Johnny Cash Music video analysis

Hurt

As the music video begins it is evident from the very start that the images and camera shots used cut to the beat of the music. An example of this is the opening montage of objects such as Christ and fruit decaying which appear on the screen and cut away in accordance to the music itself. The majority of the music video is Johnny Cash in his house, which looks highly expensive, surrounded by decay in the form of fruit and food and dour figurines such as Christ dying on the cross. This could be symbolic of how Johnny’s life has always been full of darkness and death something the lyrics of the song relates to. Therefore it is evident that in this particular music video Johnny is telling the story of his life through the lyrics.

The shot then changes to a close up of Johnny playing his guitar symbolising the idea that Johnny’s life has always been full of music, this also mirrors the song itself as it is a song about life and in Cash’s' case music is and has been his life. The fact Johnny is wearing black in this shot is symbolic as he is known by all as the man in black. This particular convention used in the music video may have been used in keeping with Cash’s' public persona this being someone who always does unconventional things. The black clothes however have a strong connection with the song as it is about grief and heartbreak things highly associated with the colour black as it is a mourning colour.

Johnny cash is singing away from the camera almost like an interview style, this also fits in with the classic convention of making a music video a story. This is because by making the video have an interview feel to it ,it is almost like a last confession of Johnny’s as the lyrics talk of ill made decisions and broken regrets and he is conveying this to the audience. However as he is not breaking the forth wall it deepens the story as such a convention suggests he is so ashamed of his behaviour he cannot bear to bear all to everyone and look them in the eyes .Through the use of synthetic light which lights up the guitar and his face it clearly highlights where are attention should be as the song is very emotional and painful we have to look at Johnny’s face to clearly see this.

 
The camera then switches to a shot of the American flag implying that Johnny cash is proud of being American. Therefore a personal touch has been allowed to be added to the music video. the video then displays footage of the House of Cash which is a museum dedicated to his life’s work. The footage shows close ups of broken records and basically a place gone to pure waste. This poses the symbolic question has his star light gone to? This is further implied by the close up of a sign saying closed to the public.

As Johnny sings the line "I remember everything" a parallel between the lyrics and the music video appears once more as a flashback sequence follows, full of archive footage of Cash through his years at home and at work. Suggesting that he still remembers all of the life he has lived both public and private. This then changes to a side close up of Johnny performing now and then a quick flashback to Johnny in his prime with his children .This may have been done to show how far Johnny has really come and what he has turned into , who it seems through the lyrics of the song is a broken man.

The line that continues the song "everyone goes away in the end" brings the image of his mother in a photo frame into focus in close up form in order to signify the fact that he truly has lost people around him in his persona life. The shots that follow are of Cash performing and on his TV to show how much Johnny Cash actually had and like how the song states it has been all for nothing because it means nothing to him and now he is left in this sad state. The use of integrated images of broken records may also have been used to mirror how like his records he too is broken "I will make you hurt".

As the video begins to focus on his life now , in his mansion this particular footage relates to the lyrics about his "Empire of dirt" and how we "can have it all" because the rotting foot and the dusty artefacts show he cares very little for it as does not look after any of it. However as Johnny is eating by himself it signifies actually it is all he has got to show for his life. The proceeding shot of Cash on a chair mirrors the song once more "liars chair" this clearly shows that Cash has related the song to himself , and he is the one who has let everyone down and he who sits on the liars chair. Also the line "My sweetest friend" is also related to him as a camera shot of his wife coming into view is shown this being a connotation of how he has put her through nothing more than absolute grief and heartbreak through the abuse of drugs and alcohol over the years.
 

As the song reaches its peak Johnny Cash pours wine all over his table, the connotation of red wine being the blood of Christ. This suggests that like Christ this Johnny Cash’s' last supper and his life is coming to an end and he has no one like Jesus had no disciples when he died. He is just alone. These shots cut away to an image of Christ on the cross and then Johnny also on a cross again mirroring the similarities between the two and giving the connotation of Johnny being at his end to.

