This music video for Neck Deep's "Gold Steps" is aimed at a teenage audience. It shows teenagers looking bored and then having fun skateboarding and crowd surfing at a concert. The video matches the fast-paced music by using quick cuts, and slower shots are used during slower musical parts. The video illustrates the lyrics about living life to the full and having fun. It is primarily a performance-based video that shows the band playing on a truck and at a concert.

1. Music video analysis
Neck Deep – Gold Steps

2. “Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. Stage performance in metal
videos, dance routines for boy/girl bands)”
In the intro to Gold Steps it shows multiple long shots and medium long shots of teenagers looking bored and doing
nothing. This immediately indicates that this song and video is being aimed towards teenagers. It is aimed at
teenagers because people expect teenagers to be having fun and this will relate to them. In the next shot it shows
close ups of the vocalist spray painting the bands name on the ramp and then shows a close up of the bands name
on the half pipe ramp. This also relates to a younger teenage audience as this is the expected age group to be doing
things like graffiti and using spray paint in general. When the music starts close ups are used to show the band
playing their different instruments and as the music is quite fast paced the shots change quite quickly. The change in
the speed of the cuts represent being bored and then suddenly having fun. Tracking shots and pans are used to show
the teenagers running after the truck to show they love the music and are excited about it. It then cuts to a slow
zoom out to show this long shot of people running from different directions after the truck. Some of these shots are
shown in slow motion so you can see the happiness on their faces and it is also used to show people doing tricks on
their skateboards, again giving a younger feel. Medium close ups are also used to show the vocalist, Ben Barlow,
singing. The shots of the band and what they are wearing also show that the band is aimed at a young audience as
they were similar clothes to other young people who share an interest in the pop punk genre of music. In the third
verse the time of day has gone and it is night. This high angle long shot shows the band doing a live show for the fans
and people crowd surfing, this shows a lot about the genre of their music as at pop punk shows people will go crazy
and crowd surf and get on stage. It shows they are all the same and the band isn’t any more special than the fans.

3. In a lot of Pop Punk videos the video is all about having fun, this
music video is about living life to the full without letting things get
in the way.

4. “There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (either illustrative, amplifying
or contradicting)”
“Sometimes things will bend you,
But trust me you'll be fine,
I've been moving mountains that I once had to climb.
And life's not out to get you,
Despite the things you've been through,
Because what you give is what you get,
And it doesn't make sense to make do.”
“So pick yourself up,
You can't change what's been,
You must go on and learn while you live.
And when you see the signs saying hope is up ahead,
Then you're right on track for a better end.”
I think the lyrics for this song go with the video quite well as it is all about living life to the full, this is shown when it
says “learn while you live”, this is also shown in the video because throughout the full video it shows young people
having fun in many different ways.
The lyrics also go with the visuals when Ben sings the chorus slowly towards the end. “I've been moving mountains
that I once had to climb” indicates that he has had his fair share of bad experiences and it uses a close up of him to
show this.

5. “There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (Either illustrative, amplifying
or contradicting)”
In ‘Gold Steps’ there is a relationship between the music and the visuals as the band are doing a live performance
throughout the music video, they perform in the day on the truck and Ben performs by himself also and then they
perform at night on the same truck without the ramp.
Most of the song is fast paced and so they have cut the video to suit the fast paced music. At the beginning and part
of the end it has slower shots and cuts as the music has not started or it is quiet. When the music starts close ups are
used to show the band playing their different instruments and as the music is quite fastpaced so the shots change
quite quickly. The change in the speed of the cuts represent being bored and then suddenly havingfun. As the song
slows down, due to no instruments being used, it shows a medium close up of Ben singing without a microphone and
looking directly into the camera. At this point the pace of edit is much slower to fit with the pace of the music. The
music video starts with a fade in transition as there is no music yet so its quite slow. When the drums are used on the
build up to the chorus it has really fast cuts of different skateboarders at the same point on the ramp, the cuts fit
with the type of instrument being played.

6. “The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the
artist/band and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (e.g. A visual
style)”
The main close ups you will see in this video will be of the instruments and the fans of ‘Neck Deep’. However there
are still quite a few close ups used of the band members and vocalist Ben. For example when the song gets slower it
uses a medium close up on Ben as these type of shots are usually used in slow paced kind of songs.
In music videos you would expect close ups to be used of the front man more as he is creating the star image and
people will recognize the band from seeing him. However I’d say the close ups and medium close ups are quite
spread out across the band showing the instruments more than the members though. I think this supports Goodwins
theory of the demands of a record label as Ben is shown more than other band members making him the face of the
band.

7. “Whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based
and how elements of each is used in it”
‘Gold Steps’ is pretty much all performance based, they perform throughout the full music video but in different
locations. The main shots of them performing are on the back of a truck and a ramp on top of the same truck, we
also see Ben doing a solo bit on the wall whilst everyone is having fun. I also think this video is quite concept based
with the lyrics and the video, it is telling listeners/viewers to live their lives and have fun while they do it.