Music Video analysis 3: Do or Die: 30 Seconds to Mars

Artist : 30 Seconds to Mars

Song: Do or Die

The song Do or Die has been performed by 30 Seconds to Mars written by Jared Leto the front man, from their fourth album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams. This music is an alternative rock video which is purely performance based with interviews of the fans of the group, which is directed by Jared Leto under the alias of Bartholomew Cubbins.  This music video was released on 9th September 2013. This single went to the Top Five in the UK, Germany, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland and Poland this year but also No.6 in the US and Canada. Add to that their record breaking gig 52 metres high on the rooftop of the O2 - the first band to ever play there fully live - an explosive Download performance and a packed-out guerrilla gig in Soho Square. Jared Leto is basically a singer who before this had started his acting career which did not turn out well , thus went into singing. Later after his band gained popularity he also started directing their music videos as well. Their current members include Jared Leto, Shanon Leto, and Tomo Milicevic.

The clip starts off with a German guy whom Leto first met in Berlin. The fan told the singer about the loss of his father and how he’d played a Thirty Seconds To Mars song at his funeral. When Leto ran into the German fan again, at a Mars show in Austria, he decided to have him tell his story once more, this time on camera. His tale stuck with him throughout, so Leto chose it to lead off the new video. This is basically a performance based video , where the band toured the world and shot scenes and put them together in the videos with the interviews.

Since its an alternative rock music video, it will apply Andrew Goodwin’s music video where it has the Genre characteristics of the alternative rock Genre, where Rock bands tend to opt for stage performances, showing the singer shouting down a microphone, the guitarists thrashing the chords and the drummer putting all their body into hitting the drums, expressing how ‘tough’ and ‘hard’ rock is. Then it there is also a relationship with the lyrics and visuals. Do or Die is a song all about being strong and moving on, it shows the people how they are united and will be strong against the world.The demand of the record label will include lots of close of the lead singer since the audience relates to him and he is the one with the star power.The artist may develop a motif in his work like Jared Leto has, like in every music video of his he must have a performance or has a narrative which is very empowering.

Fans from across the world were included in the video, showing how powerful music can be and how many of the people became friends thanks to Thirty Seconds To Mars. One thing I really liked about this video in particular is seeing what the echelon will do for the band and seeing how passionate they all are. This song and video is basically standing up and living your dreams.  don’t know many bands who generally get their fans involved in their videos like Thirty Seconds To Mars do. This is a great way for the fans and the band to feel closer, even more so like a family than they already are.

Lyrics of the song :

In the middle of the night, when the angels scream,
I don’t want to live a lie that I believe.
Time to do or die.

I will never forget the moment, the moment.
I will never forget the moment, the moment.

And the story goes on… on… on…
That’s how the story goes.
That’s how the story goes.

You and I will never die.
It’s a dark embrace.
In the beginning was life, a dawning age.
Time to be alive.

I will never forget the moment, the moment.
I will never forget this night.
We sing, we sing…

On… on… on…
That’s how the story goes.

Fate is coming, that I know.
Time is running, got to go.
Faith is coming, that I know.
Let it go.
Here right now
Under the banner of heaven , we dream out loud
Do or die, and the story goes
On… on… on…

And the story goes on… on…
This is the story

Fate is coming, that I know (this is the story)
Time is running, got to go (this is the story)
Fate is coming, that I know (this is the story)
Let it go.
Here right now,
Under the banner of heaven, we dream out loud
Dream out loud!
Fate is coming, that I know (time to do or die)
Time is running out (time to do or die)
Fate is coming, that I know (time to do or die)
Let it go…

Music video analysis 2:Gives You Hell- All American Rejects

 Gives you Hell by All American Rejects

Artist : All American Rejects

Song: Gives you Hell

The band ‘All American Rejects’ who wrote the song “Gives you Hell” from their third album “When the world comes down" are an American alternative rock group, who’s music video for this chosen song has a narrative and performance based video. The director of the music video is Marc Webb and was released on 3rd November 2008. He made his first debut with the 2009 comedy film 500 days of Summer and directed in 2012 The Amazing Spider man starring Andrew Garfield. He has directed a number of music videos which include Waiting by Greenday, Here without you by 3 Doors Down , Beautiful soul by Jesse McCartney ,Wake up by Hilary Duff, Chocolate by Snow Patrol , Call me ehen youre sober by Evanescene , Start all over by Miley Cyrus , 21 guns by Green Day , Invisible by Ashlee Simpson and so on. Their third studio album When the World Comes Down was released in 2008 and was later certified gold by the RIAA. Its lead single ”Gives You Hell“ is the band’s  most successful song to date, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the top 5 in many other countries. This song  was certified 4× multi-platinum for sales of over 4 million in the United States by the RIAA. Their current Band members include Tyson Ritter, Nick wheeler, Mike Kennerty and Chris Gaylor. 

