Solo Task - Deanna Hammond-Blackburn 9164
Imagine Dragons – Demons
This video is interesting as throughout the video the narrative aspects are intertwined with the performance aspects. From the first few shots we presume the video is completely performance as it shows the band playing a live gig. However this changes when it shows close ups of certain people in the crowd and then it zooms in quickly and cuts to a short narrative part about that person.
The lyrics are related to the visuals; the very beginning of the video is very dark with only blue strobe lighting used on the band which relates directly to the first line: ‘When the days are cold’. Throughout the rest of the video it doesn’t get much lighter and the darkness is spread over the crowd as well as the band which is showing ‘It’s dark inside; it’s where my demons hide’. The darkness is used to represent how everyone has some ‘demons’ inside them that they hide from everyone due to their negative nature. ‘When you feel my heat, look into my eyes’ is also shown through the use of the red strobe lighting streaming from behind the band into the crowd; red is associated with heat and danger and is used her as a symbolic colour. There are also regular close ups of people’s eyes; either the main singer or another band member’s or one of the people in the crowd with a short narrative part showing their hidden demons. 
The music is related to the visuals, as seen in Goodnwin’s theory, as you see the crowd waving their arms along in time with the music, and the band members move along to the music at times too. In the beginning the ASL is quite long too, which links to the slow introduction. This then shortens when the tempo of the music increases during the chorus. The ASL then lengthens again during the slower verses.
Applying Goodwin’s theory further, the conventions of indie rock music videos that have been used include showing a journey; you follow the soldier near the end carrying his fallen comrade through a desert, there is no voyeuristic choreographed dancing, the rock side is shown through the use of darker colours.
Strauss’ theory of binary opposition can be applied here; dark vs. light, strength vs. weakness, being alone vs. being in a crowd, hot vs. cold. Dark vs. light can be interpreted in a literal sense or in a more poetic sense in the way that emotional darkness is the main theme of the song and the video, yet the different people are finding ways to suppress the darkness with light or joy, which is found through the music.
Todorov can also be applied but in a more unusual way, as it applies for each person individually. The woman in the beginning is shown in a state of disequilibrium as she sat beside a coffin of who we presume is someone dear to her, this then changes to a new equilibrium as she is portrayed as calm at the gig. This is the same for the men too; they are shown in a state of disequilibrium where something bad has happened to them, and then they are shown as more positive in the concert.
The video is effective in the way the performance is used almost like a therapy session for the narrative aspects. This video makes the audience think about their own demons and then feel more connected with the song, perhaps then bringing more enjoyment out of it for them. The audience uses this video not only for entertainment but for personal identity according to Katz and Blumer’s theory. Personal identity is connotated throughout the video through the narrative clips showing insight into the peoples' lives which are otherwise unknown to the other people in the video, including the band members. The use of close ups on the band members also suggest the band are there for their own personal identities and to help hide their own 'demons'. This helps connect the audience with the video as they feel they can relate to the band members more.
This song has become popular mainly due to the Night Visions album success, and the success of their song 'Radioactive'. The band came to fame from their song 'Radioactive' being used on the soundtrack for the film The Host and the popular game Assassins' Creed trailer and other TV programs and advertisements, and 'On Top Of The World' was used on the Samsung Galaxy Note advert, which are on the same album as "Demons'. However the videos for 'Radioactive' and 'It's Time' are very different to the 'Demons' video, 'Radioactive' is very narrative and concept based but seems to have a lighter feel, while 'It's Time' is very narrative and concept based with some performance aspects but is much darker. Each video has a different director; this is because the songs are all very different to the others and need to portray different connotations.
I like the video as the way the performance and narrative are integrated make it much more thought provoking, which is what I am looking to do in my own work. The use of colours to give different representations as well as linking the lyrics and visuals is also interesting and something I would look at incorporating into my video.
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