I am a Video Editor – and one of the things (probably the main thing) that inspired me to work in television post production was actually music videos.

Music videos are one of my favourite things in the world and I spent hours and I MEAN literally hours when I was growing up watching them Even now in the modern world, I can find myself getting lost on YouTube watching music videos for hours on end – they are an addiction.

This month we are looking at the band that I think was the first emo band I listened to when the genre and style came about in the mid noughties. I wasn’t sure of My Chemical Romance at first but when I heard Helena I absolutely loved them. Their videos are dark but they are very beautifully edited and put together to create this world and I think that is why there is so much love for this band. As they have grown older the creativity in their videos have developed and become amazing, I mean look at the way they announce their return to the world below and you will see why I wanted to include them in this feature.

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My Chemical Romance – I’m Not Okay (I Promise)

Why did you choose this particular video?

This was the first song that I heard of MCR and even though it was a long while until I saw the actual music video it was a song that stood out as something very different to what is out there. It was very different to other music videos that were out there at the time so it really stood out. The video is sort of like a trailer advertising that there are others like you out there.

So, what is the narrative?

There were two music videos made for this song and this is the second one as the first one was of the band performing at concerts.This video is like a mock film trailer for an American High School and is a video that stands up for the outcasts and watches them take on the popular kids throughout.

Favourite parts of the video?

The one thing that automatically stands out in the video is the graphics, they are basic but they are really effective, the way they slowly move in feels like the words are directed straight at the audience and reel them in. I really like the fact that the text and the colours are actually in the same style as the bands logo. They are used throughout the video and they really do attract the audience to watch.

The one thing that I really love about this music video is the editing, the cuts are short and catchy and really feel like a trailer. Also with these short cuts it allows you to really delve into the narrative. A lot happens in these quick edit shots that really define the way that the popular kids act and it is really striking and great how much you can tell about the story in these short snippets.

Throughout the trailer there are shots of the band added throughout and they are really interesting shots as they are in this room that feels quite small coloured with red and purple walls. I am not sure if the colours are deliberate but when you look into the meanings of the colours they feel like they could play an important part of the narrative. The colour red can indicate passion, war, courage and anger and the colour purple connotes nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. I feel that this video really sort of highlights these points as they fight back with the popular kids and I think that is why it is so effective. The fact that the room is pretty small as well I feel acts sort of like claustrophobia and that these emotions are building up and they eventually want to act on them.