Black Mirror

Arcade Fire

The opening line of the lyrics is “I walked down to the ocean” has a relationship with the visual image of the ocean; this presents how Goodwin’s theory is present.The visual appears very dark and mysterious which leads onto the second line of the lyrics “After waking from a nightmare” this again shows Goodwin’s theory and continues to be reinforced with the visual of a monsters face. I feel the way in which the shot is facing the circular window puts the audience in a point of view and makes them feel apart of the narrative of the music video. This can create an uneasy atmosphere as the audience anticipates what will happen next.

The notion of looking is present throughout the music video, the first example of this is one of the beginning shot as the camera pans upwards to reveal a ship; it made me feel as if I was looking through a telescope because of the rounded black edges. This visual also reminded me of the Titanic therefore may be seen as an inter textual reference which would present a point in Goodwin’s theory. We also see a shot involving a television, again this represents the notion of looking because it is a screen within a screen – this shot can also represent how the video isn’t representing reality.

There is a shot involving many people sitting in rowing boats, this could present an earlier time period, this is also reinforced by the characters clothing. One of the men then leaps from the boat towards the huge monster which could connote how he is being brave and facing his fears. The continue use of black and white images can also contribute to the earlier period in time and also presents the nightmare aspect of the lyrics.

The fact the screen turns completely black creates a tense atmosphere as the audience anticipates what has happened to the protagonist. Another shot shows weird looking creatures holding pitch forks, the sharp vivid edges connote violence and make the audience feel uncomfortable. And then the shot which gets closer to the protagonist until it is looking over his shoulder gave me the feeling of something creeping up behind him. All these shots gave me the feeling of fear of the unknown which could link to how the character is feeling.

In Goodwin’s theory it contains the point about the relationship between the music and the visuals. I feel this is expressed through the shot of the man sliding down the screen in a fast motion, at this moment the music begins to increase speed which gives the feeling of panic.A shot involving silhouettes of dancers is the first bright white visual we have seen, this could connote a sign of hope in contrast with the previous darker shots. An interesting visual effect is created as the silhouettes go through a repeated motion.

Overall this music video is typical of the indie genre because its doesn’t contain close ups of the band which shows how their image is not important because they focus on the music and not how well known they will be. It also has unique shots which express an experimentation element. The music video also contains most points from Goodwin’s theory. However, goes against the point about close ups of the band. I feel this music video will relate to our music video because of the same genre and not containing shots of the bands image, the video also contains unrealistic aspects such as a giant monster, this will also reflect in our music video as we will be having moving play dough.