TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - The Killers ft. Lou Reed - Sawdust

• CU shot of candles, deep red colours with a dark background. Creates an eerie effect, with a deep base noise. Build up of drama and suspense.
• Camera positioned looking through chairs, depth of field. The chairs are in focus but you can see someone coming into the pictures making his way though the chairs.
• The camera is out of focus, the man comes into the shot, walking across the screen and sits down on the chairs. The room has a church like feel. With the low base this makes the song feel biblical.
• Introduction of another band member, who comes and sits down in front of a keyboard at the front of the church. This is realistic as it enforces where they are, in a church like building.
• Quick cut back to the candles, still deep red, but your looking at a reflection of them in cracked glass, as if something had been thrown at it. The candles image is fragmented.
• Some ones arm sweeps across the image of the fragmented image of the candle in the glass, distorting the colours and the jacket/jumper their wearing.
• Cut back to the band member on the piano. Depth of field again is used, the camera is focused on him playing the piano while you can see someone in the background coming through the door. The pianist is looking down at the keys on the grand piano, and its clear to see that he hasn’t noticed the other man.
• Change of perspective..The camera is positioned behind the man looking through the door. You can’t see his head, but you can tell his slumped over and looking at the pianist.
• CU of foots walking up the stairs. There is a window behind his feet so you can see light streaming in behind him. In front of the stairs it is dark, This puts the image out of focus and makes the image of the males feet walking up the stairs feel dream like, and almost like an illusion.
• Cut to a POV shot, showing what the guys looking at while walking up the stairs, although it is hard to see, as the image is not focused. You can tell he’s walking into a brighter area of the building, as the foreground looks lit up. Again the camera is positioned behind him.
• Medium shot, you can see from the mans face to his waist. Light is streaming out of the window onto him, and there is a stuffed dog in front of him in the shot.
• The next shot is of a figure walking up the stairs, but you are positioned behind the banisters. Everything is out of focus.
• Cut back to the singer of the band sitting on the chairs, where there is light streaming in through the window through the gaps in the chairs. The singers face is in darkness, and this shot is a medium long.
• Close up of the side/back of his head. POV of where he is looking and the light is refracting off his hair and his facial hair, mainly his moustache. He turns his head towards the camera and then starts to sing. Starting the performance part of the MV.
• Hand griping his knee, in a dark light, showing uncomfort.
• Band member is walking up the stairs looking upwards, as if hes either exploring the building or looking for someone.
• He getting out the chair, medium shot.
• CU, camera positioned under his chin, showing off his facial hair, masculinising him.
• Hes looking up the stairs now, showing an intention of walking up there and following his fellow band member.
• Camera is positioned behind an object in the dark, as hes walking into the room with the candles. Red filter is used. Hes all in black and wearing a tight t-shirt to excentuate his biceps.
• Shot looking over everyone from the band sitting down at the table with the candles, still red filter. Paintings in background and the curtains are pulled across, this makes the scene feel like a secret meeting.
• Hes looking over the hand rail while walking up the stairs, with a low angled camera position looking up at him. The skylight is beaming light on him creating shadows across his face. (lead singer again)
• People in the candle room round the chair, almost dancing, lifting their arms as if they were flying.
• CU of a hand in a lighter room as the man raises it. Palm out with his fingers fully extended.
• Back to the guy standing under the window with beams of light coming across the room, he’s dancing with his arms full outstretched to his fingers making circle movements. As if hes floating.
• Very unfocused shot of the man hunched over the keyboard as if hes putting all of his effort into playing it.
• Camera panning around the people at the table, singer is singing and the band are moving with rhythmic movements to the beat of the song. The camera keeps a focus on the singer.
• Cut to a different angle of the singer, looking at the side of his face, still at the table.
• Band member is hunched over, head resting on his hand and looks out of it. This room is brighter though. Camera tracks across and there is a shot of two men in white coats sitting down.
• Back to the candle room, focused on the singer looking up and singing.
• Performance CU shot of the singers face. Everything in the background is out of focused.
• Singer is sitting on the sofa and the camera quickly zooms in and out.
