Research and Planning- Deconstruction of a music video. Genre.

This is a deconstruction of the music video "All I Want" by A Day to Remember. I have chosen to look at this music video because i enjoy the song and find the editing techniques and word painting really interesting and would possibly like to use these techniques for my own music video. This song is also considered a great anthem and you can resist to sing along.

Song Research:- (sourced from wikipedia).

"All I Want" is the first single by A Day to Remember from their fourth studio album What Separates Me from You. It was released officially to radio on October 12, 2010, although it premiered on October 6, 2010, on KROQ-FM radio.The music video for the song was released on January 6, 2011.

Here are the lyrics to the song so that you can get an understanding of the emotions portrayed in the music video:-

I'm always screaming my lungs out
Till my head starts spinning.
Playing my songs is the way I cope with life.
Won't keep my voice down.
Know the words I speak are the thoughts I think out loud.

I like to keep things honest.
I'm a safe bet like your life's staked on it. For real.
I'd hate to keep you all wondering.
I'm constant like the seasons
I will never be forgotten man.

Let's leave no words unspoken
Save regrets for the broken.
Will you even look back when you think of me?
All I want is a place to call my own,
And mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa
You know to keep your hopes up high and your head down low.
Keep your hopes up high and your head down low.

Still got something left to prove.
It tends to keep things moving.
While everyone around me says my last days are looming overhead.
But what the hell do they think they know?
My head's above the water while they drown in the undertow.

Let's leave no words unspoken
Save regrets for the broken.
Will you even look back when you think of me?

All I want is a place to call my own,
And mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa
You know to keep your hopes up high and your head down low.
All I want is a place to call my own,
And mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa
You know to keep your hopes up high and your head down low.

If you take it from me,
Live your life for yourself.
Cause when it's all said and done you don't need anyone else.
Come on!

So let's get back to when everything seemed perfect.
Not a worry in the world, tell me was it all worth it?
I get what I want, so everyone's always judging me.
I'm not afraid of anything
I've got the whole world in front of me.

All I want is a place to call my own,
And mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa
You know to keep your hopes up high and your head down low
All I want is a place to call my own,
And mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa
You know to keep your hopes up high and your head down low

Keep your head down low.
Keep your head down low.
Keep your hopes up high and your head down low.

The music video starts off with close-up shots of newspaper clippings, featuring the bands name "A Day to Remember" with diegetic sound of the song playing off screen, hinting that it's playing on a radio. The cuts are very quick which reflects the up tempo of the the song. We then have a clip of the main vocalist writing "Thank You" in a note book. This could be interpreted in two ways. Either he is thanking the bands fans for being supportive or he is thanking fellow bands, which is linked to the later cameos of popular bands and musicians who are all good friends with the band. Overall the music video is a performance based clip and the diegetic sound of the radio transforms into the non-diegetic audio of the song with a wide shot to show the band playing. The overall mise-en-scene of this music video shows the band in casual clothing and a typical costume for rock bands of wearing band t-shirts.

Camera shots and movements vary from close-up and wide shots showing the band playing and guest starts singing in different settings. There are also pans, tracking shots, zooms and quick tilts that follow the actions of the musicians or doodles and lyrics on the screen. The camera also seems to move with people on some occasions giving the effect that the audience is there with the bands singing and having fun.

The overall lighting for this music video is quite dark, which hints to them being in a room with no windows and only one light. This sticks to the conventions of a rock music video and helps the audience understand what genre of music this is. Even though the overall lighting is dark and the music is seen as heavy, the atmosphere is quite happy and motivational which reflects the lyrics of not being held back by anything. Doodled images begin to appear around the band and guest stars and certain lyrics from the song are craftily placed on screen in time of them being sung. For example chorus lyrics "All I Want' and "feels alone" are repeatedly put on screen.
When the song comes to a break down the lighting goes even darker and paper is blown around. This could signify the bands strong passion and the overall songs meaning for people to achieve what they want and not let anyone stop them. The footage is also slowed down to match the tempo of the song. At the end of the clip it cuts back to the lead vocalist writing "Thank You All", ending the enigma of who is was thanking at the beginning of the video. He then stands up and walks out of the frame, signifying the end of the video.