Gives You Hell, there is a narrative that becomes clearer throughout the song. This as well introduces a comedic approach, therefore conforming to the conventions of an alternative rock music video. Particular visual elements used such as the rivalry between the neighbors and the rock star lifestyle being shown by the lead singer and his band mates tells us that this is an alternative rock music video, its like a clash between the two worlds.

 It revolves around two alter egos of lead singer and bassist Tyson Ritter - one as a traditional family man and the other as a lay-about garage band singer  - as neighbors infuriating  and pulling pranks on each other due to their different lifestyles and behaviors, while scenes of the band themselves performing the song as the garage band are overlapped through the video.

A second version was later released on January 2009 an extended version of the first as a full performance based video.

The video is about a couple that live next door to a band who get up at night time. The main characters, being the men, hate each other because of how they are, like the guy in the band (lead singer) is very noisy when the couple are trying to sleep at night. They do different things to anger each other, and when they come into contact with each other is when they kick into the chorus, singing as if they are shouting angrily “When you see my face, I hope it gives you Hell, I hope it gives you Hell!” This is like them having their own argument.

The girlfriends of the guy’s aren't impressed by this, but they wave at their male neighbours in a flirtatious manner. Like when the posh girl gives a little wave to the singer when he outside the front, and when the posh guy waves to the singers girlfriend through the window. At the end as the men are shouting out the chorus at each other, the girls plan to swap boyfriends. The posh guy ends up in the band’s house, while the lead singer ends up in the posh house.

It meets Goodwin’s rules of Genre characteristics, since its alternative rock , they have tattoos and are wearing dog tags with casual clothes indicating its alternative since its supposed to be very realistic. It includes instruments like the guitar ,microphone and drums , which is again a major aspect of the genre. The performance is in room which looks like and underground club, thus has less lighting which conforms to the genre characteristics of alternative rock.

Then it relates between the lyrics and the visuals as well like ‘wake up every evening’ – shot from outside and it’s dark; the house’s lights turn on. Also, the clock shows 10.30, which linked together, you assume it means p.m.

‘where’d it all go wrong?’ – He makes the red light come on during a game of Operation.

‘You can look me in the eyes’ – makes his eyes bulge slightly to emphasise it.`

The relationship of the music and visuals are met as well. Cuts are in time with the beat.More lengthy shots during slow parts of the song, quicker cuts during faster parts of the song.There’s a bit where the bland clap in time with the music.There are also shots where members of the band are playing instruments to the music.

There are close-up’s of the artist , the video’s focus is mainly on him thus represents that the main image of the band is him like Maroon 5.Thus there are a lot of spectacle shots as per demands of the label.

There was notion of looking as well, We are put in the point of the blonde woman in a scene, where we are looking over her shoulder at the man, whilst playing Operation.There is also a small part where we are looking through the window at the man holding a mirror.

The camera shots within the image are rather simple using a establishing shot of the neighbourhood to set the narrative. The shots are mainly close ups and mid shots focusing on the narrative however the preformance based footage is shot at a high angle with the band looking up at the camera. The video also has clever composition using a frame within a frame with a over the shoulder shot of the neighbour looking into a mirror. There is also a lot of camera movement within the video suggesting a high budget production with panning open at the beginning of the clip from one house to the next as well as following the band members.

The setting and décor is made to look similarly with that of a sitcom that lives in a suburban area. This connotes to the audience that the narrative of the music video is of a normal couple. While the rockers have a more laid back and party type life style thus have the setting of single  rockers , they have simple setting with beers on the table and a little mess as well.

The costumes are that of a suburban couple and of rock stars. This would connote that there will be some sort of interaction between the 2 different kind of people. The director may have chosen this to make sure the narrative can be seen visually as well as within the music video itself. Because they’re dressed in rock star clothes it does fit the alternative rock genre of music videos. The lead singer of the band is dressed differently to all the other people on the video. However he plays 2 people and therefore doubles the effect. This shows that they are the most important member of the band.

The props used are amplifiers, megaphones, hoses, lawnmowers, microphones and instruments. This connotes to the audience that the band is a typical alternative rock band. This is because they have instruments and random props to go with the narrative of the music video. The director would have chosen these to make the video generic to the alternative rock genre. With the directors choice of the props used within the video, they have made the video fit to the alternative rock genre.

