Music Video Analysis 2

Theory of a Deadman – All or Nothing

This video for the song All or Nothing was released in June the 2^nd 2008. The song is in the Alternative Rock. The song was released on the Roadrunner label and the video was directed by Davin Black. The video is set in 60’s America and scenes are set in the outdoors and in a car. The actors in the video are all wearing 60’s clothing rocker/greaser style and the band are wearing plain modern clothing. The band are performing with their instruments and the story going on around them is about a man driving to a street race with props such as their cars and bags full of money to bet on the race. The band have portrayed themselves as being old school and the outsiders siding themselves with the rockers rather than the posh kids “the socs”. The lighting in the video is mostly natural as it is set outside, however some of the scenes in the car seem to have artificial lighting coming in. The colour palette is natural all though it has a washed out feel to make it seem old. Mostly all of the video framing is mid shot, with a few close ups and long shots. There is some use of soft focus in the parts of the video. There is a lot of use of steadicam, and quite a few tilt back shots, with a few boom shots. The cut rate is quite slow, at 6 cuts in 10 seconds. The cuts are mostly on the beat. At the end of the video, there is a short computer generated animation of the workings of a car starting. The band does lip-syncing, they don’t dance, the lead singer sings to the camera, and the band are demonstrating musicianship by playing their instruments.

The video relies on the stereotype of rockers and preppies, and also the stereotype of the usual early morning street race, on American ground. This culture did exist in the 60’s although probably not to the extreme shown in the video. The story in this video is based on the novel/movie “The Outsiders”, which is about two groups, (the greasers and the socs) clashing in 60’s America.

The lyrics link to the video, as the lead singer is standing as he sings about the other person “standing there”, and when he gets to “You’ve got all that I need” the woman is begging the man not to go. When it comes to “Let’s take a chance, go far away, today, and never look back again” the car is moving off, and when it gets the second chorus “Looking at all or nothing, babe it’s you and I” the camera reveals the money in the bag. When the voice goes to telephone voice, the car pulls up by the rival car.

The video might be shown on tv channels such as MTV, and Kerrang. The target audience for the video is probably people in their teens.

Music Video Analysis 1

Music Video Analysis 1

Skillet – Comatose

This video is for the song Comatose by Skillet and is classified in the Christian/Alternative Metal genres. The video was produced by Skidd Mills and was created on the 21^st of October 2008. The song was released by Ardent, Atlantic and Lava record labels. The video is set at a live gig with the band on stage. The costume that the band are wearing is mostly black, however the keyboard player is wearing white, and the drummer is wearing black and white. The type of clothing they are wearing is casual, and I think the singer and guitarist are wearing trenchcoats. The props used in the film are instruments, amps, microphones, cables, floodlights, camera booms. The singer moves his hands from the microphone to the air to emphasise the lyrics, while the guitarist moves rapidly around the stage. All members of the band do something to stay in rhythm; the most popular is head banging. They do this to make it look serious, and make them look unbeatable. The lighting is artificial, and comes from spotlights, floodlights, and other types of lights. The colour palette is a bluish tinge, and quite dark, except for 1:59 when the colour changes to a mix of green and yellow with the rest in black and white, making it unsettling, like a dream. It then changes back to the bluish tinge 2:09. The camera techniques used in this video are sweeping actions to the stage, on a boom, with a few static shots in mid and long. There are approximately 110 cuts in the video, mostly fades, but some cuts. Most of the cuts were on beat, no graphics.

The singer was lip-syncing, he was singing to the audience, and demonstrating musicianship. The target audience are teenagers going through the suicidal phase. The music video would be shown on tv channels such as MTV, Scuzz, Kerrang, and is also on a live CD/DVD.

Music Video Analysis (studio setting)

Music video analysis

Analysis of Music Video

Numb – Linkin Park

This song is in the genre of alternative/heavy rock and was released on March the 25th 2003 on the Meteora album. The video was directed by Joe Hahn and was released with the single version of the song on the 8^th of September the same year on the Warner Brothers label.

The video was recorded in Prague in the Czech republic in 4 different locations; A bridge with a backdrop of the city, a church with a studio in it, where the band is performing, a school and a house. The two main performances in the video are the band performing the song, with all there instruments and an actress playing the part of a lonely teenage girl who feels she doesn’t fit in with society. The props in this video are mostly the bands instruments and studio set up with a lot of different instruments synths and wires to give the impression that it was actually being played live, as well as some candles in the church to add atmosphere. The actress in the video uses papers and a backpack to show her school work. She also uses a pencil and paper to draw a gothic style scene from the bible while in science class to show her spiritual and arty side. As well as a paint brush and canvas that she uses to let out some of her aggression. The lighting in the video is mostly natural with some artificial and candle during the church scenes. The colours used are all dreary, earthy to reflect the emotions and feelings of the song. It seems that the colour contrast of the video has been set very low to help do this.

There is a lot of sweeping motion and overhead shots used in the video, particularly in the shots of the band. Other than a few establishing long shots at the beginning of the video it mostly includes mid and close up shots. There are a number of shots where the focus is on the actress while the scenery blurs and distorts around her. During these scenes the video is sped up and multiple shots of the same background are merged together while the actress is static in the same place. This shows how she is feeling that the whole world is passing her by.

The story of the lonely girl is intercut with the scenes of the band performing. There isn’t any narrative following on through these scenes, it’s just showing the overall feeling of the character. Near the end of the video the two scenes come together with the girl running in to the church where the band were performing. This shows that she does fit in with the band and that they understand how she’s feeling. However by the time she gets there the band has left despite leaving all their equipment behind. This leaves some confusion in with the viewer about whether she will ever find the band or someone who understands her. It’s more effective having only just seen the band performing there and knowing she must of only just missed them.

The band is represented as a casual but stylish manor. The clothing they are wearing is dark, in keeping with the style of music. The band could be seen as guardians of the girl, and suggests to the viewer/listener that if they feel a similar way to the girl that Linkin Park understand you. This helps advertise to their target audience of teenagers who maybe feel like they don’t belong. The video would be shown on rock/alternative channels such as MTV, MTV Rock, Scuzz and Kerrang.