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.