Zeds Dead: Collapse 2.0 (feat. Memorecks) - Promotional Video Deconstruction

Zeds Dead

Founded in 2009, Zeds Dead is a Canadian electro-house production and DJ duo from Toronto consisting of Zachary Rapp-Rovan (left) also known as Hooks and Dylan Mamid (right) also known as DC. Rumour has it that the band name may come from a quote from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 "Pulp Fiction" when Butch Coolidge, played by Bruce Willis, steals a 'chopper' from a rapist named Zed, after Butch's enemy turned ally shoots Zed. When Coolidge gets home, his partner asks him where he got the chopper. He tells her he got it from Zed, she then asks "Who's Zed?" and he replies with "Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead."

In 2004, Hooks and DC formed the hip-hop orientated 'Mass Productions' and then three years later released an independent album called 'Fresh Beetz' before switching to Zeds Dead in 2009. It was in 2009 where they embraced house music and the more abrupt/organic side of dubstep. 'Journey of a Lifetime' was their debut and also the first of many downloadable releases (available for free) in 2009. This was then followed by more free downloads and a remix of Barletta's 'Panther'. Throughout 2010 and 2011 Zeds Dead were increasingly active as they began to get their name out on a commercial level. They managed to release material on Steve Aoki's Dim Mak label and Diplo's Mad Decent label. One of the most well known remixes they produced at this time was Blue Foundation's 'Eyes On Fire' (original song featured in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, 2008) with 93,626,344 views on YouTube (18th August 2016). They also toured extensively throughout the USA during this time.

The Field Production Company

Representing a host of talented directors who specialize in music videos, commercial video production, and corporate video production is the full service production company - 'The Field Inc.' Since opening its doors in 2007, The Field has received much acclaim for its work, racking up over 75 Much Music Video Award nominations along with those from Juno and Canadian Country Music Awards. Based in Toronto, The Field is owned and operated by Executive Producer Cherie Sinclair.

Collapse 2.0 (feat. Memorecks)

I'm lying on my side and I'm wondering when will it all collapse
I'm lying to myself if I said that I'm never coming back
Can't remember all the things that you said, or the reasons why I left
But now this room is spinning while I'm trying just to fill in all the gaps

You're so used to walking away
And I'm left here on my own
I never listen to what they say
But you're already gone
Yeah, you're already gone
You're already gone
You're already gone
You're gone
You're gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...

Lying on my side and I'm wondering when will it all collapse
You're gone
You're gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...

Lying on my side and I'm wondering when will it all collapse
I lie here on my own when you're gone, but you're never coming back
And every time I'm down and out, I think of what we had
So now I'm driving round in circles trying to fill in all the gaps

You're so used to walking away
And I'm left here on my own
I never listen to what they say
But you're already gone
Yeah, you're already gone
You're already gone
You're already gone
You're gone
You're gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...

Lying on my side and I'm wondering when will it all collapse
You're gone
You're gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...

Yeah, you're already gone
You're already gone
You're already gone
You're gone
You're gone

Synopsis

This music video is a 'concept' music video that features numerous people in different artistic fashions. The song is about a relationship 'collapsing' and so many of the actors are doing just that in some way, shape or form. There is also a lot of destruction in the music video, with fires. sparks and various weapons featured.

Timeline

WHOLE VIDEO IS SHOT IN SLOW MOTION

0:00-0:07 - Wide-shot of a girl (1) sitting down, falling to the floor.

0:08-0:15 - Long, panning shot of a field full of different characters. Two males and one female are falling to the floor, there is a girl standing in the far-left with her hands in the air, girl (2) looks to be sitting on the floor screaming. Whilst all this is going on there is a cloud of red dust floating the right of the screen.  

0:16-0:17 - Close-up of girl (2) taken at a low-angle to the right. She is still screaming, with her mouth wide open and her head tilting towards the sky as she holds a bandana that is wrapped round her neck. Specs of ash/debris fall through the air in slow motion.

0:18-0:20 - The camera transitions to a mid-shot of couple (1) about to embrace as two other couples are fighting behind them to the left. On the right is just another girl running away.

0:21-0:22 - Long, panning shot of a man standing in a hunched position, opposite girl (2) whilst another girl stands to the left of him with her hand in-front of her face (as if to protect herself). In the background there are lots of bare trees that have bits of plastic stuck to their branches.

0:23-0:25 - Mid-shot of girl (2) again, this time taken from slightly further away but still to the left. She is still in the same position as at 0:16.

