Music Video Deconstruction 11

Song: The Bloodening
Band: Johnny Truant
Year: 2006

• Johnny Truant was a British, Brighton-based metalcore band, formed in 2000.
• The band recorded their debut release The Repercussions of a Badly Planned Suicide (which featured three remixed songs from their second demo) in 2002 which was released on Undergroove Records. Their second album, In the Library of Horrific Events was produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist, Adam Dutkiewicz. The band have toured the UK, Europe and Canada with the likes of Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Cancer Bats and Alexisonfire as well as playing Download Festival in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
• They were set to support Bring Me The Horizon in the US with Misery Signals and The Ghost Inside, however on October 31, 2008 the band unexpectedly announced on their Myspace that they were to split following their December UK tour.^[1] The band played their final show on December 17, 2008.
• The video for The Bloodening is taken from their second album, In The Library Of Horrific Events, released in 2005.
• It begins with an extreme long shot of the band as the guitarist plays the opening notes of the song; in the second bar, it switches to a regular long shot of the band.
• They are all wearing white t-shirts and black jeans in this video, and all instruments are darkly-coloured.
• The lighting is very limited as well; the only light in the room shines on the band, with the rest of the area in darkness.
• As soon as the drums, vocals and bass come in, there is a very brief flash of lettering across the screen, the title of the song. It appears for about a fifth of a second, and it was very hard to get a picture of on YouTube! 
• The camera begins to focus on Olly Mitchell, the vocalist, as he begins the vocals of the song. The camera is on a crane due to the height of some the angles used.
• The high-angle pans across the band as they play, following the guitarist, vocalist then bassist. 

• The camera often zooms back out to its establishing shot, i.e. the extreme long shot that shows all the band playing.
• In the parts where Olly isn't screaming, and he's singing, a handheld camera is used, either that or a camera that's being shaken. There is a close-up of him that is repeatedly shook to add atmosphere to the song and video.
• There are a few over-the-shoulder shots used, especially when focusing on Paul (Jackson, drums) that are done using a crane as well.
• Similarly to the title card used extremely briefly, there are frequent flashes of shapes throughout the video, such as fire and rain. They only appear for a fraction of a second. 
• The shaking camera style is used extensively when focusing on vocals, and at both low and high angles it is used as well. 
• A brief bit of narrative concept is implemented around halfway through the song; various members of the band are seen running through series of grimy, stony corridors. The shooting style here is done using a handheld cam, and a lot of blurry effects are used to hint at the slipping of sanity.
• In the middle part of the section, with the clean guitar break, a strange orange tint is applied to the film, giving it a more atmospheric feel again, even though it is subtle. 
• Once the song lurches back into its metallic start, the same hectic style of filming is applied again, once more with a quick flash of text, this time displaying the lyric "BURY THE CORPSES". 

Another flashing title, this one only came
up for about a third of a second.

The pyrotechnics used.

• The video ends with the band playing the end of their song as a ring of fire and smoke engulfs them, adding a pyrotechnic aspect, and atmospheric one to the video, using the same ELS style of shooting as they had done before. 

Music Video Deconstruction 10

Song: (Threw It) On The Ground
Band: The Lonely Island
Year: 2011

• The Lonely Island is an American comedy troupe composed of Akiva "Kiv" Schaffer, Jorma "Jorm" Taccone, and David Andrew "Andy" Samberg, best known for their comedic music. Originally from Berkeley, California, the group is currently based in New York City. The group broke out due to their collective work from 2005–2011 on Saturday Night Live. Samberg and Schaffer continue to work at the show, with occasional input from Taccone.
• "On the Ground" (album version known as "Threw It on the Ground") is a song sung by the band The Lonely Island from their second studio album Turtleneck & Chain, and an SNL Digital Short which aired on Saturday Night Live on October 3, 2009. Andy Samberg is the lone member of the band who appears in the video. He plays a character who is extremely cynical and possibly in some sort of quarter-life crisis, walking down a city street and throwing things he is given on the ground.
• The video begins with a fade-from-black transition and a medium-long shot of Andy Samberg sitting on a stool. 
• The lighting of the performance piece of this video is immediately noticed, as the only light in this part is on Andy and his microphone, and the whole rest of the room is in darkness. 
• As he begins singing the lyrics to the song, the camera changes to a mid-shot and the lighting and his face become more clear. 
• He describes in his lyrics exactly what happens in the narrative concept of the video; Samberg is shown "walking down the city streets" and he refuses an offer made by a salesman by literally throwing the product on the ground in an enraged and comical fashion; every time he does this, the object, be it energy drink, cake, a hotdog or a phone, is shown careering towards and smashing on the ground in slow-motion.

Samberg refusing to accept a free hotdog.

I threw it on the GROUND!

• Samberg sings the lyrics in the video to the startled vendors and salesmen at frequent points, such as the lyric "I ain't gonna be part of ya system!" in their face. These are normally shown with close-ups to reveal the expression on the characters faces.
• The chorus of the song always begins when Samberg throws something on the ground, as it is emphasizing the anger in his voice and the energy of the song.
• A few over-the-shoulder shots are used, like the picture above, as an unsuspecting employee tries to do something for him.
• The camera often focuses on Samberg after he's literally "thrown it on the ground" to capture the bad temper with use of a close-up.
• The lyrics are often shared between the performance cut and the narrative concept; such as him exclaiming after refusing a free hotdog "You can't buy me, hot dog man!" both sets of video sing this lyric.
• The video puts forward various clichés that would be found in serious types of this music; such as the double shot of the same person, singing in two camera angles, one a side-shot close-up and the other a mid-shot. 
• Even though Andy Samberg is a fairly renowned celebrity himself, the video includes cameos from two major actors, Elijah Wood and Ryan Reynolds who are having dinner at a restraurant when Samberg comes up to them, calling them "Hollywood phoneys" after being apparently asked if he wanted their autographs. He then proceeds to walk up to their table and flip it upside down in slow motion, much to their dismay. 
• The "phoneys" then proceed to chase Samberg and violently punish him with a taser, as the performance and the narrative fade to black. 

Music Video Deconstruction 9

Song: All I Want
Band: A Day To Remember
Year: 2011

From the top, left to right: Ed McRae from Your Demise, Vincent
Bennett from The Acacia Strain, Sam Carter from Architects,
Winston McCall from Parkway Drive, Jake Luhrs from August Burns
Red and Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon.

• A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003, the band has released four studio albums, nine singles and eight music videos. They are mainly known for their unusual amalgamation ofmetalcore and pop punk as a musical style.
• On January 6, 2011, the band showcased the official music video for the first single taken from the album, "All I Want" through an MTV premiere.
• The video for All I Want is taken from the album "What Separates Me From You", released in 2010. 
• There are two parts to the video; one is the performance, and the other is kind of a mix between a narrative and a performance, as it is lots of members from other bands singing ADTR's lyrics.
• The video begins with some extreme-close up and panning shots of the band's flyers and posters advertising their band name and various shows, while a mono copy of the pre-chorus is heard playing quietly in the background, as though it was on a radio. 
• The camera then is blurred but then zooms out to focus on a microphone on the floor, and another shot of Jeremy (McKinnon, vocals) writing something in a notepad or book. It is a close-up without you seeing his head, then the camera changes again to a mid-shot of Jeremy, then to an ECU of what he's writing, which is "Thank You", which is for his fans. 
• For a split second here, you see a superimposed scribble on the paper, which has been done with CGI, and is used a lot in the video. 
• The song begins properly, and the band are shown playing in a small room with their posters and flyers plastering the walls and floor. It is mostly shot with mid-shots and close-ups, and more focus is put on the instruments when certain parts are played, same goes for the vocals. 
• When certain lyrics with a lot of emphasis are sung by Jeremy, the lyrics themselves often appear superficially on screen, like in the picture above.
• There are a few tracking and panning shots used during the band's performance, especially when following the vocalist's movements.
• The lyrics are often shown not just as words but as shapes as well, such as the words themselves being inside a musical note.
• This is where the most unique part of the video begins; many, MANY different bands, but all in the same vein as ADTR's genre, start singing the lyrics at alternating parts in the video; the bands are: Crime In Stereo, Tom Denney (ADTR's old guitarist), Veara, Bring Me The Horizon, Silverstein, Parkway Drive, The Devil Wears Prada, Andrew WK, Fall Out Boy, Millencolin, As I Lay Dying, The Red Chord, August Burns Red, Comeback Kid, Seventh Star, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster, Architects, MxPx, Your Demise, Trivium, Pierce The Veil, The Acacia Strain, This Is Hell and Set Your Goals.
• These bands, or members from these bands, make an appearance each throughout the video, and are often shots with extreme close-ups or close-ups, so more emphasis is applied when they're shouting the lyrics at the camera. 
• The video ends in the same way, with the band ending their performance with a mid-shot, and Jeremy walking away. 

Music Video Deconstruction 8

Song: Early Grave
Band: Architects
Year: Late 2008/Early 2009

• Architects are an English hardcore band from Brighton, England, formed in 2004.
• Architects was founded in 2004 and are currently signed to Century Media Records worldwide and Distort Entertainment in Canada. The band has toured the UK and Europe with bands such as Bring Me the Horizon,SikTh and The Chariot. They have played at a number of independent UK festivals, as well as the Download Festival 2007 and 2009, and Sonisphere 2009 and 2011.
• The song "Early Grave" is taken from the band's 2009 album, Hollow Crown. This was the last album considered to be a typical Architects record before they vastly changed and revamped their sound with the 2011 album, The Here And Now, which takes a much more radio-rock turn as opposed to their conventional tech-metal sound, employing the use of intricate guitar and drum lines and specialist methods of guitar playing. 
• Early Grave is the first single off Hollow Crown, with a second single, Follow The Water, released later on.
• The most striking thing about the video for Early Grave is the way it is shot in ALL black and white, there is absolutely no colour.
• The video begins with absolutely no sound; there are a few shots to open the video, and the first of which starts the narrative for the video, as it is performance and narrative based.
• The band start playing the song suddenly, so it is quite shocking and jumps out at you/
• The style of shooting is immediatly recognizable; it is shot by a hand-held camera, and you can easily tell due to the constant shaking and moving about.

• There are also lots of zoom shots too, especially when Sam (Carter) starts the vocals of the track, as the camera focuses on him.
• This is also where the narrative begins; there is a masked man who is shown walking around the cityscape, seemingly lost and alone. He wears a suit and a bandage around his whole head; this may be reminiscent (or just a coincidence) of the Funeral For a Friend video I deconstructed earlier. 
• The band are often shown also from quite a distance while playing, and often a panoramic shot featuring the whole band using a long shot.
• Once again, this is another video that has a great deal of quick transitions and editing, between members of the band and the band themselves, and the man in the narrative, who is often depicted in long shots and close ups.
• The makers of the video used a special technique for filming the drums; there was a camera and monitor mounted on a chair next to the Dan (drums) and it was remotely operated with a joystick, and the operator zoomed in and out extremely fast. 
• It may be interesting to note at this point that Adam Powell, the director if this video, often works with bands such as Architects, including Bring Me the Horizon, Johnny Truant and Young Guns.
• At this point, the man in the narrative has put on a mask and wrapped it around his head; giving the character an extremely creepy feel. He is often looked at in these scenes through close ups so you can see his "face" more clearly.
• There is a constant continuation of switches from performance to narrative; the performance shots are never more than a second long, whereas the narrative often stays in the same shot for more than a few seconds, but not long enough to become boring. 
• After a while you begin to notice that the man in the narrative is totally alone in the video, there are no other people at all. This is acts as a metaphor for the message of the song.
• There are a few bizarre moments where, during long shots, the performance cut changes angles, such as being shown upside-down or to the side, which is rather unconventional. 
• Once the melodic part of the song begins, the narrative pace changes, and the man is shown sprinting through a forest; this is done with a handheld camera as well, and it changes the atmosphere of the video and song as it is more uplifting.
• For the performance at this part, a lot of mid-shot low angles are used to show Sam, who is doing clean vocals for the first time in the song and therefore needs the focus. 
• The heaviest part of the song, the end, begins and the man is seen at a high angle, signifying weakness and failure, taking off his bandages, yet a narrative enigma is created when the face is not shown. The performance is focused on Tom (lead guitar) at this point as he is the only one playing in the beginning. The video ends with a spiralling high angle shot of the man zooming out, and the band fading into darkness. 

Music Video Deconstruction 7

Song: Mothership
Band: Enter Shikari
Year: 2006

• Enter Shikari is a British post-hardcore band with elements of electronica, dubstep, and drum and bass, formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
• They have become notorious for their fusion of the aforementioned genres, something which has never been done before. 
• "Mothership" was released as a single in 2006 but they only printed 100 copies, and it was also released as a digital download, and did very well in the iTunes store. It is from the album Take To the Skies. 
• The video for "Mothership" was shot at The Underworld in Camden, London on July 2, 2006 at a live performance and was filmed by overhead cameras, angled from the ceiling.
• The video begins with Rou Reynolds, the vocalist, operating kis keyboard and electronics section on stage as the song begins; obviously the music is perfectly asynchronous as it is a live show.
• The next camera then shows the live audience, obviously enforcing the fact that it has been recorded at a venue and at a concert. 
• The cameras alternate rapidly between each band member as the song begins, and the opening power chords is then played; this provides a binary opposite to the angles used already as it is a mid shot of the guitarist taken at a human height, rather than on the ceiling. 
• The vocals come in very soon as well, and Rou is shown shouting the lyrics into his microphone, this is shown through a close up low angle taken from what looks like his keyboard stand.
• The song gets in full swing and each band member as well as most of them in one shot are shown, in a series of midshots.
• The audience are also shown having fun and getting pumped over the music, moshing, headbanging; all archetypical ways of acting at an event such as this, and these are shown through midshots looking down.
• There are also a lot of lighting effects used; obviously it is a live performance so the lights on stage would act as the lighting for the video; there are lots of strobes and flashes of red, green, blue and yellow as the video progresses.
• The camera also often shows more than one person, such as this shot where Rou and Chris Batten (bass) are on stage together, doing vocals. This is a two-shot technique, and a midshot. To film this, there was probably a cameraman in the audience. 
• Editing for this video is extremely rapid and fast paced, no shot remains on screen for more than a few seconds, and the camera angles change all the time.
• When there is a guitar break about a minute into the song, the camera focuses primarily on Rory, the guitar player, in a variety of shots, such as close up, low angled and high angled. 
• The camera shots are cycled often seeing as they are in fixed locations; some show Rou's keyboard setup, Rob (Rolfe, drums)'s overhead camera, one near Chris and one near and in front of Rory, mostly providing close ups and mid shots for a more intimate feel. 

  

  Bassist Chris Batten with one of ES's iconic glowrings.
  

• The cameras often get the recieving end of the live show as well; there are often frequent moments where they get wet due to water being thrown about or hit by the audience or band members, and this too adds to the feel of the show.
• Enter Shikari, at least in their earlier videos, sported glow rings on their fingers, which are small devices that emit a coloured light, often blue or green, to add to their lighting of the shows; for example, as well as the video for Mothership, they also wore them (but unlike Mothership, the audience wore them too) in the video for Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour which again contributed to the rave feel they are well known for, and to the energy of their songs and videos.
• The video ends with the band finishing their live performance and them applauding the crowd; Enter Shikari are well known in addition to their interactions with their audience.
• I believe there is now strict method to how the director (or indeed the band themselves) filmed this, they simply put a few cameras around the venue at certain intervals and points and swapped between them, with no proper direction as a detailed one is not needed during videos like this. 

