(Surrounding Lead Singer, Jamie Sambridge)
Archie Leigh
Billie Cameron
James Adams
Jonathan Nguyen
Kimberley Johnston
Luke McManus
Nick Quinn
Pandora Burns
Ricky Sadiq
Ryan Pill
Vinycius Martins Paula
Saturday 19 December 2009
Cast. (Band Members)
Lead Singer: Jamie Sambridge
Guitarist: Archie Leigh
Bassist: Luke McManus
Drummer: Nick Quinn
Guitarist: Archie Leigh
Bassist: Luke McManus
Drummer: Nick Quinn
Thursday 17 December 2009
Conventions of Metal.
Genre:
Reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, and camera and editing styles.
The typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist.
Music videos are dominantly performance based with cuts of narrative; the performance is either live where the crowd can be seen head-banging, moshing or sporting the corna or recorded in a derelict space.
Many metal musicians when performing live engage in head-banging, which involves rhythmically beating time with the head, often emphasized by long hair. The corna, or devil horns which is a hand gesture.
The classic uniform of heavy metal fans consists of "blue jeans, black T-shirts, boots and black leather or jeans jackets... T-shirts are generally emblazoned with the logos or other visual representations of favourite metal bands." Metal fans also "appropriated elements from the S&M community (chains, metal studs, skulls, leather and crosses)."
Lyrics:
Establish a general feeling/mood/sense of subject rather than a meaning.
Heavy metal's main subject matter is simple and virtually universal. With grunts, moans and sub literary lyrics...
Romantic tragedy is a standard theme, where teenage angst is another central topic. Heavy metal songs often feature outlandish, fantasy-inspired lyrics, lending them an escapist quality.
Camerawork:
Has an impact on meaning. Tracking the movement of the singer and/or instruments, multiple angles and jumping between shot distances all play a part in the representation of the artist/band. Close-ups on the lead singer and instruments dominate.
Music:
Tempo often drives the editing.
Metal is traditionally characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound, and vigorous vocals.
Brief, abrupt, and detached rhythmic cells are joined into rhythmic phrases with a distinctive, often jerky texture.
Editing:
Fast pace editing. The most common form is fast-cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing. Often digital effects enhance the editing.
Intertextuality:
Not all audiences will spot a reference, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference and feel flattered by this. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product.
Exhibitionism:
The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years have added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze.
Reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, and camera and editing styles.
The typical band lineup includes a drummer, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist, and a singer, who may or may not be an instrumentalist.
Music videos are dominantly performance based with cuts of narrative; the performance is either live where the crowd can be seen head-banging, moshing or sporting the corna or recorded in a derelict space.
Many metal musicians when performing live engage in head-banging, which involves rhythmically beating time with the head, often emphasized by long hair. The corna, or devil horns which is a hand gesture.
The classic uniform of heavy metal fans consists of "blue jeans, black T-shirts, boots and black leather or jeans jackets... T-shirts are generally emblazoned with the logos or other visual representations of favourite metal bands." Metal fans also "appropriated elements from the S&M community (chains, metal studs, skulls, leather and crosses)."
Lyrics:
Establish a general feeling/mood/sense of subject rather than a meaning.
Heavy metal's main subject matter is simple and virtually universal. With grunts, moans and sub literary lyrics...
Romantic tragedy is a standard theme, where teenage angst is another central topic. Heavy metal songs often feature outlandish, fantasy-inspired lyrics, lending them an escapist quality.
Camerawork:
Has an impact on meaning. Tracking the movement of the singer and/or instruments, multiple angles and jumping between shot distances all play a part in the representation of the artist/band. Close-ups on the lead singer and instruments dominate.
Music:
Tempo often drives the editing.
Metal is traditionally characterized by loud distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, dense bass-and-drum sound, and vigorous vocals.
Brief, abrupt, and detached rhythmic cells are joined into rhythmic phrases with a distinctive, often jerky texture.
Editing:
Fast pace editing. The most common form is fast-cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing, so ensuring multiple viewing. Often digital effects enhance the editing.
Intertextuality:
Not all audiences will spot a reference, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference and feel flattered by this. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product.
Exhibitionism:
The apparently more powerful independent female artists of recent years have added to the complexity of the politics of looking and gender/cultural debates, by being at once sexually provocative and apparently in control of, and inviting, a sexualised gaze.
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Monday 14 December 2009
Drum Kit Information.
3 piece Mapex V Series Drums,
14 x 5 inch Pearl Snare,
Zildian zxt 20 inch Ride,
txr 16 inch Crash Stagg 18 inch Ride,
Paiste 18 inch China,
Sabian 14 inch Hi Hats,
Dualist Bass Pedal,
All other hardware Mapex 550 Series Double Braced.
Zildjian 5A Nylon Tipped Sticks.
14 x 5 inch Pearl Snare,
Zildian zxt 20 inch Ride,
txr 16 inch Crash Stagg 18 inch Ride,
Paiste 18 inch China,
Sabian 14 inch Hi Hats,
Dualist Bass Pedal,
All other hardware Mapex 550 Series Double Braced.
Zildjian 5A Nylon Tipped Sticks.
History of Five Finger Death Punch.
5FDP started in 2005 when Hungarian Born guitarist, Zoltan Bathory recruited Jeremy Spencer (drums), Matt Snell (bass) and Ivan Moody (vocals) to a start-up project he named after the infamous "Dim Mak" - The Death Punch - as a nod to classic Hong-Kong Kung-Fu Cinema.