The montage then begins to speed up at a faster pace as Johnny shakes implying all this pain and hurt he speaks of has left him damaged and shaken. The music video then shifts to the feel of a man reflecting on his life as footage of his past moves on and of the screen to the beat of the music once more. Finally ending with his first TV performance signifying this was a key moment in Johnny’s life. The music video ends with the lights fading and Johnny closing the piano symbolic of Cash’s life coming to an end and like the light he is fading away. The stroking of the piano symbolises Cash feels it is the end and knows it as the screen fades to black.

Music videos - Conventions of contemporary music videos

There are three general types of music videos made :
1. Performance based music videos e.g a live band performance. This music video is largely associated with rock music. Artists such as Beyonce , U2 and Muse make such videos
2. Narrative based music videos e.g where a storyline is evident examples of artists who use this are Ed Sheeran and Noel Gallagher
3. Abstract /artistic music videos i.e Radio head. One example of this is a song called "Teardrop" where the whole video is a baby in a womb singing which makes the whole video very surreal.
It is possible and it has been known that all types of music video can be combined in different forms.

Codes and conventions of documentarys

What the opening should include:

The opening needs to be able to capture the audiences attention as fast as possible and the central question of the documentary needs to and has to be posed at the beginning of the documentary in order to communicate to the audience what the programme is about. Some examples of this could be, Why is Britain the teenage pregnancy capital of Europe? Will we survive a double dip recession? Are university fees stopping a generations going into further education? Another method that draws the audience in is quick snippets of interviews that contain good responses. When it comes to the music , incidental music or even a soundtrack usually accompany the opening sequence and the music should be relevant to the documentary during a visual montage. However the music must not override the voice over. The title for the documentary are extremely important they need to be dramatic when they are announced in some kind of form and the name of the show should burst onto the screen.

Actuality -

This is filming real events as they happen and is a convention of a real documentary. This however could prove difficult in certain situations. For example trying to film a hurricane or an explosion in Iraq. If this happens you have to result to archive footage.

Fly on the wall - This is when you film real people as they do real things , it is about focusing on their lives. In terms filming you could film people having a genuine conversation about an issue relevant to your topic , a live sporting event or following an individual around as they do their job.

Voice over - most documentaries have a voice over which is a narration about what the programme is about. The voice over gives key information and introduces the topic of debate.

Graphics - Documentaries often use graphics with written text. This can include maps, drawings, still photographs and these can be incorporated into the opening sequence using Jpeg files. Graphics can also appear as a banner at the bottom of the screen when showing who you are interviewing and who and what they do for a living.

Interviews - This should include an interview with an expert who has ample knowledge of the topic being discussed or looked into. They need to have a clear

   insight, this is vital. This could be a real expert or even a parent a student ex ... The camera should always stay in the middle and the subject should never look into the camera they must always look to either the left or the right.

Vox pops - This is a more random interview with ordinary people on the street that is filmed with a hand held camera, with a microphone popping asking people on what they think of a particular topic.

Talking heads -A shot of someone talking directly to the camera. A presenter of the documentary could also be used for this. It is called a talking head. The talking head is the authority figure and presents the facts to the audience.

Music -Music is critical for the opening sequence but the sound of the song should not dominate the sound of the voice over. The sound needs to be balanced and images need to be balanced to and they need to fade in and out appropriately.

A very British Gangster

A Very British Gangster Analysis


The documentary opens with a stereotypical film convention. Which is a camera shot of Dom and two other gangsters talking directly to the camera. The titles at the beginning of the documentary also follow film conventions. An example of this is the establishing shot of Manchester at night in order to show us where the documentary is going to be set . This establishing shot instantly gives a connotation of danger as the shot shows dark alleyways indicating it is the dark underworld of Manchester. The music playing behind the footage is very urban and street gang music this is in order to convey the feel of the documentary from the word go and how the focus of the documentary is on these particular gangs. The documentary continues to follow the unconventional film conventions by creating a sound bridge between the image of a train, which gives the connotation of an urban feel to Dom and his fellow gangsters addressing the camera again. The juxtaposition shows Dom in centre in order to signify Dom is the dominant one in this particular scenario. This is a classical film move, where the main character is signalled to the audience by position not dialect.The outfits the men are wearing such as shirts and ties link to the original gangsters in Italy when the Mafia was taking place. However the suits are not fine and polished like those in the Mafia implying these type of gangsters in the documentary are of a rougher breed because they are suggested as common to a degree and not as polished as their idols in Italy. The titles fade in and out slowly after this shot and creating the idea the documentary is almost romanticising crime. This is because such techniques of making a scene dramatic is associated with Hollywood films and TV dramas.


