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Lyrics Breakdown: Lies We Lead-Speaking In Shadows

This is the breakdown of the lyrics for my song choice.

Advert Analysis: Believers Never Die-Fall Out Boy

This advert for the band Fall Out Boy talks about their greatest hits album 'Believers Never Die'.

The advert features the album cover, two skeletons laying side by side in what looks to be a bedroom, positioned to look like a couple. This matches the title as it implies that death wasn't an obstacle for this couple, and they have continued to function because they 'believed'. This album was released around a similar time to when the band were going on hiatus, which the title may also refer to, implying that the music will not go away just because the band has.

The name of the band is positioned at the top in bold white, with the album title positioned in a smaller font beneath, and beneath that is the words 'The Greatest Hits', signifying the style of the album, in a slightly larger font. The advert also includes the rating from the esteemed music magazine Kerrang! , which gave the album 5 Ks (stars) which makes the album more enticing for an inquisitive buyer. The mention of some of the songs present (all of which are highly popular Fall Out Boy songs) and the inclusion of an exclusive CD/DVD which can only be obtained through album purchase, implies that the customer would get more for their money, meaning that the album would appear more worthwhile.

Digipak Analysis: 15-Buckcherry

The front cover for '15' by Buckcherry, features an extreme close up of a finger, with the album title drawn on in what appears to be chalk. The band name is positioned above, in a messy paint style of font, with the letter 'Y' obscuring the finger, making it look like a scar or wound, to which the black 'blood' drips to the base of the album. The red design at the 'base' of the finger is potentially meant to be blood, which would match with the idea of a wound, however there is a silhouette of a female, presumably the ones that often appear in Buckcherry videos. The scarred finger could also represent the music that they play, as guitarists often cut their fingers, so this may be representative of the the heavy guitar sound associated with Buckcherry and other bands of this genre.

The disc is solid white, with the band logo in the top right, and the album title is enlarged and is in the centre of the disc. The colour has been changed to red, so it may symbolise the blood from the finger, but it could also be simply so the female silhouettes would stand out more, as the three colours contrast rather heavily. The track list is numbered, and follows the line of the number '1', which creates a slight leading line.

The back contains fingers with a slight sepia effect, with the album title, band logo and track listing to the right. The colours have changed again, with the logo and title in black and the track listing in red. The colours seem to be an odd choice, as the album title doesn't stand out as much as the disc and as the much as the front cover.

Nine Frame Analysis: Du Hast-Rammstein

Music Video Analysis: Burn It Down-AWOLNATION

The video starts with an establish shot of a court room, similar to the style of the TV show 'Judge Judy'. Text appears on the screen with the band logo at the top, with glowing golden text saying 'In The Court Room'. This is not a stereotypical setting for music videos of this genre, as they are more studio based or are in areas of industry or dilapidated areas, such as 'Du Hast' by Rammstein.

It zooms in to the bailiff on the line 'Will the defendant please rise?'. After a cut to the crowd, it cuts to a tilt shot the defendant, played by the frontman Aaron Bruno, as he stands from his chair. It then cuts to a mid shot of the judge as she speaks, name dropping the song 'Guilty Filthy Heart' which is also by AWOLNATION.

As Aaron crouches, it cuts to a wide shot of him and his lawyer, as the song starts playing. After interchanging long shots and close ups between the judge and Aaron, he sends a blast of energy on time with his vocalisation ('Woo') towards the bailiff.

The camera then cuts to a member of the jury, then pans to the bailiff, who is now an astronaut, which is a common trope of AWOLNATION videos as it ties in with the name of their album 'Back From Earth'. It shows a close up of Aaron after which. it cuts to a wide shot of the judge as she becomes a mannequin after another energy blast.

Another energy blast is fired through another wide shot of the jury, altering them into soldiers and ninjas. This is on time with the start of the chorus.

It then cuts to a close up of Aaron, who turns towards the clark and starts moving towards her as the chorus progresses. It shows a close up of her, then tilts down to her typewriter. It then shows a close up of Aaron's hand, shooting another energy blast to the clark, cutting to where she was sat, it now being empty. It then cuts to the judges box, in which the clark now appears as a mermaid. It then cuts to a series of close-ups of people in the crowd, who all have puzzled and surprised looks on their faces. Indicating the shock of the moment, which may replicate the viewers' reactions.

Afterwards, it cuts to a long shot of Aaron, singing to the court room, facing the camera. It shows a series of rapid cuts in time with the percussion. After which, it cuts to a medium shot, facing up the benches of the prosecution and the defence, with a leading line from the prosecution, to the defence lawyer, who are all changed to attractive women, stereotypical of male dominant music videos. After which Aaron blasts the court room, turning it into a club scene and dance floor, anaphorically referencing the lyrics. However, the barriers separating the crowd are now used as stage barriers.

