Music Video Analysis-Metallica Enter Sandman

Metallica a Thrash Metal band created the song Enter Sandman for their self titled album or the 'Black Album' which was aimed to appeal to a much more mainstream metal/ hard rock audience. Filmed July 3 1991 and released on the 30th, the video relates completely to the lyrical meaning of the song, linking to the themes of nightmares and a constant follow of 'The Sandman' of a little boy. Images of the child having the nightmares is seen, with the shots of an old man being shown and performance values of the band in the background aswell which creates a narrative style video with performance values creating a hybrid styled video.

The mise en scene of the video uses a range of locations and settings, with a constant of the boys bedroom throughout. Settings of a dark night and a large truck heading towards screen, falling from the top of a building, covered in snakes and falling from a mountain is shown being the literal nightmares of the boy on screen. The effectiveness of the scenes is the colouring of the scenes all matching with dark saturated tone throughout which creates an evil feel to the video. This then links to the song itself and the bands values in industry of there metal dark approach to music which makes the video suiting to both themes in the song and the band. This can then also link to the albums name the 'Black' album which suits the dark scary settings in shot.  

The camera angles and editing techniques really makes the video as effective as it is to follow the conventions of the thrash metal genre Metallica's music is categorised in. A mix of both 'performance' and 'Narrative' styles of video are seen, where fast cuts between both helps build tensions and suspense of the actions of the boy and his nightmares which follows the build up in heaviness in the music. Extreme close ups are used throughout, focusing on band members hands and body movements playing in the dark which presents and enforces the aggression and grittiness of the music. The band playing in the dark also then fits well with the low key lighting of the boy in bed. It helps the fast transactions between the band and boy and the 'nightmares' flow well whilst changing really quickly. This pace in cuts between clips then links to the speed and timing of the style of music they are playing. Further zooming in close ups of the boys face and neck as he is trying to sleep helps emphasis his struggles to sleep as the nightmares are effecting him which fits well with band member movements as it wouldn't look as good if the band were moving and he was still.