Textual Analysis: Halestorm - Familiar Taste Of Poison

The music video is semi-performance, semi-narrative with the music video following the narrative told by the lyrics of the song. The lyrics and the video tell the story of a young woman being poisoned by her lover. There is no diegetic sound in the music video so the audience has to listen to the lyrics of the song to understand what is going on. The music video is slightly performance based as we also see the lead singer singing the song throughout. Each of the members of the band play one of the fictional characters in the narrative with the lead singer playing the murdered woman.

The music video starts with multiple establishing shots to set the scene and to show the audience what is happening and where the story is set. Before the singing starts, we are introduced to two of the characters as we see a man in a suit with the name of the band and the title of the song being shown with the man. We are also introduced to the murdered woman who is laying face down in the fountain.

The use of an over the shoulder shot introduces us to another character in the narrative. The use of chiaroscuro lighting conceals the identity of the man behind her which creates mystery around the character and connotes that he is a danger to the main character and is linked to her murder. The use of red lipstick also connotes danger as the colour red is often associated with death and danger.

The low angle shot shows how the antagonist has power over the main character as he is looking down on her. The woman is looking up at the man which suggests that she is unaware of the danger she is oblivious to his plans and her eventual fate. The woman is wearing a black dress which could foreshadow her eventual demise as the colour black connotes death.

The use of a high angle shot and the change in music shows the shift in power in the shot as we find out that the woman was poisoned. The man appears to be looking up at the detective which shows how the detective has the most authority in the shot. The music becomes more heavy as more drums are added and the vocals sound more aggressive. The use of low key lighting makes the atmosphere in the shot more intense which makes the detective seem more fearsome.

As the music crescendos and starts sounding more like rock music we see a close up of the wooden box and we are shown that there is poison concealed within it which reveals the woman's cause of death and tells us that was being poisoned by her lover. The shot has a red tint to it which connotes death and there is low key lighting which adds to the sinister atmosphere.

The use of chiaroscuro lighting adds to the sinister atmosphere being created as in this shot it shows the woman sleeping in her bed with her lover/killer stood in the foreground of the shot watching her sleep. The positioning of the character in this shot makes the woman appear vulnerable as the only lighting in the shot is from the open door from where her killer stands watching her.

The high angle shot is used to show the vulnerability of the woman as her body lays in an open casket with guests coming to see her body and say their goodbyes. The soft lighting provided by the chandelier makes the woman seem delicate and innocent.

The depth of field in this shot makes it so the audience can clearly see the man poison the lipstick. The use of a low angle shot and chiaroscuro lighting makes him appear sinister as it makes him appear larger and the lack of lighting creates suspense and mystery as it makes the audience focus on the man as they cannot see anything else in the shot.

One of the final shots of the music video is the detective closing the woman's casket. This provides a sense of closure for both the narrative and the song as it shows that the woman's murder has been solved and all questions have been answered.