Analysis of Mr Brightside - The Killers

The Mr Brightside video is based around an affair between a woman and two men who both seem to be in love with her. Throughout the video we see this one particular woman kissing other men and dancing with them, whilst this is going on one of the men is playing with his band on stage, we continuously see him looking over to the women and showing his heartbreak and jealously of how she is with other men.

The setting seems to be some sort of party or gathering of both men and women who are all dressed up in smart clothing. There is also the idea of it being burlesque, with the outfits being fairly upper class, yet the women almost being 'play things' for the men, and performing a show for them.

The genre for the music video is rock/indie and the target audience would be people aged late teens/ early 20s. The reason why this video would attract this audience is due to the fact it is based on a love affair and heartbreak about a young couple who are going through a hard time, which is what people of that generation are more likely to relate to.
This video is alike to other videos of its genre in the fact that it is quite edgy and about a subject that can affect many people at some point in their lives.

The lyrics suggest that the main character and lead singer of the band has been through some sort of break up but has got through it, however by seeing this girl again and with other men it has made him feel jealous and obsessive. As he is going through in his mind what she is doing with these other men it is making him more and more upset and is struggling to handle. It appeals to the fact in the fact that every teenager will go through this at some point in their life, and some watching the video could already have.

The name ‘The Killers’ signifies that the band are quite a energetic lively band who sing about emotions and subjects that are hard hitting. I think the artist wants to portray a tough exterior due to the fact that in terms of mise-en-scene he is wearing very dark colours, apart from his waist coat which is quite a bright colour, showing the audience that he maybe more emotional on the inside and things may affect him more than people think.

The props used such as the brightly coloured chairs along with the extravagant characters in the video portray his as being quite creative and thinking out the box, as he might not want to conform to the norms of a music video. The image will make the music/artist popular as he is being honest to the audience and showing how he truly feels and he is not afraid to show himself as being vulnerable. By using all of these different ideas he is showing that he is spontaneous and interesting and doesn’t just copy others.

The music video starts with a fade, with an establishing shot of the band on a stage. There are then close ups on the characters in the video, followed by a zoom onto the main singer. This is a low angle shot, showing the singers importance in the video.

There is also use of eye level angles, with various actors/singers, these are used to suggest different emotions, some could have sexual connotations.Women are portrayed in a dominant way, however there is suggestions of scandal perhaps, with several girls surrounding one man, and cuts between one woman with two different men. There is also one shot of a woman being cast aside, and pushed away, by a man which suggests she is not as powerful as she first thought.

Although this video has examples bad for young people to follow, e.g. cheating, it is clearly theatrical, and therefore many young people are unlikely to follow their lead.

In my opinion, the video is enjoyable, however, some links are not clear between the song and the video. Personally, I prefer music videos to be more realistic than theatrical, following a narrative. For example in the music video of 'I Love You' by Woodkid, it shows a mans struggle, and incorporates religion and beliefs.