Performance techniques

For the genre of music that we wish to do for our music video, there are certain aspects of performance that we need to make sure we pull off to give off the right representation and atmosphere for the genre. In heavy music the performance is all about energy and movement from the vocalist all the way to the drummer. Seeing as we want to do a mainly performance based video we need to pay close attention to detail with this.

Vocalist
The vocalist is the main focus in most music videos, however in this genre they get a lot less coverage than other genres. This is because the performance is a lot more based around a band as a group rather than a single individual. However, especially in bands like Architects where the guitarists are playing very complicated music it is essential the vocalist is constantly full of energy to put across the mood of the song. Head banging is a very common feature with the person moving their head violently in time with the song, working especially well if the vocalist has a full head of hair! (refer to the video - Early Grave, Architects) Although it may feel ridiculous to do it conveys the energy very well. Some vocalists use the microphone and its lead to create interest and movement, e.g. swinging it round their head, doing complicated movements with the lead (refer to the video - Make Damn Sure, Taking Back Sunday).

Guitarists (refer to the videos - "Vices Like Vipers, Oh Sleeper" and "Early Grave, Architects")
The guitarists all tend to work around the vocalist, but generally just move around the performance area so that although they may not be doing lots of fancy moves, the audiences is constantly kept interested. However in certain bits of songs sometimes the guitarists will find the music easy enough to play and also perform. Sometimes guitarists will head bang and even fling their guitars around them, over their shoulders, behind their heads and even all the way round their neck. Their job is generally to move around, not distracting from the vocalist but creating interest on the stage.

Drummer (refer to all three videos)
The drummer's role is to play the beat with energy and to convey interest to the audience much the same as the rest of the band. Obviously they cannot move from where they are but rather than just keeping to themselves they can be over the top with their movements. We found from the Wheatus video shoot that what you think to be a big movement on camera looks very weak and so everything needs to be completely over the top.

The general conclusion is that not only is it very difficult to write about performance techniques and much easier to demonstrate, but that for the genre of music we wish to do the vital thing to have is energy. If the band all move around the performance area and constantly engage each other then the performance will be interesting to watch, whereas without energy, it will become boring and repetitive

We're All Alone - Architects (Split - Single, 2008, Thirty Days of Night Records) Song deconstruction

Note: All timings in this post are in reference to the youtube clip of "We're All Alone" at the top of the blog

In this post I am going to deconstruct my proposed song for music video in terms of the different sections and what happens in each. Once we have gone more in depth with the song we will be able to use this information to determine the speed of cuts and edits, the use of transitions and the filming style suitable for each section as it happens. Also from this we can determine the obvious "3 section split" in the song. I see the song as having two obvious moods and this being separated into ternary form (A, B, A) in the sense of the mood, but beneath I have gone more in depth and given each section a specific coding.


SECTION 1 (00:00 - 01:30) :

00:00 - 00:11 (Intro)
Lead guitar and drums only things doing anything. No vocals. Rhythm guitar and bass playing long chords. Fast paced, drum beat on the off beat, fast riff. Ends with vocals and other guitars coming in to drop into the next section

00:11 - 00:31 (Section A)
Vocals come in. Both guitars playing the riff, bass aswell. Drums breakdown. Much slower beat (not tempo wise but pace). All instruments in rhythmic unison at end of the phrase to bring in the next section.

00:31 - 00:41 (Section B)
Everything cuts out except lead guitar for a second then everything comes back in. No time signature. Very fast complex riff. Timeless feel. Drums are only doing fills rather than a beat to keep time, used as an instrument rather than a rhythmic device. Vocals very drawn out over the phrases, not in obvious places.

00:41 - 01:06 (Section C)
Back in an obvious 4 in a bar time signature, drums similar to intro on the off beat. Guitars playing simple chord patterns with a slightly more lead line over the top. Bass following the root of the chords. Gang vocals, involving the whole band to emphasise the words "All on our own". Those four words repeated three times to really drive in the point of the song. At the end of the section plays half of the intro again but with a vocal line to add variation before going back to the original section.

01:06 - 01:30 (Section A.2)
Same riff and beat as first time round section A, but altered lyrics, similar theme but has been developed through section B & C. End of the section (01:23 - 01:30) is different with an extra part of the riff added on, again similar to section B it has no real time signature but instead follows the rhythmic patterns of the riffs following descending scales leading down to the first chord of section D.


SECTION 2 (01:30 - 02:48) :

01:30 - 01:50 (Section D)
The song takes a completely different mood with the guitars playing straight drawn out chords and the drums playing lots of fills. The vocals are screaming long lines that emphasise the change in lyrical direction as well as mood of the song. The lyrics are "And I just don't care anymore about you, You can sit and suffer alone without me". This shows that the character has given up hope on whoever the lyrics were aimed at before. These lyrics are reflected by the song with the riff at the end of A.2 being a big descending scale and then stopping with the chords. This is a clear sign that the editing should become slower and reflect the mood of the song.

01:50 - 02:14 (Section D.2)
Now a lead guitar line comes in and the song picks up pace, not quite as fast as the original riffs but gives the song direction and a driving force. The lyrics are simple so as not to distract from the intricate guitar part.

02:14 - 02:39 (Section D.3)
The drums break down into a slower beat and singing begins (first time in the song). The singing creates a very melodic section in contrast to the really dissonant chords and patterns seen in the opening sections of the song. The pattern repeats twice with different lyrics and then manages to go directly back to the same speed and pace of the original riffs.

02:39 - 02:48 (Section E)
This is a small linking section to bring the pace back up and not make the change of mood sound too sudden. It is a simple build up with some drum fills and simple chords.


SECTION 3 (02:48 - 03:03) :

02:48 - 03:03 (Section B)
This is an exact repeat of the first section B but ends very suddenly with the vocals left going after all the instruments have stopped on the line "We're all alone" which is the driving theme of the song so that it sticks in your head.

Genre Comparisons

To compare genres I have taken my two favourite bands ("Architects" & "Death Cab for Cutie") and chosen a music video by each. I have been focusing mainly on the pace of the video in relation to the pace of the song.

In "Always" (Architects - Ruin, 2007) the editing is very fast and constantly cutting between narrative and performance. The performance is very edgy and there is constant motion whereas the narrative is cleverly placed in between, using lots of still shots with very little going on. This means that the glimpses of storyline are easy to take in while the performance continues being impressive and interesting to watch.

In "Soul Meets Body" (Death Cab for Cutie - Plans, 2005) the editing is very slow, with very long shots which interchange very smoothly, the song following a very direct narrative which the band take part in rather than the performance being a seperate entity (like in "Always").

The two songs both really reflect their genres, with the Architects video being fast cut and paced and going along with the fast drum beats and intricate riffs, whereas the DCFC video is very slow paced like the quiet, calm song, and reflects this through its mise en scene and slow narrative.

I have been deconstructing these videos further and will go into more depth about them in later posts.