Five Finger Death Punch recorded their DIY album, The Way Of The Fist in 2006, produced by Bathory & Jeremy Spencer, and Mixed By Soulfly/ Machine Head Guitarist, Logan Mader. After a few songs began circulating online, 5FDP became a word-of-mouth phenomenon that sent shockwaves through the underground metal community. The brute power of the band's live shows, and their quickly elevating notoriety soon became the talk of the industry.
Consequently, the finished record was picked up and released by Firm Music - the recording arm of industry powerhouse, "The Firm" Management (Korn, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit).
Five Finger Death Punch spent over two years on the road with bands such as Disturbed, Korn, Slipknot, Lamb of God, and built a hardcore following (deemed the “Knuckleheads”) that by now are infamous on their own as one of the loudest and rowdiest crowds of recent history.
The Way Of The Fist yielded 3 Top 10 U.S. Radio hits, a Top 5 MTV Metal Video, a Kerrang 'Best New Band' Award Nomination, and brought home Metal Hammer's prestigious Golden God Award for 'Best New International Band'. Record sales exceeded 400,000 Worldwide, propelling the band to the forefront of the current metal scene.
The question of whether or not 5FDP's meteoric rise was a fluke was promptly squashed by the band's sophomore album. To the astonishment of the industry, 'War Is The Answer' debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. Death Punch’s first single, "Hard To See" took only a couple of weeks before crashing the party in Rock Radio's Top 10 - becoming their fourth Top Ten Rock Radio hit in as many tries and cementing them as the most promising band in hard rock and metal.
This continued success was no accident; the band didn’t go to War unprepared. They enlisted an A-List production team in award winning co-producer, Kevin Churko (Ozzy) and legendary mixing engineer, Randy Staub (Metallica, Stone Sour, Motley Crue) to make sure 'War Is The Answer' lived up to its title.
Subsequently, Five Finger Death Punch fine-tuned their songs more than ever on this latest offering. Guitarist, Zoltan Bathory puts it best: "It was imperative to keep an open mind and evolve as songwriters while trying to stay true to the sound we already established. I think the outcome is more diverse, more mature - but undoubtedly, a ‘Death Punch’ record.”
According to the leading metal press, 5FDP accomplished just that with War Is The Answer and has been called a "Juggernaut in the Making” [Kerrang!]. Billboard Magazine dubbed the album “A Sophomore Knockout,” while Metal Hammer referred to it as a “A Colossal Beast Of Hard Rock Brilliance.”
War is an expansive collection of unbridled melodic metal. Tracks like "Bulletproof" illustrate Five Finger Death Punch's diversity, switching from a spellbinding chorus to a neck-snapping solo in a flash. “Burn It Down” is a nihilistic exploration in pure rage -- a new storyline with the same popular characters from The Way Of The Fist. Meanwhile, “No One Gets Left Behind” is an up-tempo crusher that leaves room for lyrical interpretation. “You can take it literally, or as an underlying theme we often talk about,” relates Zoltan. “We are all soldiers in one tribe or another: a band, a football team, an army, or the whole collective - the human species. You protect the tribe; you stick with your brothers. No one runs, everybody fights – and no one gets left behind.”
The band has been known for their intense guitar playing since day one, and War kicks it up several notches. Guitar virtuoso, Jason Hook joined the fold in 2008, lending an uncanny repertoire to the fold.
"Jason's rhythm playing is very similar to mine," says Zoltan. "We have our signature sound all over War Is the Answer. It's a heavy machine-gun style of playing. There are more solos too, because we wanted to utilize Jason's talent. We still focused on writing great songs though because those stay around forever."
The songs on War will certainly stand the test of time, and the emotions encapsulated in them are extremely tangible. Ivan confronted many of his own demons, waging war through words. The singer says, "It's a more personal record. On War Is the Answer, the band encouraged me to write from the heart. There is a lot of stuff, as painful as it may be, that I tried to project on this album that I didn't get a chance to on the first record."
"Walk Away" is an especially poignant song. The band incorporates acoustic guitars for a haunting, heavy sound, and the track's infectious, heartfelt chorus makes it a sure fire single.
"On ‘Walk Away,’ I wanted to wash my hands of this particular relationship in my life that has gone sour. It's a cleansing. I really did put my heart and soul into this entire record—no matter how hard it was. You have to expose the most ugly and raw parts of your life to really convey anything," says Ivan.
Ivan conveys true pain in his lyrics across the entire album. He pulls no punches, especially on the powerful "Crossing Over." His touching, episodic narrative propels the song under melancholy, melodic guitars. The entire album plays out in cinematic fashion with drama and true tension in every note. He continues, "We wanted to make an album that was going to feel like a major motion picture and not just a B-movie."
"Hard to See" could be the soundtrack to that epic. Ivan goes on, "The politics of the music industry have baffled me since day one. 'Hard to See' is me lashing out at the industry. I'm so tired of being pulled in every direction and being told what to do. The song is about melding into the industry and learning the politics so we can be freer as artists."
About their international appeal, Zoltan offers some insight. "If you really dig down to the roots of the music, American bands are more groove-oriented and based on rhythm and blues. European bands grow up on classical music because it's very much embedded into that culture. Five Finger Death Punch has both of those roots because I'm from Europe, and Ivan and the rest of the guys are American. We ended somewhere between, with an ‘international sound’ that’s different and separates us."