However as the documentary opening continues the documentary begins to follow some of the conventions actually associated with documentary films . A voice over continues the story of gangsters in Manchester as the voice over talks of Dom's previous crimes and sentences in prison. The screen then cuts to fly on the wall footage which is also a documentary filming style . The black ad white video gives the connotation of police footage implying that what these men are doing may not be legal exactly and the police always have their eye on them. A medium long shot follows this short montage and shows the head honcho in the situation indicating there are leaders in this gang. The scene then cuts away to a close up of Dom's hands to show his gold jewelry and dirty hands.This is in order to give the audience a look into the life of a gangster and what it includes. The incredible amount of gold jewelry on Dom's hands signify that a lot of power for a gangster comes from wealth . However the jewelry looks slightly unsophisticated and gives the impression of the character "Del boy". Basically Dom is a man from a working class background trying to signify he has gone up in the world. The close up showing Dom's grotty nails implies the job is a dirty one and these gangsters have none of the sharpness of the Italy gangsters and instead just get down to business. The camera then cuts to extreme close up of Dom's face. This is in order to look into Dom's eyes and try to suss out what he is feeling as he has just been addressed a personal question in order to add insight to the documentary. The dialogue in the scene shows Dom talking about cutting someones head of . This has been placed at the beginning of the documentary to draw the audience in and shock them initially so they are intrigued to hear more about this mans pursuits.


The documentary swiftly moves onto fly on the wall footage of Dom's family . This convention is highly associated with documentaries as it allows an insight into real lives. In this case those of Dom's family . This is done ,it is suggested to introduce the character at the beginning of the documentary so the audience begins to feel they know Dom and become engulfed in his world by watching the TV. The footage of the eighties Strange way prison riots blend into a montage on the screen . This is also a common convention of Documentaries especially history documentaries that want to give an insight into the past. In this scenario it is used to give historical knowledge into where Dom has come from.

Watching all of the documentary there seemed to be a lot of hand held work . This is also a documentary convention as it allows a sense of realism to be betrayed to the audience and after all documentaries are meant to be about realistic things. The use of Hand held shots also adds suspense and excitement as it feels like you are actually in the scenario so you feel what the people in the documentary are filming at that particular time e.g When Dom gets arrested you feel shock. However there are also many unconventional shots in the documentary such as a crane shot of a street. This is usually used in soap dramas e.g Eastenders not a Documentary as it is real life not fiction . This implies the conventions of documentaries are beginning to expand and turn more into film like scenarios.

Behind Bars - Louis Therou

Analysing a documentary opening

Similar to A very British Gangster this documentary starts with a film and TV technique and convention, of an establishing shot of the prison being explored by Louis. The screen then cuts to a snippet of an interview with one of the inmates who has been sentenced to 500 years for his crimes. This is in order to captivate audience. This is because by supplying them with key shocking  information it makes you wonder ,why has  this man got 500 years? What could he have possibly done to get a sentence past how many years he will live?This convention and technique is used in order to make the audience want to watch more in order to be able to answer the questions already posed in the first few minutes of the documentary . This is not however an unusual documentary convention as Every documentary has to start strong in order to keep their audience interested and tuned on.  One thing many documentaries also inhibit and so does this particular documentary is the convention of there being no sense of  real time like there actually is in prison. This is because the footage has to be cut down into an hour of television. The logo of  the BBC appears similar to how "A very British Gangsters" logo did at the beginning the show. This is in order to shown that the documentary is independent and impartial and to signify equality and also to show it is professionally made and it is an accomplished program . People instantly think this as for years this is what the BBC logo has been symbolic of all over the world.


The voice over  then precedes this with a montage of behind the scenes footage of the prison such as the prisoners moving throughout the prison. Surprisingly this creates a calm atmosphere and mood .  This is because the music playing is soft and gentle. This creates the impression that this is a documentary not actually about a prison. This may have been used to unnerve the audience in order to mirror the unease and danger in the prison. Therefore this implies that documentary music has to mirror the mood greatly in order to be successful . Just a minute in the screen cuts to the opening title which is extremely graphic. This is because it is a picture of bars going across Louis looking up to heaven ,it is an animated title. This signifies the message behind the documentary already. This is that these prisoners are not free and as far from heaven as possible due to their criminal acts. This also varies greatly to "A very British Gangster" whose titles were much more dramatic signifying that there are many ways to present documentary titles successfully to the audience.