Music Video Deconstruction 6

Song: You Want Romance?
Band: Funeral For A Friend
Year: 2006

• Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band, from Bridgend. Formed 2001, they have released five studio albums, five EPs, sixteen singles, one DVD, and one compilation album.
• This song is released from one of their early singles as a B-Side, the Escape Artists Never Die EP. 
• The video for You Want Romance? is entirely narrative base, with no band performance at all.
• The video itself continues a theme that Funeral For a Friend used to implement quite a lot during their early years; the front cover for their first proper album, Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation, depicts two figures, a man and a woman sitting on the Welsh countryside (FFAF's home area) facing away from each other, "Casually Dressed" and with cloth masks over their faces; the band continued this theme with a few single artworks, such as their singles for Juneau and Bullet Theory. 
• The video itself begins with some very brief establishing shots, there are two shots of the moon under a grey skyline, and the camera quickly transitions to a long shot of a car driving up a country lane in the grey environment, reminiscent of the band's album cover.
• There are several shots following the car, both close ups and medium shots as well, and we then see the driver, who is the masked woman from the band's album covers and other videos. 
• Very soon after she is shown, the second character from the band's ongoing theme is depicted, shown by a close-up low angle of his legs as he walks directly in front of the car.
• Another thing that this character does is use his index and ring fingers to make a gun with his hand, as if it was a real weapon, and threatens the woman driver. There is a distinct over-the-shoulder shot of the driver here, and also a long shot of the man. This metaphor for weaponry has been used in Funeral For a Friend's video for Bullet Theory as well. 
• A tracking shot is used here as the camera follows the man as he gets in the car and forces the woman to drive. There is absolutely no speech or dialogue in this video, yet it is still very apparent what is happening during it. 
• There is then a high angle shot depicting the car driving off into the distance, with the sun shining over the horizon, shown through a long shot.
• The two then get out of the car and recreate the album cover for the single itself, i.e the mirror on the docks picture. Here, CGI is used, as the reflection is different to that of the person standing in front of the mirror. The pair then also recreate the cover of FFAF's album Casually Dressed In Conversation, as they strike the same pose as is done on the cover. Similarly, the two masked figures also dance in a way reminiscent to the video for Escape Artists Never Die, except the dancers in that are dressed normally. 
• The lyrics of the song also tie into the video, as Matthew Davies-Kreye sings "And you heels look so beautiful against the carpet" as the woman dances with heels on.
• The two then proceed to kiss intermittently in a series of strobe-lit flashing close ups, and the cloth masks are removed subtly, revealing another mask below, which seems to be a porcelain one, once again similar to the one in the Bullet Theory video. This, of course, creates a narrative enigma as the two figures are never identified or shown properly. Bizarrely, the next masks are then taken off then lit on fire, yet the identity is never revealed. 
• The man wakes up with his mask back on, and, shown through a variety of tracking and panning shots, searches for the woman, then, in slow motion, takes off his jacket and shoes and jumps into the nearby lake, perfectly asynchronous with the drummer hitting his snare and cymbal as the last part of the song plays. 
• A number of transition shots showing the man struggling in the water with some sort of box are done with quick cut editing, and then using a zoom-out shot, the man opens the box, showing, even stranger, a faceless baby boy; the masks and the facelessness obviously show some connection and link between identity.
• The man then staggers backwards in shock after he opened the box (again using slow mo and asynchronous editing, and slams the box shut as the song ends, with no transition out, in place a straight cut to black. 

Music Video Deconstruction 5

Song: Butterflies and Hurricanes
Band: Muse
Year: 2006 (video posted 2010) 

