I FEEL LIKE DANCINGALL TIME LOW

BACKGROUND

‘I feel like dancing’ is a track taken from All Time Low’s 2011 album ‘Dirty Work’.

The video for this track was released on May 23 2011 onto VEVO.

The music video uses a range of camera shots, angles and movements to make it exciting and interesting for the target audience.

The video begins off with the narrative section of the video. This is will a long shot to effectively establish the location, all of the band members and their ‘manager’. It reveals the set up which is in some sort of back dressing room as it shows clothing items in the background. There is an implication of a plan or strategy from the blackboard behind the man in the suit. The band are all dressed in casual clothes appealing to the rock genre. This includes black skinny jeans and the denim jacket etc. The manager is in a suit which creates a contrast between the two worlds and puts him in a higher authority position. Following this there is a straight cut to a close up of the manager’s face. This reveals his smug character and position in the narrative. This shot also reveals more of the blackboard with the implication that the video is a strategy for making a music video. cc

After this there is a flick between the initial long shot and another close up of the manager’s face. This is before any music is played. All of this shots so far have had straight on angles with no movement. However, there is a straight cut to a medium close up of the band and the shot slowly zooms in. This reveals the band’s style, their faces and some more props. These include the glasses of water, which are very classy and the note pads/folders. All of these emphasise the point that they are planning to make a music video. No new shots are used for a while after this. They consistently flick between the ones already used to establish a sense of space in the room. It also does not break the 180 degree rule.

Zoom in

The song begins to play and the new shot emphasises this. There is a medium close up of the manager and it slowly zooms in effectively to show his arrogance and cockiness. The 180 degree rule is broken here as we look at the room from a new angle. A stair case is revealed and even more of the blackboard. The desk is overcrowded with props including the mug, the jug, the clipboard and pen and his glass. All of this seems unnecessary, showing us more about his character. The point of the video is that Hollywood is over the top. The shot zoomed in from a slightly lower angle into a straight one.

The close up then moves from the focus of the manager to the product. However, this is cleverly brought into the frame without any movement from the camera. This adds a surprise for the audience.

Next, we are introduced to a new set up but only for a second as the music progresses. We are shown a medium close up from a high angle of the band. We are shown predominantly the lead singer, however all band members are featured. This follows the conventions of the lead singer being the main focus. The set up of the band is also a stereotypical one (drums at the back etc.) The lighting is effective as it makes the location seem dark and dingy. The amps are stacked in the background and each member of the band has an instrument. On top of this the shot is interesting because we see the set up from that of a spectator watching the shoot rather than an audience. This is shown from the lighting equipment in the background. The edit is a very quick cross dissolve into the next set up. This is a behind the scene shot for the ‘conventional Hollywood’ music video and method 1 of product placement. A character is revealed in the product ‘Rock Star’ attire and members of the band in the background. The words on screen adhere to one of Andrew Goodwin’s 7 conventions. This is just a wide screen long shot.

In time with the music there are a range of quick cut clips of each band member in the performance set up. With the same green lighting. There is a close up, high angle of the lead singer. There is then a side shot from a medium shot of the bass player, a long shot from a lower angle of the drummer from behind the leg of the lead singer. The rock genre is featured here and emphasised in the style f the band members. For example the vest and tattoos of the base player.

As the lyrics come in we go back to a close up of the lead singer. The camera pans slightly to the right before cutting quickly to other plot establishing shots. The shot moves back to the planning room where the blackboard has changed to suit the time of the narrative and then it goes to the lead singer in a different set up. He is singing the words but moving towards somewhere in the product clothing. He is having makeup put on him so we are under the impression he is behind the scenes and preparing for the music video shoot.

There are consistent fast cuts in time with the drum beat of the song. We go back to the planning room (set up 1) and then the singer. We then have a low angle medium close up of the lead guitarist. His movements in time with the music emphasise the rock genre, so does his style. The camera tilts up as he plays and then cuts to an interesting angled shot of the drummer. The consistent green lighting is still featured and a very run down area is being portrayed. The black curtain blocks out light behind the drummer so he can be seen clearly but we are still seeing the shot from the perspective of an observer than the audience.

As the song prepares for the chorus a new shot of the whole band is introduced. It is from an offset low angle and from the perspective of someone behind the cameras. We can see a camera and other lighting features. The video also breaks general conventions as we rarely see the ceiling of a building.

The band all have instruments as props and the plinths appeal to the target audience in a cool and unique way. Cleverly, the shots are alternating from what the band want their music video to look like and what the Hollywood world wants it to look like. A two shot is used in the next cut to emphasise this point. It features the manager in his suit and a provocative woman in product clothing.

Another of Andrew Goodwin’s 7 conventions is shown next. There is a reference to voyeurism in the close up of the woman. She is wearing a tight product top with a can of the product. The focus is not her face but her chest. This is used as a selling technique and is used in the video to make the point that it is wrong. The colours used are completely different,. They are more primary, unlike green so there is a contrast in colour to emphasise the difference between the band’s views and Hollywood’s views.The video breaks conventions by exploiting conventions. The idea of the video is that Hollywood expects these conventions for a video to sell. One of the methods is exploiting sex. There is a long shot of the band with women in provocative clothing. It does also feature men, but more for a comedic aspect. There is a long shot of the band with the women and men and a range of close ups. There are slightly longer still shots and some pans. The shot with the lead guitarist holds for longer for comedic effect and also tilts up to reveal more.

