Textual Analysis: Linkin Park- Castle Of Glass

Linkin Park are quite different when it comes to music videos. A lot of the time the songs they sing and the music videos show real life situations that happen. Adding realism into their music video. These types of videos shock the audience and the story that is told in the narrative keeps them interested.
The narrative that is included in this video is a story of a young boy who finds out his father has been killed whilst at war. It shows his journey from coping with the death of his father and then growing up to also be in the army but sadly at the end of the video having to tell a young girl the same thing that someone else had to tell him when he was younger, basically showing how history is repeating itself. Music videos like this really surprise the audience and bring them back to reality by showing them what happens in the world. This is a very different way of creating a music video because the uses and gratifications theory states people use music videos or films to escape from reality and their problems, whereas this video puts reality into context.

An example of another video showing real life situations is "What I've done" this video shows clips of war, rioting, poverty and damage to the environment, really giving a meaning to the lyrics of the song.

 By doing their music videos like this it breaks the conventions that you expect to see in a rock music video. They are not trying to be seen as rebellious, and they are not mocking anything. However because they are using such an emotional story you could say they are being rebellious by rejecting the conventions of rock music videos.

In terms of editing the narrative is filmed in slow motion to add emotion and anticipation to the song. The slow motion effect adds to how the boy must be feeling and the knowledge of his fathers death makes him feel like his world is moving in slow motion. This effect helps the audience to have sympathy for him. Then when there is the performance from the band it is at a normal speed, so it differentiates from the narrative and the performance.
A green screen is used during the bands performance, showing their performance is not the 'real world' and that it is the narrative that is showing the real life situations that happen everyday.
Special effects are used when  one of the band members from the band is singing his part in the song. During this the room he is stood in is made to look like it is falling apart. This is to portray how the young boys world is now collapsing around him because of the death of his father.

The editing is slow paced throughout the music video, with nine edits during the chorus. This adds to the sad narrative and is a way to make the audience feel sad whilst watching it because they will be focusing more on what is happening in each edit because it is shown for longer. However as the tempo rises towards the end of the chorus the editing also speeds up, this is to match the pace of the instruments and singing and also sets the audience up for the cycle of the narrative to start.

When talking about sound in the video. For the majority of it the only sound that is heard is the song itself. However for the first few seconds it is silent and all you can see is the door, it seems like it is the boy walking towards it. Then what starts is a constant low tone that carries on during the start of the narrative until 1:08. This is used so the audience will focus only on the narrative at first so they can get a sense of what is happening and what is most likely going to happen throughout the rest of the narrative.

There are not many different locations used during this video, because of the purpose of the narrative it means that only few locations need to be used in order for a message to be portrayed . There are quite a lot of costume changes to show the cycle of everyday life, this is because the narrative is not set in just one day it shows the lifetime of the boy therefore is the reason why a change of costume is needed otherwise it would lack realism.  The different costumes changes during the music video is to show the young boy growing up into a man. For example at the end of the video he is dressed in marine uniform just like the man who told him his father had died. This notifies the audience that the same cycle is happening again.

During this music video there is a use of a cap, which plays quite a big part in the narrative of the story. Near the end of the video the young boy finds his dads cap and puts it on, in this moment of him putting on the cap there is a cut to an older man wearing it. This clearly shows in the narrative that quite a lot of time has passed and that it is the same boy. Without this part some of the audience may not have realized that which would therefore make the ending of the narrative less effective.

There is a range of cinematography used in this music video. The young boy is shown in most of the shots in this music video therefore suggesting he is going to be the main focus of the narrative and that the story is going to follow him.
There are many close ups used to show the emotion on the characters faces. These were used because it is a sad narrative and by showing the emotion it means the audience can connect and sympathize  more with the characters who are in the narrative.

The close up of the vase smashing on the floor the represent how the lives of the characters in the narrative have been shattered, just like the vase, because of the news they have received.












A tilt is used at one point to slowing show one of the singers as he is performing the first verse. This change of cinematography was used so the audience could differentiate between who is part of the narrative and who isn't. Also the lighting is darker whilst he is singing which is also showing he isn't part of the narrative.

At the end of the video there is a quote that is included. This gives meaning to the music video and is used to educate the audience on things that are really happening in the world. This quote is also a way of the band giving their respects to people who fight for their country for the benefit of others.

Linkin Park are signed to one of the Major Labels, 'Warner Bros.' This will result in them having a bigger fan base because they can get more publicity from being signed to such a large conglomerate.
Warner Bros has also signed other bands such as 'Biffy Clyro' who have a similar style of music to Linkin Park therefore they can promote these bands together and widen their fan base, therefore making more money for the institution.