We did a music video on the song Thanks For The Memories by Fall Out Boy. Our visual was that a guy goes to the fortune teller and is shown what he has tried to forget, after this it shows what the fortune teller saw; a one night stand. The video is not in order of appearance but followed something a bit more backwards, because it makes it seem like they are memories that come back in a random order. In the flash backs it shows how the two meet in a hotel room, and them leaving the next morning, implying a one night stand, which is even said in some of the lyrics. it shows how he is looking forward to the future but still has another one night stand, 'Been looking forward to the future, but my eye sight is going bad.'
Our video fits the song more lyrically than musically. As a team we made the video based off of the lyrics and made it ours in the video while still keeping to the instrumental part of the song. We also added some things that you see in other popular music videos, cars and directly singing to the camera but also looking away, which is becoming popular. These techniques will help sell the song, because our video shows what the song is about, and it shows what is in more popular videos.
I believe this video can be a realistic view of the world, because it shows the inner battle, or demon within a person. This video shows two different views, the good side or the side that is shown to other people, and the bad side which is the inner voice. In this video he is trying his best to live on with the demon who is inside of him, and the inner voice needs the good side to keep away from the edge. While in the end, the inner demon takes over by not giving him the oxygen (or space) he needs in order to survive, but the demon ends up bringing the good side out, and he turns into one person instead of it being two different personalities. For if the video fitting the song, it truly depends on who you ask. Originally it was about the guy pushing away his girl, but lets her know that he needs her because she knows him 'better than he knows himself' but Adam Lambert took his own opinion on the song by saying there is a light side and a dark side to every person. At times it is difficult to have that balance in your life, you can't be complete without having both of those sides and you need to lean how to balance them. Both can fit the song, but when I first listened to the song I thought it was a love song, but now that I have watched the video and see how he portrayed the song, I can see it with the dark and light side. I think Adam portrays reality like that by using this song because everyone has those two sides fighting inside them, but some people find it easier to balance the two sides out then other people and this song could let others know they aren't alone when dealing with this.
This song genre is techno-pop, you can tell because most pop songs are love stories. Also with this song, a lot of pop songs have the piano solo which is known as the bridge, and then it has the big explosion of the chorus after. When you listen to the music without the video, you would more and likely stereotype it was a sad love pop song. It seems like the boy is pushing the girl away "Cold as ice, and more better than a December winter night, that's how I treated you", but he knows deep down that he doesn't want that because she is his rock, and without her he would be lost "If i wanted to leave I would have left by now, but you're the only one that knows me, better than I know myself". That's what you predict the song to be from listening or even reading the lyrics, but once you watch the video, it is totally different. When listening to the song you think pop music, but if you watching the video, it can give you a different illusion. Instead of the video being a love story, it's the dark side and the light side being separated by a glass window, and they end up fighting. The dark side cuts off the light sides oxygen supply but the dark side pulls the light side out of the room because he can't live without his better half, and in the very end they become one person.
I believe the values in this music video are that everyone has a light and dark side within them and they need to find a balance between the two. I agree with that, but some people find a hard time balancing the two. That doesn't make them a bad person, but normally when people do have a hard time, it's the dark side that comes out and leads the person to depression and living with the demon inside their head at all times, leaving no light within them. This video has three different lifestyle choices. The dark side, the light side or the balance between the two. At the beginning of the video, you see the difference of the dark and light lifestyle. They are fighting each other, one trying to get the upper hand. Soon the dark side wins by contaminating the light sides oxygen, but towards the end is when it all becomes balance, and the dark side brings out the light side and that's when you see the balanced lifestyle when Adam Lambert has the two different coloured eyes. When you first hear the song without the video, it sounds like a guy singing to a girl, but it is actually two personalities within one guy. I think Adam Lambert used gender roles as different groups to show that it's not only girls who go through these things, even though that's what we mostly see in the media. Another group would be the mixed of the dark and light personality, and how different they are, because it's showing the reality of what each side thinks, or does. The dark side tries to destroy everything within, while the light side is what is shown on the outside.
