1. By Tom Medlock

2. Video Deconstructed: Limp Bizkit – Break Stuff, Paramore –
The Only Exception, Rise Against – Help Is On Way, Queen – I
Want To Break Free

3.  One thing that I noticed from the narrative video I
deconstructed, Rise Against – Help Is On The Way,
was that the band/video producer established genre
through various shots that linked into the music that
was playing at the time, this can be seen in the
opening shots of the music video where the music is
being played mainly on guitars and is quite fast and
loud, the producer of the video linked this bit of music
with various real life shots of hurricane Katrina, which
this video centres around. This is used to connote the
type of music and how it is played to the audience even
when they cannot physically see the band.

4.  One way Limp Bizkit established genre was through
the use of BMXers and skateboarders in their video,
these are the demographic that would usually listen to
Limp Bizkit and by incorporating these people into the
video they are aiming to establish and reinforce the
genre with that demographic.

5.  The main way that genre was characterised over the
videos I deconstructed was through the use of the
typical rock and roll setup, this setup is used to denote
the rock and roll genre to the viewer. Although this
often depended on the type of video, the Paramore,
Limp Bizkit and Queen videos I deconstructed
contained this element, but all of these had an
element of performance in them. The other video I
deconstructed, Rise Against, did not contain this
element because it was mainly narrative.

6. The typical rock and roll
setup, singer at the front
with guitarists to his/her
left or right and then the
drummer at the back.

7.  Another thing that I noticed in two of my videos was
that the producers use scenes in which the band are
playing to a live audience, this is something that bands
from the rock and roll are quite well known for and by
incorporating this into the video it denotes to the
audience that this is a rock band.

9.  The main video that I found that expressed the
attitude of the artist was Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, in
this video the visuals show some rather angry people
shouting at the camera, these link together with the
music and lyrics as the song features lots of angry
shouting alongside some pretty heavy guitar riffs. All
these things together amplify the lyrics of the song and
reinforces the feeling of anger to the audience.

10.  On way the brands of the artists are represented in the
videos I deconstructed is through lots of close up shots
of the lead singer, the lead singer of rock and roll
bands are usually the person that the audience want to
see the most, they are usually the ones that people find
attractive or want to emulate. By incorporating lots of
shots of this artist the record producer is aiming to
further promote the brand that they have already
created, as well as satisfy the wants of the audience.

12.  Some band’s preferred to establish a brand that is not
their lead singer, Limp Bizkit used close up shots of
guitarist Wes Borland, who dresses up in a different
costume each night on tour and for each music video,
to establish a brand, this will then draw people to see
them as they want to know what Wes will be wearing
thus making them more money.

14. Digipack Deconstructed: The Blackout – Hope, Canterbury –
Heavy In The Day, You Me At Six – Sinners Never Sleep, AC/DC
– High Voltage

15.  When deconstructing my digipacks I noticed a range
of similarities. The first of these to draw my attention
was the use of font and background colour to highlight
significant aspects on the album. An example of this is
the use of a black background with white writing
highlighting the name of the band and album.

16. White font on a black background
to highlight the importance of the
aspects shown.
Black font on a white
background to make
important aspects stand
out.

17.  The next similarity I noticed over my digipacks was the
place in which the band’s and the album name were
placed, these key aspects were often placed in areas
which would attract the audiences eye first, for
example in the centre or the top left hand corner.

18. Key aspects placed in the centre
to draw the audiences eye
straight to the band and album
name.
Key aspects placed in the top left hand
corner as this is where the audience will
naturally look after taking in the whole
album cover, as in the English language
we read from left to right and from top
to bottom.

19.  Genre was expressed in one of two ways across my four
digipacks, the first one was the use of colour, the
colours on the digipack were often associated with the
genre each band came from, an example of this is seen
on my Canterbury and The Blackout deconstructions.

20. The pinks, blues and
whites of the
landscape combined
with the karki and
black colours on the
man’s clothes
represent the indie
rock genre as they
are all rather moody
colours, this links in
with the type of
music that comes
from that genre.

21.  The second way I have concluded that genre is
expressed is through the use of photos of the band on
the digipacks, if the digipack features a photo of the
band they are usually in the typical rock and roll set up
that we would see them in on stage (Singer at the
front, with guitarists to his/her left and right and the
drummer towards the back). This is used to denote the
rock and roll genre to the audience before they even
listen to the bands music.

23.  One way reputation is established on the back of
AC/DC’s digipack is through the use letters, these
letters are titled to the bands and are all from either
angry fan’s parents or clubs that they have trashed.
These letter express the reputation that AC/DC have
which is that they are all party animals and that they
don’t care for peoples opinions.

25.  The main way a brand is represented across the
digipacks I have deconstructed is through the use of a
logo, this can come in the form of an actual logo, for
example Canterbury’s Heavy In The Day logo, or
through the use of the band’s name in a special font.
 This is one thing that is common across all four of the
digipacks I have deconstructed, this shows me that
when we finally create our digipack we need to
somehow incorporate a brand into the front artwork.

26. Here is a prime example of
branding through a logo.

27. Although some bands
choose to establish a
brand that is a person
as well as a logo or a
band name. AC/DC
are a prime example of
this using their
guitarist Angus Young,
who is famous for
dressing like a
schoolboy whilst on
stage. By using these
two things in
conjunction they are
not only aiming to
make as much money
as possible but also to
get their name out
their and heard of.

28. Adverts Deconstructed: The Gaslight Anthem – Handwritten,
Bullet for my Valentine - Fever

29.  The main key feature I noticed when deconstructing
my adverts was, that much like the digipacks I
deconstructed, the colour of the font for the important
aspects, this font was always a light colour on a dark
background and this was usually only used for things
like band name, album name and release date.
 This was used in order to make it stand out from the
rest of the advert, as this is obviously the first thing
that band’s want the audience to see.

30. Her e is an example of the
white font on dark
background.

31.  On both of the adverts I deconstructed the name of
the band was the brand used. This was often made
very clear to the audience by using the biggest font and
placing them relatively in the centre of the advert. This
can be seen on the slide next.

33.  The main way genre was represented was through the
use of the colours on the advert, Bullet for my
Valentines advert is a prime example of this using
greys, blacks and whites for their advert. These are all
colours that are associated with the heavy metal genre
as people who like this genre tend to wear black or
darker coloured clothes.

34.  Another way genre is represented on the adverts I
deconstructed was through the use of photographs,
this can be seen on The Gaslight Anthem’s advert,
where they used black and white photos of them
playing their instruments.
 This establishes genre because the instruments in
those photos are instruments that are associated
mainly with the rock and roll genre, these are
instruments like acoustic drums and electric guitars.
This can be seen in the next slide.