The album's title sums everything up for the band right now. Zoltan elaborates, "War is the nature of man; it always been, and it'll never go away. War has many different manifestations so it doesn’t have to be taken literally, but that urge to conquer is embedded in our genes. We were not meant to live our lives caged in cubicles.”
Ivan follows, "I think everyone has their own personal battles whether they're religious, political or family-oriented. To us, [our first album] The Way Of The Fist was a swift punch to the face. War Is the Answer is the progression from that first album. You listen and you know we have to keep fighting. You can never just give up and throw in the towel.”
In the end, this record is for the people. Ivan concludes, "I want fans to be as proud of War Is the Answer as we are. We're not going anywhere. I want people to realize that this is from our hearts. I want the younger generation of musicians to realize if you stick to your guns and put forward the militant foot, you can get there. This band isn't afraid of anything. We will go out there, sweat, bleed and play our hearts out - that's everything I've looked for my entire life in a band. Mankind is nothing but a cluster of opinions and nobody knows the real answers; nothing is ‘for sure.’ However, you can move, even change people through music. That’s the power of art."
Since its release in September 2009, War Is the Answer has sold over 150,000 copies in the US alone. The band accomplished one of the most successful headlining tours of the fall, the USA and UK dates sold out in advance.
“HARD TO SEE” - VOTED TOP TEN ROCK SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
“NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND” - VOTED TOP 3 METAL SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
"HARD TO SEE" - TOP 10 TRACK AT ACTIVE ROCK IN 2009
"5FDP" - VOTED TOP TEN GUITAR RIFFS OF 2009 BY GUITAR EDGE MAGAZINE
Five Finger Death Punch recorded their DIY album, The Way Of The Fist in 2006, produced by Bathory & Jeremy Spencer, and Mixed By Soulfly/ Machine Head Guitarist, Logan Mader. After a few songs began circulating online, 5FDP became a word-of-mouth phenomenon that sent shockwaves through the underground metal community. The brute power of the band's live shows, and their quickly elevating notoriety soon became the talk of the industry.
Consequently, the finished record was picked up and released by Firm Music - the recording arm of industry powerhouse, "The Firm" Management (Korn, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit).
Five Finger Death Punch spent over two years on the road with bands such as Disturbed, Korn, Slipknot, Lamb of God, and built a hardcore following (deemed the “Knuckleheads”) that by now are infamous on their own as one of the loudest and rowdiest crowds of recent history.
The Way Of The Fist yielded 3 Top 10 U.S. Radio hits, a Top 5 MTV Metal Video, a Kerrang 'Best New Band' Award Nomination, and brought home Metal Hammer's prestigious Golden God Award for 'Best New International Band'. Record sales exceeded 400,000 Worldwide, propelling the band to the forefront of the current metal scene.
The question of whether or not 5FDP's meteoric rise was a fluke was promptly squashed by the band's sophomore album. To the astonishment of the industry, 'War Is The Answer' debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. Death Punch’s first single, "Hard To See" took only a couple of weeks before crashing the party in Rock Radio's Top 10 - becoming their fourth Top Ten Rock Radio hit in as many tries and cementing them as the most promising band in hard rock and metal.
This continued success was no accident; the band didn’t go to War unprepared. They enlisted an A-List production team in award winning co-producer, Kevin Churko (Ozzy) and legendary mixing engineer, Randy Staub (Metallica, Stone Sour, Motley Crue) to make sure 'War Is The Answer' lived up to its title.
Subsequently, Five Finger Death Punch fine-tuned their songs more than ever on this latest offering. Guitarist, Zoltan Bathory puts it best: "It was imperative to keep an open mind and evolve as songwriters while trying to stay true to the sound we already established. I think the outcome is more diverse, more mature - but undoubtedly, a ‘Death Punch’ record.”
According to the leading metal press, 5FDP accomplished just that with War Is The Answer and has been called a "Juggernaut in the Making” [Kerrang!]. Billboard Magazine dubbed the album “A Sophomore Knockout,” while Metal Hammer referred to it as a “A Colossal Beast Of Hard Rock Brilliance.”
War is an expansive collection of unbridled melodic metal. Tracks like "Bulletproof" illustrate Five Finger Death Punch's diversity, switching from a spellbinding chorus to a neck-snapping solo in a flash. “Burn It Down” is a nihilistic exploration in pure rage -- a new storyline with the same popular characters from The Way Of The Fist. Meanwhile, “No One Gets Left Behind” is an up-tempo crusher that leaves room for lyrical interpretation. “You can take it literally, or as an underlying theme we often talk about,” relates Zoltan. “We are all soldiers in one tribe or another: a band, a football team, an army, or the whole collective - the human species. You protect the tribe; you stick with your brothers. No one runs, everybody fights – and no one gets left behind.”
The band has been known for their intense guitar playing since day one, and War kicks it up several notches. Guitar virtuoso, Jason Hook joined the fold in 2008, lending an uncanny repertoire to the fold.
"Jason's rhythm playing is very similar to mine," says Zoltan. "We have our signature sound all over War Is the Answer. It's a heavy machine-gun style of playing. There are more solos too, because we wanted to utilize Jason's talent. We still focused on writing great songs though because those stay around forever."
The songs on War will certainly stand the test of time, and the emotions encapsulated in them are extremely tangible. Ivan confronted many of his own demons, waging war through words. The singer says, "It's a more personal record. On War Is the Answer, the band encouraged me to write from the heart. There is a lot of stuff, as painful as it may be, that I tried to project on this album that I didn't get a chance to on the first record."
