'Nightmare' Avenged Sevenfold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bGzWyHbu0&noredirect=1 

Context of the song:
 On December 28th 2009 the drummer of Avenged Sevenfold, James "The Rev" Sullivan, died of an accidental drug overdose. The remaining band members completed the album they had already half finished and created this video with Sullivan in mind, eg, at the beginning of the song we are shown a snip-it of a broken drum kit, and at the end of the song a very striking image of a set of drums, the lighting of which seems to be capturing the light of heaven, enlightenment or perhaps freedom (ideas very contrasting to that of the song); this is all in memory of there loved band member and friend. (This is why no drummer is present in the video) 

 This is a very iconic video in rock/metal and the band is clearly very established by the time the song was recorded. Over 30 seconds plays before a band members face is shown proving the band has developed a recognisable style and sound and had been promoted well enough for fans to recognise the song immediately and will not need a band member to help them recognise the song. The audience is also given a clue at the very beginning of the video when we are shown a very distinct tattoo which fans will recognise as the bands logo (which all the band members have had inked onto there bodies). This lets fans of the genre, and not specifically the band, know who the artists of the song are and gives them a hint what the song/video will be like. I would really like to give our band a clear identity by using branding such as a logo however I don't think we would be able to get away with not showing our band for as long as this video as it is not likely our band would have such a cult following as Avenged Sevenfold.
The narrative is the both simple and clever: The lead singer wakes up in a creepy hospital (which represents hell) in which all his worst nightmares become real. As he is wheeled through the corridors we see a series of unsettling images, including all his fellow band members in straight jackets etc
Editing is key to this video as it helps to create the right dramatic effects. We will take note of these, as we would also like our video to create the tension and emotions in our audience as this one.
          The camera goes in and out of focus throughout the video to create a sense of confusion and give the narrative a dream-like feel. This will be useful in our video as we are also creating a serial, supernatural type music video. However i feel we must be very careful when we use this technique as when used in the wrong place it will not look purposeful and will look armature when our aim is to make it as professional as possible.  

During the performance an overlap images is used, perhaps to mimic the way the way each instrument works together to compliment each other and produce a smooth solid sound overall. I like this technique and although it is very likely most of our attention will be spent on our narrative we might try and use a technique similar to this when editing our proformance to make it a bit more unique. 

The main thing we want to take away from this video is the way they took inspiration from a horror film, in the same way we want to take inspiration from zombie movies. This video has many simalaratys to a part of the film 'Jacob's Ladder' set in the hospital of the afterlife. The band has even re-created some scenes, acting in it themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOD0DZRdQ9w