Mise en Scene

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCEBY NICOLE & HANAN

Costume/Make-Up The band members are all wearing black

and white, mainly black. Their jackets are black with white stripes (similar to military jackets worn for fashion). They’re either wearing skinny black jeans, typical of rockers in music videos, or tight leather trousers. Overall the impression given is that of black marching uniforms, in tune with the theme of ‘The Black Parade’ which is the album this song is a part of. Their hair is all an artificial colour, dyed bleach blonde or black, or worn natural quite long and floppy which is in keeping with the style of the rock genre of the music video and would be appealing to its target audience.

The lead singer Gerard Way stands out in blonde, and the only one wearing noticeable make up with black eye shadow giving him panda eyes, adding to the impression of making him look insane. His face has been made to look extremely pale, deathly sick which fits in with the lyrics of the song which has an overall message of lying next to a patient who’s hovering between life and death. ‘I see you lying next to me... / asleep or dead’.

Props

The band kick up a lot of dust which looks like it could be sand, obscuring our vision even more along with the smoke in the air. This ties in with the idea of confusion and questioning life ‘where’s your heart?’ and how the bright lights cast a shadow.

The main ‘props’ are only really the instruments which is where the main focus lies as this video is mainly a performance type of music video – and even the instruments are black and white/silver. Marching bands often play in parade to strike up inspiration and hope within crowds, which is the overall point of the album particularly as this is the last track on the album, with an uplifting note of staying strong and keeping going on with life.

The Black Parade float that the band performed on in an earlier video for ‘Welcome to The Black Parade’ is burning behind them. The burning float behind the band signifies their fearlessness, ‘I am not afraid to keep on living’ as they keep on playing despite the danger, as well as playing along with the line ‘these bright lights have always blinded me’.

Location- Immediately, the setting on screen is presented as isolated and distant from others. - There appears to be no clear or specific location and this is partially determined by other factors of mise en scene such as the portrayal of low key lighting.

- However, it does appear to be located outside in an open setting.

- Within this idea, props as a feature of mise en scene are also an important factor as ‘sand’ is constantly being kicked and blown which conveys the location of a desert.

Immediate portrayal of isolation

Sand (Desert Connotations)

Lighting- When the music video begins, low key lighting is projected on to the members of the band but in contrast to this, high key lighting is reflected on to the floor. (See picture 1)- However, when the actual music (lyrics) begin, the high key lighting switches to become in direct contact with the group and everything else around them (setting and location) is presented in low key lighting. This almost conveys a spotlight effect directing the main focus specifically on to the band members.- The high key lighting becomes more prominent through the use of props when mini explosions of fire appear on screen. (See picture 2 and 3)- The light from the fire almost acts as a reflection, projecting more light on to the members of the band.- Even though the fire changes the overall brightness of the high key lighting, the low key lighting is hardly altered, emphasising the importance of the band as a group.

Picture One

Picture Two

Picture Three

Overall Meaning

Overall this is mainly a performance music video, and the underlying tone of the song with the lyrics seems to be a message of hope: ‘I am not afraid to keep on living’. It seems to tell a story of someone who’s extremely sick, possibly terminally ill and someone is speaking to them in shock at their poor state and encouraging them to keep on going which they do try to do. They seem to be looking back upon their life, the good and bad that they have done but have come to terms with it all and are at peace with it: ‘Honey if you stay I’ll be forgiven’.