Mercy-One Republic

Editing and Camera Shots

This music video is heavily edited with a strong contrast of black and white colours. Occasional coloured filters are introduced into shots to emphasize particular objects/people.

Once again, shallow depth of field is regularly used in this video as well as close focusing on the band member’s faces.

There are also many repeated/similar shots which are edited in almost a continuous loop

A handheld camera is regularly used to create unsteady shots which adds to the aggressive, ‘rocky’ nature of the song/band.

NarrativeThe video is of a masculine rock genre. Although the video is set on a beach, it is an extremely unconventional depiction of the setting, with no romantic backdrops or pleasant scenery. It has an ambiguous, unexplained narrative with various parts of the imagery being slightly confusing to the audience (e.g. Boy with flag) There is a

strong narrative structure with the shots and editing climaxing with the soundtrack towards the end of the video which allows the video to build intensity.

Representation Generally the band members are represented as intense, macho rock artists which is supported by the Easthope (1986) theory and is also reinforced through the use of harsh, strong wind at the location of the video. These are typical conventions for the rock genre of music however there is a slight contradiction in various shots of a band member lying in the sand. The positioning of the camera portrays him in a feminine manner and movements such as stroking the sand also emphasizes this. However the almost muddy makeup and roughed up hair continues the theme of ‘macho rock artist’.