Red flago

BILLY TALENT – RED FLAG

• Shot – Establishing shot of setting. Bleak colours other than red, which sets the scene of the video

• Lyrics – Kids chanting “we want out!”

• Edit – Cuts to an old car and then into an unfocussed shot of a kid running as the music starts

Analysis – Since the title of the song is “Red Flag”, the red flag in the scene obviously stands out to reflect this, whereas everything else has a washed out, depressing yellow tone. This sets the scene of the video, as it’s about people becoming free, and as we can see here no-one is around, later we discover it’s because they’re trapped.

• Shot – Close-up of handcuffs over a door handle breaking open. Kids then burst through the door.

• Lyrics – “Cast off the crutch that kills the pain” (chorus)

• Edit – Very fast and aggressive editing to connote chaos and disorder.

Analysis – This scene shows us the main focus of the video. School kids are breaking out of their school to run riot on the streets with “red flags”. The colours remain depressing and washed out, apart from red which is once again accentuated. “cast off the crutch” here may mean don’t accept any help, telling you that you’re your own person.

• Shot – Longshot of kids running, one with a red flag

• Lyrics – “The kids of tomorrow don’t need today” (chorus)

• Edit – Shot gets a longer focus than the other shots

Analysis – We can once again see a red flag in this scene, being carried by one of the kids who escaped the school. They’re running down some train tracks together, enforcing the rebellious attitude. The colours are the same style as the last shots.

• Shot – Very long shot of kids running down a road

• Lyrics – None (beginning of solo)

• Edit – Shot once again gets a longer focus than shots before it, but still doesn’t stay on screen for very long

Analysis – This scene gives a sense of scale to the rebellion of red flags taking place. The cheering of hundreds can be heard. The feeling of chaos and excitement is still there as the editing is still kept to a high speed. The comparison of their numbers to previous scenes gives an idea of how much the rebellion has grown.

• Shot - Long shot of the actors in the video standing together

• Lyrics- None (end of song)

• Edit – long cuts

Analysis – The end of the song as the music fades out is accompanied by slow pan outs of groups of the kids no longer running riot in the streets but standing together with their ‘red flags’ in the background. They are all wearing gas masks, which is a motif used in many punk rock videos as it’s a symbol of war and oppression.