Eg Video 3: Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By The Way Video Analysis

Artist: Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Song: By The Way
Director:  Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris
Genre: Alternative Rock
Year: 2002

The video starts out with an establishing shot focusing on the street name and a medium shot of the lead singer waiting for a cab. There's also an interesting shot which looks like the cameras been placed on top of the cab almost like a point of view shot. The video then cuts to a performance shot of the whole band in a dark room for the opening lyrics. It then cuts back into the cab where the driver puts on a CD by the Red hot chilli peppers and starts to sing along, the camera work throughout is very shaky to simulate the cab on the bumpy road.

 As the chorus kicks in it cuts back to the performance scene with a sequence of medium shots of different band member with again shaky camera as if an earthquake style effect has been used. It then cuts back to inside the cab where the driver puts his foot on the accelerator and speeds up in time with the increased tempo of the music. As the driver starts driving recklessly swerving to dodge cars, the lead singer in the car starts to look increasingly worried. The driver then locks the doors so he can't escape. The video cuts between performance and the narrative all the way through. 

As the song enters the breakdown the cab driver backs up into a dark tunnel and starts playing with fireworks dancing along to the song. The singer sends a message to the other band members sitting outside a cafe saying he's been kidnapped. His fellow band members start following the taxi which has started driving on the pavement. We see a long shot of the  two cars which end up side by side. The lead singer breaks through the window and jumps into the jeep with the  other band members. At the end the singer and the two guitarists drive away. The final shot shows the cab pulling up to give the drummer a ride.