The video continues in a similar style, showing typical voyeuristic imagery, which highlights the electronic side of the band and borrowing tropes from more popular genres. There is a lot of handheld camera in this section, showing a frantic and bustling scene, as if the cameraman is dancing in the 'club'.

Advert Analysis: 21st Century Breakdown-Green Day

This advert for Green Day's '21st Century Breakdown' features the album cover in the centre, depicting a couple kissing, but it's graffitied onto a wall in black and white, similar to the art of Banksy. The male appears to be Billie Joe Armstrong, who is the lead singer. The wall is faded to black around the edges, but the centre is a fiery orange colour. The font is consistent throughout, matching the graffiti style of the album. The use of the term 'Wait Is Finally Over' implies that the album was in the works for a long time. It advertises the album by displaying that the single 'Know Your Enemy' is on the album, which is the most effective way to promote albums. The colour palette seems to signify danger, as the contrasting red and black are often staple colours of darkness and adversity, the fact that the artwork is graffiti, a common trait of rebellion and stereotypical associated with teenagers, which are the primary audience for bands such as Green Day.

Digipak Analysis: A Certain Trigger-Maximo Park

The front cover of the album 'A Certain Trigger' by Maximo Park features a man (presumably the singer) in a typical rock pose, as if he was holding a guitar, against a plain white background. The man is coloured in black and white, indicating something of the past, or what is stereotypical of photography and indie or alternative music. The text is bold red in all capitals and in red, which is a high contrasting colour to both black and white, which has connotations of love, danger and passion, which could all be linked to the album title, which seems to reference a gun, or something which will cause danger.

The disc matches the red colour of the text and the back of the album. The font of the text is the same, however, the colour has changed to green, which is the polar opposite of red on the colour wheel, shifting to grey and black as it approaches the centre of the disc. The text is also cut off slightly by the curve of the disc. The disc itself, is solid red. This is commonplace of artwork of this genre, as it implies change or growth in an artist.

The back is a solid red colour as well, however, the track listing is in white, making it easier to read for audiences. The omission of numbers is now a modern trend among artists, as they are appearing less and less, often to favour more artwork.

Music Video Analysis: Underneath It All-Zebrahead

The first shot is a tilt long shot of a dirtied trailer in America, implying a low-budget lifestyle for the stars in the video. The concept of this video takes the form of a hidden camera show (similar to 'Cheaters'), with the band members acting as the film crew and as the person they are filming.

It then cuts to a medium shot, in the style of a home video confession, in which a woman, parodying Gwen Stefani, who was the singer of the band that originally released this song, explaining how her partner Matt (who is the lead singer of Zebrahead) was cheating on her. She then brings up a rabbit mascot headpiece (comically used in many of this band's videos).

The next shot is a long shot, in which a silver van drives in, it then cuts to a medium shot of the band members (emulating a film crew) jumping out. It then cuts to another long shot of the band in poses.

It then zooms in to Ali (the other lead singer of Zebrahead) in a reality show style. It repeats the process for the other band members with the same effect.

Afterwards, it cuts to a close up of the drummer hitting the snare, before quickly cutting to a long shot of the band performing, in what looks to be a jungle-style area, surrounded my dancing animal mascots, which will be shown again later in the video.

The next medium shot shows the camera crew spying, presumably on the target. After more shots of the band, it cuts back to a long shot of Matt riding a tandem bicycle with the rabbit mascot, with a slight tracking effect.

After several more shots of the performance, it shows a stereotypical romantic comedy pan shot in which the two lovers are running to each other, however, it's not in slow motion. It then shows a transition of a heart which captures Matt and the rabbit in a heart and shrinks down, revealing the live performance section, but focused on the cat mascot. It also features many tropes of a romantic theme, such as when they are looking through the binoculars, which may also be a reference to 'Sometimes' by Britney Spears, which was also parodied in 'All The Small Things' by blink-182.

It cuts to more shots of the the film crew following Matt in his escapades, such as skipping on the beach. The shot is staged with Ali (the host) in stereotypical 70s dress (sunglasses and cigar) to the left, gesturing for the camera to follow him. This is complimented by intermittent shots of the band performing. This particular section shows the lead singer Matt and the bassist in a deep and shallow focus transition.

Later in the video, it cuts to the rabbit mascot playing the saxophone, in time with the part of the song. This may also be a reference to the original song being of the Ska genre.

Shot Count:Technicolour Trainwreck-Speaking In Shadows

Total Shot Count:132

The most common shots featured in this are close-ups, which is common of music videos to capture the star image of the singer (Adam) and of the instruments, but they are also used to highlight the coin flip which is a recurring theme in this video, but also the posters that are displayed at the beginning, middle and end.

The video seems to maintain a relatively even balance between narrative and performance, as the band are frequently shown performing, and Adam is frequently shown singing alone, but there are multiple scenes which show the narrative side of the video, which is that the Adam's actions are denoted by the flip of a coin.

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To Do List

Video Analysis
Digipak and Advert Analysis
Shot Count
Audience Profile