0:25-0:26 - Mid-shot of couple (1) kissing as a fire burns in the foreground and specs of ash/debris fly past them.

0:26-0:27 - Very fast pace close-up of girl (3). She is screaming as there are flames in-front of her face in the foreground of the shot.

0:27-0:30 - Another long, panning shot. This time there are a lot more people in the frame. Two girls are fighting in the left of the shot, one girl is chasing another as they run towards the camera, and another girl about to collide with another in the centre of the frame.

0:31-0:33 - Low-angle shot of a man about to crash into the floor as two girls chase each other in the background.

0:34-0:37 - A close-up shot of the same two girls as from the previous shot. They have fallen to the ground and you can see their heads/hair collide.

0:39-0:41 - Another long, panning shot, the same as at 0:21. This time however, there is a cloud of red dust floating towards the right hand side of frame.

0:41-0:45 - The camera then transitions to a mid-shot of the man standing in the centre of the frame as he falls backwards to a reaction from a spark in-front of him. The camera pans upwards as the man falls to the ground.

0:46-0:59 - A long, panning shot, the same one that was featured at the very beginning. This time round a male is rolling on the ground in the right hand side of the frame. As the pan continues we see girl (1) again falling to the ground.

0:59-1:00 - A close-up shot of a black man screaming as flames rise right in-front of his face in the foreground.

1:00-1:05 - Wide-shot of a girl (1) sitting down, falling to the floor as specs of ash fall from the sky.

1:06 - Another close-up shot of a black man screaming as flames rise right in-front of his face in the foreground. Ash falling from the sky is also visible in this shot.

1:07-1:11 - Long-shot of a couple (2) in their underwear lying on a bed, asleep, in the middle of a field. A huge amount of thick, black paint can be seen about to fall on top of them.

1:12-1.14 - Just as the paint is about to touch the couple's skin the camera cuts to an extreme close-up of flames in-front of a mans face as he looks directly at the camera (breaking the fourth wall) with an angry expression on his face.

1:14 - The same shot that was featured at the very beginning of the music video, of girl (1).  This time you see less of her body as it is a mid-shot and cuts off at her waist. She is still falling to the ground and dirt marks are noticeable on her arms and face.

1:14 - Within the same second the camera quickly transitions to the same shot as the one at 0:59.

1:15-1:21 - The previous shot then cuts directly to couple (2) on the bed. The paint has fallen and splattered all over their bodies and the bed.

1:22-1:27 - A long, panning shot again however in this one it is hard to distinguish the different actors because of the red smoke and white ash invading the frame. There is however one girl standing in the middle of the frame holding a black balloon over her head.

1:28 - A close-up of boy (1). He looks directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) with a terrified look on his face as specs of ash from the fire fly past his face.

1:28 - Within the same second the camera quickly transitions to an extreme close-up of a girl screaming as flames fly upwards in the foreground of the shot.

1:29 - A long, panning shot with two girls fighting in the foreground as some other actors stand and dance in the background. Red smoke is featured again in this shot.

1:30-1:31 - A close-up of Hooks from Zeds Dead. He is looking directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) as a fire burns in the foreground of the shot.

1:32-1:34 - Mid-shot of couple (1) kissing as a fire burns in the foreground and specs of ash/debris fly past them (same as the shot at 0:25).

1:35-1:36 - A close-up of DC from Zeds Dead. He is looking directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) as a fire burns in the foreground of the shot. He is also carrying a baseball bat, which is resting behind him on his shoulder.

1:37-1:38 - The same long, panning shot as the one at 1:29. This time you can see more characters as the camera is positioned slightly closer to the actors and also moves across the frame for longer.

1:38-1:40 - A close-up of Memorecks. He is looking directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) as a fire burns in the foreground of the shot.

1:41-1:42 - Mid-shot of couple (1) kissing as a fire burns in the foreground and specs of ash/debris fly past them (same as the shot at 0:25). Within this shot you can also see, on the left hand side of the frame, a man wearing a grubby, ripped white T-shirt, running towards the foreground.

1:43-1:44 - A wide-shot of all three artists. The individual close-up shots shown before were taken from this shot and edited in during post-production before the original shot was shown.

1:45-1:47 - A low-angle, close-up shot of a man falling to the ground.

1:48-1:51 - The same long, panning shot as the one at 1:29. This time you can see more characters as the camera is positioned slightly closer to the actors and also moves across the frame for longer.

