Directed By Shane Drake
I chose this video to analyze as this band is quite different from the others. Paramore are a band from tenessee who formed back in 2005. They started off with a very small, teenage following. With emo lyrics and crazy guitar solos. But they became more popular, and with their popularity their image and music have changed, grown to a new level. They are different, with attention especially headed towards the lead singer Hayley Williams, showing that women can be one of the boys.
The mise - en - scene of this video is very interesting. The set they are performing in is mainly based around orange, red, black and white. Which is actually the same colours as their album cover 'riot'. [Riot is also printed all over the walls, major advertisement of the album]The highschool that the narrative set is very bright and clean portraying a very fake reality of what a highschool really is. The guys are all wearing almost matching outfits, matching bright red jeans. Whereas hayley, though she is wearing a red t-shirt, is wearing her own thing. Making her stand out from the rest of the band. The people in the narrative are all dressed as typical american students. The jocks and cheerleaders. But one girl stands out and thats the lead girl potrayed as the school bitch. I think they chose a complete oposite to Hayley as when Hayley puts her in her place, it shows that Hayley can do anything, whoever it is, she can conquer it.
The editing is mainly based on fast cuts that go in time with the fast pace music. It makes it more edgy and crazy. They have flashes of black and white which goes in time with the music too, which goes towards making things seem more fast and exciting when they are performing. They have also brightened alot of the colours, especially in the highschool. This makes it seem more like a film set that a real life school, which, like i mentioned earlier, does make it seem more like a fake situation. The camera follows Hayley mainly, as she is the main focus of the video. She grabs onto the camera to interact with the audience of the video, making it seem like you are part of the crazy life they are leading! There are a lot of close ups of the guys instruments, I think this is to show off the skill and talent that they have whilst they are thrashing, to make them seem cool, so they have an edge. But the main close ups are given to hayley, especially her eyes. Because even though she isn't dressed as a 'typical sex symbol' They have still interacted her with the audience that why by using her seductive eyes. Because in the rock industry she is seen as a sex symbol.
The intertextuality of this is quite generic. Anything which has teenage melodramatic scenarios in them. A good example is Mean Girls, about the popular kids always trying to ruin the life of the normal kids. But they planned that well, as the band in the video are on the 'normal kids' side it shows how she is relating to all the kids out there who have trouble and school, and is telling them to stand up for themselves and not to take the crap.
Theres a strong link between the visual and the song lyrics. The lyrics are all about winning above the person who has always tried to have one up over you. The video produces exactly that narrative to the lyrics. It starts with the 'mean girl' taking away the things they love from people. But then the band come and show her for who she really is.
It promotes the band in a very edgy, yet angelic light. It's like they can get their hardcore rock on but they also have a soft side, and understand the harshness of reality that they have all been through, it shows how they can overcome it. They come across as a very understanding band who love their fans, they communicate this well through videos.
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