Similar Text Analysis

My music video I have picked to analyse is End Credits by Chase & Status which features Plan B.
The music video starts off with an establishing shot of a black background with 5 flashing lights constantly flickering. A quick paced guitar string is being played in the background and as the video continues, the use of slow motion shows a grey hooded person falling down into the shot. In the top right corner of the shot we see a glimpse of another hooded man looking back in fear.

The shot then cuts into a canted angle of the floor anticipating the grey hooded mans impact when he’s about to touch the floor. The use of a close up of his face illustrates the full impact of the fall. Once he lands, everything goes back to a normal pace and we see the legs of what presumably is a man due to the stoned trousers and brown brogues, walking past the grey hooded man.

The use of continuity editing allows the viewer to see the shadow of the mysterious man over the grey hooded man’s face in a birds eye view. Whilst the mysterious man walks away, the shadow is lifted over the grey hooded man’s face who we finally know is the artist Plan B. A quick raise in pitch of sound signifies this and plan B’s eyes open wide. The use of the shadow being lifted and the eyes opening can denote death because, once he’s down, the soul goes away and now he’s telling the story as a ghost. To further support this, at the 45 second mark the following lyrics are mimed “When the blood dries in my veins/ and my Heart feels no more pain/ I know, I'll be on my way to heaven's door”

This goes hand in hand with the idea of a death, and as the lyrics are finishing, a fast paced drum role is heard which ends the guitar instruments sound. This is quite different from the other genres because at the beginning we hear an acoustic sound of a guitar, which is parallel to the visuals as it was showing a man in slow motion falling down. However when the video begins to pick up momentum it changes into a drum and bass genre and this perhaps may signify what is expected to come in the video, probably an action telling story due to the fact that drum and bass is an extremely fast paced sound compared to acoustic sound.


Moving on from the introduction, the narrative side of the video starts and we see four people in an all bricked room with a simple table and papers on top of it. Two people one male and the other female both wearing suits and badges are sitting opposite of Plan B and beside him is a person with a notepad taking notes. What we can also observe the ghost of Plan B at the far end of the room looking back at this event that involved him. All this signifies is an interrogation room, maybe for the police or psychologists that might be involved questioning Plan B. To follow on, the use of a minute taker may support the idea of a place being used for interrogation.

A familiar picture editing style is being shown in this video; non-continuity editing. The use of this creates disorientation as it is not a logical flow of events. A lot of short takes is being used to show the drugged and disjointed feel we as a viewer are getting. Some examples are when we witness severe unrest in the following shots. Plan B is heard saying ‘Fuck You’ directly aimed at the interrogators, as well as ambient sound of a man screaming with visuals supplementing the sound. A fight involving 9 people is next seen from a low angle shot. We cannot see the faces due to the low level lighting in the shot, and the effect it creates such as shadows follows the mode of address we are suppose to expect from the video, which is sinister.

The shot then focuses its attention to an elderly man who is looking down at the fight below him in freight, most likely from a highly risen council estate. The use of the low angle shot helps the viewer place its self in the elderly mans shoes. Furthermore, it can signify safety, as it can be seen he’s away from the danger below. Once again the theme of disturbances is shown through ambient, this time of a car alarm.

Moving on in the video, the shot cuts to an underground tunnel. This environment goes well with the tone of the overall video which is shady and evil. A Young male, probably in his 20’s is seen approaching from the dark, battered and bruised up. He yells the words ‘He’s got a gun’ to plan B. The bruised up young male is then quickly dragged back by a rope, presumably so he doesn’t reveal anything else. This quickly results in a shootout in the following seconds to come with Plan B and someone else.


More of the same continues in the final minute of the video. The non continuity editing is heavily influenced as well as many short takes to help with the video reach its climax. We have very powerful lyrics to help us demonstrate what he means. “I know when I'm not, I’ll be hoping I don't drop, To a place where I will rise, like before”. By this he’s saying that if he doesn’t go to heaven, he hopes he doesn’t drop and lives a place where he’s been brought up, which is hell. To indicate hell (where he’s been brought up) we see a sequence of very disturbing images such as an old man in a respiratory system as well as police being bombarded by petrol bombs.

The final lyrics portray the need for comfort. “And my heart stops beating, and my lungs stop breathing, in air, I hope somebody cares ... When my mind stops thinking, my eyes stop blinking, I know, At the end". It’s all shown in an extreme close up, to show the emotion in the face of Plan B. With the clever camera shot and lyrics to match it, we recognise that Plan B does not want to go through this pain and suffering again in the afterlife, and hopes that there’s someone who cares for him when he dies.

In the final shot of the video, we see two people running towards something after being alerted. The use of canted angles and 1st person shot throughout the run disorientates us. Diagetic sound of footsteps is heard to create a sense of urgency, as we don’t know what’s going on. They then come to a halt, and see a body laying there which is Plan B. Heavy breathing is heard as well as ambient sound of dogs and a car engine. This skill makes us realise what has happened as it takes us away from the song, and into a sense of reality. From it we gather that Plan B did have someone in the end after being brought up in hell as he described and causing trouble throughout his life. It’s a strong statement as what turned out to be a powerful song taught us that at the end despite the way Plan B lived, he did not enjoy it one bit and wanted to be cared for.