The Pretty Reckless are an American rock band from New York. The current members of them are Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips, Mark Dormon and Jamie Perkins.
They released their first single on May 13th 2010 and the release of there debut album 'Light Me Up' was released in the UK August of the same year.
'Miss Nothing': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFlHsKExcYg&feature=relmfu
This song is based around the Last Supper. Taylor Momsen is represented as a more modern Mary Magdalene with Jesus' disciples all around her. The song is about grief and loss and how people cope with it. This is shown through the actions of the lead singer in the video and also the lyrics. Mary Magdalene feels overwhelmed by grief and guilt "I'm a bottle of pain" this is shown at the point 0:58 by her throwing her head back in anguish. I think she feels as though she's been cheated by all of the disciples and by God because towards the end of the video she takes the cross from around her neck and throws it. We were going to dress our lead singer in crosses to try and link it in with the religious side of the supernatural. At the end of the video, she ends up lying across the table as if she's stopped fighting the grief and feels a sense of hopelessness. She also smashes a glass over one of the disciples heads to show her feeling of being betrayed. She is saying how she was "misused" and "misguided". She feels abandoned and it is shown by her sitting in Jesus' formerly empty chair and also by her crawling across the table as if she is wanting a reaction from everyone else. The disciples around the table are expressionless as if they are numb. We are going to use this for our protagonist who will be trying to block the world and painful emotions and memories out. At the point 1:26 Momsen falls to the ground and then the camera follows a split second later. Its like her thoughts are too quick and everyone around her can't keep up with her thoughts about what happened and what could have happened if she'd done something different. Also, at 1:22 the footage rewinds a little bit, as if she is thinking over her past mistakes and wishing she could change what happened.
At the start of the video, there are a lot of fast takes to match the drum beats and chords on the guitar. Also, they are used to symbolise being watched and judged by God. We are going to use short takes in our music video to show the action and violence of the zombies.
The focus throughout the video is quite blurred around the edges. It makes the audience think that she is close to passing out, she is possibly overwhelmed by recent events and it could be due to alcohol, from the last supper, or drugs from the rock lifestyle. It also uses the phrase "I don't know where I've been" like she can't remember, as if she's been to a party and can't recall the events from that night.
Momsen uses a red rose as a prop in the video, it's like she's singing to it which would symbolise her feelings towards Jesus (the man she loves as Mary Magdalene) and also the colour red could be to symbolise love, pain and blood, which all links in with meaning of the video.
Also, at the start of the video, Momsen is wearing a white veil, which is often seen in weddings. This is important because a veil is meant to mean that the woman wearing it belongs to the origin of her husband. In this video I think it means that she sees herself as belonging to Jesus and when she throws it away it shows her feeling of being betrayed and hurt. It shows that she wants to "be not your slave". This shows that she wants to cut all ties with God.
At the very end of the video, in the background, many iconic people who had so much influence in the world but have died are watching. People like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Chaplin and others. I think this represents all the wasted opportunities and the difference these people tried to make in the world.
The focus throughout the video is quite blurred around the edges. It makes the audience think that she is close to passing out, she is possibly overwhelmed by recent events and it could be due to alcohol, from the last supper, or drugs from the rock lifestyle. It also uses the phrase "I don't know where I've been" like she can't remember, as if she's been to a party and can't recall the events from that night.
Momsen uses a red rose as a prop in the video, it's like she's singing to it which would symbolise her feelings towards Jesus (the man she loves as Mary Magdalene) and also the colour red could be to symbolise love, pain and blood, which all links in with meaning of the video.Also, at the start of the video, Momsen is wearing a white veil, which is often seen in weddings. This is important because a veil is meant to mean that the woman wearing it belongs to the origin of her husband. In this video I think it means that she sees herself as belonging to Jesus and when she throws it away it shows her feeling of being betrayed and hurt. It shows that she wants to "be not your slave". This shows that she wants to cut all ties with God.
At the very end of the video, in the background, many iconic people who had so much influence in the world but have died are watching. People like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Chaplin and others. I think this represents all the wasted opportunities and the difference these people tried to make in the world.
'Make Me Wanna Die': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txBfhpm1jI0
Make Me Wanna Die was written by Taylor Momsen and directed by Merit Avis.
The video uses a lot of black and red this is because the band is best known for the use of colours that meet the lyrics of their songs. During the song every time the lead singer is singing they use a close up of her which gives an impact of her emotion which is written in the lyrics. Also close ups are used of the band and then on each individual instrument. The camera is always on the person who is singing so when it is one of the male band members singing the camera is on him. During the video the lead singer ends up taking her clothes off, one of the pieces of jewellery she takes of is a cross. The use of taking of a cross could give two interpretations; one being the fact that "Make Me Wanna Die" could mean give up so to show that she is taking off the cross. The loss of the cross (symbolising religion, hope and faith) links into the songs narrative of the end of the world and links it to the Apocalypse in the bible. Another idea could be cross being ripped from her neck shows the contrast of good such as Jesus and giving in to temptation and the devil and the sins of the lead singer just like the contrast of light and darkness. Also the black lipstick and the dark eyes of the lead singer show darkness which also matches the style of the band.
A lot of different camera shots were used in the performance a lot of close ups to show the emotion of the singer to the lyrics. Master shots were also used during the performance to show the band as a whole. Pans and tilts were also used in both the performance and the narrative to show the lead singer moving from one place to the other and to show she is walking towards the camera in the way she is going, and also to impact the instruments used in the performance.
In the narrative there is a lot of close ups as the lead singer walks towards the camera which also shows the impact of the lyrics which are being sung. At the beginning of the narrative the lead singer gives her cross she is wearing to a little girl which creates a two shot but though the whole narrative apart from that section there is only the lead singer in the frame.
The video uses a lot of black and red this is because the band is best known for the use of colours that meet the lyrics of their songs. During the song every time the lead singer is singing they use a close up of her which gives an impact of her emotion which is written in the lyrics. Also close ups are used of the band and then on each individual instrument. The camera is always on the person who is singing so when it is one of the male band members singing the camera is on him. During the video the lead singer ends up taking her clothes off, one of the pieces of jewellery she takes of is a cross. The use of taking of a cross could give two interpretations; one being the fact that "Make Me Wanna Die" could mean give up so to show that she is taking off the cross. The loss of the cross (symbolising religion, hope and faith) links into the songs narrative of the end of the world and links it to the Apocalypse in the bible. Another idea could be cross being ripped from her neck shows the contrast of good such as Jesus and giving in to temptation and the devil and the sins of the lead singer just like the contrast of light and darkness. Also the black lipstick and the dark eyes of the lead singer show darkness which also matches the style of the band.
A lot of different camera shots were used in the performance a lot of close ups to show the emotion of the singer to the lyrics. Master shots were also used during the performance to show the band as a whole. Pans and tilts were also used in both the performance and the narrative to show the lead singer moving from one place to the other and to show she is walking towards the camera in the way she is going, and also to impact the instruments used in the performance.
In the narrative there is a lot of close ups as the lead singer walks towards the camera which also shows the impact of the lyrics which are being sung. At the beginning of the narrative the lead singer gives her cross she is wearing to a little girl which creates a two shot but though the whole narrative apart from that section there is only the lead singer in the frame.
No comments:
Post a Comment