"Walk Away" is an especially poignant song. The band incorporates acoustic guitars for a haunting, heavy sound, and the track's infectious, heartfelt chorus makes it a sure fire single.
"On ‘Walk Away,’ I wanted to wash my hands of this particular relationship in my life that has gone sour. It's a cleansing. I really did put my heart and soul into this entire record—no matter how hard it was. You have to expose the most ugly and raw parts of your life to really convey anything," says Ivan.
Ivan conveys true pain in his lyrics across the entire album. He pulls no punches, especially on the powerful "Crossing Over." His touching, episodic narrative propels the song under melancholy, melodic guitars. The entire album plays out in cinematic fashion with drama and true tension in every note. He continues, "We wanted to make an album that was going to feel like a major motion picture and not just a B-movie."
"Hard to See" could be the soundtrack to that epic. Ivan goes on, "The politics of the music industry have baffled me since day one. 'Hard to See' is me lashing out at the industry. I'm so tired of being pulled in every direction and being told what to do. The song is about melding into the industry and learning the politics so we can be freer as artists."
About their international appeal, Zoltan offers some insight. "If you really dig down to the roots of the music, American bands are more groove-oriented and based on rhythm and blues. European bands grow up on classical music because it's very much embedded into that culture. Five Finger Death Punch has both of those roots because I'm from Europe, and Ivan and the rest of the guys are American. We ended somewhere between, with an ‘international sound’ that’s different and separates us."
The album's title sums everything up for the band right now. Zoltan elaborates, "War is the nature of man; it always been, and it'll never go away. War has many different manifestations so it doesn’t have to be taken literally, but that urge to conquer is embedded in our genes. We were not meant to live our lives caged in cubicles.”
Ivan follows, "I think everyone has their own personal battles whether they're religious, political or family-oriented. To us, [our first album] The Way Of The Fist was a swift punch to the face. War Is the Answer is the progression from that first album. You listen and you know we have to keep fighting. You can never just give up and throw in the towel.”
In the end, this record is for the people. Ivan concludes, "I want fans to be as proud of War Is the Answer as we are. We're not going anywhere. I want people to realize that this is from our hearts. I want the younger generation of musicians to realize if you stick to your guns and put forward the militant foot, you can get there. This band isn't afraid of anything. We will go out there, sweat, bleed and play our hearts out - that's everything I've looked for my entire life in a band. Mankind is nothing but a cluster of opinions and nobody knows the real answers; nothing is ‘for sure.’ However, you can move, even change people through music. That’s the power of art."
Since its release in September 2009, War Is the Answer has sold over 150,000 copies in the US alone. The band accomplished one of the most successful headlining tours of the fall, the USA and UK dates sold out in advance.
“HARD TO SEE” - VOTED TOP TEN ROCK SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
“NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND” - VOTED TOP 3 METAL SONG OF 2009 BY AOL RADIO
"HARD TO SEE" - TOP 10 TRACK AT ACTIVE ROCK IN 2009
"5FDP" - VOTED TOP TEN GUITAR RIFFS OF 2009 BY GUITAR EDGE MAGAZINE
Saturday 12 December 2009
Five Finger Death Punch, My Own Hell Lyrics.
Twisting And Turning Unable To Sleep
Do The Voices Ever Stop
My Thoughts Speak LouderThe More I Resist
And They're Driving Me Insane
Do They Every Go
Inside I'm A Danger To Myself
I'm A Danger To Myself
Inside I'm A Prisoner Of My Own Hell
My Own Hell
Losing The Battle I've Waged On Myself
Lock Me Up And Toss The Key
Toys In The Attic Its All Getting Worse
Why Won’t They Let Me Be
Oh God Make It Stop
Inside I'm A Danger To Myself
I'm A Danger To Myself
Inside I'm A Prisoner Of My Own Hell
My Own Hell
Fit Me For A Straitjacket
Put Me In A Padded Cell
I'm A Danger To You All
And I'm A Danger To Myself
Inside I'm A Danger To Myself
I'm A Danger To Myself
Inside I'm A Prisoner Of My Own Hell
My Own Hell
Inside I'm A Danger To Myself
I'm A Danger To Myself
Inside I'm A Prisoner Of My Own Hell
My Own Hell
Friday 11 December 2009
Schedule.
Date: 23 November 2009
Location:
Outside Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School,
Under the Archways.
Shooting Desciption:
Non-Performance.
Fire Scenes.
Props:
Paper,
Cardboard box,
Lighter,
Adhesive Spray,
Photographs (of 'Lead Singer', Jamie).
Location:
Outside Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School,
Under the Archways.
Shooting Desciption:
Non-Performance.
Fire Scenes.
Props:
Paper,
Cardboard box,
Lighter,
Adhesive Spray,
Photographs (of 'Lead Singer', Jamie).
Schedule.
Date: 24 October 2009
Location:
Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School,
Dance Studio.
Shooting Description:
Performance.
Band Shots,
Individual Band Member Shots,
Moshpit Scenes.
Props:
Mic, Mic Stand,
Encore Guitar,
Bass, Stickers on Bass,
Drum kit, Stickers on Drum Kit, Non-slip Mats,
Amps x3
Location:
Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School,
Dance Studio.
Shooting Description:
Performance.
Band Shots,
Individual Band Member Shots,
Moshpit Scenes.
Props:
Mic, Mic Stand,
Encore Guitar,
Bass, Stickers on Bass,
Drum kit, Stickers on Drum Kit, Non-slip Mats,
Amps x3
Schedule.
Date: 17 November 2009
Location:
Elephant & Castle, Julian Markham House.
