asking alexandria

1. Music Video
Timeline 1
By Emma Jane Laffoley

2. Music video 1 – I Wont Give In – Asking
Alexandria
• The music video for Asking Alexandria’s ‘I Wont Give In’ is
mainly a performance based piece, however it still has a lot
of meaning behind it.
• The song that this music video was created for ( I Wont Give
In) is about Danny Worsnop (the ex lead singer of the band)
leaving and the band is trying to tell their fans that they’re
not going to quit making music just because Danny left the
band. Asking Alexandria now has a new lead singer (Denis
Stoff) and this music video is illustrating how they’re still
having fun and making music without Danny’s presence,
this is why the music video includes an abundance of shots
showing the band on tour, not just them performing but
also them having fun away from the stage.

3. The first part of this music video is just text on screen instead of any
camera shots. The text reads; Family isn’t always blood. This is because
Asking Alexandria’s fan base is referred to as the ‘AA Family’ and they
are trying to illustrate in this video that the family bond hasn’t been
broken just because Danny left the band.

4. The next line of texts reads; family is what you make it. This is because
they’re trying to say that family doesn’t have to just be blood related,
it can also come in different forms. There is also a blurred image in
that background which is the cover art for the song which reads; ‘this
family is forever’. The text animation is a simple wipe.

5. The next line of text reads; ‘family is never giving up’. This relates to
the song as the whole meaning behind ‘I Wont Give In’ is to show the
fans that they’re not giving up on the band or their followers.

6. The final line of text reads; ‘family is never turning your back on the
ones you love’. This relates to Danny as the song is also aimed at
Danny because he turned his back on the band by unexpectedly
leaving to join another band named We Are Harlot.

7. The blurred out background then comes into focus to reveal text that
reads; ‘family is forever’. The image used is also the cover art for the
song and it’s a fake news article about the band with inter textual
references such as; ‘Not The Ukrainian Average’ which is a play on
words as one of their songs is titled ‘ Not The American Average’ and
Denis (the lead singer) is Ukrainian.

8. It then cuts to the bands logo. There is a zoom effect on this clip.

9. After the logo has been shown, there is a dip to black transition which
reveals James (the drummer) using a wide which also shows the
crowd. The band is about to perform the song live in the clip, however
the music is non-diegetic as the actual track has been edited in instead
of the live version.

10. Then it cuts to a mid shot pan of Denis walking behind the stage
to meet with the other band members.

11. There is then a wide shot to reveal an abundance of people who have
come to watch the band perform live, even after Danny had left the
band. This shows that their fan base (also known as the AA family) still
supports them and therefore this fits well with the song as it’s about
not giving up on the fans or the band itself.

12. Then there is a mid shot of Ben Bruce (the lead guitarist) singing the lyrics to the song
and getting the crowd to join in. This shot has been used to show one of the band
members so that the audience will enjoy the music video. Ben and Denis are the two
most favourable band members and therefore having shots of mostly these two band
members in the video will make the piece more appealing to their fan base. Also rock
music videos conventionally have an abundance of shots showing the artist/band
members.

13. It then cuts to a low angle pan of the crowd. This is to make the fan
base feel as if they’re a part of the AA family and to show that they
appreciate them. It’s also conventional for rock music videos to feature
their fans in their music video, especially if the music video is
performance based like this one is.

14. Then there is a mid shot behind the drum kit which shows the band
performing from their perspective instead of the fans perspective. This
is also conventional for a rock music video as they tend to feature the
band performing the song as well as music instruments.

15. There’s another mid shot of one of the band members (specifically
James) which shows him singing along to the lyrics of the song. This is
conventional for a rock music video, specifically performance based
music videos.

16. There is then a mid shot of the whole band joining together before
they go on stage. This is to show that they’re still united like a family
would be. There is also a rainbow distortion effect on the clip which I
find aesthetically pleasing and is something that I’d like to include in
my own music video.