1:51 - A mid-shot of a man being blasted with small, silver sheets of paper.

1:52-1:57 - A long, panning shot of a man, wearing a beanie hat, running towards the left hand side of the screen. The man from the previous shot (getting blasted with silver sheets of paper) can be seen from a long-shot perspective and you can also see the woman blasting him.

1:58 - The same shot as the one featured at 1:51 is shown again. This time however, the motion is set to reverse as the sheets of silver paper get sucked back into where they came from.

1:58 - Within the same second the camera quickly transitions to a long-shot of a girl in a white dress standing in a field by herself.

1:59-2:00 - The camera then cuts to the same shot as the one shown at 0:30. This time the man actually makes it to the ground and as he collides, specs of dirt fly upwards into the foreground.

2:00-2:02 - A close up of a girl screaming as flames fly upwards in the foreground of the shot. It's the same shot that is featured at 1:28, this time however the camera is further away from the girl as her hands are visible in this shot, which they weren't previously.

2:03-2:04 - Low-angle, close-up of a boy lying on the ground. A bandana covers his mouth and nose so it is unclear what his expression is but he has his eyes closed.

2:05-2:06 - An extreme close-up shot of a girl screaming behind a mass of flames, covering the foreground of the shot.

2:07-2:09 - A mid-shot of DC throwing a grenade into the air as he looks to the left of the frame. Behind him to the left stands a wooden cross covered in a white sheet and flames fly upwards in the foreground of the shot.

2:10-2:13 - A close-up of boy (1). He looks directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) with a terrified look on his face as fire starts to burn right in-front of his face.

2:14-2:17 - A mid-shot of the girl wearing a white dress falling backwards through the air.

2:18-2:20 - A mid-shot of a girl falling backwards through the air. Her top has risen up to her chest at the sheer force of the wind from the blast.

2:21-2:24 - A long, panning shot of a couple tied together whilst various characters fight to the left of them. A red flag is positioned in the centre of the frame as red smoke flies through the background of the shot.

2:25-2:27 - The camera transitions to the same mid-shot of couple (1) embracing at 0:18 as two another couple fight behind them to the right of the frame.

2:27-2:28 - The camera quickly transitions to the same shot as the one at 0:59. This time however there are less flames so the mans face is more visible.

2:29-2:32 - A long, panning shot of four people fighting in the right hand side of the frame, one girl dancing in the background and another man just walking towards the fight. A girl with lilac hair can be seen in the foreground shaking her head as she looks down.

2:33-2:35 - A mid-shot of a gothic woman holding up a grenade, whilst a battered red flag stands to the left of her.

2:35-2:36 - A close up of a girl screaming as flames fly upwards in the foreground of the shot.

2:36-2:39 - A long-shot of the same gothic woman standing on two cases that weapons would normally be kept in. The mid shot taken at 2:33 originally came from this shot and was edited in before the original shot in post-production.

2:39 - A close up of a girl screaming with her hands raised as flames fly upwards in the foreground of the shot.

2:39 - Within the same second the camera quickly transitions to a close-up of boy (1) looking directly into the camera (breaking the fourth wall) with a less terrified expression on his face.

2:40-2:43 - The same long, panning shot of a couple tied together whilst various characters fight in the background of the shot. A red flag is positioned in the centre of the frame.

2:44-2:47 - A mid-shot of couple (1) kissing as a huge spark explodes behind them.

2:48-2:50 - A mid-shot of a girl falling backwards through the air (same as 2:18). This time there are more specs of dirt flying upwards with her.

2:51-2:57 - A mid-shot of a man standing in-front of a spark (which is about to explode) whilst three girls sit in the left hand side of the frame covering their faces and running away.

2:58-2:59 - This shot continues on from the shot taken at 2:03 and now you can see more of the boy's body as he has fallen further into the frame.

3:00-3:02 - Wide-shot of a girl (1) sitting down, falling to the floor.

3:02-3:03 - A mid-shot of DC standing and looking to the left of the frame as he has just exploded the grenade he was holding at 2:07.

3:04-3:05 - A mid-shot of a girl falling backwards through the air (same as 2:18). This time there are more specs of dirt flying upwards with her.

3:05-3:06 - A mid-shot of couple (1) pulling away from their kiss.

3:07-3:08 - A mid-shot of the girl wearing a white dress falling backwards through the air.

3:09-3:13 - A mid-shot of girl (1) just standing up in the field looking into the distance after all the violence has calmed down.