Shooting Description:
Non-Performance/ Narrative.
Props:
A Box of Cigarettes,
Lighter,
‘Drugs’ – Paracetmol x2 (in a Transparent Packet),
Empty Fosters Cans x4,
Bed,
Band Posters x2,
Side Draw
Wednesday 9 December 2009
How I Intend To Appeal To My Target Audience.
To appeal to my intended audience, I plan to stick to most of the conventions of a rock genre music video by making it mainly performance based and showing a range of different shots cut to the beat of my chosen song. Also by dressing my cast in the relevant clothing that my audience will recognise and may even wear themselves.
Intended Audience.
My target audience is aimed towards teenagers and young adults aged 14 – 25, as teenagers and young adults have more common knowledge of music due to it being an aspect of their life, going to gigs and festivals. Gender is not a necessary factor as music is universal. However, I would suggest that my target audience is working/ middle class as they see music as more of an outlet, a release from life and its stresses. From my research I concluded that most teenagers/ young adults listen to a variety of rock or r&b style music. As I personally listen to and know more about the rock genre, I have decided that my target audience will also be that of the rock genre.
Music Video Analysis.
Artist/Band: Bullet for My valentine
Genre: Rock, Metal
Song Title: Tears don’t fall
Album: The Poison
Director: Scott Wining / Tony Petrossian
Year: June 2006
Location: Studio, London
Audience: 14 – 20 yr olds (Male & Female)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdSzt0r0ydI
After briefly watching the video for the first time, from my first impressions I can see that the video is very stylistic, the video is washed with the colours green and blue, Green in the narrative parts and blue in the performance parts. This gives the video a very dark and mysterious feel to it, making the watcher wanting to watch on and also is a type of exhibitionism, as it makes the band look ‘cool’ and ‘stylish’. The video also has strong stereotypes of the rock genre, the video plays on emotion, love, anger and revenge through the main protagonist a woman, who is dressed in ‘rock fashioned’ clothes. Furthermore the usage of ‘black magic’ and voodoo dolls to get revenge shows reinforces the view that most people have outside the genre that rock music can be ‘dark’ and ‘evil’, this contrasts with the lighting, which is very dark and again help sets the tone for the music video.
Also I notice that the video has been cut down in length from 5:48 to 4:37 and that also the lyrics have been changed, as in the original album version their is swearing in it and furthermore in the music video there isn’t. Both of these changes can be explained by ‘commercialization’, by making the song less offensive and shorter it makes the video more likely to get played on music video channels, however this risks upsetting fans of the original version of the song. Overall this music video doesn’t interest me that much the narrative isn’t very compelling and as a whole quite boring. Although the performance side makes up for this as we see the band playing in the rain, smashing things up looking ‘cool’, it is clear that to make a good music video you need both performance and narrative to be of a good, watchable standard. Furthermore the mise-en-scene and iconography is very tidy, with nothing out of place and things like the clothes the actors are wearing to the equipment used by the band all help to reinforce the music’s genre category.
Looking at the video in more detail, the opening is very good. It uses the music intro to build up tension and suspense and shows close up shots of at first fire, then rain then the band in the rain. This is all done in slow motion, and when the intro ends and the screaming beings the shaking effect on the camera releases that tension and suspense allowing for the verse to build it up again.
In the 1st verse the cuts have slowed down and there is use of tracking, point of view, medium and close up shots. And we also see the narrative part for the first time. Washed in green, the narrative part is cut, to the beat and singing of the music with the performance side, washed in blue. And although the cuts are about the same in numbers, the performance cuts last a lot longer making it easier for the viewer to grasp what’s going on, although here it isn’t done very well, in the verse, it is trying to show to much at once, 1 second we see the main protagonist, a woman walking up to a car that’s steamed up and can see hands at the window, then it cuts to her handing over a torn photo of her and a guy, and then it cuts to that guy in the car with another girl. All this, plus cuts with the performance will leave the viewer not understanding what is going on.
At the bridge, before the chorus we see the return of the shaking effect, therefore correlating with the lyrics and performance it gives the effect of anger and emotion, which is being released. The shots used, again are limited, with mostly close-ups used on the band. The correlation between the music, lyrics and visuals is very fluid; they match up well and give the viewer a good understanding of what’s going on. For example in the chorus, the lyrics (“your tears don’t fall they crash around me, her conscious calls the guilty to come home”) and the visuals of close up shots of the female protagonist seen in distress and anger with fast cuts of shots of what is believed to be her boyfriend making love to another man is a very good way to perceive the song to its audience. I believe the audience of this music video would be 14-20 year olds how are familiar with this type of music genre and its lifestyle.
At the end of the song we see the main female protagonist getting her own back on her boyfriend by enlisting the help of ‘black magic’/’voodoo’ and is a type of voyeurism, cuts from her stabbing the doll to the guy in pain are fast and happen more often as the music is building up to its climatic ending. As the song is finishing the band is seen smashing the equipment up. This is a very notorious and common trait with the ‘rock star’ lifestyle and again is a type of exhibitionism.
Overall the video leaves a good impression on the viewer and definitely is re-watchable. There is no use of CGI and any evidence of intertextuality. I believe that I can take some good ideas out of this video that have worked effectively for it. Technically it is a very simple video that follows a structured format that is tied to the core of the music and lyrics.