17. It then cuts to a shot of Denis and Ben giving each other a fist bump
behind the stage. This is to show their fans the bond that Ben and
Denis have and it also shows that they’re still happy and that Ben is
moving on with his life even though Danny abandoned him.

18. Then they’re a close up shot of both Denis and Cameron, once again
messing around behind set. This music video consists of the band
performing the song live and an abundance of shots showing the band
away from the stage. This fits perfectly with the song as it shows that
the bond between the band members is still there, despite Danny
leaving.

19. A low angle shot has been used to show Cameron playing the bass
guitar during the performance. This is once again conventional for a
rock music video as its performance based and therefore would
include an abundance of shots showing the band playing live.

20. A mid shot – long shot is then used to show Denis singing on stage.
This shot has been used for two reasons, firstly because it’s a
performance based music video and Denis is the lead singer but also
because he’s one of the most favourable band members to the fan
base and therefore the music video would appeal to the fans more if
there were an abundance of shots with Denis featured.

21. A fast paced tracking shot has been used to show the fans lining up for
a signing session. This is to once again fit with the theme of the song
which is about how the band is still going to carry on despite Danny’s
departure, this why the video is mainly about the fans.

22. A wide shot has been used to show the whole band at the signing
table. This shot would appeal to the target audience as it has all of the
members featured and the fans are obsessed with them, specifically
Ben and Denis. A distortion effect has also been used on this clip which
I really like as it gives the music video an edgy feel which goes hand in
hand with the music.

23. A mid shot has been used to show Ben Bruce messing around behind
the stage. A Monster can has also been featured which is a
stereotypical prop as rock musicians are known for drinking energy
drinks and alcohol. The music video features many clips of the band
messing around as well as performing to show their fans the ‘family
bond’ in which they have.

24. Another wide shot has been used to show the crowd at one of their
gigs where they’re performing the song that the music video is for. This
is because this music video is mainly performance based and therefore
it’s going to include shots of from the gig.

25. A low angle has once again been used to show Ben Bruce playing the
guitar. This is conventional for a rock music video, especially
performance based ones.

26. A wide shot has been used to show the band performing the song
whilst the huge crowd of fans are in shot. This fits perfectly with the
meaning of the song which is that they’re still going strong as a band
for their fans.

27. Another wide shot has been used to show the band performing, the
camera is specifically showing Ben as he’s at the front of the stage. This
once again relates to the target audience as Ben and Denis are the fans
most favourable members.

28. A mid shot has been used to show Sam downing a bottle of beer.
Alcohol is a conventional prop featured in rock music videos as rock
genre musicians stereotypically are known for being alcoholics. Also
Asking Alexandria have always featured drinking in their music videos,
which isn’t the best thing considering their target audience age range
starts from as young as 13 so I will be considering my target audience
when it comes to creating my own music video.

29. This mid shot long shot shows the band having fun together outside of
the gig. This once again relates to the theme of the music video which
is about how the band are a family and how they’re still going strong
even though Danny left the band. Also it would appeal to the target
audience as they love the band members.

30. A mid shot long shot has been used to show Denis and Sam
performing on stage. This is once again conventional for a rock genre
music video as the video is mainly performance based. The shot would
also appeal to the target audience as they are obsessed with the band
members due to their looks and talent.

31. A close up shot has been used to show Denis the lead singer of the
band. This is conventional for rock music videos as they tend to feature
close ups of the lead singer. Also it appeals to the target audience as
they obsess over Denis and Ben.

32. Conclusion
• To conclude I really like this music video as it was a performance
based video but it still had meaning behind it and the video wasn’t
just the band playing the song for the whole duration of the video,
it also included clips of the band having fun outside of the gig itself.
I also really liked the editing techniques used such as the fast paced
editing and the rainbow distortion effect used on some of the clips
in the video. I included this effect in my ‘techniques I like’ task as I
want to use this kind of effect in my A2 production.
• Even though I really liked this music video, I still want to create a
video that has meaning to it, however I may still include
performance clips but I don’t want it to be the main focus of my
video as I think it’s too conventional and extremely difficult to do.