UNKLE - Another Night Out (Feat. Mark Lanegan) pt.1

Music videos rely an awful lot on montages and effective sequencing to construct a narrative. UNKLE's 'Another Night Out' is no exception.

Before I start the analysis of the video - I would prefer to give my interpretation of the song and its lyrics.

Lift the wheels up from the roadway
Close your sparrow's glassy eyes
That walk upon the water
Once more for me
Are those dead diamonds baby
Or are they stars gone to sleep

So low that you might miss me
Ah yeah
Slowly fades the light
So low that you might miss me
Ah yeah
Slowly fades the light

Wait for the Spring

And to this thing
I do surrender
To the darker sin
I climb with a vine
On a graveyard train
Hauling away
Drowning to die
Down four fathom five
To wear the hallowed crown
To haunt the hollow trees

What from heaven's tongue is heard
Through the veins
Love sustained
Another night out

So low that you might miss me
Slowly fades the light

Another night out

Wait for the Spring

And to this thing
I give myself
On a graveyard train
Pulling away
Down into heaven
Down into heaven
Down into heaven
[?] heaven
To wear the hallowed crown
To haunt the hollow trees

To wear the hallowed crown
To haunt the hollow trees

Merely from watching the video, hearing the song and its tone and then reading the lyrics - you can tell that this is a dark theme. The mentions of 'surrender(ing) To the darker sin' and 'to haunt the hollow trees' denote this feel, as well as 'Drowning to die' and 'a graveyard train'. With that in mind, you can use the video to fill in the blanks and find a narrative. 

The video depicts a boxer preparing and then eventually engaging in a ring fight. The sport of boxing is often claimed to be violent and brutal, but the lyrics seem to denote a character who is happy to engage in violent and brutal activities and to 'wear the hallowed crown' as if he is proud of being a great boxer. The boxing may be a metaphor for the message that the writer of the song is proud for being good at something that society remarks as being 'dark'. 

Equipment and software that will be used throughout the course

A DSLR camera

Throughout last year's AS course, I learnt a lot about the cameras that we use and how to get the best out of them. From experimenting with methods such as using a trolley as a dolley in tracking shots to changing the white balance to best suit the mood and tone of the film I want to make - working with the cameras has been a great experience in readying me for A2. In A2, I will most likely be far more hands on with the camera. Unlike AS we have been disallowed from working in groups, meaning that it is unlikely for me to once again play the role of an actor in my product. This is fine as it presents a challenge and allows me to capture footage just how I would like it. I can also work with tripods, though I might use them in very limited fashion throughout year 13. I find that edgy drama is easier to create when there is more movement involved in the cinematography and so still footage might be hard to come by in my product. This year, we will be using DSLR cameras and so it's possible to learn even more about new equipment.


Final Cut Express:

I would say I have excellent skills in editing, having edited practically all of the opening sequence coursework with relative ease despite a pretty tight schedule. A music video however is a completely different story to an opening sequence and likely involves far more editing, especially in a music video which approaches 5 minutes in length. Hopefully with all that was gained in AS, I will be up to the task - even if it does take weeks longer.

Audacity:

Though this is a maybe - The song that I will choose may need to be cut down or edited to better suit my product. This might mean that I will use the free audio editing program Audacity. Although I am likely to use Final Cut Express before I turn to Audacity - it could be useful for emergency editing at home.

Lighting:

Being the son of someone who works as a lighting electrician has its benefits. I may have access to stronger lighting set ups which could be available to use for specific tones that I might want to create in my product. This will likely be limited to indoors however, while outdoors will need to be planned around the weather and the lighting that it brings.

Pending further possible additions: