Wednesday 18 August 2010

Panic! At The Disco- "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" Cover Analysis


I Write Sins Not Tragedies Cover Analysis
The black background is very effective in allow the text and images stand out and appear bolder, allowing them to be easily seen. Throughout the music video, there is a clear circus theme and this is reflected by the single cover. The font is traditional circus writing and the red font colour also imitates the feeling of a circus. As the font is red, the initial feeling of either anger or passion in the song, which is accurate as the video shows a bride who has been cheating on her groom and is found out on the wedding day, so there is a mixture of passion between the bride and the best man and also anger by the groom to the bride. Also, red is the colour that the main singer wears in the video and so it also links to the video in that way. The song is about love and passion, and the setting for the cover appears to be in Italy, which is renowned for being a romantic and intimate place. I believe this single cover is aimed at teenagers, due to the cover being drawn in cartoons, which may attract a younger audience. Another way in which it is clear that the audience is the use of the "Parental Advisory-Explicit Content" in the bottom corner, which is generally used if the music is aimed at persons under 18.

Tuesday 17 August 2010

The Prodigy- "Invaders Must Die" Cover Analysis


Invaders Must Die Cover Analysis

This is the single cover for The Prodigy's single, "Invaders Must Die". The colours are similar to that of the music video as both have a black and white theme with the odd flash of orange. This orange contrasts against the rest of the colour scheme as it is vibrant against a monochrome background, the orange on the cover may be a representation of the band and may be illustrating that they are bold, bright and stand out from the rest of the music industry. The single also features The Prodigy's own personal font, which allows it to be recognisable and the audience can therefore make links between The Prodigy and their franchise. The font itself is very rebellious looking and even has a graffiti style to it, which portrays the band as being young, and again relates to the rebellious feel to the band. The intertextuality at the bottom of the single cover features a similar scene to that in the video, which links the video and the single together and also allows the orange font stand out, making the cover look sophisticated and well thought out. The black background and font also contrast to the white background and orange font which enhance the boldness of each individual colour and again, links to the music video as black and white are the colours used.

Paramore- "The Only Exception" Video Analysis

How are the band represented?

The establishing shot in the video shows a couple lying asleep on a sofa. This immediately shows the audience that the band should be seen as regular, un famous people and are therefore shown to be average everyday people. The main singers clothing in the first scene of the video is stereotypical teenage casual wear, which again supports the portrayal of the band being down to earth, also the main singer is shown to be family orientated by being shown to be hugging her father and placing a picture of her mother on her mirror. As the main singer is the only one to be shown moving through the scenes in the video it shows that maybe she feels isolated and alone, however, this is contrasted to the scene where she is lying on a floor covered in hearts and cards and drawings which are all love related. When the shot is of the full band, they are all in similar positions and all wearing the same colours, showing a bond between them. At the wedding scene, the main singer is wearing black, which contrasts to all of the other characters and the scene, showing that she is an outcast and does not belong there.

What relationship exists between the images and lyrics in the video?

Near the beginning of the video she sings "I'd never sing of love if it does not exist. But darling, you are the only exception" and when she sings "you are the only exception" she is surrounded by hearts, which shows the storyline of the video and that the song is obviously about love. Later in the song she sings "keeping a comfortable distance" and the image is of the singer and a man sat on opposite ends of the table, showing a barrier between the two of them, and more obviously a distance. At the end of the song, the lyrics are "you are the only exception" and it shows a number of different scenes with the make and the female in it, which shows that them two are in love.

What relationship exists between the music and images in the video?

At the beginning of the song, the music is slow and gentle and the images change softly through cuts and slow motion. The cuts happen on the chord changes to tie in the images and the tempo of the music together to give the audience a feel for the kind of song that it is going to be. When the chorus begins, the cuts stop and are instead replaced with a fade, to allow the chorus to stand out. Also the tempo in the chorus is slightly faster, so the camera zooms out at a slightly faster pace than the camera had been moving previously. The band are seen to be playing their instruments in the instrumental, which lets the audience know that they are the band and are also characters, which leads onto the scene where the singer is sat having a meal with numerous men and the repetition of shot reverse shots show how bored and unhappy the main singer is in her situation.

Are there any inter-textual references to other media forms?

The video and the song are unlike the previous and usual Paramore tracks and videos and because of this, the video is unconventional for them and therefore there is no clear sign of inter-textual references to other media forms or any of the other Paramore franchise.

What do I like about this video?

I really like the tempo of the video, how it seems to be in slow motion, but when the singer is shown talking and singing, it is in normal speed. I also like how the camera pans to show the whole situation. The scenes in the video and how the audience can see the singer walking through doors is also a very clever idea to emphasise the feeling that she is alone. However, it would be complicated for me to try and incorporate this into my own music video.