Johnny Ringo by Crown the Empire Music Video Analysis

What are the Codes and Conventions used in the Music Video of Johnny Ringo by Crown the Empire?

In the music video of Jonny Ringo by Crown the Empire (a niche group with a small fan base in the UK but
a larger fan base in the US) the camera, editing, mise and scene and sound are utilised to create a very
intriguing and thrilling atmosphere despite there being no narrative footage to the video - even though
the lyrics contain a narrative - and only has shots of the band playing the instruments and singing.
Different codes and conventions are used in the video to symbolise the state of mind of the artist or
character by displaying his emotions - which he could possibly have felt whilst writing the song - through
the use of visual elements. The hectic nature of the video makes it more appealing to the audience as it
matches the genre of the band and could conceivably match the personality of the person watching/
listening to their creations.

At the beginning of the music video we see a still close up shot of a set of stairs and the feet of possibly a
band member walking up them. This could be symbolic of someone stepping up onto a stage or podium
to give a speech about a life experience or say a story as we do not see what’s at the end of the steps.
Diegetic sound of footsteps has also been edited in synchronous to the footsteps and a bright white
flashing logo of the band is displayed, taking up most of the visual space on the left. The use of the white
flashing logo mainly draws the attention of the audience as the colour is contrasting to the dark black and
grey filter of the shot, this has been done purposely so the audience attention is drawn to it and they can
realise who the video and song belongs to.

After this, we see a mid-shot of the lead singer from a slightly high angle walking up the stairs, this
generates intrigue as the audience want to know who he is. As he walks up the stairs into an attic we see
a post-production inserted title saying, “Johnny Ringo” in a bright white fancy font, again contrasting the
colour of the filter to catch the eye of the viewer. He walks past the camera and the writing stops flashing
and is clearly visible, this could imply that he is Johnny Ringo and is going to sing about himself. The
camera shot quickly switches to a mid-shot in front of the singer, he carries on walking towards the
camera turning it into a close up shot of his face making it more personal for the audience. Random
shapes, letters and numbers which appear and disappear have been edited in at this moment to possibly
reflect the confusion inside his head, but, when he starts to sing they disappear. He proceeds to sing
whilst staring directly at the camera and therefore us, suggesting he is trying to communicate with us.
This also reinforced through the opening lyrics which are questions directly aimed at us through the
usage of the word “your” and “you”, for example, “This is your time” and “But what if I gave you a
chance?” However, this could also be representing the voice of the devil as the song is about Johnny
Ringo selling his soul to the devil.

The last word of the intro, which is “soul”, is elongated. The end of the elongated word has been edited
into an extremely fast repetitive loop causing it to appear as if it is being paused and played really fast.
When this happens, there is also a fast switch back and forth between two mid shots of different singers.
As the end of the word soul eventually turns into a build up for a scream, we see another shot of a singer
close up and directly looking at the camera whilst he growls into a mic, gradually getting louder to create
a climatic build up. At this point, a blue filter quickly shows up and disappears and the big circular lights
behind the band flash synchronously to the music. The camera shots are now in colour highlighting that
the actual verse/story has begun. When the build-up stops and the singer screams, a fast-paced drum
beat and an electric guitar starts to play. We see close up shaky shots of the band members aggressively
playing their instruments, this chaotic image being shown reflects their genre and style of music. During
these shots red and blue filters are flashing, these carry on throughout the video creating a disorientating
atmosphere for the audience. This could be reflecting the thoughts going through Johnny Ringo’s head
after being given the offer of getting his life back by selling his soul to the devil.
During the last 2 lines of the first verse which are before the chorus, the speed of the song drops. Due to
this, the camera shots become more stable and less wobbly, however, the changes in filters are still
occurring to make it interesting to watch for the audience. The camera shots are switching quickly but on
certain notes sung by the singer, making it look fluid and appealing. The slowed down tempo allows the
chorus to have a big impact as the speed suddenly changes to a fast pace. The drums are hit hard three
times at the begging of the chorus which other members of the band are recorded “head banging” in
sync too, this may be because head banging to a song is popular in the metal genre community. The style
of the video returns to a chaotic state which could now reflect the excitement of Ringo as he is alive
again, which is shown through the lyric “I can feel air inside my lungs again. All because of you.” The
change of state during the chorus is the same for every chorus throughout the song.

By the time of the chorus, we’ve seen all the members of the band performing together. All members are
wearing black clothing with one item which is white. This could be representative of how Ringo’s soul is
actually doomed due to the colour of black being related to evil but there being a little hope, as white is a
colour associated with purity and light.

Near the end of the song, the lyrics say, “I never wanted this” and at this exact moment the shapes,
numbers and words start reappearing on the screen, which could be interpreted as showing that he is
now again confused and hurt. The red filter also is appearing for a longer length of time, meaning he
could be angry as red is associated with violence. The lyrics that follow can be interpreted as the devil
speaking as it says, “I gave you your time, now your soul is mine”, this could show the lyrics are a
conversation between the devil and a man. The red filter can also be representative of the devil as it is a
colour usually associated with the devil.

From the video we can see that the narrative of the song was portrayed as a story being told by a
narrator, who was the lead singer. The emotions experienced by the man in the story are reflected
through the use of filters to distort and disorientate the audience and to make the video visually look
more exciting. The genre of the band was clearly communicated through the video by creating a hectic
and fast paced atmosphere through the use of editing camera shots to have fast transitions, making
effects appear and go quickly and by having fast paced movements by the band members.

What will I emulate from the music video and how have I been inspired by it?

From the music video I have learnt that the pace of the video matching the pace of the song creates an
effective and interesting video. As there was no visual narrative to the song and the emotions and
atmosphere were mostly all created by the editing of camera shots and filters, it is clearly visible that
these factors can create a huge difference into making the video more interesting for the audience,
therefore meaning I most likely will try and incorporate features like them in my own music video. Even
though I enjoyed and was entertained by the video, I still feel that a mixture of visual narrative and shots
of the band would have given the video the extra edge to make it that much more engaging and I will
therefore proceed to have a mixture in the video I create. Watching the video has inspired me to make
sure there’s a connection felt with the audience through the video by means such as looking directly into
the camera, as it creates a more effective and engaging experience for them. The last thing the video has
inspired me to do is to take into consideration all aspects of the music video from the clothing all the way
to the final editing as each small detail and symbolic code can help me achieve the atmosphere or mood I
wish to generate.