music video analysis

1. Rise Above This
Seether
Music Video Analysis

2. Basic Structure
- This music video has a narrative as well as performance
elements.
- All shots of the band members were in the same room
throughout (an apartment building) which the main character
in the narrative is surrounded by.
- What is portrayed in the music video matches the lyrics to the
actual song.
- The does seem to be a colour scheme of blue and red
throughout the video, even matching the lead singers hair.

3. The music video starts off by
panning away from the window,
revealing every musician in the
band playing to the song.
The lead singer then walks
towards the camera as it
continues to retreat until he
reaches a microphone. It
then cuts to an extreme close
up of his face, focusing more
on the lyrics he is singing
rather than his portrayal in
these sections.

4. We are introduced to the narrative
of the music video. There is a
medium shot of the main character
looking towards a large industrial
area.
As he looks over his shoulder it is as if he is
conscious someone (the audience) is
watching, and from his expression, we get
an idea of what his true intentions are in
this scene.
It then cuts to show the direction he is
going to go, as well as making him
seem small in comparison to
everything around him, even the
frame. As he looks down, it confirms
our recent theory: he is planning to
jump off the building.

5. The lead singer makes eye
contact with the camera, the
audience, as he is trying to send
a message within the lyrics and
trigger emotion from the story
being told.
The other band members are
not forgotten as they are
frequently shown playing to the
song throughout the music
video. In some shots, just the
instruments are shown.
In sections of the song, like the
chorus, the camera is handheld
and very shaky to emphasise
the more powerful segments
of the song.

6. We are shown a close up shot of a
photograph of the main character’s
family, then a reaction shot showing
his sadness to leave his family
behind.
One by one, a close up focuses on
each member in the photograph
being held.

7. After a character is focused on in
the photo, we are shown a clip of
that person living their happy
everyday life, contrasting with the
introduction of the main character.
Each character unaware of what
the main character is going to do.
Without words, we are able to
figure out who each family
member is to the main character.

8. An extreme long shot shows him
looking down at us from the building
and dropping the photograph; he has
made his decision.
The family members start to feel
the wind as if they are on the roof
with the main character. This could
also suggest they have a strange
feeling of what is about to come.

9. As the character falls, each
ember of his family also falls as if
they are all connected. This
shows how his act would have an
impact on those who love him
most. This is a powerful message
to the audience watching.
We are then shown the photograph
again to reveal the lead singer is one
of those family members, who also
falls. This then connects him to the
narrative as well as the performance
pieces

10. Shots in reverse are added after he jumps. Each
family member falls back upwards as well as the
main character, showing back to before he
committed suicide as if to say he has more than one
choice – he can choose to live.
The message in this video is that you are not
alone and you have the strength to make
the right choice – to live and stay strong,
because the people around you will also be
affected. The lead singer moves back
towards the window where the music video
began showing everything has been
reversed and another choice can be made
this time around.