Genre: Rock, Metal
Song Title: Tears don’t fall
Album: The Poison
Director: Scott Wining / Tony Petrossian
Year: June 2006
Location: Studio, London
Audience: 14 – 20 yr olds (Male & Female)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdSzt0r0ydI
After briefly watching the video for the first time, from my first impressions I can see that the video is very stylistic, the video is washed with the colours green and blue, Green in the narrative parts and blue in the performance parts. This gives the video a very dark and mysterious feel to it, making the watcher wanting to watch on and also is a type of exhibitionism, as it makes the band look ‘cool’ and ‘stylish’. The video also has strong stereotypes of the rock genre, the video plays on emotion, love, anger and revenge through the main protagonist a woman, who is dressed in ‘rock fashioned’ clothes. Furthermore the usage of ‘black magic’ and voodoo dolls to get revenge shows reinforces the view that most people have outside the genre that rock music can be ‘dark’ and ‘evil’, this contrasts with the lighting, which is very dark and again help sets the tone for the music video.
Also I notice that the video has been cut down in length from 5:48 to 4:37 and that also the lyrics have been changed, as in the original album version their is swearing in it and furthermore in the music video there isn’t. Both of these changes can be explained by ‘commercialization’, by making the song less offensive and shorter it makes the video more likely to get played on music video channels, however this risks upsetting fans of the original version of the song. Overall this music video doesn’t interest me that much the narrative isn’t very compelling and as a whole quite boring. Although the performance side makes up for this as we see the band playing in the rain, smashing things up looking ‘cool’, it is clear that to make a good music video you need both performance and narrative to be of a good, watchable standard. Furthermore the mise-en-scene and iconography is very tidy, with nothing out of place and things like the clothes the actors are wearing to the equipment used by the band all help to reinforce the music’s genre category.
Looking at the video in more detail, the opening is very good. It uses the music intro to build up tension and suspense and shows close up shots of at first fire, then rain then the band in the rain. This is all done in slow motion, and when the intro ends and the screaming beings the shaking effect on the camera releases that tension and suspense allowing for the verse to build it up again.
In the 1st verse the cuts have slowed down and there is use of tracking, point of view, medium and close up shots. And we also see the narrative part for the first time. Washed in green, the narrative part is cut, to the beat and singing of the music with the performance side, washed in blue. And although the cuts are about the same in numbers, the performance cuts last a lot longer making it easier for the viewer to grasp what’s going on, although here it isn’t done very well, in the verse, it is trying to show to much at once, 1 second we see the main protagonist, a woman walking up to a car that’s steamed up and can see hands at the window, then it cuts to her handing over a torn photo of her and a guy, and then it cuts to that guy in the car with another girl. All this, plus cuts with the performance will leave the viewer not understanding what is going on.
At the bridge, before the chorus we see the return of the shaking effect, therefore correlating with the lyrics and performance it gives the effect of anger and emotion, which is being released. The shots used, again are limited, with mostly close-ups used on the band. The correlation between the music, lyrics and visuals is very fluid; they match up well and give the viewer a good understanding of what’s going on. For example in the chorus, the lyrics (“your tears don’t fall they crash around me, her conscious calls the guilty to come home”) and the visuals of close up shots of the female protagonist seen in distress and anger with fast cuts of shots of what is believed to be her boyfriend making love to another man is a very good way to perceive the song to its audience. I believe the audience of this music video would be 14-20 year olds how are familiar with this type of music genre and its lifestyle.
At the end of the song we see the main female protagonist getting her own back on her boyfriend by enlisting the help of ‘black magic’/’voodoo’ and is a type of voyeurism, cuts from her stabbing the doll to the guy in pain are fast and happen more often as the music is building up to its climatic ending. As the song is finishing the band is seen smashing the equipment up. This is a very notorious and common trait with the ‘rock star’ lifestyle and again is a type of exhibitionism.
Overall the video leaves a good impression on the viewer and definitely is re-watchable. There is no use of CGI and any evidence of intertextuality. I believe that I can take some good ideas out of this video that have worked effectively for it. Technically it is a very simple video that follows a structured format that is tied to the core of the music and lyrics.
Monday 7 December 2009
Research.
To fully grasp a good understanding of what it would for me to plan and create a music video of high quality and identify the demographic, I must firstly briefly do some research into the genre of the music that I am going to do my music video to. However as this is as yet undecided, I will do some basic research into the two most popular music genres around at the moment, these are the R’n’B genre and the Rock genre. I will also take into consider that there are many sub-genres within these genres although this particular research is just to get a broad understanding of music video’s in general and furthermore help me to decide the chosen genre that I will plan and create my music video to. In doing this brief research I hope to identify and understand some basic characteristics, conventions and stereotypes that will help me when planning to create the music video from that particular music genre.
I have therefore decided to look at 6 random music videos from both genres and come to an over all conclusion and begin my main research. Here are the 6 R’n’B music videos researched from an internet video sharing site:
6 R’n’B Music Videos
1. 50 Cent – Candy Shop:
This music video starts off attempting to showcase the lifestyle and iconography of the artist ’50 Cent’ it does this by showing flash cars and a mansion . Once in side the mansion we see a lot of voyeurism on girls dancing in a very sexual way which is a reflection of the lyrics of the song. The switch between performance and narrative in the video is intertwined between the artist and dancing girls around him. The music video has been censored to the extent where offensive language is ‘cut out’. Shots are close and are quick correlating to the beat of the music. The video ends with a twist with the artist waking up outside a fast food drive through giving the video that that’s what men dream about ‘living the dream’ ect. Playing on male stereotypes.
