Raul B. Fernandez- The Final Breaths of a Main Character
Raul B. Fernandez- The Final Breaths of a Main Character Analysis
The music video begins as though it is the initial sequence of a feature film, with a black screen, and a quiet backing track of crickets. The opening title ‘The Final Breaths of a Main Character’ is introduced as the camera slowly pans from a birds-eye-view on to a boy lying in the woods, this long take of the main character is also the start of the song to which the video is made for.
Artificial lighting has been used within the first take of the film, flitting across the set, in order to inject an element of surrealism into the storyline. Although it is a music video, Raul B. Fernandez had created it to follow a storyline as though it is a short film; we can see this from the match on action of the boy drawing a lighthouse, which is closely followed by an eye-line match, a close up of his face to a long shot of a lighthouse. There are two main themes to the film, the first being real staged footage, and the second is animated cartoon, the first introduction to the animation is the lighthouse. The eye-line match creates a definite sense of conflict between the two film mediums as we see them contrasting directly, adding to the surreal ambiance that has been previously created.
The non-diegetic sound has been matched with the cinematography as the boy is perfectly lip-syncing to the music, this knits the music and the video together, as they are lyrically and physically similar. Beneath the main focus of the song, we can hear diegetic sounds including the rush of the ocean and bird song, which again, incorporates the story with the song. Likewise at the main bridge in the song, the music changes to a more devious, darker tone, and as this happens the entire scene changes to animated cartoon, with exception of the main character and the main prop, a large cast iron bed. The contrast between this creates an almost threatening feel, as though the character has entered into an unfamiliar world, where he is the only human involved. To exaggerate this idea the song begins to rise in volume, layering voices and instruments at different volume and style to create a menacing, eerie moment in the song. At this point short takes from different angles have been matched to the beat of the song, as the beat is fast and prominent at this point the editing reflects the idea of insanity, as the short takes are hard to follow.
At this point a large cartoon wave sweeps across the screen and a wipe cut is used to change scene where more people are introduced into the cartoon world. Their costumes include chivalric jackets and waistcoats from the romantic era, which contrasts the main characters scruffy t-shirt and jeans, injecting yet more elements of surreal. Together with that long takes with a hint of slow motion creates a dreamlike atmosphere, whilst giving a hint of the extended time scheme within the film.
The cinematography has been carefully manipulated to create false movement in the action. By using very tiny whip pans, the idea of movement has been created, as though the bed is bobbing on the waves of the ocean, and being pulled by the breeze. In the film as the bed begins to sink, a low angle shot of the main character has been used to show the sinking motion, whilst enhancing the importance of the main character, as the song draws to a close. To end the song the initial idea of the music video being more of a feature film is reintroduced. The scene fades out into black, and as the lyrics and soundtrack ends the volume of the diegetic bird sounds is raised. This accompanies the final credits, finalising the idea of the music video being a short film.
‘The Final Breaths of a Main Character’ is not a typical music video, as it follows one long storyline throughout, directly reflecting the lyrics of the song. It shows its elements of surrealism through use of cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene (including costume and props) and sound (the main soundtrack and diegetic).
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