This rap rock genred duo's song can be viewed on their Vevo here; Twentyonepilots; Stressed Out.
As the entire music video is set in their childhood home, this conforms to Richard Star's theory of the paradox of the artist, where both artists' are both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Ordinary that the now-famous duo are ordinary from the every day basic American home they originated from and extraordinary from the life they have made for themselves, a life that everyone wants but only a few succeed at. In the greeting of the two artists' they have a secret, friendship handshake, this connotes their long time friendship denoted from the perfected handshake on screen. In certain and various scenes the duo begin to perform their song, when this scene is taking place the vocalist of the duo is denoted taking off his hat, this signifies that he is wearing a mask, and when performing he feels that he is able to take off the mask and be the real him, performing is when he feels most confident and comfortable. The location of the cold dull streets, this connotes that the scene is connoted more of an image and a dream rather than a reality. As the streets are abandoned making the add-normal looking- connoting that the song or artists' are now subverted to the location. The de-saturated natural lighting, connotes that the natural lighting is signifying reality, the de-saturated looks makes the music video look out-dated therefore it can be signified as faded memories from their past. The colour red is familiarly and commonly referred to throughout the duration of the music video, the colour red is the colour of fire and blood, it's symbolised with danger, strength, power, determination. The colour red is a very emotionally intense colour, where it enhances the human metabolic rate. The black of the clothing around him connotes formality, death and evil, signifying the death of their childhood. The prop of the classic 1970s Schwinn tricycle, connotes his childhood- however in the music video it is modernised as a statement saying that he will forever have that childish behaviour deep inside him.
The various shots of which the duo's family members can be denoted, their body structure connotes them as strong and powerful signifying how a unit of a family can bring this connotations. The movement of the camera denoted following the artist as he raises from his bike, this connotes how rapidly and quickly he grows up in reality, signified through the level changes of the shot. The quickness of this change connotes how the artists' feels like the childhood was robbed from him. A long shot of the garage, a drum set with a homemade band sign is denoted in the scene this connotes the beginning of their career and how they started makes the song personal to them, this conforms the uses of gratification theory, where the audience might be able to relate to the ideology of making their own band with friends. In all the shots where the artists' are performing there is one other character in the scene, this connotes him as their bands biggest supporter, therefore his appearance without the music video is the artists' thanking and recognising him. The pan backwards from the artist, as he is denoted walking towards the camera, signifying how the audience feel intimated by him as his connoted forcefully walking towards the camera.
The upbeat non-diegetic soundtrack of the drum beats subverts the dead silence behind the protagonist, the non-diegetic soundtrack is contrapuntal connoting how they grew up in a little dead town but was always destined for bigger and greater things which they weren't living or achieving back home. Before the non-diegetic soundtrack starts there is no sound but a pan, the audience are expecting here to encode diegetic soundtrack of the surroundings neighbourhood, this connotes and conforms to the dreamlike effect to the music video, however also subverts the ideology of reality-connoting at a manipulated image of reality. The non-diegetic soundtrack stops, during the handshake scene to connote the separation of reality and manipulation of reality, signifying that their friendship is their true reality. At a certain point in the music video the duo's family sing, 'wake up need to make money' this signifies the force to leave childhood behind- however they found success in doing what they love but still making the family proud. The manipulation of the artist where he is signified as a demon, denoted through the red eyes, connotes the force and pressure to leave childhood behind, a false trap and once you grow up you can never go back, signifying the demon as adulthood.
The editing of the music video connotes a sense of time, from the beginning to the end it symbolises and signifies the artists' from young to old, conforming to the ideology of growing up and the hatred of growing up. Jump cuts are used of the same scene but in different shot types and angles, this connotes the different outlooks and versions of reality. All the polysemic views are are right however the different movements and angles manipulate the shot differently creating a different feel of each shot. The jump edit of having the drums magically appear and the bed disappear, it signifies how his musical career life used to be dream but how their grown up and worked hard on it their are living their dream and achieving their american dream. The lack of filters and effects (for example slow motion) throughout the duration of the music video is to educate and not entertain the target audience as it's exposing reality- as in real life there is no slow motion or filters in real life.
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