2. Kanye West – Stronger:
The use of CGI and chromakey/green screen is very dominant in this music video it gives the mood of a futuristic world which is the theme throughout. There are neo lights used in almost every scene, and a road montage of a motorbike with blurred lights, again with the theme of going forward – future. There are VT cuts of political propaganda ect which shows intertextual references to Japanese lifestyles. And therefore gives the underlining theme of politics. Again there are dancing girls but the performance and narrative are more separate. Towards the end the word ‘Never’ is shown on screen in neon lights.
3. Eminem – Like Toy Soldiers:
Starts of with the use of children looking at a picture book, children are seen as ‘pure’ and therefore shows the theme of the video as redemption/forgiveness which correlates to the lyrics. CGI is used in the editing between shots which are fast and frequent when on the narrative side of the video. Whereas the performance is separate with the artist ‘Eminem’ projecting his persona. There is a use of newspaper articles to flow into different scenes showing the importance and use of media in today’s world. There is also a scene of guns being used, which is censored so you don’t see the gun.
4. The Streets – Blinded By The Lights:
The main theme in this song is the portrayal of drugs and its uses and effects and therefore is heavily censored. Camera shots change from close ups and P.O.V (point of view) and as the video goes on they become shaky and off focus. There is also use of voyeurism and use o mobile phones which is use of using advertisement.
5. Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around:
This video is very ‘cinematic’ and uses an ‘inner’ narrative over the audio of the music track. However it to has some performance with the artist using a 50’s microphone giving a very old and theatrical theme to it. The narrative correlates to the lyrics ‘what goes around’ showing the story of a cheating girlfriend and her accidental death. Camera shots are mixed from close ups, medium and tracking, along with slow edits it retains it theatrical mood. There is use of CGI found in the car chase scene between the artist and the cheating girlfriend. Here the beat of the music changes and therefore the mood, to a more slower and disturbing pace giving an eerie end to the video.
6. Dr.Dre – Forgot About Dre:
Here we see a collaboration between artists Dr. Dre and Eminem. The visuals correlate with the lyrics and we see Dr. Dre portraying his persona as an R’n’B artist ‘bragging’ about his awards. We also see intertextuality through the use of news reports and another artist ‘Will Smith’ used for comedic values. CGI is also used in the form of flames surrounding the 2 artists again correlating to the lyrics of the song.
6 Rock Music Videos
To complete my brief research I shall now look at 6 random Rock music videos from an internet video sharing site these are:
The Exies – My Goddess:
1. This video is almost completely performance based; it also makes use of CGI to surround the band in what appears to be a motorway with cars driving past them. Camera shots include close ups, medium shots and occasional long shots. The music gives an upbeat and almost ‘euphoric’ mood which is portrayed in the visuals of the video.
Snow Patrol – Open Your Eyes:
2. This music video is completely narrative, it follows someone’s journey in a car, driving around and ultimately concluding when arriving at its destination. The camera shots used are P.O.V, which is used throughout on the car, and tracking, following the car around until it stops. There is no relation to the visuals and lyrics which, with the camera shots gives it a very simplistic feel but proves to be very effective as a music video.
3. Coldplay – The Scientist:
This is a very impressive music video and defiantly took a long time to complete. It uses a very unique cinematic technique showing the whole video in reverse, but with the lead singer of the band singing the lyrics forward. There is use of CGI in the shot of the car’s windshield being broken in reverse. Camera shots vary from long to panning and tracking but are predominately close ups focusing on the singing/performance of the lead singer. This therefore means that this style of music video would be very unrealistic to think about.
4. Wheatus – A Little Respect: This music video uses comedic elements in its video, which correlates to the beat and mood that the music gives. It is both performance and narrative, following the story of a troublesome relationship where the guy is ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ and that’s where the comedic elements come in to play. There is use of voyeurism where it shows back stage of the bands performance. The colours used are very bright and colourful again correlating to the ‘feel good’ mood of the song.
5. Feeder – Shatter: There is a high amount of CGI usage throughout the entire music video, from stunts to bat like creatures in a dark and lightning filled sky it gives the music video a more darker and apocalyptic feel to it. This furthermore shows how most rock videos do and can show the darker side of emotions with reinforces its genres stereotype
6. Devil Driver - End Of The Line: with this music video, the narrative lies within the performance. The whole entire video shows a ‘band dairy’ of various different live shows and their journey to and from them. It is a good video with various shots including P.O.V, close up, medium and landscape. There isn’t much correlation between lyrics and visuals although the video gives a clear insight into the rock genres lifestyles.
After looking into both the R’n’B and rock genres of music I have found that in some cases they can be similar in cases of love and passion. However, that’s how far the similarities go; often both of these genres use intertextuality and disregard the other genres lifestyle.
I believe that it would be best for me to choose to make a music video using a song from the rock genre. This is because I generally know more about it, and I would feel more comfortable creating a music video from a genre that I knew more from, than a genre I didn’t, as I believe it will give me more creative options. For example it will be more for me to come up with a meaningful narrative and good performance side. Also I believe that it will be a good challenge to be able to convey a form of emotional response on the selected audience.
I have therefore decided to look at 6 random music videos from both genres and come to an over all conclusion and begin my main research. Here are the 6 R’n’B music videos researched from an internet video sharing site:
6 R’n’B Music Videos
1. 50 Cent – Candy Shop:
This music video starts off attempting to showcase the lifestyle and iconography of the artist ’50 Cent’ it does this by showing flash cars and a mansion . Once in side the mansion we see a lot of voyeurism on girls dancing in a very sexual way which is a reflection of the lyrics of the song. The switch between performance and narrative in the video is intertwined between the artist and dancing girls around him. The music video has been censored to the extent where offensive language is ‘cut out’. Shots are close and are quick correlating to the beat of the music. The video ends with a twist with the artist waking up outside a fast food drive through giving the video that that’s what men dream about ‘living the dream’ ect. Playing on male stereotypes.
