The song Devil in I by Slipknot was released in 2014 and received much praise from the metal community because it was a song that was by a band that was still mourning a loss of a brother. Slipknot are from Des Moines, Iowa. They were founded in 1995 by percussionist Shawn Crahan and Paul Gray. Slipknot are well known for their aggressive and grabbing style of music in the genres of heavy metal, nu metal and alternative metal.
The director of the video was Shawn Crahan who directs all of their music videos. The idea behind the music video was based around committing suicide. Each member of the band killed themselves in a different way with Mick Thompson ripping his face apart and Jim Root blowing himself up with dynamite. Two new band members are also seen in the video roaming about on wheelchairs but are then eventually cornered by the band and then repeatedly stabbed by the band member. This could possibly show the new members being inducted or baptised into the band. This sort of mayhem is normal for slipknot and this video helped me form ideas for my music video and the part where the knife is against the head of the character wearing a mask.
The meaning behind the narrative is “Basically, this video is about finding past devils, past things — becoming one with it and then doing away with it,” says Crahan. This piece of art was intended to be past his capability because then he knows he has completed what he has always loved doing.
The video starts off with Sid Wilson gnawing on his arm and bites off fingers, destroying the things most important for his role in the band. For guitarist Mick Thomson, isolation was the theme, which was represented in eating apart his own face. “I don’t like blood,” says Crahan. “Big reason why I used a lot of it.” Percussionist Chris Fehn also faces a bizarre end, being torn apart by birds. Fehn requested this for himself, as the long-nosed Slipknot member suffers from a fear of birds.
Facing inner demons and trying to overcome them was a big part of my ideas for my music video because I wanted to try and portray images and pictures of how the brain acts and responds to depression. I wanted to try and show how people with depression suffer and how the mind looks whilst also trying to link video to the words in the song.
The video is told as a story rather than a montage. This is done to show how each member of the band were dealing with their demons and how they act when they are contemplating suicide. It is a very touchy subject but it is one that a lot of people have to deal with so the story is ever more meaningful. This means that people can relate to them easier and allows them to use music as an escape from the demons they have to face.
Your case study indicates your enthusiasm for the music video but with minimal reference to narrative theory.
ReplyDeleteTo strengthen:
1) Explain that the music video is concept and performance based which is a convention of the language of music videos.
2) You could reference genre as well and explain that fans of the genre will be familiar with "the characteristic, costume, sound, and purpose" (Kress). For example the use of gothic imagery, pain/insanity (a character being wheeled along a dark corridor in a straight jacket); the image of the raven which anticipates death or dark events, the costumes are bizarre and include characteristic skulls, a character covered in a red cloak, flames and masks which are conventions of the metal genre and what fans expect from heavy metal music videos.
3) The music video includes continuity editing which is used to establish a logical coherence between shots. For example the dramatic and muscular movements of the band consistently cut to the nightmarish images of a character being wheeled along the corridor.
4) The images of the band juxtaposed with the story which indicates some kind of torture chamber peopled with demons strongly markets the band because of the cinematic nature and splendid composition of shots within the music video.
Ryan this is to help you strengthen your case study. It is important you construct your case studies with the power points or the booklet which includes media theory close at hand.