For my third music video I’ve decided to analyse Paramore’s video for their latest single Ignorance. Ignorance is Paramore’s first single off their third album Brand New Eyes.Ignorance falls into the Pop Punk genre which combines Punk Rock and Pop styles.
The video for Ignorance features the band performing in a small darkened room with a light bulb, a larger performance area and lead singer Hayley Williams in a box room of mirrors with her hair tied back, and in white clothes secured by duct tape.
The song is about the band’s progression over the years and Hayley stealing the limelight. This is represented in the video by the light bulb. Williams holds the light bulb, and throughout the video the light shines on her. She tries to point the light at the other band members but the cord is too short and they all ignore her, leaving them in the dark while Hayley gets all of the attention. This is further expressed in the video by the regular use of shots featuring Hayley in the light as well as close ups of the light bulb and the light bulb’s cord being stretched.
Lighting effects are important for the narrative of the video. The video mostly takes place in the dark and uses light in an unconventional way, with the light bulb being the key light and the key light being in front of the camera. Slightly more conventional lighting is used where Hayley is in the mirrored room, with back lighting occasionally used to show Hayley’s position in the limelight.
A fast cutting rate is used between the scenes of Hayley in the mirrored room as she attempts to escape the light which gives a sense unease and disorientation. A time-lapse effect is used towards the end of the video where the male band members who are still in the dark tie up Hayley using the light’s cable. The video ends with Hayley letting go of the light bulb and the light going out, as if to say without her the spotlight will not be able to shine on any of the other band members.
Hayley Williams in an interview with Kerrang:
'In my eyes, this song is a huge turning point for the band. The truth of it is, growing up is not easy. We’re five different people who have to work towards the same goal on a daily basis. There were a lot of times when I felt really alone or angry or insecure. I don’t always feel good at confronting people, especially people that I love, like these guys. Sometimes it takes songs to get the point across. The song is from one person’s perspective. It’s unfair that I’m the one who gets to talk about it but it helped me a lot. The line ‘ignorance is your new best friend’ is about how I felt I was losing people, and I think the band did too. But it’s okay, we’re growing up. I love that song.'
The video is simple and low budget, but at the same time effective, things that we’ll be looking to achieve when we come to record our own music video. It keeps the common conventions of pop punk videos, with the band performing cleverly coupled with an intriguing narrative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH9A6tn_P6g
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