This is a very interesting long shot. The colour of the set up has changed to move away from what the band want. The branding and product placement has also gone over the top emphasising the point that Hollywood expects everything to be exaggerated or it wont work. The shot shows everything including the general surroundings which breaks the conventions of a music video. It may be to show the audience that what goes on isn’t magical it all happens in a room with artificial lighting, backgrounds and products. The band don’t stand out at all they blend in which defeats the object of their music video portraying their image. It uses the convention of voyeurism with the women in provocative clothing. However, the props are exceptional, especially the giant cans of rock star in the background. They almost touch the ceiling which may be the point of the shot. It is a long shot to show everything in the frame. However, in a real video not all of it would be in the frame. It may be the band trying to show that Hollywood is unnecessarily over the top because most of the time you wont see what's going on anyway.

The structure of the video is fairly consistent. The verse shows a build up and progression. There are quick edits to portray planning stages. For example (in terms of narrative) the manager in the first set up, the method in words on screen with relevant props and characters and then a mix in of the performers (the band) in the green set up. As the chorus begins the shots are of the green set up but it is no longer green it is filled and over crowded with the relevant colours, props, lighting and characters associated with each method. This cleverly makes the video more enjoyable as it follows a chronological and consistent pattern.

As the middle 8 of the song begins the consistent structure so far is changed. This conventionally happens in music videos as normally a middle 8 is very different to the rest of the song. For example, in this one the beat slows down and it is just one piano chord at a time. This emphasises the restless nature of the band getting tired of the situation they're in. However, the stricter is followed in a way that it used the text on screen. This medium shot shows the band entering the final method of a music video… ‘Stealing someone else’s idea’. Here we see them dressed in Lady Gaga’s iconic and wacky outfits. Although it is comedic it has a general message. You cannot steal someone's unique idea because not only is it obvious but it does not suit the new user. We see them in the same set up which appears to be a walkway towards the performance set up. The camera pans at a low angle with the band and the opening of the song is repeated near the end with the woman putting on the lead singer’s make up. This possibly delivers the message that in Hollywood celebrities are pampered. His expression shows that he does not like it.

The shot then cuts back to the planning room, however at the start the band appeared really excited but now look very stressed and annoyed. At the start the medium close up zoomed in but now it is zooming out. The manager has a low angle still shot which shows his excitement and the final method on the blackboard.

We then have a nice low angle close up of the lead singer showing his despair for the situation in the outfit stolen from a Lady Gaga video. The lighting is interesting as it is coming from the background. There are nice shadows on his face reflecting his mood.

Structure is repeated with the same shot, angle and movement. When each method is established with the words on screen it is a person falling over. As they fall the text comes on screen behind them. It isn’t any of the band members or a main characters but just someone irrelevant behind the scenes. Perhaps to show how many people are involved in the making of a music video. There is also a consistent streak of blue light through the centre of the frame.

This part of the music videopredominantly uses green screen as amain focus for the narrative. It uses Andrew Goodwins’s iconic feature convention and exploits it. Again breaking conventions by using them and pointing them out. The close up of the lead singer as Katy Perry is comedic but also allows us to see the despair in his expression. The lighting is artificial and the props are very accurate in recreating one of Katy Perry’s music videos. More over, the long shot on the top right shows Lady Gaga’s style. We can see all four band members participating in her dance moves on an intentionally bad looking green screen for effect. Additionally, Justin Bieber’s style is used with the hair, snapbacks, the colour purple and the beatsheadphones. The close up shows the band getting more into their roles. Finally, the Katy Perry style dance and outfit is used again, however this time with all four band members. However, this long shot shows them to be enjoying themselves. This may portray the message that everyone gets pulled in by Hollywood eventually and forget who they really are. The props are comedic but also accurate and make it easy to establish where and who the idea has come from.

For this set up the camera is attached to the centre of some kind of wheel. The band members are on the outside and the wheel rotates in a 360 degree motion. All around are different backgrounds that change, however the camera stays focused on the band members. The shots vary but a good range of movement fits well with the pace of the song at this particular moment in the video.

The close ups are from straight on angles with slight and short pans to the left and right. They reveal the emotions of the band members. We can see that they are happy and fitting into their roles. This portrays the fact that they may have been drawn in to the frantic and exaggerative lifestyle of Hollywood through the progression of the video.

Another of Andrew Goodwin’s conventions is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This is shown when the line “oh one more time!” is sung. The lead singer points to the camera holding one finger up in the performance and the narrative.

The line “I don’t care if people stare” is visualised as he points to his eyes and then to the camera during the performance edit. Close ups are successfully used to show this.

The song comes to its last verse and chorus and along with the green screen scenes more of the band performing in the first green set up is shown. Fast cuts to various close ups, long shots and zooms of different band members. This is because the band naturally wanted some time in the video to show off their style and genre as well as making the point about Hollywood’s conventions.

This close up is still from a straight on angle. As the song dies out the band begin to wind down and give up. In all of their green screen scenes. In this one, although juxtaposed by props and makeup, the rock genre is portrayed in a stereotypical way as the lead singer swears. This shows rock as a conventional genre of reckless.

This is a good shot to end. As the music fades out as long shot of the band tilts up to the ceiling implying that the camera man is fed up with Hollywood’s ways also.

Here is the final shot of the video. It shows all four band members in a medium shot. They are half wearing the outfit from the shoot and lighting and screening props are featured in the background to portray an ‘off set’ location. The members look tired and are stood in a way that suggests they give up. Perhaps with the final message that the big Hollywood lifestyle tired you out and eventually destroys you.