Props: Playing cards, metal
chalice, clock, instruments, conductor’s stick.
Costume: all of the band
members are dressed smartly in all in black tie attire.But the lead singer Julian Casablancas is
seen wearing informal clothes in alternate shots.
The ticking clock could show
the pressure that the band are under right before going on stage, and the
fact that they are all dressed to the formally maybe be a reflection of the
way the band sees them selves, as musicians not superstars.
Location
The setting for this strokes
song is in a lavish concert theatre. The rooms include the lobby, backstage
corridors, on stage and a dining room. All of the walls are covered in ornate
golden fixtures and carvings and there is hard wood and red carpet in nearly
every shot.
This location could have been
used to represent how far the band has come form playing clubs and bars in
New york to performing in this expensive setting. Using a concert hall in particular
could alternatively be a joke about how seriously other bands take them
selves.
Characters
There is no narrative story
to the video and so the only people who feature in the video are the band
member and a few extras (the card dealer and the conductor)
This is the case for most of
the strokes music videos and could perhaps be because they want to be
recognized and remembered for their performances. ‘Last Nite’ is a prime
example of this as the whole video I shot from one side of the band as they
perform the track.
Lighting
The lighting use in the video is always from above the subjects
leaving some of the face or body in darkness. Almost all the sources of light
are in the shot such are the chandeliers, candles and lamps.
The song is entitled ‘Under cover of darkness’ so the choice of
lighting from above could be to reflect this title. Placing the lights in the
shot could represent the band being under the spot light of the press, their
fans or there partners as the theme of the lyrics seems to be about a woman.
Editing
Cuts
The start of the video feature a series of extremely fast cuts of
a scene of the band drowning while performing. Throughout the rest of the
video the cuts vary according to the music. Longer shots are used during the guitar
solos and faster shot are used when the drum beat picks up
These shots may have been included to carry on this theme of the
band feeling pressurized before playing a gig hence the drowning. And the
speed of the cuts between shots could represent the panic and chaos of drowning.
Using synchronous editing makes the video flow with the tempo of
the song and helps the action move forward.
Transitions
In this video there are three transitions used, the cross fade,
fade to black and wiping right to left.
The right to left wipe is used to eventuate the movement of Julian
as he walks across the screen the movement is matched as the one shot is
peeled away from the other. Cross fading the shots allows the setting to
softly change rather than a quick abrupt cut.
Effects
The beginning sequence where the band is ‘drowning’ has a dark
filter that cover the edges of the shot and only leaves the center visible.
This effect could be used to portray someone one blacking out due
to drowning as if the darkness is spreading around a person’s vision.
Camera Angles
The camera is always at head height looking straight at Julian but
as for the rest of the band the camera is either tilted up or down, or just
sweeping past them in a brief shot.
This is because Julian is the front man of the band and generally
the focus is on him as he sings, unless one of the other members is
performing an instrumental solo.
Shots
A long zooming out shot is present in this video on more than one
occasion, through the hall way and away from a long dining table. Then shots
zooming back in on Julian follow. The video has a lot of movement using
panning and zooming.
The zooming in and out shots could represent the surveillance they
are under being a very big rock/blues band. The movement in the video is key
as it give the track momentum and gives the video a beginning middle and end.
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