Untitled Prezi

Black and White Music Videos

Hole "Doll Parts"

Amy Winehouse "Back to Black"

This video, made in 2009, shows Amy mourning her lost love as a funeral procession goes by. Her performance in a simple, middle class apartment stays true to the British style of pop stars showing their class roots. The song is mournful and suited to black and white.

The lead vocalist seems to be a bit strung out, nevertheless this video is another example of how black and white filming enunciates grief and mourning in a video. Although only parts of it are shot in black and white, it has a big impact, as the audience receives the video more seriously than if it were in colour.

Main Points in Common

• Disturbing or odd images
• Performance element
• Sad, lonely, serious songs
• Use of shadow to create interesting shots
• Exploration of a darker theme

The Prodigy "Firestarter"

The Replacements "Bastards of Young"

This 1996 video, banned at first because parents thought it would be too frightening, was shot in the abandoned underground of Aberswyth. It features strange dancing and angry expressions in the shadows of the tunnel to a very aggressive sounding song.

This video must have been very low budget. The entire time, the speaker plays as a boy walks around, smokes a cigarette, and at the end, proceeds to smash it. The song is a bit mournful but hopeful at the same time. Made in 1986, it coined the term "anti-video".

Radiohead "Street Spirit"

Featuring the use of slow motion, this video (shot in 1996) follows a loose narrative and features elegant dancers in a trailer part, the haunting voice singing adding to the eeriness of the scenes.