• Back to the candle room, where the band seem to be conferring about something. They are all looking in each other’s eyes, and the camera is focused on anyone in particular. Looking through the broken glass.
• POV of the pianist looking at the singer through the door. It is lighter on the other side of the door and you can see the light beaming in through the doorway behind him.
• Older man looking moving his face upwards, as if finishing his prayer, CU of his face from the side, the other half is in darkness.
• New singer, one of the other band members, performing to the camera (first person mode of address) and half of his face is in darkness.
• Camera movement is jerky, handicam is used, and you are looking through old glass stained with white streaks going down it, water stains.
• “I’ve got this feeling that there going to come back for more”, singer is hunched over the seat in front with his arms crossed, showing fear.
• Handicam again panning round the singer sitting on the church like chairs.
• Close up of a moose’s head on the wall. “See I was thinking that I lost my mind”.
• CU of the singers face again, he’s moving viciously, back and forward as if he had lost it.
• Voyeurism, singer is looking in the mirror shaking it. Image of the singer is all black and a white background.
• Man coming through the shadows only his face can be seen emerging from the darkness.
• Distorted faces, 5 of his faces, red filter, performance as the singer is looking into the camera and directly at you showing again a first person form of address.
• Back to the candle room, the candle seems to be the centre of the MV, has references to how the band is feeling and is a meeting point.
• Distorted faces again, a different band member singing into the camera.
• Quick cut to the candle room again.
• Distorted face again, duplications of his face turning into the jet black background.
• Cut to the singer in the chair room again, still camera, and the singer are moving as if he’s at unrest.
• Cut to the sofa room, singer dancing with his arms outstretched as the beams of light go past him missing him as he positioned under the window.
• Red filter of him singing, side on medium CU.
• Looking through the glass again with jolty handicam movement.
• CU looking under the singers chin looking up as he moves jolting about.
• CU of old guy coming out of the darkness dressed in black, looking downwards in sorrow.
• Back to the chair room, as the singer sits back down with his hands on his head.
• Singer in a new room, camera is being purposely moved about. Black and white.
• Singer in doorway again, going to his knees and shrinking into an almost ball.
• New character, sitting in the chair room, he has a frizzy ginger afro, and is menacingly staring into the camera.
• More kids are in the chair room now, surrounding the singer, as the lyrics to song are now in a childs voice. Singer is always in focus.
• Quick change of focus putting a childs face into focus and the singer in the background. The childs eyes seem to be all black and his skin is pale white, this seems devilish (like the Omen).
• 3 quick cuts showing different children, each time more people are entering the room and is filling up quickly, these all focus on different children’s faces.
• Singer is dancing, background is a doorway that has been fenced off with metal strips.
• CU of the singer slumped over resting his head on his arm on the table. Showing his is delusional. Everything seems like a dream to him.
• Focused on the pianists face as he looks into the camera.
• Then cut to a shot of someone shining a torch walking into an attic. As he walks towards you the camera moves towards him.
• Cut to candle room again to focus on the band and show this is a band and not just a single act by the singer.
• Old guy turns his head to look at the camera.
• Medium shot of the singer poring his heart into the song, hes blacked out with bright window behind him and he lookds like a shadow against the background. Jolty camera action again.
• The guy in the attract with the torch is getting closer, quick shot
• Voyeurism shot as he picks up the mirror.
• Cut to the pianist again
• As the tempo of the music is building the shots come quicker.
• Reflection of the singer on the table, red filter.
• Sitting in the chair room again, light coming through the window behind him, making his face half in the dark and half not again.
• “I still here the children playing, deadbeat dancers come to us and say”, montage of all the previous scenes changing with each word of the lyric.
• “And I don’t care what you’ve scene” pointing at the pianist. POV shot, he seems more energetic and almost aggressive.
• Keeps cutting between the pianist and the singer, and back to the red room to create an ore. It is clear that the song is almost ending, and the MV is trying to do that with a ‘wow’ factor, by quick cuts.
• Ends with a POV of the singer in the door looking at the pianist and walking away out of the room, with the pianist gazing.