The body language and movement would connote to the audience that the artists are a typical alternative rock band as the style is conventional to the genre. The director would have chosen this because the artists are renowned for this style of music video and wants to portray the same image. This therefore fits to the alternative rock genre. Different audiences might interpret this as conveying to the mainstream policies of alternative rock and therefore lacking originality. The artist moves differently to everyone else to show that he’s the front man. This creates the effect that he’s the most important member of the band.

The artists are of importance as they are acting in the narrative while also showing themselves as a band. Their performance adds to the effect that they are a generic alternative rock band.

This is video is mainly for the pre-teens to young adults , since its alternative rock everyone can relate to it. Usually many people have two different personalities and how they conflict so it shows how the life of many people like this how they might be with different people.

The editing within the video consists mainly of straight cuts which make the video run smoothly and give the high budget look. However there are a lot of jump cuts within the performance footage and when the music speeds up typically within the chorus so that the footage syncronises with the beat.  There is also a lot of shot reverse shot used within the music video especially between the neighbours during arguments. There is also eyeliner match used when the neighbouring couple are a game and we follow the mans gaze to see the band outside.

Overal the music video compliments the music and is a high budget production judging on the clean editing and camera movement which makes the video look  more effective and appealing to its target audience. 

  

    

Lyrics of the Song: 

I wake up every evening

With a big smile on my face

And it never feels out of place

And you’re still probably workin’

At a 9 to 5 pace

I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

When you walk my way hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

Now where’s your picket fence love?

And where’s that shiny car?

It didn’t ever get you far

And you never seemed so tense, love

I’ve never seen you fall so hard

Do you know where you are?

And the truth be told I miss you

And the truth be told I’m lyin’

When you see my face hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

When you walk my way hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

If you find a man that’s worth a damn and treats you well

Then he’s a fool, you’re just as well

Hope it gives you hell

I hope it gives you hell

Tommorow you’ll be thinking to yourself:

"Where did I go wrong?”

But the list goes on and on

But the truth be told I miss you

And the truth be told I’m lyin’

When you see my face hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

When you walk my way hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

When you find a man that’s worth a damn and treats you well

Then he’s a fool, you’re just as well

Hope it gives you hell

Now, you’ll never see what you’ve done to me

You can take back your memories, they’re no good to me

And here’s all your lies, you can look me in the eyes

With the sad, sad look that you wear so well

(When you see my face hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell

When you walk my way hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell)

(When you find a man that’s worth a damn and treats you well

Then he’s a fool, you’re just as well

Hope it gives you hell)

When you see my face hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell (Hope it gives you hell)

When you walk my way hope it gives you hell

Hope it gives you hell (Hope it gives you hell)

When you hear this song and you sing along

But you never tell (No, never tell)

Then you’re the fool, I just as well

Hope it gives you hell (Hope it gives you hell)

When you hear this song I hope that it will give you hell (It will give you hell)

When you sing along, I hope that it puts you through hell

Music video analysis 1: Diary of Jane by breaking Benjamin

 Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin

Artist: Breaking Benjamin

Song: Diary of Jane

The band ‘Breaking Benjamin’ who wrote the song “Diary of Jane” are an American alternative rock group, who’s music video for this chosen song has a mixed type of video which is performance based with a symbloic narrative. It shows connotations of alternative rock music as well as stereotypical conventions of music videos.

Breaking Benjamin has released four studio albums Saturate in 2002, We Are Not Alone in 2004, Phobia in 2006, and Dear Agony in 2009. Curently the band includes members Benjamin Burnley, Aron Fink, Chad Szeliga and Mark Klepaski . 

This music video is directed by Ryan Smith and released on June 21, 2007, after originally being scheduled to release on June 16. 

Within this music video we see many of what I would call the stereotypical genre characteristics within the soft rock genre. For instance throughout the music video there is a constant use of electric guitar which is often a major signifier of the rock genre. Furthermore there is a use of a guitar solo, within this music video which again is often related to the rock genre, as it shows of the talent of the guitarist. This is important because we could use this in our music video as would be good to show of the talent the artist which is what one of the purposes of music videos are. Also the music video has another genre characteristic, that the majority of the music video is in a dark place, with colours like grey and black at the forefront of the video. Also this genre, stereotypically is known to have emotional lyrics and back story to the song, shown by the facial expression of the actress and lead vocalists. Also the mise en scene creates a gloomy emotional atmosphere, with the smoke, which could be in putted into our song as it is about losing love and the dark place you are in.

