Gives You Hell - All American Rejects
GENRE: The genre of the music is mainstream pop/rock.
ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE AND MODE OF ADDRESS: The video is mainly narrative - but it also shows the band and lead singer directly addressing the audience when singing the song. There are scenes however, when the band is performing towards the camera - but this isn't an actual gig performed to an audience.
HOW THE VIDEO GIVES THE ARTIST AN IMAGE: The video shows the same man leading alternate lifestyles. The half with the band included is assumed to be the reality. Whereas the half where the man is portrayed as more of a nerd is supposed to be the opposite lifestyle. This contrast highlights the extremity of their lifestyle, as it shows them being carefree, living a rock-and-roll lifestyle (drinking beer in the morning, waking up next to a girl and leaving her to be with the band).
HOW THE VISUAL ELEMENTS RELATE TO THE SONG: AMPLIFY, ILLUSTRATE OR DISJUNCTURE: The visual elements illustrate the lyrics to the song in my opinion, because it is a narrative structure. The term "i hope it gives you hell" is aimed directly at the alternate lifestyle of the band, coming from the carefree house. The structure is linear as it contains no flashback and tells the story chronologically.
MISE-EN-SCENE
The costumes used for the band's image are slightly worn out, and scruffy. This is to give the impression that the way they look is irrelevant and it's all about the music. Some scenes show the lead singer topless - this may be to reach out to the female fans or equivillantly to amplify the lifestyle they lead. The lead singer is also wearing sunglasses on one occasion - suggesting it's too bright outside after having a wild night, maybe he is hungover and unable to face the day. The alternate household characters costumes are all perfect however, with props used to show the order in the house, nothing is out of place. The lighting in this household is also more brighter than the other - which is more dark, which suggests that they aren't usually up at the time in which this is all taking place.
SETTING: The sets are both very different. Both are next door to eachother and amplify the clash between the two. One is very neat and tidy - with a housewife character there to ensure everything is in place, whereas the other one creates the illusion of a care-free lifestyle with nobody residing there seemingly bothered by the state it is in. This emphasises the rock lifestyle they are trying to portray.
CAMERA USE: The opening shot is a two shot showing the 'nerdy' characters going to bed in seperate beds at an early time. Just as the lights go out, the lights go on in the house next door. Showing that they live for the nighttime - opposing to the alternate house going to bed early. The alarm goes off at 10:30pm and the opening line to the song is "I wake up every evening" - which is a direct link. Lots of shots are used to show the band members waking up, and a close-up is shown of a beer bottle being opened just as he's woken up. All of the band look a little 'worse for wear' as if they've had a rough day. The scene then cuts to a performance of them singing the chorus. The shots focusd upon the instruments and the band members - the lead singer in particular. A reaction shot is shown of the woman from next door covering her ears as she tries to sleep. The end of the video shows the two couples coming together finally to discuss an agreement. Closeups are shown of the lead singer (in both lifestyles) arguing. And an establishing shot is used to show the crowd of people outside the bands house enjoying the music. Closeups are shown on the two girlfriends as they decide to switch men, then the scene cuts to them after swapping. The nerd-type is shown frounting the band and the scene cuts to the lead-singer with the blonde lady. The final shot shows the original bad performing the final line and the screen goes blank.
EDITING: The editing is fast paced and in time with the music. Wipes are used throughout to cut to other scenes in the video. This is a good way to do it as it highlights that they are living within close proximity to eachother.
Not Good Enough For Truth In Cliche - Escape The Fate.
GENRE: This song would be classified as rock, with a teenage following mostly.
ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE AND MODE OF ADDRESS: The lead singer is looking directly into the camera on some occasions during the performance part. The band put on a show for a small gathering of fans. The other half of the video is focused on a narrative. This tells the story of a young couple reinacting the story of Romeo and Juliet - a direct link to the lyrics.
HOW THE VIDEO GIVES THE ARTIST AN IMAGE TO THE ARTIST: The video gives the band a very specific image. They are portrayed to be slightly emo. The band isn't shown to be glamourous or rich. The sets emphasise this as they are all (some more than others) broken-down.
HOW DO THE VISUAL ELEMENTS RELATE TO THE SONG: AMPLIFY, DISJUNCTURE OR ILLUSTRATE: In my opinion, the visual elements illustrate the song. The lyrics relate to what is being shown on the screen - even though they don't completely demonstrate what it's saying word for word. The video is non-linear as the beginning shows what happens in the end - when the girl takes the poison. At the end of the video she is shown again after taking it, while the middle shows what had happened earlier.
MISE-EN-SCENE
The band's costume amplifys their chosen image. They wear dark clothing to give themselves a rock-like edge. The main characters in the video are tattooed and pierced. Which again highlights their image, and consequently may attract the target audience - visually as well as vocally. The make-up put on the girl in the video at the start is very harsh, red lipstick and black eyeliner, this tones down in the middle when she's working in the cafe, possibly demonstrating how she was happier then - feeling less of a need to cover up. The lead singer of the band is also wearing eyeliner. Which again highlights their darker image. The lighting throughout the video is dark and a bit sinister. Which is fitting for the narrative told throughout. The parts in the cafe however, are lighted really well, which could be a representation of better times.
SETTING: The contrast between the cafe in better times and worse is quite dramatic. Seeing it more rundown after her death creates a sad tone on the production. And shows the viewer the impact she had upon the place. The more upbeat, candlelit cafe creates a happier tone to demonstrate the contrast.
CAMERA USE: A number of camera angles are used within the video. The opening shows a close up of the girl's face about to take the posion, and slowly zooms out to show her drinking it. Then immediatley after is a reaction shot of her after it is gone. The scene then swaps to show the band's perfomance in the rundown cafe - an immediate consequence of her actions. Low/high angles and lower-mid-shots are used towards the beginning to show the band and their instruments. With a close up of the girl and her family portrait, which fades out to show an extreme-close up of the lead singer as he starts to sing/tell the story. The scene then swaps again to a flashback of how the cafe used to look. A tracking shot is used to show the customers and the girl soon appears (in the past) for the first time. We then see the band playing at the cafe in more promising times. Everyone within the frame looks considerably more buoyant than before. There is also a high angle shot of the audience at the gig. Towards the end is another extreme close up of the lead singer taking the poison then him kissing the girl then an extreme close up of them holding hands. All these shots are used to demonstrate how much they are in love and willing to die together if they cannot be alive together. An overhead angle is used at the end to show them both lying on the cafe floor - presumably dead together, still holding hands and in love. This faddes out to a completely black screen showing the video/song is over.
EDITING: The editing of the video is quite fast paced. There is alot to take in when watching. And many of the cuts to new scenes are within the musics rhythm. Shots are faded out into new ones throughout and the end is a final fade out to black - possibly a symbolism of death.
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