, and to an extent, there will be an element of crime in my own work. However, my video will focus on the modern era. It will have a few instances of humour in my video, such as items that complement the lyrics of my song being taken away towards the very end of the shots.

Iron Maiden - The Trooper

Judas Priest - Breaking The Law

What stylistics does this video contain?
The video focuses heavily on performance, with historical footage that plays occasionally across the video, complementing the themes portrayed in the lyrics of the song. The footage used comes from the 1941 film "They Died With Their Boots On", and documents a cavalry battle.
The band were gaining popularity at this stage in their career, so it's important that the audience knows what the band members look like. The costumes they wear were conventional of the heavy metal genre at the time.

Background information (expands on the above)
The BBC banned the music video as they felt the footage from "They Died With Their Boots On" was too violent. The genre was already very controversial at the time, and this move did much to maintain a negative view across the more mainstream audiences. The song comes from the band's 4th studio album "Piece Of Mind" and themes covered in this song provided a basis for many of the album's other songs, such as "Die With Your Boots On"

How will I use ideas from the video in my own work?
Although I will not use a full band performance in my own video, I will include lip syncing in my video. The singer lip syncing will have a personality that reflects the song's lyrics. Iron Maiden's singer (Bruce Dickinson) is shown to be very energetic on stage, and showcases a high vocal range in "The Trooper". However, in my chosen song, the singer's voice sounds much more sinister to me, and I will reflect this in my actor's performance.



What stylistics does this video contain?
This music video consists of a narrative alongside a partial performance. In the narrative, the band appear to be robbing a store whilst holding their respective instruments. In my music video, I am considering doing something similar to this, as the subject matter of my chosen song is about somebody who is addicted to robbing people of their possessions.

Another thing about this video that is worth a mention is that the robbery is never solved; the band are never seen to be punished and are in fact portrayed as superior.

How will I use ideas from the video in my own work?
This will be similar to my music video in which the performer will act as an antagonist who is not seen to be punished for his crimes. However, it can be argued that my video will view the performer as a protagonist. My video does not show anyone who proves to be capable of putting an end to his activities. However, this merely represents the controversy of older heavy metal music videos (such as this video and The Trooper), and to an extent, parodies it, as it is more overtly intentionally criminal/sinister than the music videos in question, and has some elements of humour. (ideas mentioned above.)

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