2. Kanye West – Stronger:
The use of CGI and chromakey/green screen is very dominant in this music video it gives the mood of a futuristic world which is the theme throughout. There are neo lights used in almost every scene, and a road montage of a motorbike with blurred lights, again with the theme of going forward – future. There are VT cuts of political propaganda ect which shows intertextual references to Japanese lifestyles. And therefore gives the underlining theme of politics. Again there are dancing girls but the performance and narrative are more separate. Towards the end the word ‘Never’ is shown on screen in neon lights.
3. Eminem – Like Toy Soldiers:
Starts of with the use of children looking at a picture book, children are seen as ‘pure’ and therefore shows the theme of the video as redemption/forgiveness which correlates to the lyrics. CGI is used in the editing between shots which are fast and frequent when on the narrative side of the video. Whereas the performance is separate with the artist ‘Eminem’ projecting his persona. There is a use of newspaper articles to flow into different scenes showing the importance and use of media in today’s world. There is also a scene of guns being used, which is censored so you don’t see the gun.
4. The Streets – Blinded By The Lights:
The main theme in this song is the portrayal of drugs and its uses and effects and therefore is heavily censored. Camera shots change from close ups and P.O.V (point of view) and as the video goes on they become shaky and off focus. There is also use of voyeurism and use o mobile phones which is use of using advertisement.
5. Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around:
This video is very ‘cinematic’ and uses an ‘inner’ narrative over the audio of the music track. However it to has some performance with the artist using a 50’s microphone giving a very old and theatrical theme to it. The narrative correlates to the lyrics ‘what goes around’ showing the story of a cheating girlfriend and her accidental death. Camera shots are mixed from close ups, medium and tracking, along with slow edits it retains it theatrical mood. There is use of CGI found in the car chase scene between the artist and the cheating girlfriend. Here the beat of the music changes and therefore the mood, to a more slower and disturbing pace giving an eerie end to the video.
6. Dr.Dre – Forgot About Dre:
Here we see a collaboration between artists Dr. Dre and Eminem. The visuals correlate with the lyrics and we see Dr. Dre portraying his persona as an R’n’B artist ‘bragging’ about his awards. We also see intertextuality through the use of news reports and another artist ‘Will Smith’ used for comedic values. CGI is also used in the form of flames surrounding the 2 artists again correlating to the lyrics of the song.
6 Rock Music Videos
To complete my brief research I shall now look at 6 random Rock music videos from an internet video sharing site these are:
The Exies – My Goddess:
1. This video is almost completely performance based; it also makes use of CGI to surround the band in what appears to be a motorway with cars driving past them. Camera shots include close ups, medium shots and occasional long shots. The music gives an upbeat and almost ‘euphoric’ mood which is portrayed in the visuals of the video.
Snow Patrol – Open Your Eyes:
2. This music video is completely narrative, it follows someone’s journey in a car, driving around and ultimately concluding when arriving at its destination. The camera shots used are P.O.V, which is used throughout on the car, and tracking, following the car around until it stops. There is no relation to the visuals and lyrics which, with the camera shots gives it a very simplistic feel but proves to be very effective as a music video.
3. Coldplay – The Scientist:
This is a very impressive music video and defiantly took a long time to complete. It uses a very unique cinematic technique showing the whole video in reverse, but with the lead singer of the band singing the lyrics forward. There is use of CGI in the shot of the car’s windshield being broken in reverse. Camera shots vary from long to panning and tracking but are predominately close ups focusing on the singing/performance of the lead singer. This therefore means that this style of music video would be very unrealistic to think about.
4. Wheatus – A Little Respect: This music video uses comedic elements in its video, which correlates to the beat and mood that the music gives. It is both performance and narrative, following the story of a troublesome relationship where the guy is ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ and that’s where the comedic elements come in to play. There is use of voyeurism where it shows back stage of the bands performance. The colours used are very bright and colourful again correlating to the ‘feel good’ mood of the song.
5. Feeder – Shatter: There is a high amount of CGI usage throughout the entire music video, from stunts to bat like creatures in a dark and lightning filled sky it gives the music video a more darker and apocalyptic feel to it. This furthermore shows how most rock videos do and can show the darker side of emotions with reinforces its genres stereotype
6. Devil Driver - End Of The Line: with this music video, the narrative lies within the performance. The whole entire video shows a ‘band dairy’ of various different live shows and their journey to and from them. It is a good video with various shots including P.O.V, close up, medium and landscape. There isn’t much correlation between lyrics and visuals although the video gives a clear insight into the rock genres lifestyles.
After looking into both the R’n’B and rock genres of music I have found that in some cases they can be similar in cases of love and passion. However, that’s how far the similarities go; often both of these genres use intertextuality and disregard the other genres lifestyle.
I believe that it would be best for me to choose to make a music video using a song from the rock genre. This is because I generally know more about it, and I would feel more comfortable creating a music video from a genre that I knew more from, than a genre I didn’t, as I believe it will give me more creative options. For example it will be more for me to come up with a meaningful narrative and good performance side. Also I believe that it will be a good challenge to be able to convey a form of emotional response on the selected audience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)