Mise en scène

Due to there being a seeming lack of any overt geographic marker (because the setting is just a field full of baron trees) I needed to look into where the music video was shot a little closer. A few pointers has led me to believe that the video was shot somewhere in Canada because:

1) In the description box underneath the YouTube video it states "We acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR and Canada’s private radio broadcasters".

2) The video was produced through a Canadian production company.

3) Canada is renowned for its cold climate which could explain the lifelessness of the greenery surrounding the actors of the video.

There is little to say in terms of the meaning of the objects within the video because there are very few. However there are some interesting things worth mentioning. A red flag is featured a couple of times throughout the second half of the video. When investigating what this might mean, I discovered that a red flag is the symbol of socialist revolution or a warning of danger. Lots of music videos have political symbols but I feel like this music video relates to the pressures couples and friends face from society, resulting in break ups and arguments. This can also relate to the red smoke passing through the background of many shots during the video.

Weapons, such as grenades can be seen throughout the video. I believe the director chose to include these objects because these objects are used to destroy things, which relates to the theme of a broken relationship. People often get depressed when they experience a break up from a lover or friend and so the black paint, which is poured on the couple lying in bed at 1:15, could perhaps represent feelings of sadness or depression.

Costume & Make-Up

Most of the characters in the music video are wearing very plain clothes. For example, most people are in black and white clothing or just ordinary jeans and a T-shirt. There seems to be no correlation between characters in terms of their clothing. However there is one girl who stands out from the rest of the actors. This woman's clothing is very different to anyone else's clothes. Her skin-tight leather dress, knee-high black socks matched with black high-heels, dark hair/make-up and piercings help her to emit a rebellious/gothic vibe. This can also be seen in the use of the black bandanas worn by many of the actors. The rebellious attitudes of the actors clothing can relate back to the red flag being a symbol of revolution as rebels often wear dark clothing and bandanas to hide their true identity so they do not get caught for their crimes.

Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits

The main reason for the selection of these shots are because artistically they are great and the slow motion effect is very endearing.

The specs of paint and mini spark explosions make for lovely shots due to the aesthetically pleasing detail involved.

Focus Group

"I think the concept of this music video works well with the song because the link between the audio and visual is obvious enough for the audience to understand, yet it takes perhaps more than one watch to understand the metaphors and symbols completely - showing depth. I also love the sleek movement of the camera and the exceptional editing skills. You can really tell the equipment used was of a high standard and therefore the video looks so professional and clean - making me want to tell my friends about how good the whole production is."

"I do really like the music video but I think that the fact that there was only one setting makes it slightly boring and repetitive, therefore it leads me to only listening to the song through e.g. Spotify, rather than watching the video regularly. If the setting was interesting perhaps my view would change but because it is just a field I found it rather dull, despite the destructive scenes. I also don't like how disconnected the characters seem. I understand how they are meant to act violent towards each other due to the nature of the song, but there is something very off-putting about how they act like no one but themselves exist. It makes the whole video seem very isolated. On a more positive note, I do really like the tone of the video. I think the director has chosen to use a filter or perhaps colour graded the visuals in post-production because the whole video has a deep red/maroon tinge to it. I think details like this help the audience understand and appreciate how much time and effort gets put into a music video."

"I love this music video, I think it is really different and unique - I have never seen anything like it before, especially for a dance music video. The fast edits contrasting with the slow motion makes for such a unique watch. I also found that the actors were very committed to the making of the video - their facial expressions and body movements seemed very natural and not forced at all - like they really were scared when fire came flying up into their face instead of making it obvious that they knew at the back of their mind that it was all going to be okay. I also really like the fact that the limited mise en scène can all relate to the lyrics/meaning of the song as this proves the concept of the music video has been well developed and understood by the audience."

Lessons to be Learnt

• Tone/concept of song needs to match mise-en-scène.
• Breaking the fourth wall can help the audience and actors connect through film.
• People tend to enjoy videos which reveal a deeper meaning and so it is well worth considering incorporating elements that are symbolic into the video, e.g. red flag relating to danger (dangers of the outcome of a failing relationship).
• It is a good idea to combine some aspects of the visuals with the lyrics of the audio as it helps highlight the concept of the song and makes the employed metaphors easier to grasp.
• It can be important for elements of the video to be relatable to the target audience; be that the protagonist or the setting.
• Bulk of music video consists of long, panning shots and close-ups, so these would be good to include when it comes to filming my own music video as they seem to be popular and effective.