Green Day-Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Video Analysis.

LYRICS.
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
When the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'til then I walk alone

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah,
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line
Of the edge and where I walk alone

Read between the lines
What's fucked up when everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'til then I walk alone

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah
Ah-ah, ah-ah

I walk alone
I walk a...

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
When the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'til then I walk alone...

This video begins with the band strolling in a stalling car with the bands name 'Green Day' on the hood of the car, in the middle of the desert setting. Yet the audience is assured it is part of the video as  a non-diegetic sound of the radio of the track, then there is a whistling of the broken car. This is followed by a quick transition between the different views of the car. In the start the camera looks from beneath the car where we see smoke puffing out, to a longs hot of the band seated in the car, and close ups of the busted headlights. We then see them abandoning the car and starting to walk in a melancholy fashion, all sharing black item of clothing, such as a blazer, trouser on a shirt bow tie or tie, and boots. This already set a depressive appearance of the band, which we could associate with funerals having to dress in black for a lost of a love one.

We then see them abandoning the car and starting to walk in a melancholy fashion, all sharing black item of clothing blazer, trouser on a shirt bow tie, tie and boots This already set a depressive appearance of the band, which we could associate with funerals having to dress in black for a lost of a love one. They're dressing is a true there indie rock band style.

As the the first lyric in the song 'I walk a lonely road' sang by the lead singer while sill walking the empty crossroads. This shot is a medium long shot of his arm crossed and performing the song towards the camera as if he is introducing a narrative to the audience. In that frame of him singing uses a distortive layering of white scratches and black spots over the shot. The director Samuel Bayer used unorthodox techniques to achieve the aged look of the "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" video, including using rear projection (as opposed to green screen) and physical damaging the negative: scratching the film with razor blades, pouring coffee on it, and smudging cigarettes on it.

'Don't know where it goes' were them walk through the desert and exhibit some mise-en scene of the desolate house then the band walking past extras such as a woman in the front of the camera but her head cut of to see a long shot of the band in the distance still walking quite glum, with the lead singer still mouthing the words. is this the boulevard  of loss identity? The woman arms are crossed similarly to the nature of the singers body language at the start as the sing 'I walk alone, I walk alone', while stood next to a letter box seems like ordinary things like the house and the woman but the emotional balance of the surrounding is dark and gloomy.

 

We often get close up of the other two members faces to capture they're emotions as they move forward and even shots of them pulling they're blazer to muscle the harsh winds.

They walk past other objects like a gas tank, trash can and an odd goose fluttering into the comer.  While the camera remains at a long shot of the band walking still sad and opressed.

The editing they use to change shots is by dissolving from one shot into another.

The camera shows them walking at a long shot of them from the side to short cuts back an forth of the the lead singer singing the words of the song. The camera is positioned in front of him at a medium long shot as if he is the storyteller of the video. There isn't any lighting when the singer draws closer into the frame, it is very dramatic how the darkness masks his face.

Another effect made in the editing to create distortion when the camera looks like it looses focus and then blurs the band member faces, then diminishing they're emotions.
The also used a white lighting as apart of the mise-en scene which adds a theatrical experience within the video.

The music video also includes a performance element with the band playing in an empty room with discoloured walls, lighting arranged in the background, as confetti and glitter fall down. I like that the use of glitter and confetti are like a conceptual depiction of rain, a fancy way to develop a fun scene among all the gloom.

More shots of grief stricken surroundings on the projection of a streets and roads with extras stood before it in a morbid state matching the lyrics of the song.

I realised a lot of props were used in the video such as the signage above.

The lighting starts to dim as it nears to the end of the song, these scenes have darkened adding a time element to the music video travelling through the daylight into night still surrounded by lonely people and the lead singer still adopting such energy in his demeaner.

The emotion of the band mounts where locations revert back to then performing in the empty warehouse/room with their instruments performing the song with a lot of energetic jumping and rocking on the drums while the other to rock out on their guitars. Again the camera makes quick changes to each of the member of the band alone or either a long shot including all of them up until the end of the video.