The videos concept with the conflict between the darker and lighter side of Adam Lambert is what a lot of the songs on his album Trespassing are about. So having this song with the video being one of his singles will show what the album is about, and will help him sell both the song and the album. It's effective because people who like these types of songs and these types of videos will get that sample of what could also be on the album. The target audience for this song would more and likely be teens and more possibly girl teens. I was looking at the comments on YouTube for the music video, and it's mostly filled up with girls saying that he has a great voice, or great hair, etc. The song is more appealed to the audience, not so some the video though consider when you listening to the song it is different from what you would originally expected the song to be about.
I believe that this is a good music video, because it's not typically what you would have thought it would have been. I like how when your first listen to it without the video it seem likes it a sad love story, but when you watch the video, you noticed that the song has a different meaning. Lastly, I think it's good, because I can relate to it. I sometimes find it difficult to balance out my dark and light side like he does within the video. I show my light side, and try to keep my dark side locked away, but sometimes that's not always the case, and that's why I believe this music video is good.
Media is taking over our lives. To some people, they can't live without knowing how many followers they have on Twitter, or seeing what Tyler Oakley is up to. To others, it doesn't matter to them, that part just doesn't appeal to them. To me, media is somewhat important in my life. I do have social media, and I do look at them, to see whats going on around me, but I keep myself on only a few social medias though, like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. YouTube would be where I spend most of my time, and if I am on Instagram or Snapchat I will be seeing what my favourite YouTuber's are up to. When my friends ask me, have I heard Justin Bieber's newest song, or have I see Harry Styles newest hair cut, I am usually one of the last to know. It's not something I rely on, I would choose over reading a book, or hanging out with friends, over staying inside on my computer all day.
YouTube is by far my favourite source of media. It's important to me because it can make me feel like I am part of something more, YouTuber's they are more like friends then famous people, because you can see more into there life, and what they are willing to share. They also want to know about us, and try to talk to us, I feel so happy when I get a reply from one of my favourite YouTuber's. They
Tiffany Alvord replied to me on her I will never let you down Cover
also aren't that different from us, and you get to see that. It's like we are one big family, the YouTuber and their fans.
Moving onto something else. My thoughts on modern popular culture. Generations have changed from what is was 10 years ago. The social media websites, and how many there are. Back then you had Myspace, Hotmail, and Facebook. Now you have Instagram, Snapchat, Ask.fm, and many more that is makes it hard to keep track of. The generations have changed, we have gone down hill, nowadays the popular songs are about sex, alcohol or drugs. It makes us teenagers seem bad, it is giving us a bad name, considering most songs are targeted to us. When older people hear something like that, they think bad about this generation of teens. Now some teens may disagree, but most adults when they think about our generation and what we listen to, they will more and likely think about the explicit songs over anything else. It's somewhat stereotyping us, and making it seem like all we care about is partying and having a good time. In this picture of Miley Cyrus, she is wearing a shirt about sex, drugs and rap, by teens liking that picture, and it becoming popular, it can show that we like that kind of things, and are supporting Miley as she does bad things.
Not all of us are like this though, but since a large group of teens like these things, we all get pulled into that one title.
Continuing on with that do you believe that this is accurate? How we are portrayed in the media? Is it giving us a good name, or a bad one? Now this can go many ways, because there are shows and songs that do disagree with that and show that us teen aren't all about the partying, but what is more popular? Miley Cyrus doing drugs and singing a song about it, or a song by Taylor Swift who is singing about one of her ex boyfriends. Most people would talk about Miley Cyrus, and us teens we
talk about it, like it, and share it. Which it then seems like we do drugs, or are into partying and twerking. Also once Miley Cyrus made twerking popular, teens seemed to follow in her foot steps by posting videos of themselves twerking online. This all makes adults stereotype us and believe we are all just people who want to party, and find a good time. So lastly, I believe it gives us all a bad name, and we are portrayed negatively in the media. Even though some teenagers are like that not all of us are.