 

However there is a divided storyline between a woman, who through analysing the title and lyrics can be depicted as ‘Jane’ who is seen in a white dress, which shows that the mise en scene of this character contrasts, creating as Levi Strauss’ theory states binary opposites, as white symbolises purity and innocence, which contrasts to the black, and grey costumes of the band symbolising the overall minor tonality of the song..

The setting for the music video, as conventional within alternative rock music, appears to be abnormal and isolated as the band are shown in a deserted mansion, which is set as quite dark with low key lighting to reflect the darker mood and nature of the song. Which is conventional to have lighting representing the mood, therefore by using limited and low key lighting this music video initially established to the audience that this will be a dark song with a minor tonality.

The mise en scene of the music video, specifically the costume of the band also conforms to the conventions of alternative rock music as the band are dressed in smart/causal dark clothes, giving connotations of darker themes conforming to the aforementioned dark nature and tonality of the music, established by the setting and lighting. Which appears to be common within the genre of music, meaning ’Breaking Benjamin’ are meeting their audiences expectations within the video by conforming to the social stereotypes, helping to secure fans of this video and ultimately boost the publicity of the band through creating an effective media product.

The editing within this music video is highly significant through the use of cross cuts of the band and a series of close ups on the lead singer, Benjamin Jackson Burnley giving him the majority of screen time, conforming to the conventions that the lead singer is shown with a‘star persona’ within the music video, promoting his image to his fans, whilst producing a stereotypical music video for this sub genre of rock music.

 The jump cuts between woman and the band is also significant as this divided storyline shows both ‘Jane’ and the band within the music video, this is highly significant as this music video through the use of the character ‘Jane’ focused upon in the lyrics means that this music video conforms closely to an illustration video, whereby the actions of the woman playing ‘Jane’ tell the audience the story and  hint towards possibly interpretations and meaning of this song. This therefore creates visually one interpretation of the song for the audience to watch and become engaged in, whilst also including an element of performance within the video as there jump cuts back to the band playing is stereotypical within music videos.

Furthermore to an extent this video can also be seen as an illustration video as well as adisjuncture video due to the abstract setting and range of camera angles, edited in a way so that multiple similar shorts of the band and compiled creating at times, a disorientating experience for the audience. Also the camera angles within help to build tension within the music video as a tracking shot is used to lead towards a door, creating suspense as the music builds initially and helps engage the audience as the song begins. Additionally the wide shots allow the audience to see the entirety of the band playing together whereas the constant close ups and low angled shots of the band and lead singer allow them to take up the entirety of the screen, giving them a higher status from the perspective of the audience, impacting upon their views of the band in a positive way, this is significant as the range of camera angles helps to maintain the pace of the song when the tempo increases and the song speeds up, meaning that the editing carefully fits with the music to create a successful music video, which is engaging and also has a level of professionalism to help boost the bands reputation.

Although the performance of the band and equally the acting of the woman playing ‘Jane’can be analysed as effective as a contrast, however as the song continues it could be seen that if the director were to include a third element within the video, the content could be enhanced to create a more engaging music video with a broader scope for inventive and creative possibilities which would enhance the overall quality of the video. Despite this the music video can still be seen as effective due to the conventions and stereotypes of alternative rock music that have been conformed to, creating an engaging and technically interesting music video, due to detailed editing and a range of camera angles.

There is some relationships between the lyrics and visuals, but as half of the video is performance based, we don’t have as much time for the relationship between lyrics and visuals. But there is some relationships between lyrics and visuals, for example within the lyrics it says ‘something in the way’, its referring to the fact she is a vampire with the indexical signs of, the touching of the neck and the fact she cant be seen in the mirror. Also there is some obvious use of lyric/visual relationship when in the song it says 'look the other way’ the actress In the song turns around in shock. This obvious relationship between lyrics/visual could be in putted into our song, as it is simple yet effective. Also at the end he puts a rose into what looks like a diary, which links to the lyrics because he refers to wanting to be put 'in the diary of jane’ which the rose is, so the conclusion brings the song to an end, which again we could have a conclusion in our song.

There is a relationship between the music and the visuals because the instruments we hear are the instruments we see playing. This creates a link to the audience because we see the talent of the band and how skilled they are which makes you admire them more. Furthermore there is a relationship because the editing is in time with the music so the effect is stronger as it goes with the beat. This cold be in putted into our music video so it has a stronger effect.

Within this song there are not many intertextual references apart from the fact it seems to be a dark vampire story, so it includes stereotypical vampire traits, like the not being able to be seen in the mirror and the bite marks on the neck. Also the story is in a stereotypical setting for a vampire story as it is in a large mansion/castle.