• Muse are an alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, in England, and they formed in 1994. 
• Muse have released five studio albums: Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry (2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations (2006), and The Resistance (2009). The band have also issued three live albums, Hullabaloo Soundtrack (2002), which is also a compilation of B-sides, Absolution Tour (2005), and HAARP (2008).
• The video for Butterflies and Hurricanes was the last single taken from Absolution. 
• The video also has a very unique way of shooting, incorporating timelapses as well as other techniques.
• It begins with a wide, landscape shot of a mountain range with a timelapse of the sky changing; immediately, various types of equipment that would be found at a live show in the open air, such as scaffolding, rigging, lights, musical equipment and more.
• Most of the production is pieced together with footage from their tour for the album Absolution, and it is all a performance-based video.
• After the establishing shots, the camera quickly brings the viewer to the attention of Matt Bellamy, the bands frontman and vocalist as the intro ends and the vocals of the song begin.
• There are lots of shots of Matt vocalising and these are portrayed through a variety of shots like close ups and mid shots, with the occasional high angles and low angles.
• Butterflies and Hurricanes, and indeed Muse themselves focus a lot on bass; this means there are lots of shots of Chris Wolstenholme playing his bass in pivotal points during which it is the lead instrument.
• Lighting plays a huge part in this video; the whole production has a large array of purple, blue, yellow, pink and white lights surround the band as they begin to play.
• Lots of Computer Generated Imagery (GCI) is used as well, as parts of the stage begin to construct themselves, and them moving around behind the band. 
• When the drums come in, a dutch angle that slowly tilts clockwise is used, slowly, to synch with Dom Howard, the drummer as he plays.
• Throughout the majority of the video, the timelapse of the sky is used continuously; the band play at the front, the stage is built using CGI and the sky streams bright colours overhead, in keeping with the "Hurricanes" aspect of the song's title.
• Once the song is in full swing, there are a series of fast tracking and panning angles revealing an audience, obviously live footage from the Absolution tour, mixed with scenes of mountains and other various landscapes using CGI.
• During the large classical piano part, there are mixed shots of other, more urban areas, such as sky scrapers depicted with long shots forming a binary opposite of Matt as he is shown by a mid shot. There are also effects on his piano, such as various objects coming off it such as snow and petals. 

Unfortunately Muse's record label have deactivated embedding so I can only post the hyperlink; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzCKrwOme2U

Music Video Deconstruction 4

Band: The Acacia Strain 
Song: Angry Mob Justice
Year: 2006

• This single is by a band called The Acacia Strain from Massachusetts, USA. 
• It is from their second album and their first proper one, The Dead Walk, released in 2006. 
• In somewhat of a binary opposite to all the other videos I've covered so far, the video for Angry Mob Justice still retains the aspects of performance and narrative, but it also goes for a much more comedic style, more so than the other 3 videos...
• The video starts with a mid shot of a massive obese American man (The Acacia Strain are American) sitting down on a sofa; this immediately hints at the redneck stereotype of Americans, particularly the Southern states, and also a stereotype of Americans as a whole due to this guy being massively overweight.
• The camera used in the establishing shot is handheld, a point made obvious by the shaking when following the man.
• There is then another midshot, set at a low angle, of the man turning on the tv, in which the video really starts to get going; the narrative of the video is a tetherball (a common American sport similar to dodgeball in the physicalness of it). At this point the playback begins, starting off with a heavy snare drum fill with distorted guitars which matches the song's angry nature. 
• I should take a moment here to explain what the song is about; using the website songmeanings.net and the sub thread of http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858655988/, I'll point out a few possible ideas; 

1. "This is one of the most visually descriptive songs I've ever heard. It paints such a bleak picture of the end of the world and the havoc wrought upon mankind."
2. "It is about the end of the world.
   like the whole song is about how how the world is ruined.
   and everythings burning away.
   and that the ashes of the dead are being carried by the wind around the whole world."
3. "And the music does a good job of reflecting the different stages of the apocalypse...like how as Vincent says 'then the blast wave hit' is when the guitars pick up in speed and heaviness, or how after he says 'winter began around the world' the guitars pick up again because another tragedy is about to happen."

