Video Analysis

5 Finger Death Punch Wrong Side of Heaven

The opening few shots set the scene for us. We get an emotional feeling from the particular words they have used,for example the first words that we see are the ones who love you most, are the ones that fight for you. Straight after we get a shot of a scruffy looking man (photo above) which we didnt expect to see in relation to the opening words. More close ups ofother men appear with similar meaning words below. We notice they are all wearing soldiers uniform so we get the perspective that it is based on fighting in Iraq or Afghan.

This establishing shotthat sets the location and makes it obvious that thesoldiersarein Iraq and on a patrol.

As the song begins we start to see various medium shots of people on the streets, then back to the soldiers and facts in white bold writing that come up on the screen to help us understand the relationship between the two. The writing tells us what possibly happens to soldiers after their years of service in the forces. This use of white wording makes us want to know more.

This close ups of this soldiers angry facial expression gives us a real feeling of how they felt when forgotten about bytheir country. Using close ups draws us viewers in to make us feel sorry and want to help and puts the matter into real perspective.On this particular shot, the soldier mouths the words what have I done and who have I become matching this close up andthese words together makes us believe that he really is saying that due to his confusion why he was treated so badly.

The next shots are on just the soldiers on patrol and get ambushed. As the music starts to build and speed up, so does the video. Thequick shots match with the pace of the music to make us feel more involved. This footage look likes something you would see in a film, not a music video. Their mise-en-scene is all army based.

Here we have another close up of a different soldier who hasa similar suffering expression on his face as the one before. He mouths the words Im on the wrong side of heaven which are in fact the name of the song, so this shot is very important and has huge significance to the narrative of the video.The wordsthemselves are presented as being on the wrong side of being good. So his god who he may believe is his country have not treated him well and not sent him to a good place after his active service.

These two different shots are of the same guy butin different situations. This is called juxtaposition, where two back to back shots are completely opposite. One minute he has something and is something, then the next he is nothing. Shows that in no matter of time at all your life can change at any moment. Even for the ones who are meant to be most respected.In the right photo, he mouths the words who have I become. Once again those words are mouthed by a soldier. Meaning that this soldier is also confused about what happened and what is happening tohim.

By the look on the policemans face you see his confusing and surprise that a fellow army comrade has ended up like he has. Even though we see all these facts about veterans being turned away, the veterans themselves help each other no matterwhat.

You can see by his face expression that he is scared but also recognitionof someone he knew from Iraq. We see the other man in a suit and tie which we werent expecting because of all the facts and images we saw of what happened to theother soldiers. Even though he has a decent life, he is still helping his comrades because they have been through so much together. But we can see that some good can happen after being in the armed forces.

These words by themselves just show us how desperate these veterans are and how much of a big deal it is.This music video is all narrative which we can relate to the Sven Carlson theory that a narrative music video is called televised bard. This is when the artist is a singing storyteller who uses on screen images instead of personal images. This is only if the video has a clear concept of narrative performance. Five Finger Death Punchs narrative was military based and how real life veterans are discarded so easily. This narrative is sending acrossa message to us about how important it is to support these veterans. The fact that we never see the band is weird because a stereotypically heavy metal band is usually in the video to show themselves off to the audience.Imagine Dragons-Demons

At the beginning of this music video we can see clearly it is set on a stage with an audience watching, so we assume it is mainly going to be just of the band. The dark lighting builds tension form the start but 3 main beams of light on the main singer which shows his importance.

It all goes quiet and we notice there is a slow motion effect on the crowd. This helps to build up the tension and all concentration is on the main singer.We also see glimpses of the other band members in slow motion so we feel that everything is all on the main singer as he is moving at normal pace. It could represent him controlling the audience with his singing.

We then get a wide medium close up of this female in the audience, which then zooms in on herface. We then know that there is going to be a narrative to this music video and she is part of it.

The next shot is of her at a funeral. This is a great use of juxtaposition; going from a lively show to a deep meaningful funeral. This is also tellsus that even though she is at the show to have a good time, she still has personal problems and affect her still.

The camera then cuts back to a close up of her at the show. So the brief shots of her at the funeral were a memory of something fromthe past. When the chorus starts up, the camera returns to the band on the stage and there are now multiple lights on all members of the band. I see this as a wake up for the audience, especially for the previous female who is suffering a loss. The words he sings are almost fighting words for those people who need courage.

