MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS 3

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

The final music video that I will analyse is ‘Something From Nothing’ by Foo Fighters, a band who are heavily commended as the ‘kings of modern rock’, headlined by Rock and Grunge celebrity Dave Grohl. This artist is known to commend Royal Blood for their work in recent years, and have also had our chosen band support them on a headline tour. The song I have chose to analyse is one of the group’s more recent works, which I felt was important to ensure relevance to a new rock band such as Royal Blood as well as the fact that the video also comprises fully of live performance footage, a style that we hope to integrate in our own video to abide by genre conventions in Rock.

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

The most noticeable aspect of this music video is that it is made up of entirely live performance shots. We see all 5 members of the band playing their appropriate instruments, following the song smoothly as it transitions from a slower beginning to a rough and guitar solo heavy end, this being reflected in their actions. The band members truly involve themselves in the song, from Dave’s frantic ‘headbanging’ to Taylor’s lightening-fast drumming speed it’s an authentic rock experience that is felt by the audience and this is all down to the band themselves. The video doesn’t bring anything revolutionary to the table but it does create a ‘true to life’ rock experience which whilst being far simply than the past two videos, showcases the band and notably Dave’s showmanship. The feeling of the video is authentically rock and is a factor that will be important when making our project.

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHINGThe video does feature a relationship between lyrics and visuals (as noted by Andrew Goodwin) but in a hugely different way to the past to songs I have analysed. Whilst those used narrative shots or actions of band members to relate to lyrics, Foo Fighters opt for a simpler ‘lyric video’ style format, with ‘scribbled’ lyrics appearing on screen at the correct times. This may be to emphasize that they are a more traditional rock band or that they felt it was an effective way of illustrating the lyrics to the audience.

Whilst I would’ve liked to see an artistic interpretation of the songs lyrics as they are quite interesting, I appreciate that Foo Fighter’s are an ‘industry name’ and that their rock image and persona has to be portrayed in their videos, which this one certainly fulfils. In our final video I would like to have a relationship shown between lyrics and video, but in an illustrative form as I feel that it would suit our artist far more than the style of a ‘lyric video’.

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

The themes throughout the video all connote the rock genre. From the ‘recording studio’ style setting to the Gibson guitars and Marshall amplifiers which are institutions in the genre, there is a true image of rock portrayed. The colour temperature of the video is darker blues and blacks, which alongside the black clothing of the frontman form the general colour scheme to the musical genre. The band portray themselves authentically, and bring the genre to life in the video. It’s an impressively simple video stylistically compared to the past two videos I have analysed, yet it has much more power and impact on it’s audience. You are able to truly ‘rock-out’ as if you were in the crowd of a rock show and this realism makes this video a winner from the start. I hope that the themes in our video will suit the genre as we aim to utilise the darker colour schemes and also that we can evoke a feeling of realism from our live performance.

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

Like many other rock music videos, the frontman is the centre of attention for the audience, with most shots revolving around him. This video heavily features Dave Grohl, who is a figurehead for the band who clearly works effectively, as all of their videos heavily feature him. The audience may also feel that they have a more personal relationship with Dave, thanks to the way he sings directly to the camera, focusing his gaze into the lens. Trevor Millum talks about these looks through his theory of the ‘Male Gaze’, and like many musicians Dave fulfils the ‘practical look’, which is clear through his seemingly impeccable guitar skills. The fact that the frontman is heavily featured in the video may also be down to demands of their record label, who may believe that having Dave Grohl heavily featured ensures success.

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

The video has a variable cutting rhythm, with the editing technique switching from longer, swooping shots to faster close-up shots as the song progresses to a heavier climactic end. This allows the footage to suit each part of song effectively, without this editing the heavier rock and drum solo’s wouldn’t have them same heart-thumping effect to them. This variable style also allows a ‘build-up’ to be created from the beginnings of the song, as regular ‘Foo Fighters’ fans expect in the band’s slower more progressive songs which very often end in a frantic finale.

FOO FIGHTERS – SOMETHING FROM NOTHINGEVALUATION OF ANALYSIS

This video has been hugely beneficial for expanding my ideas for the live performance areas of our music video. The utilisation of on-screen lyrics has made me question my choice for artistic representation, but I feel that this would be the best way forward for our chosen song and so that we could stick to our artist’s conventions. I also have realised the importance of authenticity and keeping the band within the conventions of the rock genre, from the clothing they wear to the instruments they will play. Colour schemes have also become more important to me as I want the video to suit the genre and the band’s style.

I feel that this has been the most useful analysis as it was the most major music video of the 3 that I have now analysed, providing an insight into the conventions of a successful band and truly worldwide brand that is known as ‘Foo Fighters’.