• After the title is displayed, the camera then pans across both teams who are participating in the game; there is the "Angry Mob Justice" team, obviously representing the song, which contains all the members of the Acacia Strain, and "Diablos", being the archetypical "jock" stereotype, who are ultimately destined to lose. 
• On several occasions, the camera focuses on the fat man from the beginning who is obviously watching this on his television. 
• This is where the performance aspect of the video is started; there is an extreme close up of a microphone on the floor and Vincent, the vocalist, picks it up while the intro continues. He then proceeds to start the songs' vocals by screaming the opening lyrics, with a close up shot of him doing so.
• From this point on there are frequent transitions and cuts between the band performing their song in a large room, possibly a hangar, and the game of tetherball going on at the same time. There are also intermittent scenes, normally mid shots, of the man watching the game.
• During the perfomance of the songs, the camera often shows close ups of the instruments when notable parts of the song are played; for example, during a heavy breakdown or chugging part of the song, the camera will focus on the guitars, mostly lead. There are also a few high shots and low shots, particularly low to make the band members seem intimidating, which works well. 
• Some parts of the music is synchronous with the video as well; for example, there is a part in the video where a Diablo player hits the ball into the A.M.J player's face (Vincent) exactly as another heavy part of the song begins to play and he falls to the floor. 
• The narrative ends with a Diablo player versus an AMJ player in some sort of final, in which the Diablo player loses, thus winning the band the game. There is a scuffle and the camera pulls away to the fat guy from the introduction eating crisps, as the end of the performance aspects begins to draws near as well.

RM - "The Big Three"

In the music industry there was the term "The Big Four". This was used for the four giant record labels in the music industry. These four companies were Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. However in early November, 2011, Universal Music Group bought EMI's record music division for £1.2 billion ($1.9 billion). As well as this Sony bought EMI's publishing division for £1.3 billion. Therefore this means "The Big Four" are now called "The Big Three".

EMI's record division includes artists including The Beatles, Coldplay and Tinie Tempah. Therefore showing it is understandable why both Warner Music and Universal wanted to own the division, with Universal outbidding Warner Music by $500 million.

The company has some influential artists, that have changed the genre they are/were situated in, as well as some of the biggest chart toppers in the last few decades on their label, this includes: ABBA, Guns N’ Roses, The Jackson Five, Elton John, KISS, Nirvana, The Police, Queen, Frank Sinatra, The Who and many many more. As well as Universal Music Group inpartnership with Abu Dhabi Media Company created a company called Vevo. Veco accounts can be found on Youtube for world famous artists.

Syco is jointly owned by Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, focusing on music, television and film content. Cowell uses these aspects of media to look for artists. The programs that are used for this are The X-Factor, The X-Factor USA, Britain's Got Talent and American's Got Talent. The artists that win these shows win a contract. These contracts are also tied into another record company, which is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The record companies mentioned in the above paragraph are usually part of the contract deals.

Warner Music Group is the last remaining member of "The Big Three" and was the third in "The Big Four". The comapany founded in 1958, as Warner Bros. Records. To date the company has several distribution labels: Atlantic Records Group, Rhino Entertainment and Warner Bros. Records Group.


As well as these distributors Warner Music Group has several subsidiaries. On these subsidiaries come a range of acts specialising in different genre. Artists on Warner Music Group includes: Paramore (who are owned by Fueled by Ramen which is on distributed by Atlantic Records Group) and Muse (who are owned by Warner Bros. Records).





Sources:
Guardian - Universal Music's £1.2bn acquisition marks end of the road for EMI, Universal and Sony reach deal to buy EMI for £2.5bn, Universal Music to buy EMI's recorded music division for £1.2bn
Wikipedia - The Big Four, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group,

Music Video Deconstruction 3

Band: Emmure
Song: Solar Flare Homicide
Year: 2011

• I will begin this deconstruction by stating that the video for this song is pretty much entirely performance-based, with no narrative. 
• The video begins, and, in keeping with a way the editing is done, with a series of close-ups of most band members; a close up of the vocalist who is in shot for most of the video, a quick zoom out from a close up of the drummer, as the introduction of the song is mainly focused on the drums. A similar shot is then shown of the lead guitarist playing, with the initial one on his instrument, then a close up of him. 
• After these few establishing shots, there are a series of overhead ones, featuring high angles, of the rhythm guitarist and the bassist. 
• Another thing to note at this point is that the audience in which the band are playing to is significant, and are shown in the first few seconds of the opening. The band members themselves are depicted playing within the crowd itself rather than the normal view of playing in front of them, as they would in a gig. This breaks convention in a notable way. 

The initial shots of the whole audience, with band members scattered around, highlighted.