As the song starts to slow after the chorus, the camera cuts to another member of the audience looking sad. We then know we are going to get a deep moment from his past or presentthat is stuck in his mind. We see a vision of him at home wishing he was more muscular. His facial expression explains that he is not happy with his appearance. It then jumps to another man in the audience and we see inside his head, of a vision of him being abused by his drunken father. We see his pain and suffering but he doesnt do anything about it because he must be so used to it.

This soldier was also in the audience; we could have almost expected a soldier to be part of the video becausebeing at war is not something you want to remember. We get lots of close ups of his face so we can see his pain and desire to get home.

The rest of the video is of the band and we get the feeling the song is coming to an end. By just seeing the band now, it feels as if they are singing away all the nightmare thoughts the audience may all have.When the music fades off, the bright lights dim to leave a dark blue light remaining. To add more effect, the video slows down like it did at the beginning,showing that we are now at the end.Next there is a close up of the main singing, and then the camera zooms into his eyes and fades. This camera movement works very well with the lyrics Look into my eyes, its where my demons hide as if we are going tolook inside his head like the rest of the audience members we saw. The video then ends. Which leaves us viewers with a question, what could possibly be in his head?If we look at Sven Carlssons theory on types of concepts, this song would be a mix of commercial exhibitionist and televised bard because it the band performing which is performance but also it has a narrative with the multiple flashbacks.Commercial exhibitionist means that the artist is the performer, selling them self, their voice, lifestyle and image. But Imagine Dragons are not being arrogant or showing themselves off, they are showed as if they are in a show which then helps to create the narrative for their televised bard performance.Televised bard try to create a story with their chosen images, then they sing behind the scenes to tell the story with their words. Imagine Dragons have told a story with their audience members having flash backs.

My Song Knows What You Did in The Dark (light em up)-Fall Out Boy

This establishing shot introduces the dark gloomy setting and the band name by using big bold white writing in the middle of the screen so it stands out. Having the text in the middle of the screen means they are making sure the audience sees the nameand knows who they are.

For our first shot, our first impressions are that the setting is very gloomy, dark and suspicious. The scruffy man walking holding a jerry can is odd and we would see it as a dangerous thing. The mist adds tension andquestions to the start of the video. Having the camera close to the ground following the man walking ahead, forces the audience to follow him to find out what is going on. But also so we are still asking questions who could this suspicious person be because we havent seen his face yet.The opening 15 seconds of the video is introducing the setting. We are lead to an unlit bonfire so we get the feeling he is meaning to ignite it.

As soon as the sing starts, the scruffy man starts to poor the supposed petrol onto the waiting dry wood. The shots are slowed down to a slow pace and longer duration, which emphasises what he is doing and builds up the tension.

This close up of the match being lit is once again slowed down to show the power andpotential danger it could have. But this slow paced shot juxtaposes to the fact that the match lights extremely quickly, so the slow motion effect lets us see the speed fire has when ignited.We finally see the mysterious figures face and we can just seehis eyes through the dark sunglasses he is wearing. His eyes look hard at the match that he has lifted close to his face, knowing that he now has the power and in control of this potential fire.

We see that he started the fire and starts celebrating in triumph but us the target audience still dont know why he has done it. This wide long shot shows 3 separate things in it and could show the importance of each one. We have the fire closest to the camera, then the man then a van that is just arriving.

This close up shows us the sheer size and speed fire has in only a matter of seconds. Shot reverse shot is then used with the camera, going back and forth from the man to the fire. The mans facial expressions show success and a bit of worrybecause the fire is getting bigger and bigger. Each time the camera cuts back to him the camera is zooming in more and more to help build up the tension.

The camera cuts to the now stationary van and two figures emerge from the smoke. They turnout to be two women which shows dominance towards the male character and shows he is control. This is supported by the shots between the three characters. The camera cuts to a close up of one of the females then back to him, then to the other, then back to him again. This shows him to be in control of these two women.

The two women start to destroy instruments and throw them in the fire, so we start to feel that there is a reason or hidden meaning for them to do that. It must be something to do withthe instruments, so possibly doesnt like rock music? This is ironic because the song is a rock genre and it is clear to see that guitars and drums are being used.

We get a quick glimpse of the bands name, FALL OUT BOY, this is cleverlyadded in because the audience dont know who they are and making the name big and clear allows the audience to clearly see it. Now we know that these three people dont like Fall Out Boy and burning everything to do with them.

They continue to throw various merchandise of the band into the fire. This is a good effect by the band because this promotes themselves and the song. This music video is acting like a teaser trailer for a future album.The camera cuts back to the man, who is now holding a flame-throw on his back. I think this effect is simply to make the video interesting and exciting because everyone loves fire and flame-throwers.

