bleh

1. Hozier ‘Take Me to
Church’
MUSIC VIDEO TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

2. Techniques, shots and sequencing we
could emulate - 1. Narrative
•The audience is given an ambiguous insight into what happens at the end which
creates enigma. In this video this is done by having clips of the box in the fire but
also of him burying it. Seeing as the box is being destroyed in the fire the audience
knows that when the man is burying it in the ground, something else has to happen
to reach narrative resolution.
•Multiple narratives in the past and
present could make our film more
engaging as the viewer is waiting for
the story arcs to link together.
Box

3. •This video uses greyscale. We don’t have to use
full greyscale but turning the contrast up and
down on different shots in the past and present
could contrast and distinguish the time zones
while setting the tone of scenes.
•Slow motion is another effect that seems to be
used in a lot of the shots. It creates intensity and
can put emphasis on certain shots, scenes or
actions in a narrative. E.g. when the two men see
each other and hug for the first time. We would
need a 50 fps camera for this and only slow it
down to about 0.7 to 0.9 X speed.
2. Effects & editing

4. 3. Camera work
•Handicam and Steadicam is used in every shot. This is to create an intimate and
realistic film which the verisimilitude makes the audience feel involved in the
story, like they’re experiencing it first hard. It creates far more visceral viewing
which is perfect for a narrative not breaking the fourth wall.
•Camera movement is in every shot. Even the shots that are seemingly stills are
actually tilting, panning, tracking or just wobbling due to the Steadi/handicam.
This attention to detail is what I think could make our piece stand out and look
professional.

5. 4. Cutting rate
•The cutting rate is extremely fast, the average shot being about 1.5-2 seconds
long. It’s also consistent in it’s shot length range of 0.5s to 4 seconds long. For
our Brighton preliminary our average shot length was far over this, some shots
being as long as 7s long. We need to make sure we pay attention to this whilst
filming. To do this we have to remember that even for the simplest of actions we
should have multiple shots from multiple angles to keep it interesting and keep
the cutting rate fast. An example of this in ‘Take Me to Church’ is when man 1 is
digging a hole for the box. The director uses 4 shots just to show this.

6. 5. Framing & shot distance
•To construct an understandable narrative the director didn’t do too many
extreme longshots or extreme close ups. He mainly utilised interesting
movement of the camera and different angles to keep it interesting.

7. 10 screenshots we should take
inspiration from – 1 & 2
This shot is visually striking as the greyscale creates a
frame that’s both destructive and beautiful. We could do
this on a smaller scale. Small amount of effort with big
visual payoff.
High angle shots like this that are focussed on a single
subject can create the illusion of reality because it’s
the same angle you would look from standing up,
especially with Steadicam.

8. 3 & 4
This is another shot we could use if we made a fire. It
would make an engaging filler to create enigma and to
vary the visuals.
By simply framing a subject with something or having a
blurred object in the foreground, we can create the
notion of looking and draw the viewers eye to what we
want them to see.

9. 5 & 6
An extreme longshot can make a nice establishing shot
and can create interest outside of the narrative. Purely to
keep the film interesting and possibly to enforce
underhand connotations.
Combining a shot like this with various other angles and
camera distances can make a simple hug seem powerful,
emotive and makes it narratively significant.

10. 7 & 8
An over the shoulder shot from behind with something
in the distance in focus shows that the character is
looking at something. It is a useful and easy shot to
pull off which we can apply to anything.
A shot from the back of a car or bike looking at an
individual running is intense and is one of the more
professional looking shots we have access to.

11. 9 & 10
The notion of looking is enforced when looking at any
screen. We could apply this in ours through photos, TVs
and projectors.
Silhouetting is an interesting technique we could use, be
it against the sun, a light, or a fire. It gives the option of
a number of editing methods too.