CK: Comparison of Two Music Videos

 Barthes narrative codes:

• Enigma code is portrayed in Everlong through the mystery behind the kidnapping of the woman. Who is she? Why is she being kidnapped? Who are the kidnappers? In Burn the enigma comes from the location of the music video, which includes an airport, a forest, and some kind of field. I believe that all these symbolise the freedom of youth, and anticipation of the future. Enigma is also created through the shots at the beginning of the video, which are all generally short and give very little away. For example the close up of the girl’s feet in the field, which leads the viewer to question who this girl is, and why she is in a field.
• The action or proairetic code is portrayed through the tension of the fight scenes in the Foo Fighters’ piece, which are both comically entertaining and exciting. In Burn the tension is built at the beginning of the song through a series of close ups and medium close ups which introduce all the characters in the video. The duration of these shots is reasonably long for a music video which helps raise the tension and anticipation that something big is about to happen.
• I believe that the semic code in these videos is also fairly clear. The Foo Fighter’s video represents childlike fantasies of being a hero and saving a damsel in distress type figure, whereas Burn represents the freedom of youthfulness and rebellion.

Dyer’s Two Key Paradoxes:

• In Burn the artist (Ellie Goulding) is shown to be present through her meatshots which are close ups in which she breaks the fourth wall and addresses the viewer using a first person mode of address. She is then shown to be absent when she rides away on the truck.
•  In Everlong the presence and absence is less obvious, this is largely due to the video being highly unconventional, however the idea of being ordinary and extraordinary is clear through the narrative. For example, at the beginning of the video, the main artist (Dave Grohl) is presented as being a normal, everyday person, wearing average clothes and living in a standard house, however, during what appears to be a dream like sequence, Grohl’s hair style and clothing change, making him seem more and more extraordinary. Then at the end of the video we see him playing guitar with the rest of his band, which further emphasises how extraordinary is, and also works to make him seem absent to the audience.