The message very early on is that the prison is very dangerous. This is because Louis needs protection as he is shown putting on a bullet proof vest that will protect him and his major organs before he goes into the prison. This builds up suspense as it makes you think ,will something terrible happen?Which in turn leaves you glued to the screen in case such a thing does happen. The style is hand held here in order to show unease and the reality of what Louis is actually going into . Plus the camera team can not take all their equipment in as they are entering a danger zone therefore if something was to go wrong ,you have to be quick to get out. The voice over continues and talks of  the conditions in the prison which is  23  hours a day locked up behind bars .This shows the documentary aims to educate us on a certain level. Louis also talks about what gassing is and the audience finds out it is a liquid substance of any kind. This is a normal convention of a documentary as it is informing you of different offences out there. The music starts again as  the documentary progresses onto  a different topic  which is life outside the cell. The screen fades to black as a new day is signified and the opening of the beginning of the documentary ends.   

Taks 1 - Research into existing products

What is a documentary film?
Documentary films constitute for a broad category of non fictional motion picture films which are intended to capture a sense and aspect of reality which is used for a variety of purposes the main purposes being to instruct or maintain a historical record. Originally documentaries were shot on the only medium available but now documentaries are video and digital productions that can be either direct to video or made as a television program or certain documentaries can be released in major cinemas. Documentary is described by many as a cinematic tradition and a filmaking practise and because of this it is continually evolving with very little boundaries.
Cinema Verite
Cinema Verite was dependent on some technical advances in order to exist such as light , quiet and reliable cameras and portable sync sound. Cinema verite can be seen as a reaction against studio based film production constraints .The filmakers were taking advantage of the advances in technology which allowed smaller , handheld cameras and schronised sound to film events as they actually happened on location.Films such as Primary and Crisis behind a presidential commitment, both prouced by a man named Robert Drew and Don't look back by D.A .Pennebaker are all deemed frequently as Cinema Verite films.Fundamentals of this style of film making include following a person during a crisis with a handheld , moving camera to capture personal reactions. Sit down interviews are never a feauture and the shooting ratio is very high and often reaches 80 to one and from that editors make and sculpt a film. The editors of this movemnt are often forgotten a few of them being Werner Nold and Muffie Myers along with Charlotte Zwerin , Susan Foemke and Ellen Howde but their input was actually extremely vital that often they were given co-directer credits.
Source of info = wiki documentary




History on documentariesThe Gpo produced alot of documentaries. The Gpo used to control telephones and the general post office film division. This was in order to explain and promote work of the post office . Early goverment videos informed people about what the post office. The Gpo self served themselves in order to promote a good thing. Now they are trying to privatise it. An example of a video put out by the Gpo is the fairy on the phone which advertised industrial Britain. In 1931 John Griersom became new director of the Gpo and he made alot of the conventions of what documentary has grown to be known for. For example what a documentary should look like.    


Steps needed to analyse a documentary


What TV channel it is broadcast on ?


What is the title of the documentary?


What type of documentary is it ?
Historical-The rise and fall of the Egyptiann empire 
Biographical - The life of Sir Stanley Williams
Investigative - The truth behind disappearance of Madeline Mcann 
Artistic- The work of Van Gogh  
Wildlife- The anatomy of the blue whale
Political- The new Labour years ,
Drama documentaries- Margaret Thatcher
Reality - Keeping up with the Kardasians
Celebrity- David Beckams new tattoo
Scripted reality - TOWIE, The Hills 


What style of documentary is it ?
Narrative structure- linear/non
Editing - fast slow , dissolves , fades ,superimposing
Voice overs- narration , register , tone , mode
Archive footage- type , style , place , period of time
Graphics - pie charts , images
Text- captions , subtitles , banners ex
What is the subject matter /content of the documentary?


What are the messages and meanings behind the documentary - what is it trying to communicate to the audience?