We see magazine advert in the fire to join the rest of the merchandise. It has all 4 members of theband. This is for the audience to know what they look like and too look out for the magazine advert. This is good promoting techniques from the band to get them out there and known to their target audience.

This final shot of video is of 4strangers but I think the audience can guess who they. They are the band members of fall out boy.This music video is purely to introduce the band in a clever and exciting way. They most definitely caught the audiences attention and now become a huge success in the music world and are very popular.This music video is also a televised bard because it is telling us a story using specific images to create a narrative which is called a televised bard according to Sven Carlssons theory.

Iris-Sleeping with Sirens (Goo Goo Dolls cover)

We here the piano starting of the song and the screen is black. Then a piano appears and someone is playing it; guessing it is a member of the band. Starting with a slow calm beginning allows the audience to get intothe song slowly and because the piano is playing, it makes sense to show it being played.

The singing begins the camera cuts to the main singer who is stood in front of a mic. This indicates that this is purely a performance music video which is where we just see the band performing the song, in this case appearing that they are recording it.I researched up on the official music video for this song and it has a narrative as well as performance style. Sleeping with Sirens would not be allowed to copyso have decided to make it purely based on performance.

We hear that guitar a bit louder and as the new song lyric starts the camera cuts to the band member playing the guitar so we can see who is playing it. The camera tilts up towardsguitarists face so we can see who he is. This allows us to see all members of the band so they all have a part in the video.Having the camera cut on the new verse is good because the video will flow much better and appears more professional.The camerais moving a lot throughout the video. Not just from person to person but also swaying from side to side, making it more realistic and seem like they are practicing the song not professionally recording it.

When the main singer stops moving, he is thenforgotten about by the camera and it moves onto the other band members. They use reverse stop between the piano player and guitarist, to show that they are the important ones in this shot. Once the singer starts again, the camera immediately turns back tohim, so we know he is now the importance one.

To make the music video more exciting and interesting they have used various camera shots. They use close ups a lot of each band member, the instruments and, mic. For one of the shots it is very blurry but the camera focuses in on the guitarist.

In the long musical break with no singing, it is purely made up of close ups of the instruments being played because there is no importance for the singing to be involved too.

As the song begins to end, we get a final close up the pianist, exactly the same shot as we did at the beginning. It is as if we were told a story throughout the song and we come back to the same place as we started.If we refer to Sven Carlssons theory, this music video would be a commercial exhibitionist. This means that the video is for band performance purposes, to promote the self themselves, their image and voice. Sleeping Sirens use a different genre for this song and different from the original version, which was a more rock genre. They are therefore selling their new style.

When Worlds Collide-Powerman 5000

The opening to this music video is very clear it is going to be a futuristic concept because of the establishing shot in space,strange light and the unknown planet in the middle of the screen.The camera is zooming in on the planet suggesting that this is where the video is going to be set.

This next medium close up allows us to see the band early on in the video, indicatingthat they want to be centre of attention. This means their concept is performance based and all about them.As soon as we see the band come into picture the music starts and we hear it is very rocky and we can relate it to the specific setting and mise-en-scene of the characters. They have crazy hair, strangely dressed, dark colours, a dark room with spot lights and the obvious rock styled instruments like guitars and drums. These are stereotypical things that you would find in a rock styled video.

This wide shot of the room lets the audience who else is there in the video and the various aliens that live there. It also feels like a genuine pub concert but futuristic, so maybe it is trying to tell us that it is exactly the same in out of space androck is popular everywhere.

As the music builds up for the chorus, the shots start to change quickly and become very fast paced into a small montage type of thing. This fits the pace of the music and flows much better together. The shots are a large selection of each band member, mostly the main singer but also the audience too who are represented as having a good time; jumping up and down.

This character is introduced into the video and commands for the main singer to be taken away. Now we knowthat the concept has changed back to the narrative. We then see various shots of the main singer being taken away by guards, which suggests that the band have thought about having a narrative to the concept of the video. This is a big change from the beginning of the video where it was all mainly performance based.

We see him fight back to beat the supposed evil guy and goes back to singing to his audience. The music video ends as it start, with a close up of the main singers face in a camera. This indicates that this video had a story behind it and nothing changes, it all stays the same. Could be another way of them saying they rule this place and are in control because of their music being so popular.

Powerman 5000 have done create a similarconcept to the Imagine Dragons song Demons, where they have a narrative and performance. This means they are seen as a televised bard because of the narrative. But the majority of the video is commercial exhibitionist which is a typical way of a rock bandto promote them-selves.