• As soon as the vocals come in to the song, the lighting suddenly changes; it switches rapidly from a standard, yellowish glow to a blazing orange, in keeping with the lyrics "I see a fire in the SKY" upon which aforementioned element is depicted in the video.
• There are, in this video, a large variety of close-ups, most of which focus on the instruments. Similarly, there is also a lot of audience participation during the vocals, and members of the audience, donning the band's t-shirts are seen screaming the lyrics to the camera along with the band member.
• As well as the lighting effects when it comes to visuals, the makers of the video also included some sort of CGI overlay during some of the shots. For example, there is an outline of a circuit board flashed very briefly on screen during the beginning of the first verse. 

• As the video progresses, there are many different shots;  mid shots of the audience singing along and dancing, close-ups of the band members and their instruments, and many ariel and high shots, as well as some binary opposition involving low shots. During mostly instrumental parts, the instruments themselves are normally depicted a lot through mid and close shots.
• During the heaviest part of the song, about 3 quarters of the length in, the camera focuses on primarily the audience rather than the band, featuring many long shots and mid shots of various guys moshing and fighting along to the music.

Some guy about to get a mouthful of foot.

• The video ends with a series of high-angle shots, done on a crane, of the audience and the band performing the outro of the song, with intermittent shots of instruments and the band members themselves.

Music Video Deconstruction 2

Song: Burnt Tongues

Band: Your Demise

Year: 2009

• This music video begins in a rather intriguing way; there is a dutch angle featuring the (now former) vocalist walking down a hallway. There is a grainy, dreary filter effect used in this shot, implying it was shot using a security camera or CCTV of some sort, and the band and the song's titles are typed out in green computer text below.
• The camera then changes to a low shot/mid/close up of the vocalist walking down the hallway, and there are intermittent uses of dutch angles and extreme close ups of his face, and blurry and grainy filters.
• The rest of the band are then portrayed in this fashion, with the guitarist walking outside with a mysterious case (obviously his guitar but used to signify a gun of some sort)
• Another shot integrating the use of convetional CCTV effects is used, portraying a long shot of the vocalist and guitarist obviously organising some questionable deal. 
• There are then close ups of various band members who have all rendezvoused putting on black balaclavas, making them appear scary and daunting, obviously using the British gangster archetype. 
• A noticeable red tint is also used frequently here.
• There are also a lot of POV shots of the driver and singer in the front of the van, and a zoom-in is used when another hooded figure starts approaching them with a baseball bat. 
• It is here that the performance aspect of the video begins; the vocalist is portrayed in front of the camera screaming down a mic, and a wide variety of shots are used to portray this, including close ups, extreme close ups, mid shots, and at frequent uses, what I suspect is a chest harness camera angle. Once a few seconds of performance have passed, the video for Burnt Tongues then switches rapidly between the narrative, which seems to involve the band being beaten senseless by thugs, or the band beating eachother up (it's hard to tell with all the fast editing) and them performing live.
• As the video progresses, there are more and more shots of the vocalist running away from what's happening, by using a chest harness-mounted camera and showing close ups of his terrified face.
• A majority of the video is shot using handheld cameras, a perfect example being the camera following the vocalist as he sprints through some woodland.
• It is around 1:30 in the video where the audience is depicted; there are circle/mosh pits everywhere and people having a good time, generally 15-20 year olds, at a hardcore show, audiences like these are often used a lot in metal videos.                                               
• As usual, a large amount of the video is shot with a certain filter to make the footage look grimy and dirty, in fitting with the song and the band's hardcore image.
• Within the performance aspect, there are frequent close ups of the band playing their instruments as well. 
• Obviously the singer is lip-synching, but there are zoom-ins of the audience members singing along to the song as well, often done in black and white. There are actually two narratives of the band playing, one in a dark room with only them shown, and the other featuring a live show and the audience.
• Towards the end of the video, the CCTV camera is revealed to be being used by another masked individual, being shown through a close-up.
• The last still of the video is a stencil of the band's famous logo, with the computerised green text from the start being shown again, as "To be continued".

Here is the video on Vimeo. I would embed the YouTube clip but WMG forbids distribution this way.


Your Demise 'Burnt Tongues' from You Know on Vimeo.