Another important feature with any successful music video and specifically this one, due to the performance accounting for the majority of the video, is the lip syncing being successful and continuous throughout, which is shown within the music video as even throughout arrange of shots and different camera angles the lip syncing from the lead singer, as well as the instruments being played by the rest of the band are successful and help create continuity between shots, giving an overall level of professionalism to the music video enhancing the status of the band in their specific sub genre of music.

Overall the music video for ‘Breaking Benjamin’s’ “Diary of Jane” is effective for a song within the alternative rock genre of music, due to the conventions and audience expectations as mentioned above that have been successfully met, and enhanced by the successful use of technology and camera work, creating ultimately a successful music video.

Lyrics of Diary of Jane:

If I had to
I would put myself right beside you
So let me ask
Would you like that? Would you like that?

And I don’t mind
If you say this love is the last time
So now I’ll ask
Do you like that? Do you like that?

No!

Something’s getting in the way
Something’s just about to break
I will try to find my place
In the diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be

Try to find out, what makes you tick
As I lie down, sore and sick
Do you like that? Do you like that?

There’s a fine line, between love and hate
And I don’t mind 
Just let me say
That I like that! I like that!

Something’s getting in the way
Something’s just about to break
I will try to find my place
In the diary of Jane
As I burn another page
As I look the other way
I still try to find my place
In the diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be

Desperate I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love
Die for anyone
What have I become?

Something’s getting in the way
Something’s just about to break
I will try to find my place
In the diary of Jane
As I burn another page
As I look the other way
I still try to find my place
In the diary of Jane

A Breif History of Music Videos

You Have probably imagined Music Videos to be a relatively modern phenomenon. But music videos didn’t start with The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, any more than it started with MTV, VH1 or YouTube. In fact, believe it or not, the story of the music video begins well over a century ago.

A picture perfect beginning 

It was American electrician-slash-photographer George Thomas who was the first to marry images to music. His ‘illustrated song’ – a series of still images printed onto glass slides, coloured in by hand and projected onto a screen alongside a live musical performance – made song-book publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern’s number, The Little Lost Child, a massive hit back in the music halls of 1894.

Melodies are made

Skip forward almost thirty years to the era of the talkies, and musical films were taking off dramatically. Spooney Melodies was a series of five musical shorts produced by Warner Brothers between 1930 and 1931 – films that mixed art-deco animation and live-action footage and aimed to showcase the popular tunes of the day. Clocking in a six minutes (so double the typical length of the later pop video proper), only one of them, Crying’ For The Carolines, is known to have survived.

Video boxes juke it out

In the late 1950s, a company called Cameca in Courbevoie, France, came up with the Scopitone, a jukebox that incorporated a 16mm film component. Magic! Soon the Italians were following suit with the Cinebox, which emigrated to the USA with the Scopitone in the 1960s, where the Cinebox became the Cinejukebox and Francis Ford Coppolla invested in the Scopitone. The craze for video jukeboxes had fizzled out by 1967, but by then the enthusiasm for music videos was unstoppable. 

Video kills the radio star

It was television, of course, that truly embraced the music video. In the mid-1970s, alongside the UK’s famous Top of the Pops (which had quite restrictive rules on how many non-live ‘outsourced clips’ they could use in the programme), Australian TV shows Countdown and Sounds were busy popularising the genre. Sounds presenter and DJ Graham Webb hired new director Russell Mulcahy to shoot videos for songs he wanted to feature on his show but that didn’t already have their own promo clips. Mulchay went on create the video for The Buggles’ Video Killed The Radio Star – which became, in 1981, the first music video ever to be played on MTV!

Music TV takes off

Since the 1980s, round-the-clock music video channels have become the norm – starting with MTV, VH1 and Canada’s MuchMusic – and in 1984, MTV launched their Music Awards (latterly the VMAs). Directors grew ambitious – John Landis’ video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller cost a staggering half a million dollars to make and opened the way for African-American artists in the music video scene.

Videos go viral

Although MTV is now more focussed on reality shows than music, the Internet has picked up where TV has waned, and, since 2005, YouTube is now the first port of call for anybody searching for their favourite artist’s latest video. The video for Lady GaGa’s hit, Bad Romance (which owes more than a nod to Thriller) became, in 2010, the most-viewed video not only on YouTube, but on the entire Internet. And now, thanks to smartphones, more people than ever check out videos anywhere, anytime.

So, one hundred and eighteen years old and still going from strength to strength – here’s to the music video!